Remi led them from the throne room, limping down a candlelit hallway and dripping blood from his leg onto the stone floor.

  “Do you need a healing potion?” Raith asked.

  Remi glanced back and shook his head firmly.

  “Your offer is kind, but if my punishment is undone, it will be revisited tenfold.”

  They turned to continue down another hall that led to a stairwell. From where they were, it led both up and down. Raith realized he had no idea which floor they might be on, but Remi led them up two floors. This time the hallway they entered was lined with blood-red carpet, intricately embroidered with gold. Dark and beautiful artworks hung on the walls, and pedestals sat at regular intervals bearing sculptures and fine pottery.

  Another hall bisected this one halfway down, and they now took a right. Remi stopped and gestured.

  “These three rooms are yours. While you remain the Earl’s guests, you will be exempt from the Forgetting. I advise you not to go exploring this night. Your Right of Safe Passage will not protect you from honeyed words and trickery. Nor will it save you from a duel, should a member of the court find insult in your conduct.”

  “Are we back in the mortal realm?”

  “Yes. You have the honor of witnessing the seat of the Hollow Earl's power near Malthus, where my lord runs his empire of whispers and secrets. It is not too late for you to join us. It would help to redeem my failure, and there is much power to be had here.”

  Raith had already seen enough to know he wanted no part of the Forgotten Ones, but it seemed best to hold that thought in reserve. As long as these people still believed he might join, they might treat him as a potential ally. And after seeing how their allies were treated, he had no desire to see how the Earl dealt with his enemies.

  “Thank you, Remi. We are considering it.”

  Remi gave a curt bow and limped away. Raith opened the door closest to them and peered in. After seeing it was clear, he gestured for the others to follow. He’d been afraid the room would be dusty and tattered, but it was luxurious.

  At the heart of the room stood an immense four-poster bed, draped in silk curtains embroidered with silvery thread. The mattress was thick and plush, filled with down feathers, and sheets woven from the finest fabrics. Intricate carvings of mythic beasts were etched into the wooden posts.

  The sitting area around the stone fireplace put the one from the noble’s mansion to shame, with plush chairs and an extra long couch. There was even a tub and a vanity on the other side of the room, although Raith had little use for either. Although after taking a sniff of his armpit, he thought perhaps he might use the tub after all. He missed Tolliver’s Sonic Cleanse spell. It had been so damn convenient, but the thought of the [Mage] brought on a bout of melancholy. He tried to reassure himself that Zinny would take care of him, and was not particularly successful.

  I didn't get a chance to tell him I forgive him.

  Nyhm shut the door, and the three gathered around the sitting area. Raith puffed up his cheeks and blew out a long breath.

  “I don’t even know where to start with this. Thea, what the threaded fuck have we gotten ourselves into here?”

  She rubbed absentmindedly at the stump of her arm as she began speaking, and the reminder of his friend’s injury broke his heart anew.

  “The sluagh rule the Unseelie Court, while the sidhe rule the Seelie Court. Sometimes referred to as Summer and Winter. You saw what the Seelie domain looked like from atop the rainbow. The Unseelie are much, much darker. We are very lucky the Hollow Earl maintains his court in the mortal realm.”

  “What do we need to know about these Rights of the Patrician?”

  “They are of the old ways, afforded only to nobles. It includes seven Rights that they are bound to observe for a three day period. The Right of Safe Passage ensures that we may travel to and from the court without fear of harm or enchantment.

  “Once within the court, The Right of Courteous Hospitality guarantees we must be received with all the honors due to our noble station. We will be offered food, drink, and lodging befitting our mortal rank, and any insult or slight against us must be redressed through proper channels, often with gifts or apologies.”

  “Or duels?” Raith asked, remembering Remi’s warning.

  “That would be the Right to Contest Offense. It allows us, or them, to demand satisfaction through a trial, a duel, or a test of wits, depending on the nature of the grievance. So don’t offend anyone.”

  She gave him a long stare, and he held up both hands.

  “I have no interest in dueling someone like Gloam.”

  “Good, see that you don’t. The Right of Equal Audience allows us to speak before the fae ruler without being ignored, mocked, or misled. At least not overtly. We may make one formal request of the court, which must be answered truthfully, though not necessarily in the manner you desire. Additionally, The Right of a Single Boon permits us to ask for one favor, granted at the noble’s discretion. However, such boons often come with an unspecified price, and many a foolish noble has regretted their request.”

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  “I don’t think we should ask for a boon.”

  Thea nodded.

  “Nor do I. Especially in an Unseelie Court. The Right of Mortal Custom ensures that we may observe our own traditions while in the court, so long as they aren’t disruptive. This protects us from being forced into fae rites that might bind us in unintended ways, such as accepting a dance or a wager.

  “Finally, the Right of Timely Departure guarantees that when the visit is complete, we must be allowed to leave unhindered. No fae may delay us beyond a single parting gift or farewell toast, though such gifts often carry enchantments of their own.”

  Nyhm growled.

  “I have no patience waiting for traps of faerie etiquette to be sprung. We are guests, right? Let’s just leave this place. Tonight, if possible.”

  That sounded like an excellent idea to Raith, but Thea cautioned against it.

  “The Hollow Earl has already requested our presence for breakfast. It would be a serious insult to disappear in the middle of the night and not show up to his audience. I’m pretty confident we’ll be safe under the Rights for tonight. Tomorrow we can find a polite way to make our exit. In the meantime, let’s all get some rest.” She looked down at her arm and frowned. “I certainly need some time to think.”

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Got an extra arm in any of those pouches?” She smiled sadly, then turned towards the door. “I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

  After the two left, Raith decided to take a bath after all. The castle had hot running water, so he stripped out of his clothes and dropped them next to the bed while the tub filled. His clothing and leathers stank, but that was a problem for after he got cleaned up. After adding some flowery smelling soap to the water, he eased in and let the warmth wash away the weeks of trials and heartache.

  A soft scrabbling noise brought him shooting up out of the water. Lost in thought and ears submerged, he wasn’t sure if it had been real, so stood there dripping and listening intently. Another rustle from the other side of the bed convinced him he’d heard right.

  Something was in here with him.

  And here he was, naked as the day he was born, with his weapon sitting ten feet away on the bed next to his belt.

  Knotted gods, I thought Thea said we were safe here.

  Stepping as quietly as he could from the tub, Raith carefully made his way to the bed and retrieved his weapon. With that in hand, he leapt onto the bed, prepared to strike whatever lurked on the other side.

  A two and a half foot tall brown-complexioned creature, with long pointed ears and beige garb, was merrily stuffing the final bits of his clothing and armor into a bag of holding. It looked up at him in alarm as Raith loomed even higher than normal atop the bed then let out a shriek before bolting towards the door.

  “Hey, give me my stuff back!”

  Raith sent the rope out horizontally in an attempt to snare the creature without killing it, but the damn thing was too quick. It left the door open as it fled into the hallway, and Raith charged after. He emerged just in time to see it slip around the corner, so broke into a flat-out sprint before it could get away with his incredibly expensive new armor.

  He rounded the corner to smash headlong into a slender fae woman carrying an armful of scrolls. She was stopped looking over her shoulder at the fleeing thief, and when Raith piled into her, they both went flying in a tangle of limbs and rope while scrolls scattered all over the hallway.

  Raith scrambled quickly to his feet and offered a hand to the woman, who looked it with a faint air of disdain and gracefully rose of her own accord. She was an ethereal version of the sluagh. Golden hair to the Earl’s black, radiant healthy skin to his sickly pallor, and white finery that elegantly draped her slender frame.

  The woman was almost certainly a sidhe, although what she might be doing at a sluagh court Raith had no idea. She looked around at the mess of scrolls with a frown, then raised an eyebrow and gave Raith an up and down appraisal.

  Which is when he realized he was completely naked.

  His hands shot in front to cover his waist, and he blushed furiously. Taking a step back, he tried to stammer out an apology.

  “I am so sorry, miss. That thing stole my clothes.” ?She glanced again behind her, then looked back at Raith. She appeared not in the least discomforted by his nudity.

  “The brownie? He is a servant of the Earl, and almost certainly taking them to be laundered. It has been long since I have been among mortals. Is it now customary for nobles to attend court unclothed?”

  “Uh, no. Again, I apologize. This is very embarrassing.”

  She gave a pouty moue.

  “Whatever for? You almost had me thinking it might be fun to tarry among the mortals once again. And you are…?”

  “Raith Quirric.”

  “Title?”

  “Well, I guess I’m a Lord now.”

  “A pleasure, Lord Raith. I am Countess Selene, the Warden of Borders.”

  She curtsied and extended a delicate hand. He stared at it for a moment without understanding, then hurriedly gave it a kiss while trying to keep his body as politely far away as possible. Her skin was soft and warm and smelled of some sweet flower he couldn’t identify.

  “Do you know if that brownie will bring my stuff back?”

  “Of course. Even a sluagh wouldn’t violate the Rights of the Patrician and steal from a noble guest.”

  She said the word ‘sluagh’ as though it were a curse. Raith took another cautious step backwards.

  “In that case, I’d better be getting back to my room. It was very nice to meet you, Countess.”

  She gestured towards the scrolls scattered around the hall.

  “Without assisting in cleaning up the mess you’ve made. Has mortalkind abandoned all pretense at manners?”

  “Uh…no? I suppose I can help really quick.”

  Glancing up and down both hallways to make sure no one else was coming, Raith spent the next minute awkwardly picking up scrolls with one hand while trying to hold his bunched up rope in front of his crotch. He caught Selene looking at him with a mischievous grin while he retrieved a scroll from behind a pedestal and suspected he was being messed with.

  After handing her the last scroll, he gave a weird little bow.

  “Alright, then. Have a good evening.”

  He turned to hurry back to his room but stopped as she asked another question.

  “Will you be attending breakfast?”

  “Yes, the Earl asked us to attend.”

  Both of her eyebrows went up at this.

  “Us? Has an entire mortal court arrived? Will you all attend similarly nude? You simply must tell me what I’ve missed while locked away with this tedious research.”

  A slight upturn at the corners of her mouth told him she was definitely messing with him.

  “Not a court. Just my companions, Thea…uh…Lady Thea and Lord Nyhm. And we will definitely all be wearing clothes. Now you must excuse me, I’ll be happy to discuss things further in the morning.”

  He scurried away before she had a chance to delay him again, and he ran back to his room followed by the sound of full throated laughter.