Page 38 of Blood of the Ruthless

“Well, we’re not in the Summer Court anymore,” Cobar says, obviously trying to cut through the tension, since thisistechnically still in the Summer Court, just at the border.

A rogue breeze rustles the ancient, looming trees. It’s ice cold and sends a chill up my spine. A breeze like that… it’s not natural, just like the rest of this place.

“They say the Winter Court is cold, but it’s nothing like this,” Zane says, and his words are a little breathless.

The crunch under the horses’ hooves echoes like the crunching of bones. I think about the battlefield with the iron demons. It’s rare that the demons break through our barriers, but it does happen, and we and our army are always there to hold them back. On the battlefield the bodies of our soldiers, and those of the iron demons, end up as little more than charred bones, and we walk amongst them hearing nothing but the crunch of bones and the wailing of the injured.

Still, somehow, this is worse.

I shiver, thinking about the comparison between now and my time on the battlefield. As I think of all the things that most fae, and humans alike, would never know about. Because we were there, as we’ll always be there, to use our bodies and our powers to protect our realm.

I don’t want to be here. But Sulien’s idea was the best one we had to get our mate back, even if it’s a fool’s quest. Even if our people will lose their minds when they learn what we’ve done.

“Let's remember, just like all the other houses, the House of Death has good and bad fae. Not everyone here is bad,” Sulien says, but his words fall flat.

As princes, we were taught from a young age to value all houses, including the House of Death, but the House of Death’s fae have done little among the courts to improve their image. There’s nothing they enjoy more than war, blood, and death. They play with magic, dark and dangerous, with no regard, and they avoid the rest of us outside of the need to find their mates among the houses and courts.

Although no one wishes to find their mate amongthem.

“What’s the plan exactly?” Cobar asks.

“We’re going in there with hugs and kisses,” I say, smirking.What the hell does he think the plan is? Get what we need and get the hell out.

Sulien glares in my direction. “We’re going to go in treating them like any other house, and that includes treating them with respect, knowing that they aren’t inherently bad.”

Zane casts Sulien a sideways glance. “We also can’t go in there without understanding that a lot of the fae herearebad, though, Sulien. Respect is one thing, foolishness is another.”

I don't know if he's angry or if he's a little uncertain about what we’re doing, but his words hang in the air. None of us has been here before, and it is a place full of rumors, cloaked in mystery. We can’t walk in there and bare our hearts to them, trusting them to understand and care. We need to treat them, not quite as enemies, but with a hell of a lot of distrust.

“I agree with Zane and Forrest,” Cobar says, casting Sulien an apologetic look. “Respect I can do, but we all need to be careful. We’re already coming here with our throats exposed. That’s enough for me.”

Cobar and I nod in agreement. We can be as open-minded as can be, but these fae have a reputation for a reason, and things can go very wrong very quickly. We can’t let our guard down regardless of how much Sulien might want to play the diplomat.

“Just be aware that we need them. We need them to help us and hope the price they ask in exchange isn’t more than we can bear.” Sulien tells us.

He means well, but none of us need this speech because it doesn’t matter if they’re good or bad, so long as they help us. And while Sulien has often been the unspoken leader amongst us, when it comes to our mate, we’re all equals. We’ll all burn this house and any other down to the ground for her.

I rub my chest, the ache in it so deep and painful that it makes it hard to breathe. I need Cassia back. I don’t care how I have to go about doing it.

None of us replies to Sulien, but we let him feel like our fearless leader as his horse strides ahead of us. I try not to think about how irritating it is to stroke the Summer Fae’s ego, because I love my mate more than I hate the man. I can put my feelings aside for her.

The black stone road leads us to the town where the House of Death is located. I immediately frown as we enter. Not only is this town shrouded in darkness, but it’s bleak when you enter it. A fog of despair and desperation hangs so heavily in the air that it’s suffocating.

The silence bears down on us in an unsettling way. No people walk the streets and no windows or doors are open. It’s as if the people live in the same overwhelming fear we can’t seem to shake off.

We jump when the caw of a raven cuts through the silence. My gaze goes to the trees, all of which are covered with ravens. Ravens that stare at all of us as if waiting to peck out our hearts, as if, as the old legends say, they have a thirst for blood.

“Fucking creepy,” Cobar mutters.

Sulien gives him a look, but Zane says, “People live here, right?”

“Maybe they did at some time, but the House of Death called them home, so their village sits empty now,” Cobar says beneath his breath.

Sulien shakes his head. “It’s just a town.”

“You don’t feel it?” I challenge him.

He doesn’t back down. “I feel the ache to find Cassia, that’s what I feel.

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