Varrium is the only city for hours with almost no men. It became known as a city of women after the previous King used almost every man and boy to rage war in an effort to gain control of the surrounding territories. But his failures outnumbered his successes, and the King was murdered by a demon who wanted revenge for the death of her husband and two sons. That demon gave the crown to my parents, the current King and Queen. But the city of Barr took our pacifism as weakness and has terrorized us ever since, and our city had seen the losing side of war far too many times to entreat the King and Queen for action.

Troops suddenly attack our borders. Homes go up in smoke with no warning. Children disappear while playing along streams. 

So when one of the King’s nephew disappeared late in the evening, Barr was the first suspect. A growl almost ripped through my throat when I heard that Varrium’s littlest prince, Cade, had been chased by city-less men all morning.

I sat high up in the east tower, which Queen Zanna had dedicated for myself and my three aides. I straddled the wall and pushed tiny crumbs of concrete over the edge, watching them disappear on their journey towards the dirt while waiting for Moryl’s arrival.

Moryl was my most trusted aide. He was a head taller than I with skin as dark and rich as the soil on a riverbank and hair that was always cropped close to his ears by the clumsy hands of his subordinate. He had long, lean muscles built from training and callused hands that gripped his sword like a friend. He was a low level demon, depending on pure strength most of the time, but there was no one I trusted more.

He walked up silently next to my perch on top of the castle walls. “Where is he?” I asked.

“He is safe in his room, asleep with his mother.”

“He must have been exhausted,” I noted.

“He was indeed,” Moryl agreed.

I jumped up from my spot on the tower. The sun was quite high now, almost high enough to eat breakfast. I wanted to go to the kitchen, but something was off. I had heard earlier from a guard that the prince was found safe a sound after being chased all morning, but Moryl's face wasn't as relieved as it should have been. His eyebrows sunk low over his brown eyes. “What is it?”

Moryl inclined his head. “My apologies, Miss, but there is more news.”

I nodded, waiting.

“We brought home an extra person this morning.”

“One of the city-less men?” I asked, my voice getting louder with anticipation. I could tear them apart at the thought of what they almost did to Cade.

He hesitated. “Honestly, we aren’t sure. It’s a young woman. It’s seems that she rescued Cade from the city-less men.”


I smiled at the thought. “Then we should be celebrating.”

“But, it also seems that she came from Barr. Her clothes and accent are undoubtedly from Barr.”

I paused, knowing what was on his mind. “Then, do you think this is a trap?”

“She’s a small woman. Fought three city-less men on her own. Threw two of them in the river. It was quite impressive, but she is unlikely to be a common citizen.”

“I see.” I took in a slow, deep breath. “Then take me to her.”

Moryl took me to the bottom of the east tower and outside. The sun was blinding now as it rose, and a cool autumn breeze drifted along the castle’s walls. The woman was apparently a prisoner. She was a small human with dusty brown hair tied back behind her neck, wearing a blue long white tunic trimmed in gold and beige trousers that were rolled up to her calves. Her clothes were indeed odd. White wasn't worn by commoners.

She hung from her wrists off of the lowest branch on the tree. Blood was dried past her elbows, crusted over with dirt and sweat, and her exposed skin was reddened from the cold. Her feet were bare and caked with dirt and blood, but they found a hold on the ground to stand.

I don’t know what came over me in that moment, but I most desperately wanted her. I don’t know if it was the sweet scent of her blood drifting on that morning breeze or the pathetic state of her body, but I was lost for a moment.

I grabbed the ropes around her wrists and snapped them with my fingers. This scent was familiar to me, and I felt overly protective of her with no clue who she was. But I trusted my instincts as a demon. And all the hairs stood up on my arms, I knew I had to take her with me.

Moryl and the other guards startled as I did this, but they didn't move. The girl was almost lifeless and fell as soon as the tension in the ropes was released. I stepped forward to catch her body. It was small in my arms but heavier than I expected it to be. She whimpered in light breaths, no doubt the pain in her arms worsened after dropping, but she didn’t open her eyes.

“Princess,” Moryl started, suddenly using my official title, “what are you doing?”

“I’m going to clean her up,” I said suddenly. She was disgusting to be honest.

“But Princess, she might be dangerous.”

“Moryl, guards,” I said, addressing them separately, “do you think Barr would send a small girl with nothing—not even shoes—into our woods to wait for a chance to save a prince from city-less men. Does that make sense to you?”

The guards and Moryl fell silent. “Indeed, it sounds unlikely, but—”

“No. Tell Amelia and Arius to prepare a bath and a bed. These are orders.”

There were many stairs in the castle. And I climbed the slowly, careful not to disturb the girl in my arms. I couldn’t pinpoint why, but her familiar scent was almost calming. As soon as I caught a hold of the fresh scent, I wanted to hold her in my arms. I must have met her before, but I couldn't be sure where. There weren’t a lot of opportunities for me to meet citizens from Barr. And if it was a trap, a young human girl wasn’t going to do much damage to me. 

One of my aides was hunched over the large tub when I walked into the bathhouse.

I had three aides. Moryl was the highest ranking with extensive training in the art of war and strategy. He was ten years older than I and was in my life before my earliest memory. His family had been friends with mine for centuries. Amelia and Arius were twins who I came across as teens and have been with me for the last seven years.

Amelia was sturdy and hard working. She had straight brown hair and skin tanned from both her ancestors and working outdoors. Arius was thinner, but stronger in will. I swear when they both went a long time without cutting their hair, I couldn’t tell them apart. They normally kept their hair long to cover their pointed ears so that they could go into nearby cities without drawing attention.

“Amelia,” I called, causing the girl to slightly jump.

“Miss, you frightened me,” she complained with a stern look. But she immediately sprung to her feet after glancing at the human. “Miss, those are clothes form Barr. What are you doing?”

“I want to clean her up.”

“This slave?”

“Slave?” I asked.

Amelia nodded frantically. “Yes, Princess, these are clearly the clothes that the prince of Barr dresses his slaves in.”


I raised my eyebrows. The prince of Barr’s slave? 

"No one wears white outside the castle in Barr except for them. Moryl said they were suspicious of her, but I didn't realize she was a royal slave.” Amelia stood between me and the tub. “If you’re going to be stubborn, at least let me at least make her presentable before you see her. She's wretched.”

I took in a deep breath and my mouth watered. I chuckled. Slave or not. She smelled delicious. "That will be unnecessary. Please prepare a bedroom.”

“A bedroom?” She paused her pacing. “What for? Do you plan on keeping her?”

I licked my lips. “I do. She saved my cousin, and if she is indeed a spy, I wish to savor her right by my side. I will not ask you again.”

Amelia wasn’t good at hiding her true feelings, worry apparent on her countenance, but she listened well. She placed her right hand over her heart and nodded. “As you wish.”

My heart raced as she left. “I don’t know who you are little kitten, but just the scent of your dried blood is making my mouth water,” I whispered, a smile lifting the corners of my lips, and laid her next tot he tub.

My bath was the largest in the castle. The room was spacious with three different tubs all filled with various herbs. The largest tub was filled with burdock root. The water came up to my hips in height and sparkled over gold and blue plated tiles at night. It was high up so that a panel on the roof could be removed for stargazing. Large pillars stood at each corner of the main rectangular tub, large enough for six large men to sit along each wall without touching.

I stepped into the bath, warm water soothing my calves. A few small, red flowers floated near the edges. The girl’s stature was small. She wasn’t overly long, and her body was probably bloated from being malnourished in the woods. Her clothes were fraying along all the edges and browned from sleeping in the dirt.

When I reached out to touch her, she suddenly moved. It was a small movement. Her head rolled to the side. I reached out and brushed the hair out of her face, and her eyes fluttered open for a second. The blood vessels were broken, and her eyes were dotted in red. I looked down at her neck, not surprised to find fading finger prints. Yeah, she didn’t seem like much of a spy to me--or at least not a very good one.

When I came in to focus in her eyes, she jumped. She flailed backwards hard, scrambling to her feet and immediately falling back down. No doubt, she had no strength. She inched backwards on the floor as I stepped out of the tub to approach her.

There was only one window in the east bathhouse, and the girl somehow found the strength to stand up and run towards it. But the window just led to a balcony and a drop tall enough to break a human’s legs.

“Kitten,” I breathed, “you’re making this too exciting.”