“I come here seeking your aid. Help me win this war, and I will see to it that you are officially named Lord of the Wood and that the title is recognized under the crown.”
He scoffed. “And I am to just take your word for it? A throneless queen. Besides, I am already considered a ruler of the forest.”
“Considered and what is the truth are two very different things. Now, I am asking for your help, and that of the creatures that reside here. I am the true heir—you know this from before. I shouldn’t have to spill my blood here before you to prove it once more. You saw it with your very stubborn eyes.”
The eyes I spoke of roamed over me once again. “Ah, but could you if I even asked?”
Agdronis released his arrow, and before I had time to react, the weapon flew through my body and slammed into the trunk of a tree several feet behind me.
My hands flew to my center as shock took over me, looking for a wound that I was thankful wasn’t there. My breathing turned heavy as my eyes bulged.
My gaze lifted back to theirs, anger flooding me. “That was fucking uncalled for!”
“And so is your witch magic,” he spat. “Did you think I could not smell it on you? It seems as if you have enough aid already, Heir of the Realm. Why should my herd risk anything for you?”
“Because even with our witch magic, we may not win. I have an army full of mortals. They are brave, skilled fighters, but they are fragile. We are fighting against an army of fae. For everything that I have, Idina has one to match.”
“So you are saying it is an evenly matched war, and you seek our help to win.”
“It is hardly even,” I growled.
He trotted up to me, circling my body. My neck craned up toward him and our eyes locked on each other.
“You come to my home and demand that we fight for you, creatures that the fae have exiled for centuries. All creatures of these ancient woods live here because of this, and you think that they owe you and your bloodline. Just because the realm itself may fight for you does not mean all of its creatures owe you a damn thing, Valderre.”
“First of all, I was asking…pleading. Begging, even.” I huffed out a breath as I tried to calm myself. “Under my reign, all creatures would be equal. Everyone may live the way they wish as long as it abides by Velyran law. I give you my word.”
He chuckled and shook his head at me. “The last fae to seek an alliance with us ended up with a chest full of arrows dipped in velaeno berries. You’re lucky that you are not truly here, and that I somewhat enjoy your spirit.”
My mind spun the moment he said velaeno berries. “What?” I breathed. “What did you just say about velaeno berries?”
“The last fae that—”
“Sought an alliance with you, yes. That part I got. Who was it?” I demanded.
“He claimed to be a lord and demanded we aid his armies to destroy the humans that lived in Velyra. Promised us all the gold and riches we could desire. A centaur has no need for such nonsense. When we told them this, they got angry and moved to draw their weapons.”
“And then?”
“Let’s just say the arrows were released before their blades were fully withdrawn from their sheaths,” Bruhn said with a chuckle.
A chuckle left me that matched his, and then another, and another after that. A burst of wicked, cackling laughter escaped me, my back arching from the force of it, and the sound echoed in the misty forest air. They all watched me—each with a raised brow.
“Please tell me you’re fucking joking,” I said once my manic laughter finally settled. “By chance, did this happen to be in the forest directly north of Ceto Bay?”
“How did you know of that?” he barked. “It was one of the few times we ventured beyond into a different forest. There is only a mile’s distance from Sylis’ end and the forest surrounding the bay. We haven’t since, and it was because of our run-in withyourkind.”
“That’s why humans were blamed,” I whispered to myself.
“Excuse me?” he snapped.
I took a step toward him, and the herd pulled back on their bows. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, you know I cannot harm him like this!”
My attention returned to Bruhn. “You started this war! The lord that you killed was the queen’s father, and one of the other men was his son. You killed the queen’s kin, and it was believed that humans had done it outside of Ceto Bay. All this time. More than a century, humans have been slaughtered for a crime they didn’t commit.”
Bruhn’s eyes narrowed in on me. “Do not blame your war on us when they sought to destroy humans before their deaths.”
“It had been the ultimate tipping point against the humans. The fae thought the lord and his son were murdered by mortals. That is why this war began! It has costthousandsof lives!” My voice rose with each word as fury took over me.
