Page 44 of Until the Stars Fall

The male flinched in surprise at my question. “What does that matter?”

“Humor me,” I said, opening my palms to the ceiling.

“The Jamesons, Your Highness,” the female said, stepping up alongside her husband. “Opal and Lars Jameson.”

I nodded my thanks to her before addressing her husband again. “Mr. Jameson, rest assured we are investigating. My second here, Mr. Orelian, has his best-trained men hunting for those responsible. Unfortunately, it is a complicated situation.”

“How exactly is this complicated?” Mr. Jameson asked. “Seems rather simple to me. Fae are being murdered on the roads, and as far as I can tell, the crown has done nothing to protect us or to punish those responsible.”

“I understand your frustration,” I said, ignoring how he scoffed at my response. “But you must remember the humans are citizens of Emeryn as well.”

“And what if they’re not?” Mrs. Jameson asked quietly. “What if they’re from Wrenwick?”

I dropped my head to one side as I met her gaze. “Then there is an even greater need for us to protect everyone in Emeryn—fae and humans alike. The humans in our land are already living in hiding; they have been fearing for their lives ever since the war ended.”

“As they should!” a male’s voice barked from somewhere in the middle of the crowded pub, and a chair scraped loudly against the floor.

The Jamesons stepped to the side to allow for this new speaker to come forward, and my stomach tightened uncomfortably at the sight of Griffin Ford, the fae who had attacked Lieke a few years ago. He glowered menacingly at me, as if he might try, right here in this pub, to get his revenge for me thwarting him that night. But instead of approaching me, he began to turn slowly, addressing those gathered.

“The humans don’t belong here! Humans started the War of Hearts! Humans bring nothing but trouble! This prince and his father do nothing to stop them from picking off fae while we are told, what? To not hurt them? To not defend ourselves?”

The crowd murmured their agreement, and this time I didn’t stop Matthias when he stood. I ground my teeth together as I waited and watched my second move around the table and stalk toward Griffin.

Griffin pivoted on his heel to face me again, only to find Matthias standing between us with a hand on the hilt of his sword. The fae looked over my friend’s head to stare at me. His smile gave way to a sneer.

“Can’t fight your own battles, Prince?”

Calmly, I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m happy to give everyone here a demonstration of what happened the last time we met. Just say the word.”

I didn’t particularly want to shift here, but I would if he decided to push me. The asshole needed to be knocked down a bit before he got anyone hurt. He didn’t accept my challenge though. Instead, he chuckled quietly and stepped back from Matthias, keeping his attention on me.

“You mean the last time you attacked me in an effort to protect a human?”

Shit.

It didn’t matter that the law forbade fae from hurting humans, and it didn’t matter that I had every right to stop him from doing so. With humans attacking the fae and killing them throughout the kingdom, the fae in this room—and in every taproom I had visited this week—had little sympathy for the mortals.

Gasps and whispers filled the pub. Every eye turned to me with suspicion, as though I was some kind of traitor. Matthias was in Griffin’s face in an instant, though, giving the same explanation I had been about to offer.

“You broke the law and attacked a human.” Matthias jabbed a finger into Griffin’s chest. “And a human under the direct protection of the king, no less. You attacked one of his staff, and you’re lucky your prince let you off with nothing more than a scratch. Next time you might not receive such leniency.”

Griffin stared silently at Matthias in disgust for several tense moments until he finally lifted his hands in surrender and retreated a step. He backed toward the door, saying loudly, “Don’t expect the crown to protect you from these attacks! Their loyalty lies with the mortals, not with you! It’s up to us to stop these humans—”

“ENOUGH!” I shouted, slamming my hands on the table. I stood, sending my chair toppling over behind me. Then, tamping down my anger as much as I could, I made my way to stand beside Matthias in the center of the room as I continued speaking.

“Anyone who goes against our laws is an enemy of the crown, and we will not hesitate to dole out punishment as needed. We will find the human rebels. We will stop these killings. But you need to trust me.”

Silence hung over the room. No one moved. Everyone stared.

And then Griffin barked out a single laugh.

“You’re all fools if you trust this prince!”

He stormed out, slamming the door shut behind him. Matthias shook his head angrily, muttering something under his breath.

I studied my people and noted the fear and concern worn plainly on their faces.

“I know you’re afraid,” I said to them. “I know you’re angry. I am too. But I am here. For you. Now, if anyone has anything further to discuss, concerns to be relayed back to your king, I will be at my table for the rest of the evening.”

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