Page 55 of The Forbidden Fae King

“I don’t think you should visit my realm.” Tension ripples through me.

“And why not?” He asks.

I swallow. How do I answer such a question without admitting that we hunt fae? That we treat their bodies as trophies and delicacies?

“The fae are not permitted into the human realm,” I say. “It is punishable by death in my kingdom.”

“And yet here you are, walking free in our realm. Humans are hypocrites.” Kai spits.

I stumble on a branch caught between my feet and quickly catch myself.

“Fearful hypocrites,” Klara chimes in.

“But Aldrin says we need them,” Kai adds.

It is incredibly difficult to get a read on his emotions. The expression on his face never changes from stern disapproval and that voice is always so gruff.

“The portals have been closed for a very long time.” I find myself on the defensive. “My people only remember the war.”

“Hhhmmm.” Is all that Kai responds with. He leaps over a fallen log and transforms into his full horse form midair, before galloping away.

“He does that a lot. It makes it hard to win an argument,” Klara mutters beside me.

The hours tick by and the walk through the woods is long and brutal.

Pain sings out in my thighs and my lower back aches by the time we reach a site to stop for lunch. Klara uses most of the time to draw the fatigue out of my body, but guilt radiates through me at taking away her strength.

“It is nothing,” she reassures me.

“Aren’t you tired? Don’t you need to conserve your strength?” I ask her.

“I am fae. This walk is nothing for me. Actually, we could run and be there within an hour, but I don’t think you’d like to ride a kelpie again, and we can’t tire ourselves out if we want to attack Cyprien’s base tonight.”

The woods change as we navigate through them.

Trees with full canopies and trunks slick with moss give way to bare branches with only pale leaf buds or white flowers decorating them. Wild grasses become coated in glistening frost, which intensifies until patches of snow dot the ground, and I have to step over them in large bounds to avoid wetting my boots.

It is as though we are walking backward through time and experiencing seasons in reverse.

A realization smashes into me; we are literally marching toward the moment when winter melts into spring. It is the border between the two courts.

I shiver and rub my hands together. I didn’t dress for winter.

I practically jog to warm my frozen body and overtake some of the fae in the loose column of our band.

I spot Aldrin at the front, talking with Drake and Silvan. The two depart the group, most likely to scout ahead, and I find myself drawn to Aldrin's side as much as I know I should stay away from him. He stares straight ahead, eyes dark as he grinds his teeth.

“When you break into Cyprien’s camp tonight, I’m coming with you.” I raise my chin and my spine goes stiff and straight.

He doesn’t even look at me. “No.”

“No?” I repeat incredulously. The bastard speeds up his long steps and I am forced to practically jog to stay at his side. He is not getting rid of me that easily. “Iwillbe part of the team that rescues my sister. No man can stop me.”

“No, you won’t be.” Aldrin turns that simmering glare upon me that would make even the bravest warrior wither, but I am far too used to being in the warpath of men. “I am the commander of thisunit, and I decide who will come. I will not bring a fragile human into a battle because she misses her sister.”

I raise a single eyebrow at him. “Fragile?” I snap. “Fragile! You know nothing about me.” I don’t back down, despite how he towers over me and his shoulders are almost double the width of mine in his spiked armor. Despite how I shiver from the cold.

“Interesting that.” He unclasps his cloak and wraps it around my shoulders. His warmth envelopes me, and his earthy, floral scent fills my nose. “It’s not like I haven’t tried.” My head spins at the contrast between his harsh tone and his kind actions.

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