Page 23 of How to Claim A Shadow King

"I cannot take you back to Shadow Keep yet. Malakai is Lord of the Elder Forest," he says, and there's a slight tone of mocking there that I don't think I would have picked up on had it not been for my years spent in court. But it's there nonetheless, and it makes my skin prickle all over with fresh unease.

Malakai sniffs. "It's good to know that Shadow Keep's wards have kept all of these years."

"Well, yes, of course they have," Hash says. "But you see, the problem is, Malakai, the Lady Aveline needs some perspective. If she trusted you so fully, you would not have run into the Seelie hunters this evening."

I sputter indignant. "What I do with my life is of no concern of yours, nor of the Seelie," I say, just stopping short of stamping my foot in indignation. But I cannot help the fact that I am completely furious. I am so tired of everyone just assuming that I will go along with whatever strange plan they see fit to make me part of without telling me any of it.

"And that is exactly why you must come to the Wild Oak Woods with me," Hash says cheerily. "I'm so glad you agree."

And with that, he snaps his fingers, and that same bilious yellow light fills the air all around us, but this time with sparkling moats of gold, as though gold dust has been thrown in front of my eyes. And the next thing I know, we're in front of a rustic but beautiful house, a hand-painted sign swinging over a beautiful wrap-around porch that says The Wild Oak Woods Inn.

Just as I was beginning to worry, a purple-skinned male steps off the wrap-around patio, beaming at Hash and then me and then Malakai, though I noticed his expression gutter slightly at the scowl on Malakai's face. A huge golden-furred dog bounds forward, barking with excitement, and some of my anxiety is appeased immediately at the familiar sight of a too-large dog thinking it's small enough for the kind of greeting it gives Hash.

Well, if the dog likes him, he can't be all bad.

"I'm pleased to make your acquaintance," I tell him, then pause, realizing where I've seen him before. He was at the festival just earlier today—it feels like a hundred years have passed since then.

"You must be exhausted," the Fae says. "I'm Caelan."

"And I'm Wren," a woman says, coming up from behind me.

I turn, slightly terrified at who I'm about to find behind me, but Malakai has blocked all access.

"Wren Tiersen," the woman says, sticking her hand out. "Duchess, I'm so sorry that I didn't have a chance to properly introduce myself earlier today, and I'm so sorry at, ah..." She pauses, looking at both Hash and Malakai with a strange expression. "Well, let's just say that this is not how I thought today would be going."

"Well, that makes two of us," I tell her, moving around Malakai, and she gives me a bright smile that quickly fades.

"You look like you're freezing," she tells me. "These men are going to continue to posture."

"I am no man," Malakai interrupts.

Wren rolls her eyes. "Exactly what I was trying to say, demonstrated perfectly," she tells me in a low voice. "I'm going to get our Duchess of Stormspire a hot bath, some food, and a bed. This is too much for anyone, but especially someone like the duchess."

I want to tell her that I am not some delicate piece of stained glass, but from the look on her face, I think that she knows that and is simply trying to make an excuse to get us alone, which should make me worried. And maybe if she were Hash or the purple-skinned Fae out on the patio it would, but there's something about this woman that makes me want to trust her right away.

"You've had a real shitty day," she says cheerily, as if a shadow god or Eldritch being or whatever the hell it is that Malakai is is some sort of normal occurrence here in the Wild Oak Woods.

"It's been different," I tell her, trying to make my voice sound cheery and utterly failing.

"I'll be all right though," I tell her, raising my chin. "I always am.” For some reason, my voice breaks as I make that announcement. My lower lip trembles, and Wren gives me a long, appraising look.

"Right." he turns. "Piper!" she yells as she guides me to the inn's front doors.

The front doors open into a cozy parlor where a cedarwood fire crackles merrily in a stone hearth. It's beautiful, much nicer than anything I expected in the Wild Oak Woods would be, which goes to show how little I've been out of the Stormspire. And I immediately feel rude for having even thought that.

The room envelopes me instantly, thick with the scent of cinnamon and cloves. I take a deep breath, and am somehow reminded of an old cook who used to let me read in her kitchen and feed me sweets.

“Hang in there.” Wren sighs, patting my hand, pulling me back to the present.

"Oh no, I'm fine," I tell her, trying to fight back the tears through sheer stubbornness.

"It's okay if you're not fine," Wren says, though she looks increasingly alarmed as tears begin to spill out of my eyes. "Piper!" she yells again. "How's dinner coming?"

A pretty brunette woman flies out of an arched opening, her hands carrying an overloaded tray chock-full of some of the most delicious foods I've ever seen.

"I'm sorry," I say. "I hate crying. I don't know why I'm crying."

"Well, I think we know why you're crying." Wren smiles.