Page 18 of Luca

We had to cross a bridge, trek three miles through unforgiving undergrowth, then fly over the final hurdle.What fun.We could have skipped the walking part altogether, but Cair couldn’t extend his wings since the gaps in the trees were only just wide enough for us to pass through, and because he’d have the added weight of me—despite his insistence that I was light as a feather—I’d refused his offer of taking us over the top.

I preferred it if he conserved his strength for the mountains.

Though we’d done it before, I was very slightly apprehensive about that part, and having him falter at the peak because I’d been too lazy to do some brisk exercise would totally ruin my day. I wasn’t exactly scared of heights, and flying with Cair was exhilarating and beautiful. I loved it, but keeping it as risk free as possible—even just in my own head, considering Cair was a pro—was preferable.

So,three-mile trek it is.

The journey would take about a week in all, with Cair transporting us over the mountains. That was three days less than if we had to use the path around. I felt kinda bad for all the non-winged creatures or unmated Fae who traveled to the capital whenever they wanted passage through the Veil. Why make it easy and add a portal or some shit when it could be as difficult as possible, right?

We could’ve reduced those seven days by half if I’d accepted Cair’s suggestion of teleporting closer to my father’s homestead, but while that idea suited my impatience, I really wanted to see more of the Otherworld and its people. Well, I didbeforethe forest hike, anyway. We’d see if that desire still stood after the fact, but for now, walking was the plan.

I’d ventured that way once before, but we’d kept to the village close to the bottom of the mountain on the other side, not having had the time to go much farther before Cair was called back. As our destination lay in the lands outside the “borders” of the kingdom—an island the king used to flaunt his power and authority by shipping those who opposed him off to its solitude—we would have plenty of chances to pass through as many towns and provinces as we liked. Reaching my dad was the goal, and because it was in the forefront of my mind, I didn’t want to drag things out. We’d have to stop and restanyway, though, and I couldn’t travel all that way, through a beautiful land unlike anything I’d seen before, without at least a taste of what it had to offer.

It also might be beneficial for Cair to show his face after so many years in the human realm. The people adored him, but I’d been told that, in the past, lords had become restless with the lack of interest from the royals. They felt neglected, existing outside the walls of the capital, where none of the nobles except Cair ever bothered to go.

It hadn’t surprised my mate that no visits had been made to the people while he was gone—or at least, none he’d learned of—so to prevent tensions rising, he would use this opportunity to give them what they needed.

I was very much on board, as those revolts were half the reason Teighan had battle scars, and we didn’t need to be collecting any of those.

That reminded me.

“Do you not need an armed guard?” I asked, scanning around and noticing no one was following us out the palace gates or into the forest. “A small battalion, even? Whenever we left before, you had people come with us.”

“Rathe took care of it,” Cair said as he guided us through the trees, his hand on my lower back. I’d tripped over a twig within the first three steps, so he was being cautious. “I am a prince, so I will draw attention regardless, but I didn’t want a force of armed Fae trailing along behind us, making even more of a spectacle. I thought being somewhat alone would make you feel less crowded.”

“Oh, yeah. I like that it’s just us.” It was nice that he’d thought of my comfort, though that was standard for Cair, and I supposed he wasn’t wrong. He could never venture across the Otherworld without being spotted—he may as well have had a Royal Blood sign above his head—so an army of bodyguards would just heighten the attention on us by a million percent. “What do you mean by ‘Rathe took care of it’?”

“Once we are over the mountains, there will be eyes on us from the shadows just in case we run into any trouble. You won’t notice their presence unless we find ourselves in need of them.”

“As in…spies?”

“Of sorts.” He shrugged vaguely. “They are a guild of creatures with specialized abilities called the Shades. Each member was handpicked by Rathe himself, and they have pledged their lives to me. They will ensure our safety.”

“Are you sure that’ll be enough?” A group of spies sounded pretty solid in the protection department, but I was still a little skeptical. “I know you said we’re avoiding the areas the king’s bigot supporters haunt, but… you don’t want to take at least one guard? Just to be extra sure?”

Cair paused in his tracks, looking down at me with a soft smile. “You do not have to fear for your safety, sweetheart. I may not be a trained soldier, but I will fight for you, if need be.”

“No, no, I’m not really scared of that,” I assured him, taking his hand in mine. “I know you’ll keep me safe, but… I can’t protectyou.”

He huffed a small laugh. “You underestimate your abilities,” he said pointedly. I smiled, though it fell flat. “Besides, I am protected by the Royal Blood ward. No subject within our kingdom can kill me.”

“They can still kidnap and torture you,” I reminded him, the words tasting like bile on my tongue. “And we’re going to theOuterlands, beyond the official borders of the kingdom. Anoutsidercould kill you, and just to point out the obvious, if those journals were right,Zadokis an outsider. What if he didn’t move out there of his own accord? What if he was banished by the king and now holds a bloodthirsty grudge against anyone with white hair and a scowl? He could cut us down on sight.”

The only assurance we had was that the loophole on the ward wasn’t really known among the common folk, but would that still be the case? The royals knew, of course; the king relished it. It was a game for him to send anyone he considered a threat to the kingdom’s peace to the one place they couldactuallybe a threat to him. Fucking arrogant asshole. Alex and I were only privy to the information because of mate privileges, but since the guy we were heading off to find used to be the king’s adviser, it wasn’t a huge leap to assume he was aware of it too. Who knew how far a scorned male would share that juicy gossip?

The whole island could know by now.

“He won’t be given the opportunity to get that far,” Cair insisted. “Those who are following us will come out of hiding at the first whiff of danger.”

I chewed my lip, staring down at our joined hands, Maeve’s words whirring around in my head. She had been trying to intimidate me, that much was obvious—it was her MO. But still, I couldn’t shake the horrible image of Cair using himself to protect me. Yes, he would heal, and yes, he was tough, but knowing I wouldn’t be able to do a damned thing to prevent him from getting hurt was unsettling me.

It wasn’t only on this journey either, but in general. I was mostly human. I was weaker and slower. Even with my Fae blood and the sharper senses I’d gained after our mating, it wouldn’t be enough against some of the horrors and skilled warriors of this realm. I had to rely on the competence of other creatures, had to put my mate’s well-being in their hands, because I was effectively useless. And for once, I wasn’t saying that out of self-pity. It was a fact.

I couldn’t wield a sword, couldn’t use a bow and arrow, could barely even swing my own fists without running the risk of punching myself in the face. It was embarrassing. There I was, holed up in a medievalesque palace, in a fairy-tale world, and I hadn’t taken the opportunity to learn how to defend myself or my mate. Hadn’t even thought of it as a possibility until now. But why should Cair have to be the only one who constantly put himself in jeopardy because I selfishly didn’t even think twice about it?

It was just one more way that I’d surrendered myself into the kept husband life. Who needed to learn how to fight when there was a strapping Fae willing to burn the world for me or a force of armed guards at my beck and call? My old self would have been mortified at the level of dependence I was displaying. Well, that was going to change.

Right the fuck now.

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