Page 76 of When the Woods Go Silent

“We’re going back to the old way. No more training and coddling the stupid humans - we have enough trained slaves in the mines. What we need now is cattle ready for slaughter. It’s time to gather what we can, pull out of the human world, and focus on the fae.”

I suck in a breath, fighting not to lash out at her. She’s going to ruin every fucking thing I have here, and there’s nothing I can do to stop her.

“And the others? At the restaurant?” My voice is tight. I have an idea what she’s going to want me to do with the gobbelins under my charge here, who have been working as servers in afancy restaurant, enjoying life and fucking humans like they’ve been on vacation. They won’t want to go to war.

“If you think they’ll actually fight, hand them over to Idris. If not, use that magic you’ve been dying to wield. Kill them all, Torrence. You certainly need the practice.” And with that, she stabs at the rock floor with her magic, opening a crevice wide enough to wriggle down into.

“One week, Torrence. Wrap things up with large, pretty numbers, or I will,” she warns as she sinks into the dark rock and crumbling earth.

I don’t move a muscle or make a single sound until the dirt closes back over her head, and I can no longer sense her ice magic.

Only then do I finally let go, giving in to all the rage that’s been building.

Shockwaves of ice splinter around me. The cave walls shatter and crumble, rocks larger than my arms tumbling around me as I shake this little corner of my world. Icicles pierce the ground so deeply I wonder if I could send one after Julianna, stabbing straight through her cold black heart.

I fucking hate her and everything she asks of me.

But I’m not strong enough to beat her, and there’s nowhere I can go that she can’t find. It has to be her life or mine, and I’ve known it long enough now.

Exhaustion finds me far too quickly - I do need the practice. I’m growing soft here among the humans, hiding my true power from everyone. Racing back to the lodge, I shove past the guards and burst into a back room where Arlo is working to drug his latest catch.

“I need blood,” I growl, but Arlo holds up a hand.

“Hang on, man. This one isn’t under yet.”

The young man’s eyes are wild, and he’s thrashing on the bed, trying in vain to free himself from the tie-downs. His screams are lost to the blood-soaked gag in his mouth.

“I need blood,” I repeat, the words turning to an all-consuming roar in my head as the echo of Ruby’s blood on my tongue haunts me, pushes me farther beyond reason. I’ve never felt less fae.

Arlo stands and tries to shove me away, and heat surges through the room. He shouts as his skin sears, and I rush to cover his blisters with a sheet of ice and disguise the magic I’m not supposed to have.

“What the fuck, man?” he yells, and I hear the guards scuffle outside the door. They know not to come in without permission, but I’ve also never lost control like this.

I pin Arlo to the wall with more ice, and when he catches a glimpse of my face, he falls silent and wide-eyed. Desperation to feed consumes me - I used too much magic in the caves.

I could kill Arlo and blow my cover, or I could use this human the way he’s meant to be used.

A slave. A sacrifice. Nothing more than a meal to serve a stronger species.

But as my teeth sink into the human’s neck and I gorge myself on his blood, all I can think is that it doesn’t satisfy my hunger nearly as well as Ruby’s. I thought drinking her blood would make me stronger, but it’s only done the opposite.

Just like our blood-laced food eventually ruins the humans’ appetites for anything else, Ruby has ruined mine.

CHAPTER THIRTY

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