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It took the king a moment to realize what I was asking before he explained. “My brother; the Dark King.”
Stars.
That was the one Vena was going after, and she was the gentlest of us.
My mind turned quickly, and I didn’t speak for a few minutes.
“I can have food brought out to you, if you stay in the forest.” The king took my silence for agreement, I supposed. “And bedding—I’m sure we can get something set up. A safe, comfortable place for you to stay. You wouldn’t have to worry about hurting anyone, or anyone hurting you. It gets cold, but—“
“I’m used to the cold,” I interrupted.
The king’s expression darkened. “Where have you been? What’s happened to you since I gave you my magic?”
Ignoring those last two questions, I stopped walking.
I needed information about the other kings, so I could rescue my friends from them if I needed to. They didn’t know they wouldn’t be able to kill the kings whose magic they held. And the best place for information? Their brother himself.
“Fine, I’ll stay in your forest for now. I won’t need your food, bedding, or shelter though.”
“Okay.” The king didn’t call me on the lack of answer I gave him. But he also didn’t leave.
“So, you can go.” I gestured back toward his castle.
“Alright, then.” The king turned around and strode back in the direction he’d come from. “My shadows dance here at night. Don’t be scared,” he called as he walked away.
“They’re my shadows too,” I called back, scowling in his direction.
As soon as he was gone, my scowl faded.
I stared into the large, empty forest, and my stomach clenched.
I didn’t know how to hunt for food, or set up a shelter for myself. The only things I really knew how to do was survive torture, and talk my friends through their pain.
“What would the first step be?” I murmured to myself. A breeze blew through the trees, and my hands grew chilly as it cooled the blood on them. “Washing up, I suppose.”
I had seen a stream near the place I’d entered the forest.
Turning, I headed back in that direction.
My arms wrapped around my abdomen as I walked, and I tried not to remember the fear on the faces of the fae the monster within me had attacked. The king had been right about me not wanting to hurt anyone, or to be hurt by anyone.
And he’d probably been right about me needing all of the things he offered, too.
I’d survive the forest though. I’d lived through far too much hell to lose my life to the damned woods.
It took a while, but I eventually found the stream. Stripping my shift dress off was quick, and left me in the simple, strapless black undergarment that covered me from breast to ass. It was one piece, the bottom coming to a close around the tops of both of my thighs to keep me covered. I was skinny after years of little food, but given the magic that ran through my veins—the king’s magic—I’d recover from the years of suffering quickly.
Physically, at least.
Mentally… well, I wasn’t sure there was anything to recover.
I leaned over the edge of the stream, scooping enough water in my hand to wash the blood off my arms, face, and neck. The water was ice cold, but as I’d told the king, I was used to the cold.
That didn’t mean I wanted to roll around in it, but I’d survive.
It took some time to get the blood off my skin and out of my hair, but I managed.
Chapter4
