Page 38 of A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty

Sharp pain stung my hands. Glancing down, I found myself twisting them. An old habit. One I’d banished as a little girl with thehelpof a nanny who was fond of the cane.

If the fae were going to have any hope of winning this war, they needed to take that amulet back, before Sabium found more creatures to transform with his stolen power.

I took a deep, shuddering breath and forced my hands down by my sides, straightening my shoulders. The time had come. I could no longer sit idly by and wait.

It was time to act.

CHAPTERSEVEN

As soon as my wounds healed, Prisca mostly returned to ignoring me. We would reach the hybrid camp before nightfall. I had only a few hours left with her before she would be able to avoid me once more. For once, I wishedIhad the ability to slow time.

Today, it seemed, Prisca was finally willing to talk to me. Likely because she was tired of the strained silence. I’d caught her glancing at me again and again since we’d begun traveling for the day.

“What is it, wildcat?”

“Nothing.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, and she finally shrugged. “I was just wondering why you started traveling with Rythos and the others.”

The first interest she’d shown, and it was about Rythos.

Prisca glanced at me, her eyes widening at whatever she saw on my face. “Forget it,” she muttered.

“No,” I said, unwilling to return to stiff silence. If Prisca was asking me questions, I would answer them all day simply to hear the sound of her voice.

“Rythos…that’s a long story, and some of it is his to tell. But I can tell you how I met some of the others. Galon was once friends with my father. He led a secret military cadre and took care of threats to fae security—from both within and outside of our lands. Eventually, he and my father no longer saw eye to eye when it came to the threat Regner presented. Galon began training those who would one day attempt to enter the cadre, and when I was old enough, my brother sent me to him.”

I’d been used to fighting the servants’ children and “training” with my brother’s guards. And yet, Galon had been remarkably patient, considering my puffed-up self-importance.

“How old were you?”

“I had seen nine winters.”

Prisca’s eyes flashed. Clearly, she had thoughts about that, but she was keeping them to herself. I watched her. “What is it?”

“Nothing. Tell me about the others.”

I’d get it out of her eventually. I loosened my reins, giving my horse her head. “When Regner took the amulet from the city near our border, his men also targeted a village called Jadynmire, which was just a few hours’ ride from the city. The village was decimated, and the fae family in charge of the amulet couldn’t bear the shame. The patriarch covered up the theft of the amulet and made it seem as if the attacks were just a way for Regner to test our security. Cavis was from Jadynmire. One of Galon’s men found him wandering alone and barefoot in the forest. He was the only survivor.”

Something that might have been devastation gleamed in Prisca’s eyes. “How old was he?”

I sighed. “Six winters.”

She chewed on her lower lip, and I understood. Demos had been the same age when she was taken.

But she inhaled sharply as we rode over the invisible line marking the fae territory. “What was that?”

My skin prickled at the familiar magic. “The ancient wards my people set. They prevent those who are not fae from entering our lands without permission.”

“The same wards that locked the hybrids out once Regner had the hourglass.” Her voice was bitter.

I couldn’t blame her for that bitterness. “Yes.”

Prisca took a look around. This part of the fae lands looked relatively similar to the landscape across the border. She would only begin to understand some of the differences if she traveled deeper within the fae kingdom.

“I don’t understand,” she murmured. “Where is the camp?”

I smiled. “You’ll see.”

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