Page 117 of Deadwood
He sighed, looking up to the sky like it might give him the restraint he needed.
“Bowen. What are you saying?”
His forehead creased as his eyes met mine again. Already, I could tell he was choosing what to tell me, picking each word carefully. Normally, I’d feel upset over that. But if this topic was sensitive to him, a subject he didn’t take lightly, I wouldn’t take it to heart. Not all things were meant to be known.
“Deadwood is a ruined kingdom.”
CHAPTER 36
BOWEN
“What?” Auria asked, her voice laced in disbelief. The look in her eyes pained me. Another detail of this world once unknown to her, being thrown at her with the rest of the secrets she’d been unraveling. That look alone made me want to keep her in Deadwood. Fuck the bridge and her father.
There was so much she didn’t know, and I wanted to be the one to tell her all of it. But piling too many stones on an unstable pile would surely topple the structure.
“Deadwood was one of the many kingdoms fae called home before the moon ruptured. After the humans barricaded themselves in Amosite, leaving the dragons to take out the population of fae, multiple civilizations were wiped out in the destruction. My people came out lucky, even though our population is a fraction of what it once was, but the others were burned to the ground. Their buildings and people succumbed to the chaos wreaked among villages.”
Her brows pulled together as she tried to piece it all together, and I saw the moment it hit her—the moment her perception of me would change, likely forever. “You’re a king?” Her voice was barely more than a whisper.
I loosed a breath. “Yes.”
“But—” She shook her head. “Why don’t they regard you as such?”
“I don’t want them to,” I admitted. I’d never wanted the title, but it had been thrust upon me at a young age when my father was murdered. “I’m one of my people, not some greater male sitting high above them. We are all equals, and the titles should remain as such. As was how it should’ve stayed between humans and fae.”
“Stayed?” she repeated.
My lips rolled together. There was so much to say, and so little time until she left. “Fae were always more powerful than humans, sure. But they never used their abilities in that sense—only to aid. Yet, the moment humans got the upper hand, they took over, trying to eliminate the fae species altogether.”
In the slight sheen of her eyes, I could tell her mind was spinning. “But how did they manage to?—”
“Auria,” I interrupted, taking her hands in mine. It wasn’t solely my decision whether she could know about our plan, and in telling her more, it would surely end up in questions I couldn’t answer without potentially upsetting my friends. I should talk to them first, but even if they disagreed, I wasn’t sure I was willing to keep anything from Auria. “Can we talk about this back in town?”
Her eyes, so full of betrayal—not from me, but for what she’d been taught to believe—searched for my honesty. I wouldn’t keep anything more from her unless it was to ensure her safety, but discussing it in a field with any listening ears wasn’t wise. And by the glare Vulcan was aiming my way, he was hearing every word.
“Okay.”
“So why did you want to come out here, exactly?” I asked, reluctantly dropping her hands.
“To see the bison. I told you that.”
I stepped over a hump of dirt as we continued walking. “Yes. But why?”
“Well, obviously I’ve never seen them in person before,” she explained, “and I figured, if I’m to go back to Amosite once the bridge is repaired, I might as well see all that I can while I have the chance.”
“You don’t think you’ll be able to leave Amosite again,” I said, coming to the conclusion myself.
She looked ahead, her gaze so full of hope. I commended her for gaining that emotion during her stay here, despite knowing that once she went back—once she left Deadwood—she’d likely never be able to leave those castle walls again. Some days, even I lost sight of hope. But without it, what good were the days ahead?
“I got my wish, so I’m content,” was all she replied, though I heard what she wasn’t saying. She would never truly feel as serene as she did right now if she was back inside that castle, so she was soaking up every moment of this while she still had the chance.
“And what was your wish?”
She was quiet a moment, likely debating whether to tell me or not. I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t.
“Meadows and forests. People and conflict. The world, really. One can feel quite small inside stone walls, but out here, I feel…invisible, but in the best way possible.”
“Like nothing can touch you,” I guessed.
