Trinket (Reverse Harem)

Raven Games

 It was still raining by the time the Ravens came to escort me to Soir's. Asund dozed in the doorway of the house, although the rain had soaked his pelt and he looked like a street mutt instead of a Captain.

Was this what I was doing?

He jumped up as I emerged, wagged his tail, and gave his head a little shake as if to warn me he could soak me if he was of a mind to.

"I'm sorry," I told him under my breath. What kind of piece of trash was I to let one of my consorts sleep in the rain on the street?

I had slept on the street, in cold drizzle.

He wagged his tail some more and sneezed as if to say no bother.

The Ravens had brought a valence to escort me to Soir, and one of them used magic to push the standing wanter on the street out of my way. But it was still raining at a good clip--a fetid, unclean rain that left the vague scent of rot in the air, to mingle with the smell of wharfs in summer. Thunder rumbled out over the bay, and lightening flickered in the clouds.

The hems of my dress were wet when I got to Soir's, and so were my feet. Rain was rain.

The Ravens fluttered and took my shoes to set to dry by the fire, but my damp hems would have to stay damp. Soir's house was much different now that it wasn't crammed with a party--it was quiet, airy, with higher ceilings than I'd realized and very little furniture. It was bright, with open windows that the rain splattered through, everything a tiled or marbled or stone surface decorated with lanterns or sconces. Servants and attendants fluttered about, figuratively and literally.

They took me through the front portions of the house into what I recognized as the semi-private family quarters, down a hallway that opened up onto a large three-sided room. One wall was missing, and simply extended into a balcony that overlooked Haven and the bay in a stunning view.

Soir, wearing fluttering attire of teal and midnight, smiled as I entered. Instantly, his cunning gaze slid towards the view. "Amazing, isn't it?"

"Is this what birds see?" I asked, walking right to eh edge of the room where the rain dripped from the eaves.

"If we care to roost on a rooftop, yes, but there's something grand about this view, isn't there?" He offered me a cup of light white wine. "The Lord-Regent lost his temper. We need the rain, so it's hard to complain."

I touched the rain running in rivulets down the pillars. It felt fetid, that slightly slick feeling like there was a portion of slime in it. I rubbed my fingertips together. Could Soir not sense it? This water was from far out in the ocean--summoned by Ormiss' rage--but it was still slightly tainted. I'd always been able to sense tainted water, and taste it, and even "pure" water had never tasted pure to me.

But I'd learned that most people couldn't taste how tainted "pure" water was. Or water that I'd thought tasted distinctly of taint they'd said only had a passing offensive taste. Did they simply not taste the taint like I did, or did they, and they didn't know it could be better? And yet somehow I could?

"Ormiss' temper is nothing new," Soir said, "Don't let it bother you. You weren't responsible for what happened this afternoon."

Except I kind of was. I let Soir guide me to the table that had been set with lanterns and plates of delicacies. He poured a goblet of pure-ish water. I recognized the delicacy for what it was when he handed me the cup, and debated asking him if he could taste the taint in it. "I'm used to Ormiss' temper at this point."

"One quickly gets used to it," Soir said, amused. "And as for the others, there's no chance you were going to stop four other shifters from whatever they were inclined to do. Best to just get out of their way."