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I cross my hand over my chest, covering my heart. “With my life.”
Razvan grabs onto his father, hugging him for dear life before reluctantly letting go. “I love you, Dad,” he says as he holds back sad tears.
We do this every morning, and you’d think I’d be used to it by now, but I’m not, and it chokes me up every time. It breaks a small piece of my heart watching Alaric say goodbye to his family like it’ll be the last time. If anything were to happen to Alaric on my watch, I could never forgive myself.
“Time to go,” Alaric announces as he steps away from Ellia, kissing her hand before turning to leave.
Oh, my heart. Perhaps I should start kissing Adeena’s hand before parting ways. It’s such an intimate, loyal gesture.
Alaric and I sneak our way around the ghost town of Northford, slipping into four different drop-off locations throughout the day. It’s obvious that word of the secret drop-off locations has become more widespread because they were all nearly depleted of their resources. Our daily supply drops aren’t enough for the starving families of Tartarus. I can’t carry more in my pocket portal from Fire Court, so I don’t know how to fix this problem.
Tartarus is not self-sufficient right now because of looters. They steal anything and everything they can get their hands on, and that includes crops. Toward the beginning of summer, some of the locals planted fields of vegetable gardens in an attempt to be more self-sustaining. That dream was quickly squashed when looters rampaged through the fields, destroying every single plant. They did it for sport, for fun. I felt physically ill over it after watching how hard the locals worked to get the fields prepped and planted. I still feel sick over it.
We wrap up the hot, exhausting day and make our way back into the streets, quietly rolling the empty cart behind us. Alaric and I don’t speak while we walk to keep our known presence to a minimum.
We’re nearly back to Alaric’s family home when we cross paths with a father and small child, no more than three years old. I haven’t seen them before, so I assume they’re new to town. The child holds her father’s hand as they walk, and it’s not hard to tell she’s struggling to keep up. He walks slowly, unsteady on his feet as they cross the gravel road. My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach knowing that if they were attacked, this father would be defenseless and unable to keep this child safe. They’ll be killed immediately if they’re caught in the open.
As they come closer, I realize how visible the child’s ribs are. She’s wearing a pink dress, and it would be fit for the small princess I’m sure she is if it wasn’t tattered and torn. Her soft brown hair is ratted all the way to her scalp, and I can only imagine how long it has been since she has had a brush run through her beautiful locks.
The child’s father is in bad shape as well, worse off than her. He likely hasn’t eaten far longer than her. He looks close to death with his recessed eye sockets, holding no muscle at all in his face. His arms and legs are depleted of all fat, and he reminds me of a walking skeleton.
I need to find a way to bring more food into the area and keep these people safe from the dark creatures destroying this kingdom. It’ll be next to impossible on my own, but I must find a way.
I hate myself for nearly staying in Fire Court this morning. I need to do better.
Chapter Five
DREYDEN
I’m deep in thought and my mind feels clouded as I arrive back in Fire Court, so I take a short walk through the woods to decompress before going inside for dinner.
There are so many wonderful things to be grateful for here in Fire Court, and I wish I could share it all with the people of Tartarus without making my people suffer in return. We don’t have enough resources to spread across both lands, and even if I did, that doesn’t solve the looter and feral creature problem. It’s going to take a lot more than I can do on my own, but with the other courts turning their back on Tartarus, I don’t know where to begin. For once in my life, I’m truly stumped. I’m at a loss for what to do.
Fireflies light my way, dancing around me as I emerge from the woods onto the training field. It’s dark, but with fae eyesight, I can see better than a human. My ears pick up on male voices as I step farther into the field. I can't see the other side, but I can hear people talking.
My senses send me on high alert, and I prepare for what I’m walking into.
The unfamiliar voices get louder as I stalk across the field, ready for a fight. I hear threemalevoices, and I don’t like that shit.
My blood is already boiling and I’m angry as their outlines form in my vision. They appear smaller than I am, but definitely fae. They’re standing in a circle, speaking inaudible words.
Light flickering inside the castle catches my eye, and that’s when I notice the castle is more lit up than normal. The candles are lit in every room on the guest wing.
Strange…
I can see them, but they haven’t seen me yet, which allows me to take a closer look before approaching. They’re standing awkwardly, not in a way I would expect three male travelers to hold a conversation.
I inch closer.
“You knock first,” the shortest man snaps at the tallest man. “You’re the biggest.”
“That’s not fair! I don’t even know where we are. They could be standing behind the door waiting to kill me for all I know. I’m not doing it,” he responds, the frustration growing in his voice.
The third man stands between them, silently watching them argue.
“Well,someonehas to do it, and it’s not going to be me,” the shortest man snorts as he crosses his arms.
Both men turn toward the man between them, setting their sights on him.
