Page 31 of Shade of Ruin

Obviously not trusting his emotions, he straddles the branch, and I don’t see the shine of those wings again. “My friends and I built this village, Wyrdling. We don’t agree with how the Immortals in Draenyth live, but those aren’t the only Immortals in the world. Even in Blackgrove, there are Immortals living amongst humans. They just act like humans, and you’re none the wiser.”

“Like Vesta, my tutor?” I ask.

Cole nods. “This place… it’s full of people who would have terrible lives in Draenyth. A dryad should live in the woods, not bound to a High Fae’s orchard. She should drink from streams and touch all the trees she sees. Not forced into touching the same trees every day. She should be in the wild with wild things. Her songs should be heard by the hawks and wolves and deer and mice. She should know the squirrels that live in the trees.”

He sighs. “I made a place for the people to live like they should live. To escape the torment of eternal slavery. To escape the rule of the High Fae. It’s not only humans that have something to fear in Draenyth. The High Fae rule there, and while the Lesser Immortals aren’t eaten, any broken law could end with them collared and owned by a High Fae. Aerwyn is a place for runaway slaves, and Lesser Immortals who were being forced to do…unpleasantthings for High Fae.”

Slaves?That’s what this place is about? “And you rescued all of them?”

Cole shrugs and stares past me into the darkness. “I rescued some. Darian and Lee rescued others. Some of them were found hiding in human villages after having escaped. We brought them all here to a place where no one would find them. The wards we’ve put up will keep any scrying from finding them. The physical placement of the village and the difficulties they’ve gone through to keep it hidden from the air will keep them safe from wandering eyes.”

He turns his gaze back to me. “There’s more wrong in the world than just the attack on the Houses of Earth and Shadow, Maeve. The High Fae are ruining everything. They’ve forgotten what the dragons taught them all those thousands of years ago. The Shattering of the Houses was the natural next step, and I’m not surprised that it happened.”

That’s… not what I’d expected. “But you and Darian and Lee are just three people. How do you change an entire world of corruption and hate?”

Cole shrugs. “Someone has to, or the path forward will be the end of the world as we know it. I’m the Prince of one of the Great Houses. Other than my father or the King of the House of Steel, there’s no one who has a better chance of stopping the path we’re currently on. And…”

He turns away from me again, not wanting to hold my gaze any longer. “And I need to make amends for the things I’ve done.”

The way he says it, I wonder if he’s even talking to me. I know that feeling of needing to make amends. I don’t think that Cole ever meant to hurt anyone. He doesn’t seem to be a cruel High Fae like he talks about the others being. He must have hurt someone, regardless. Just like I hurt Hazel by accident. That guilt still tears at me, and I wake up from nightmares because of it.

The breeze blows between us, carrying scents of the fire that we were sitting at only a short while ago. “Do you have any idea how overwhelming this all is?” I finally say, trying to redirect the conversation to less depressing topics.

Cole’s eyebrow arches. “Not really.”

“Literally three weeks ago, I thought all Fae were going to eat me, and now I’m in the middle of a magical war or something. I was sitting around a fire with thirty Fae, all of whom looked like they were having to fight the urge to taste me. I’m supposed to trust you with my life repeatedly because there’s no other option. Trust your judgment on each step of this journey. All the decisions. All the information. I don’t have any choices here, Cole. More than that, I don’t know enough to make any actual choices. I feel like every other day, I’m being shown some secret that I should have known when I was five.”

He's quiet as he listens to me. I don’t know what else to say, though. I sigh and lean forward, putting my hands on the branch. “I used to be proud of myself. There was nothing I couldn’t do. I was the best in my village at everything I’d ever done. I could run faster, jump higher, track better, and hunt more efficiently than anyone else. I knew what was happening when no one else did, because I had a sense of when people were lying. I was exactly what I wanted to be, and now… Now, I’m lost and need you to protect me from the entire world. Everyone lies, you included. The only thing I’m still good at is hunting, and from the look you gave me at the fire, I don’t think you want me wandering in the woods around here.”

I want to glare at him as if he’s the bad guy in all of this, but I know he’s not. He is a part of all of these changes. He is keeping secrets and only spooning them out to me on a need-to-know basis. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, Cole. I know I’m just tagging along while you go home to visit your father, but I’m feeling overwhelmed by it all. I’m feeling not in control of my life, and it’s getting to me.”

The corner of his lip slowly curls up, and his wings lift him into the air until he’s standing again. “You could stop being such a Wyrdling and spend some time getting to know the people here. They may think you smell delicious, but they won’t eat you. It’ll be good practice for Draenyth because in Draenyth, I can’t make the same promises about your safety. Otherwise, spend as much time in the woods as you want. It’s as safe here as it was in Blackgrove. You’re less of an idiot human now.”

He shrugs again, and just like that time before, he steps off the branch and slowly floats to the ground. The only difference is that I know to look for the barely visible glint of moonlight in the pixie wings.

He thinks I’m safe here? Did he not see the way all the village people were licking their lips? None of them made a move tohurt me, though. What reason would Cole have to bring me to this village if he thought I wasn’t safe?

Do I trust Cole? That answer is the only simple piece of all of this. No. It’s not because of anything that’s happened. It’s the tingle on the back of my neck when he says anything. The same one that I’ve had since the moment I met him, since I looked at the High Fae in a forest green cloak in the Tilted Mug. It’s the way he hesitates when he responds that sets me on edge and has me looking for the hidden string to pull on to find out the whole truth.

There’s nothing trustworthy about Cole, but should I trust that I’m safe in Aerwyn? I think so. At least as safe as I am anywhere anymore.

If that’s true, then maybe I should get to know them. Like Cole said, it’ll be good practice. Maybe then I can stop thinking of them as nightmares given flesh. Maybe if I learn their stories and find out why Cole saved them, I can think of them like people with terrifying teeth instead of monsters.

I need to embrace this aspect of my new world instead of hiding from it. The villagers may have answers to the thousands of questions about my new world.

Chapter 15

The stone sings of terrible things to come. Dark and dangerous songs from the depths.

Notes of war are upon us, but from whom?

Treachery, destruction, and pride are my possible allies.

What answer is there but to trust my walls?

~King Roderic, personal journals

Like every day otherthan yesterday, I find myself in the forest alone, hunting for dinner for Cole and myself. The one part of the day that still feels right. Today’s special, though. I’m not hunting for rabbits or squirrels. I won’t turn down small game, but I’d like to do as Cole suggested and try to meet and get to know some of the Fae living in Aerwyn, and I think I’d feel a little better knowing that their bellies were full.

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