"First and foremost, you are expected to be seen and not heard. Ideally, you will not even be seen."
Axis's voice cut through the silence like a blade. The temperature in the grand hall seemed to drop with each word, despite the ornate fireplaces carved from black marble that lined the walls—cold and unlit, as if warmth itself had been banished from this place. He gave them all a pointed stare, his eyes moving slowly across the line of assembled servants, each glance as deliberate as a predator sizing up prey.
"There is to be no chit-chat between slaves, and we expect you not to loiter around. If you are not working, then you are to be in your quarters."
Adeline felt her stomach tighten. The stone floor beneath her feet was so cold it seeped through the thin soles of her worn shoes, making her toes ache. No talking? Even King Richard had allowed them to speak to one another during meals and in their free time. The isolation such a rule would create felt deliberately cruel—a way to break them down not just through labor, but through loneliness.
Axis continued without pause, his breath visible in the frigid air. "Know that all punishment for stepping out of order will be severe. You steal, then you lose your hand. Speak out of turn and we will take your tongue. Anger a Beast and you will probably lose your life."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence. The tapestries on the walls—depicting ancient Beast conquests in thread of crimson and gold—seemed to absorb the threat, centuries of violence woven into their very fabric. Adeline nervously glanced around at the women on either side of her, searching for some comfort, some shared acknowledgment of the horror they had just walked into. But they avoided her gaze, their eyes fixed firmly on the ground. With a quiet exhale, Adeline returned her attention to the floor as well, focusing on a crack in the stone that ran like a vein beneath her feet.
"Additionally, there is to be no fraternizing." Axis's tone grew harder, if such a thing were possible. The leather of his boots creaked as he shifted his weight. "Richard allows his humans to reproduce, but we do not. If we hear about you disobeying these rules, your reproductive organs will be removed. Remember, you are slaves. If a Beast commands something of you, you obey. End of story."
He took a deep breath, as if the speech had required effort. Somewhere in the castle's depths, water dripped with a steady, echoing rhythm.
Adeline's mind reeled. Being quiet and obeying the Beasts was expected anywhere humans served—the natural order of things since the Great Subjugation three generations past—but the no fraternizing rule shocked her. King Richard had actively encouraged reproduction among his servants, viewing it as the natural way to maintain his workforce. While Adeline had no immediate plans to have children, she had liked having the option. The freedom to choose, even in that small way, had mattered.
And if they were required to be in their rooms when not working, did that mean they couldn't go outside? Couldn't feel sunlight on their faces or breathe air that didn't taste of stone and servitude? Couldn't spend any time with one another at all? The life Axis described sounded less like servitude and more like solitary confinement punctuated by labor.
Adeline was pulled from her spiraling thoughts as King Heloix suddenly stepped further into the room. His footsteps were silent despite his size—an unnatural quiet that made her skin prickle with instinctive fear. His eyes flickered, the dark color shifting to an amber-tinged gold in a way that made Adeline's breath catch. It was a sign that his inner Beast was fighting to surface, that the thin veneer of humanity he wore was slipping like a mask coming loose.
He continued moving closer to the assembled servants until he stood only a few feet away. The scent of him reached Adeline then—something wild and musky, like pine forests and smoke and something older, more primal. It made every instinct scream at her to run.
Adeline's hands began to sweat despite the cold. She worried that their shaking was visible, so she quietly moved them behind her back and dropped her eyes to the ground in a show of complete obedience. Her heart hammered so loudly she was certain the Beasts could hear it, their predator senses attuned to every sign of fear.
The longer she held the pose, the more her mind began to race. Was he always this angry? Maybe the entire introduction had been some sort of test? She had done her best to keep her face steady while Axis went over the rules, purposely making sure not to express any negative emotions. It was a skill most slaves learned young—how to become a blank canvas, to show nothing that might provoke. By now, most of them had perfected the art of becoming blank, unreadable.
Nobody said anything. Adeline heard no movement from either the King or the other slaves—only the whisper of fabric as someone shifted nervously, and that same distant, maddening drip of water. Nevertheless, she continued to stay perfectly still, not wanting to show any disrespect. Minutes crawled by in suffocating silence. The air felt thick, oppressive, as if the very castle held its breath.
While making sure to keep her head angled down, Adeline gave in to temptation and lifted her eyes just slightly to see what was happening.
She realized her mistake the instant she locked onto King Heloix's face and discovered he was looking directly at her. Their eyes met for less than a second—long enough for her to see the Beast swirling in those amber-flecked depths—before Adeline dropped her gaze again, internally screaming at herself for looking at him in the first place. If he hadn't been angry before, he definitely would be now. Even King Richard hadn't allowed servants to look him in the eye, and Richard was considered kind by the standards of their world.
A loud rumble erupted through the room. The sound was animalistic, primal, reverberating off the stone walls and into Adeline's very bones. It let everyone know that the King's inner Beast was very close to surfacing, that the human shell was cracking. Adeline forced herself to breathe evenly and not make any sudden movements that might provoke him further. Her lungs felt tight, the cold air burning with each controlled inhale.
The room felt suffocating with fear. The scent of it probably hung thick in the air—sharp and acrid, like metal and salt—and Adeline was certain the Beasts could smell it. They always seemed to enjoy that particular perfume of terror, feeding off it like wolves scenting blood.
To Adeline's complete surprise, instead of attacking, the King turned on his heel and swiftly exited the room. His departure created a draft that made the ancient tapestries sway, their embroidered warriors seeming to move in the flickering torchlight. Axis followed after him without a word, his expression unreadable. Once both Beasts disappeared from view, a collective exhale swept through the assembled servants, the sound like wind through dead leaves.
The woman from before—the one who had led them into the castle through passages that smelled of damp stone and despair—stepped out from the shadows near the far wall. A deep frown creased her weathered face, making her look older than she probably was. Life in service to the Beasts aged humans quickly.
"Way to go, everyone!" Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "We will all be paying for that tomorrow."
She walked to the spot where the King and his Second had stood moments before, her shoes clicking against the stone. She motioned for the servants to come closer. They obeyed, shuffling forward to form a loose circle around her. The group huddled together instinctively, drawing heat from one another's bodies in the perpetually cold hall.
"You need to speak quietly when you are inside the main parts of the castle," she said, her voice hushed and her eyes darting to the exit the royals had just used. "The walls here have ears—sometimes literally. I will show you all to the servants' quarters, and there you will be assigned your jobs."
She waited another minute or two, probably to ensure there was good distance between their group and the royals, before instructing everyone to follow her. She headed toward the same exit the King and Axis had taken, her stride purposeful and efficient.
The servants stuck close together as they scurried after her. The organized line they had formed upon arrival was forgotten. They grouped together like sheep huddling against wolves, drawing what little comfort they could from proximity. The sound of their collective footsteps echoed hollowly in the vast corridors.
Someone grabbed Adeline's elbow suddenly. She spun around to see who it was, her heart leaping.
John stood next to her, a large frown pulling at his features. His breath came out in small clouds in the frigid air.
"What the hell was that back there?" He whispered, quiet enough that nobody else would hear. "What did you do to make him so mad?"
Anger flared hot in Adeline's chest at his accusation, warming her more than any fire could. She shoved his hand off her elbow. "I don't know," she admitted, walking quickly to make sure she didn't lag too far behind the group. "I didn't do anything."
"Well, it sure doesn't seem that way." John's voice held an edge of frustration and fear. "You need to behave here, Adeline. This isn't some joke."
Adeline ignored his comment, too frustrated to respond. She had been silent during the entire introduction. She had been careful to keep her face and body perfectly still. The only mistake she had made was looking the King in the eye, and that had happened only after he was already upset.
She was certain she wasn't the only one who had snuck a peek at him. She was just the unlucky one who got caught.
The woman led them down a series of hallways. The lighting grew dimmer and the decor more sparse as they went deeper into the castle's bowels—from the grand spaces where Beasts entertained their kind, through functional corridors lined with weapons and trophies of past human rebellions, and finally into the forgotten depths. The temperature dropped further, and the smell changed from smoke and polish to mildew and neglect. Eventually they made a turn, and immediately Adeline could tell they had entered the servants' corridor. The paint on the walls was chipping and peeling, revealing older layers beneath—evidence that humans had served here for generations. A musty scent hung in the air, mixing with the faint odor of unwashed bodies and boiled cabbage. The hallway itself was narrower, forcing them to walk in pairs rather than the large group they had been.
"These are the servants' corridors," the woman said, spinning around to face them. Her voice echoed differently here, flatter and deader. "The door on the left is where all the men will sleep. On the right is the women's room. Don't go into the opposite gender's room. If you're caught, you'll be punished."
She continued without waiting for acknowledgment, gesturing down the dim passage. "Bathrooms and showers will be located inside each sleeping room. There are only two per room, so be quick and don't waste the water. The plumbing here is old, and the Beasts don't care if we freeze washing ourselves."
She walked them to the end of the hallway and through a doorway on the left. The hinges squeaked, announcing their arrival. "This is the only area you can be in besides the sleeping room when you're not working. It's also where you will eat your meals. There's a paper on the counter listing what your jobs will be. Feel free to look it over and come to me if you have any questions."
The room smelled of stale bread and old grease, with a single lantern casting weak light over a battered wooden table. The servants rushed to the table the second the words left her mouth, crowding around each other to see the job assignments. Adeline couldn't see over the people in front of her. She tried to squeeze in further to get a glimpse of the paper, but bodies blocked her view. The press of people around her was stifling after the cold emptiness of the halls.
"Adeline, I'll check for you," John said from behind her.
Seconds later she felt him push up against her back, his body warmth seeping through her thin dress. She glanced up to see him craning his neck to read over everyone's heads. For once, his height was proving useful.
Adeline watched his face, noticing him purse his lips and then frown—small movements that she'd learned to read over their years of service together.
"What?" she asked, nervous about what was causing that expression.
"Well..." John started, then paused to look at the paper once more, as if wanting to make sure he had read correctly. His jaw tightened.
"Looks like you're in charge of cleaning the King's quarters again. That's your only chore, though. I'm going to be cleaning the Second's."
Adeline supposed she shouldn't be surprised. That had been her job at King Richard's castle, and they had been sent here specifically because they were good servants—skilled enough that even the volatile northern Beasts might find them acceptable. But panic still flared within her chest, making it hard to breathe. After the incident with the King earlier, she had been hoping for a different assignment. Anything else, really. Kitchen work, stable mucking, even the dangerous task of tending the Beast hounds.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that!"
The guide's voice interrupted Adeline's thoughts. The woman—Gwen, she remembered—was chuckling to herself, clearly amused. "The King's servants never last long. Always doing something to make him angry. Given how you've already angered him after being in his presence for less than two minutes, I doubt you'll last long either."
She laughed, a cruel sound that echoed in the small room. Adeline blinked rapidly, holding back tears at the nasty comment. How cruel did someone have to be to laugh at the thought of another person's death? To find entertainment in someone else's terror?
"Oh, Gwen, don't be such a bitch."
The interruption came from a corner of the room. Adeline turned to look at the speaker. A young man stood there, a large piece of bread in his hand—evidence that he'd been here long enough to know when and where to find food. He took a large bite before giving Adeline a big, friendly smile.
"I'm Alex! I tend to the gardens, so you won't see me around much. Don't listen to anything Gwen says. She's mean to everybody." He gave Gwen a pointed, dirty look. "Working with the soil and plants outside beats dealing with the Beasts inside any day."
"You should be careful while you're in there, though," John added, always the voice of worry. His hand touched her shoulder, grounding.
Adeline sighed, appreciating his concern despite her earlier irritation. "I will be."
She turned to Alex and gave him a small smile. "Thanks for the advice."
Gwen rolled her eyes at them both before turning and walking out of the room, her footsteps heavy with disdain. Most of the others followed, eager to get to bed after such a long, exhausting day—they'd traveled three days by wagon over rough northern roads to reach this place. Adeline shot John and Alex a quick goodbye before turning to follow as well.
She didn't want to be late entering the sleeping room and risk waking others who had already settled in. The prospect of sleep pulled at her, even knowing that tomorrow she would have to face the King's quarters—and possibly the King himself. They headed back down the hallway and entered through the door marked for women, the wood rough and splintered under Adeline's palm.
Adeline's mouth fell open as she absorbed what she was seeing. To say she was shocked would be an understatement. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but it definitely wasn't this.