Page 51 of The Forbidden Fae King

“They were charged with treachery, abuse of their position of power, and for conspiring with the enemy. Maybe they decided their version of the truth wasn’t worth their lives, especially when no one else was getting hurt.”

I raise my eyebrows at her. “A peasant girl who forages for berries can read? Has access to a library and the time to go through old court documents?”

A blush blooms across her cheeks. “All people are given the opportunity to learn to read where I am from.”

My smirk widens. She is becoming more and more interesting.

“Well, what do the fae think of humans?” She shoots me a hard glance. “Cyprien accused you of a crime when he thought you had opened the portal.”

“It’s not what wethink,it's what we know,” I venture, then realize how arrogant that must sound. “The portals between worlds were once permanently kept open, so humans and fae could pass through the checkpoints at will, and people of both races lived in both realms.”

“Yes, and the fae high lords stole half of our kingdom, becoming our rulers.” Keira doesn’t miss a beat.

“Not exactly. A fae could not own land in the human realm. But some married a human and became custodian of their land when their spouse died and their children were too young to rule over the land. Some did this for many generations of their family, stepping in whenever they were needed. I cannot imagine the trauma of outliving so many loved ones.”

I shake my head, but quickly press on before she can interrupt. “A black market rose in the trade of “magical flesh”. Vulnerable fae were hunted and slaughtered, so humans with little of their own magic could consume our bodies and steal what was ours. The human kings did nothing to stop this trade, some even indulged in it. Evidence ofthe practice was clear, when a king who had no magic suddenly showed new abilities.

“When we fae decided to protect ourselves and created a warrior band that tracked down and destroyed the human traders, war broke out between the realms. It was we fae who closed the gates and knocked them out of alignment, so it would be very difficult for humans to travel here.”

Keira gives me a disbelieving glare.

“Wecould open the portals again if we wished, but it is a crime,” I say. “You see, many of us believe humans slip into our lands to hunt our lower fae to continue the ancient black market flesh trade. Thattheystealourbabies when they prey on our males for their seed and return home with a child in their belly.”

A darkness crosses Keira’s face and for a moment I think she is going to be sick. “And what do you believe?” she almost whispers.

“I believe it. The perfect society doesn’t exist. A people where every single one of them are good and just. It’s not possible.” My boots crunch over frost dusted across the wild grasses, but I hardly feel the cold. I pull aside the broad fronds of a fern to allow Keira to pass.

“There are humans who would march an army on us to slaughter every fae to remove the threat we pose and steal every drop of our magic,” I continue. “There are fae who would occupy human lands, hoard their resources and enslave their people. I am sure there were fae lords who abused their custodianship when our realms were connected. A system of laws and consequences is needed that makes corrupt individuals accountable. To ensure no race gets away with exploiting the other. Keeping the realms apart is not the answer. We both suffer from it.”

“And this is what you are fighting for?” she utters, those huge, pretty eyes gazing up at me. Something changes in her expression. Like she finally hears me.

“One of many things, yes.” I soften from looking at her.

A silence stretches out between us as she chews on my words. It is peaceful. The silvery moonlight casts the forest in soft hues and the chilled air swirls around us in a gentle breeze, carrying the scent ofdisturbed soil and bruised leaves. Puka skitter in the branches high above our heads, the mostly nocturnal low fae only visible as small blurs of black fur and huge ears fleeing our approach.

“Tell me,” Keira says softly. “Why are you so sure that my histories are corrupted but yours are accurate?”

I scratch at the stubble on my face. “Because we don’t only write our histories in books. We extract a copy of the memories from people who lived through the events, seal them with magic and preserve them in libraries. Anyone can view it.”

“Memories are tainted with the bias of the people they belong to. You preserve the prejudice of those fae as well.” She throws me a hard look.

“Yes, we do, but it doesn’t mean their experience is any less authentic. Our Living Memory Scrolls cannot be tampered with later. They are experiences seen, heard, tasted, and felt firsthand.”

“A snippet can be taken out of context,” she snaps. I don’t understand why she is fighting me on this.

“Often, dozens of memories are preserved after a significant event,” I counter and Keira opens her mouth, but I throw my hands up in the air. “Perhaps you need to view the Living Memory Scrolls before you can judge if they are valid or not.”

“Perhaps I will.” She shoots off through the brush ahead of me.

“Are you normally this argumentative?” I call out.

“No. People normally find me quite agreeable.” She slaps foliage out of her way with exaggerated aggression. “But people don’t often villainize my entire race.”

“Villainize?” My voice pitches high in my shock. “But you said - but I - you're trying to get under my skin now.”

She laughs at my reaction, but then her face turns somber. “Are you going to get into trouble for fraternizing with humans?”

This woman makes my head spin. The track splits and she walks in the wrong direction. I grab her elbow and pull her toward me, onto the correct path.

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