Page 50 of The Forbidden Fae King

I lead Keira back toward the camp, Drake and Silvan following behind but giving us space. When Keira turns to me, head slightly cocked to the side, there is an analyzing look in her eyes. I become caught in them and suddenly there is nothing else in the world. The night retracts to only the two of us.

“You keep defending your ancestors.” A frown deepens on her face. “Saying my history books have been corrupted, but what if your histories are wrong?”

I let out a long-suffering sign. I had been enjoying the few minutes of peace between us. “Tell me, please, what do humans say of the fae?”

She bites on one of those perfect, rosebud lips. “The lower fae are devious and wild. They are as likely to attack a human as they are to bring her to their wild parties in meadows and make her a lover.”

“Is that why humans come here, to take a lover?” I feign a laugh, but it is a very real question.

Keira laughs. “No. No, of course not. The reputation of this realm has a certain appeal. Of beautiful fae with wings and colorful skin, lavishing attention on a girl and taking her to festivals where she can enjoy herself with complete abandon. Of absolute freedom. This realm is enchanted compared to ours. There is wondrous magiceverywhere. Human women are expected to behave, to cover up and hide any aspect of her sexuality. To get married, have children, then die. Here, a woman could be something else, whatever she wants.”

There is such longing in her voice, I wonder if she too were trapped back in her realm.

“And the high fae?” I ask, as we approach a denser part of the woods, lighting more orbs to illuminate our way.

I have very, very little fire magic, left over from a distant Summer Court ancestor, but these are simple tricks.

The smile fades from her lips and the space between us suddenly widens as though she remembers I am some terrible predator. It only twists a dagger in my heart a little.

“The high fae are known for kidnapping our women. For taking them to bear their children, because fae women are near barren.” She shoots a nervous, apologetic glance at me. “That a human should avoid high fae at all costs or be used and destroyed by them. That wars are fought between courts over the possession of a single human woman.”

Tension coils through me at her revelations. I knew we would have to break prejudices within the human world, but I didn’t think they would be this bad.

“The threat we pose to your kind is that dire, and yet still you choose to wander into my realm?” I muse.

“I didn’t—” Keira turns abruptly to face me and almost walks straight into a low-hanging branch. I reach out and lift the thin limb before it can strike her, bringing our bodies close for a fraction of time. Keira doesn’t flinch away and it makes something swell within me.

“And do we eat our own babies as well?” I ask in a perfectly innocent tone. “Or are we supposed to kidnap human children to eat? I need to know how I should behave.”

Keira shoots me a dark look.

I shake my head. “Do you realize this is the most common propaganda monarchs use to turn their people against a perceived enemy? Stealing brides and babies?”

“Do you know what every single fae does in this court?” She throws at me. “Are you aware of their every action in other courts? Can you guarantee that a high fae has never hurt a human woman? Never tried to keep her against her will? Kidnapped a plaything?”

“Well, no.” I rear away from her intensity.

“These sorts of stories come from somewhere.” Keira picks up her pace and stomps through the woods ahead of me.

“It is not a systemic issue,” I call after her, then speed up so I am walking next to her. “It’s not normal fae behavior and would not go unpunished. That is the difference. It sickens me that humans think all high fae indulge in violence and rape and slavery.”

Keira stops abruptly and we glare at each other. Her lips work but no sounds come out.

There are cracks in her anger, as though the rationality of my words get through to her.

I chance taking a step closer. “Think about it, Keira. Do you not have criminals in your realm? It doesn’t mean all humans are corrupt. What do the druids say to your people? Do they counter these lies?”

“The druids?” Confusion crosses her face.

I nod. “They are the only humans who cross between realms every alignment, and who truly know us fae. There are communities of them in each court. I have visited their city here in the Spring Court. They could tell you that your histories are full of lies. That their females aren’t harassed.”

Keira stares at me for a long moment. “Their order is incredibly secretive. The masses don’t even know druids still live in this realm. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t even share information between their fractions.”

Disgust fills me. These people allowed hatred and fear to fester in their realm, without bringing the truth to light. We walk at a slow pace, and I grind my teeth. A glower forms on my face as I stare at the darkness ahead.

“So they allowed prejudice to grow,” I say finally. “And they become complicit in their silence.”

Keira gives me a sidelong glance, delicately lifting herself up over afallen log. “I once found a book in our library of court transcripts that were a couple hundred years old. Multiple druids were burnt at the stake for contradicting the known history of the Great Fae War. For trying to disband what you claim to be lies.

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