Chapter 9
Max
“You’re insane.”
“I assure you,” the king levels a hard look on one of his cowering lords, “I am not.”
The King called an early morning meeting between the fractions, and as the night air still hangs around the castle, we—Humans, Fae, Witches, sit huddled together, around a wooden table, walls surrounded by bookcases of old leather-bound books.
Leaning against the wall, heavy cloak covering my body, I keep silently to the side, hiding inside my hood to avoid attention.
Apprehension curls around the group. No one trusts the other and prejudices run deep.
Not to mention, the pounding of hearts in my ears, my magic sliding along my veins, seeking to crush enemies around me.
Rubbing my forehead, I close my eyes, ignoring the dark look from one Fae in particular. He’s not stopped staring at me since we came together and I don’t have the strength to deal with him.
My head hurts, nerves frazzles. All because of his little warning and my inability to stop looking over my shoulder. What was I looking for, I didn’t know. But he planted the seed of worry that took over my mind, not allowing for any rest.
Because of that, and interacting with so many people, my control is weak, at best. It’s only a matter of time before my shields fall and my power consumes those around me.
Glancing up, I catch his eyes and he winks.
Thoughts of murder consume me as he turns to address Griffin.
“You cannot enter the Eternal Night Forest, King,” the heir drawls, opposite end from the Griffin. They are two sides of one coin: one light and promising peace, the other dark and depraved.
Griffin shakes his head. “We can, with the proper guidance and the proper equipment. The forest is large, but we can prepare for it.”
“No,” Kaden scoffs. He sits with one knee bent on the padded cushion as he stares the king down. “You cannot enter the forest. The Dark Fae are accustomed to those woods. Have been for centuries.”
“Then, that’s a start. A promising start. If you know the forest, you can guide us—”
“And what would that do for us?” The Fae sneers.
“You think we would willingly follow you orders into those cursed woods and guide your people? We will be hunted by the beasts that roam that dark territory, looking for a meal.” Kaden tsks.
“After everything your kind has done to mine, you really think we’d help? ” He laughs coldly. “No. I think not.”
“It’s cursed for a reason.” Reid chuckles at the heir’s back, arms crossed. “And you think you can waltz right in. Human ignorance is fascinating.”
I’ve missed something. Something important. Why are they talking about the Eternal Night Forest?
Tay leans back, his large form dwarfing the high back chair. “We do not know for certain there are beasts there, heir. Nor that it’s cursed. It’s a myth.”
Kaden rolls his eyes. “Your mother must have kept you suckling longer than most,” he insults and I take a step forward, as if to attack. Tay’s hand on my wrist stops me from spewing curses at the Fae.
He continues, his sister huffing on his right. “You’re young so I’ll overlook your ignorance. As it is, I’m sure the Covens do not understand much and need a refresher on how this world works.
“Quick history lesson, Taylay. It is no myth that beasts haunt the forest—this is stated fact. The most fearsome of creatures reside within those woods, cursed to remain there.” Kaden taps the table, drawing a crude circle.
“A barrier prevents them from leaving their prison. Anyone who steps inside that forest, though? Becomes dinner.” Amber eyes lock onto mine, and I flinch from the searing intensity.
“Especially weak Witches who do not understand they are prey.”
Well, that was directed at me. Frowning, I narrow my eyes and he grins. Bastard.
“You think I don’t know of the threats in this world?” Tay asks, voice edged with challenge. “You assume the Coven doesn’t have foes. That we have no worries. You’d be wrong.”
Blood thrashes in my head, fingers inching to give in. If not for the very real fear of what would happen to me if this room knew of my magic, I would.
“I am rarely wrong,” Kaden drawls. “Besides, it’s not your fault. When the Covens pulled back from the fractions after the Great War, scared of all the dangers in the world, they lost their common sense. You were conditioned to be ignorant. Blame your leaders for their limited foresight.”
I growl, mouth retorting before I realize the repercussions.
“Says the Dark Fae heir who is called a monster for his prowess in battle,” I sneer. “Tell me, do you truly believe the Covens are ignorant or are you bitter for our refusal to trade with you and your kind?”
Tay’s sharp intake echoes around me as it cuts through my haze of anger and irritation.
I was supposed to be mute.
Godsdammit.
“I’m not biased, if that’s what you’re asking.” The heir smiles wider, eyes glinting with dark amusement. He knows I screwed up, somehow knowing I was to be mute. He’s enjoying this blunder.
Clearing my throat, I cross my arms, cheeks heating. Griffin stares at me, mouth pressed into a firm line.
“No, but maybe your perceptions are clouded by the fact that the Covens do not trade with Dark Fae.”
”That would be biases,” he explains and my jaw cracks with annoyance.
“Regardless, maybe you’re keeping us from the forests, not because of fabricated beasts, but because of riches within. Is there something you don’t want to share, heir? Gold or silver perhaps?”
Kaden chuckles, unused to being challenged and drops his foot to the ground with a solid plop. “The only thing I’m trying to do is warn you of the real dangers present. Creatures that eat anything they consider weak,” he scans me, gaze bright. “Especially defenseless kittens.”
I hide deeper into my cloak. He’s unnerving, eyes burying deep as if he can see into my soul. Gods, I don’t like it.
“When I was a child in the woods, I never saw beasts,” I reply defiantly. “Nothing harmed me.”
The heir’s eyebrows quirk, that charming mask firm on his face. A mask I want to slap off.
“A child in the woods?” Griffin asks, tone soft. His ice-blue eyes crinkle at the corners in concern. “I’ve never heard of anyone, let alone a child, surviving in the woods.”
Licking my dry lips, I nod only once. “It was a long time ago. I was injured, traveling the woods. No beasts came for me.”
“Interesting,” he comments, swinging his gaze to Griffin. “King,” he starts, steepling his fingers, finished with me. “We are supposed to be hashing out a treaty between our worlds. Trade routes. Connections. Gods, a unity you spoke so highly of. Why are you asking about the cursed woods?”
The king nods, knocking his knuckles against the wood as a man to his left unrolls a large map. “You are right. But this summit concerns us and the woods, as well as another threat.”
My eyes take in the map, pulling the hood from my face.
It’s old but wonderfully detailed, showing the various Covens, villages and the topography of Neevea.
At the top, the drawing is obscured by whirls of fog, places we do not have knowledge of—it’s said other Fae kingdoms reside there, but they pulled away after the Great War.
To the left are tall cliffs and red sands, the area shaded out as if covered in darkness. The Shadowlands. That’s where the Dark Fae live, closer to us and out of the obscurity of the other Fae.
Off center and to the right, is a range of steep brown mountains with frosted tops. That is the home of the Phoka, the shifter clan. I’ve never been there, but we trade regularly for their furs.
In the center, a dark mass steals my attention. The Eternal Night Forest, aptly named, separates the two sides of Neevea. At the corner of it, the Blackwoods forest butts up to it, the woods overlapping.
Could the Eternal Night Forest have creatures stalking inside, and the Blackwoods Coven’s wards prevented them from entering? If so, why did none of them attack me, as a child, when I was bleeding and weak?
“Get to the point, King,” Kaden demands, head leaning against the chair. His brother smirks at his sour mood.
“My kingdom is starving,” he admits, shame coating his words.
Tay and I share a look. The White Palace is full of so much wealth that it seems inconceivable that his people would be hurting.
Griffin taps sections of the map in different locations. “We’ve run out of farmland to feed my people. No amount of trade will ease the burden. By next winter, we will be forced to make dire choices.”
The Humans reproduce quickly, compared to Fae and Witches. Their numbers are too big to sustain them on such little land.
“And?” The heir presses, giving the king a bored look. “You are not the only King worried for his people”.
My curiosity piques. What is happening in the Shadowlands that King Zelos and his heir are worried for their fellow Dark Fae?
“I am not. But I am showing you that I am weak. Vulnerable.” At the top of the forest, there’s a small a symbol for a village.
“I sent out a group of skilled hunters through the woods to locate new lands suitable for harvesting. With no one laying claim to the forest, we thought it easy to travel and settle. When they reached their destination, they sent back hawks alerting me to a different problem.”
“Beasts?” Reid asks, lips quirking as I roll my eyes.
“Crimson soldiers.” Griffin sighs. “They’ve taken over the forest. My expedition was killed shortly thereafter.”
“We assume,” a lord mutters. “We found pieces of clothing and very little else.”
“You found their headquarters,” I whisper, leaning on to the table, mind spinning.
It’s been a losing strategy to find where the army stays when not terrorizing Neevea. No one could ever track them, and all other expeditions to locate their headquarters had failed. Until now.
Griffin’s people finally found them.
The king nods at me, pleased at my assumption. “This is what I’m proposing. We want peace, we want to come together. We can’t do that if we’re under constant attack.” Griffin looks at the heir, eyes pleading. “Your people are at risk as well as mine. We have a common enemy here, heir.
“Help me defeat them. Let’s turn this summit into a campaign. We will both win.”
Rolling his eyes, Kaden shakes his head. I barely know this Fae but his mind is treacherous, plotting, seeing all possible endings.
Taylay taps the table, hovering over our section of the forest. “Say we agree. What do you need from us?”
“Volunteers,” Griffin answers immediately. “We need a small group of people to go into the forest, find the army’s base and send word for us to move. It’s dangerous, especially if beasts do lurk in the forest. But we need eyes on the target before the army can be dispatched.”
It’s dangerous, near suicidal. A small fraction with very little weapons or defense would be slaughtered if caught. But I can’t deny the draw to find the army and be rid of something that’s haunted my dreams.
So many people would be safe with them gone.
“Nice ploy, using our grievances and fears as kindling to do what you want,” Kaden scoffs. “But we would be the ones in danger. We take the risk.”
“And if we send the army with no destination in mind, they could be lost. Hurt. Killed. All before they find the base.”
The heir shrugs. “Point?”
“Sometimes, one must risk to gain.”
Kaden snorts. “Not always, King.”
“Then why come?” I ask, feeling Tay move as if to block me from the heir. He’s not usually this protective, especially in the Coven when I must battle foes on my own. “Why bother being here if not to work toward a mutual goal, even if that goal requires sacrifice?”
As I say it, my mind flashes to the lonely nights in my hut, surrounded by candlelight, holding a book in my lap, escaping into words and not the bleak assistance I lived.
I was cast out, made to feel less than because of my magic, and I willingly stayed away to protect the Coven from a power that I couldn’t control.
That is sacrifice. Would a royal understand that?
“I am here at the request of my king.” Copper eyes find me, and I’m trapped, breath stuck. “Or maybe I’m just here to learn your deepest, darkest secrets and will use them to our advantage?”
Someone chuckles. That’s oddly bold, coming from someone considered an enemy not more than a week ago.
A surge rises in my gut, the call of drums hammering into my skull. Grabbing the back of Tay’s chair, I wince, using it as a way to ground myself.
A piercing noise, like a banshee screaming echoes in my head and I freeze, body trembling with fear and dread.
No. My walls are falling, irritation and exhaustion pulling them down until I’m holding on by my fingertips. Once my shields are gone, my magic will take and I’ll just be a vessel for it’s might.
It’s happened before.
Sprinting from the office, I don’t bother waiting for the conclusion. As I’ve been reminded, the Blackwoods is not my Coven and they do not need me there to make arrangements. All I need to do is get far away and pray no one follows.
I won’t be able to stop what happens to them if they do.
Down the hall, there is a small alcove and I throw myself into the dark cocoon. I exhale, closing my eyes as the magic sweeps over me, hissing and spitting, mad at not hearing any hearts.
Hanging my head, I send a silent prayer to the Gods that the magic recedes. That I stay hidden. That I find some control and shove it away. Nessa’s teachings, her warnings about my gift floods me—I’m dangerous, this magic is evil, and I should fear my abilities.
Shame clogs my throat as the throbbing slowly dissipates. Nessa didn’t trust my magic and I shouldn’t either—even if it’s a part of me. Even if it feels natural. It kills and I should fear it, like everyone fears me.
I’m not sure how long I hang on, how long it takes for the pain to stop or the call of the magic in my veins to settle. I just count my breaths and wait.
Soon, the magic retreats to its spot and I exhale, relief loosing my shoulders, already rebuilding my mental shields.
Opening my eyes, I look down at a pair of scuffed brown boots, the call of magic returning to roar in my ears, shield shattered.