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Lyra and Izan walk into Dreyden’s office together, laughing and smiling as they talk. Lyra’s laugh is contagious as she enters the room, and I can’t help but grin seeing her so happy and carefree for the first time in days. There haven’t been any incidents since the three boys stole items at the market this morning, and we’ve all had a chance to breathe.
They take their seats in their usual spots at the conference table. Dreyden and I are already sitting at the table. We arrived a few minutes ago after having a quiet dinner on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the Bloodred Forest.
Izan opens his binder and then picks up his pen, ready to take notes. “Here’s to hoping this meeting goes better than the last,” he points his pen between Dreyden and me with a stern look.
Dreyden watches him in silence, probably trying to decide if he should make a smart-ass comment or not.
In the end, he decides to get down to business without wasting any time. “We need to talk about the lost fae.”
Immediately making my stance clear, I say, “We need to find a way to help them. They’re still confused and they’re feeling lost emotionally in addition toactuallybeing lost.”
Dreyden’s voice is suddenly cold, the polar opposite of what I experienced at dinner a few moments ago. “Fire Court resources are already being stretched thin between Fire Court and the supply drops I make in Tartarus. We can’t afford to feed this many people. It’s not practical.”
My stomach drops. He’s not here to mess around.
“What else are they supposed to do? We can’t just send them away. It’s not safe for them out there. There have to be some more resources here we can tap into.”
Izan scoffs across from me, rolling his eyes as he mumbles, “They’re already taking whatever they want.”
Dreyden’s head snaps in Izan’s direction as I shoot Izan a warning glare. “What?” he asks, looking between me and Izan, confused as to what we’re talking about.
“Tell him,” Izan says as he crosses his arms, leaning back in his chair. “You can’t hide it forever.”
The plan wasn’t to hide it forever, just delay it for a short time until I figured out what to do.
I swallow hard, not wanting to have this conversation with Dreyden while Izan and Lyra are here with us. “There was a small incident with a few of the younger boys while you were gone, but I took care of it and it’s no longer a problem.”
“You’re being too protective of them,” Izan laughs as he uncrosses his arms, throwing them in the air. “They’re causing problems and stirring up trouble. The villagers aremadand feel disrespected by these ‘lost’ travelers. We chased them around the entire time you were gone. They’re out of control.”
Anger bubbles under my skin as I try to stay calm. This isn’t how I wanted to tell him. Izan doesn’t give a shit about the lost travelers, and I’m fairly certain he’d do anything to get rid of them at this point.
“Then it’s settled,” Dreyden’s voice booms across the table as his patience wears thin. “They need to leave. We’ll get them sent on their way in the morning. They can rest tonight, but they’re gone once the sun comes up. That’s more than enough if they’re disrespecting my people. I won’t tolerate it. You had all day to bring this to my attention, Adeena, and you failed to do so. This leads me to believe you don’t care for the people of Fire Court like I do.”
My heart begins to pound in my chest, my stomach dropping as his words roll off his tongue. They can’t leave. They’re protected up here, by the castle. I can’t control the environment for them outside of this safe space. It’d be cruel to make them leave. And how dare he accuse me of not caring? Is he joking?
My cheeks heat as I lose my patience with Dreyden. “They’re not leaving. You’re sentencing them to death if you send them out there! There’s no telling what would happen to them! Some of them are children. You can’t possibly bethatcruel.”
Perhaps this is the deadly high lord of Fire Court I’ve heard about over the years.
“I don’t care,” he says blatantly. “They need to leave. I won’t sacrifice the people of Fire Court for these people we know nothing about. I don’t care who they are or why they were sent here. They do not belong here.”
“But-“
He cuts me off coldly, “But nothing, Adeena. This is not up for discussion. This ismycourt, these aremyrules.”
Disgust rolls through me as I snap my mouth shut.
How can he act like their lives don’t matter? How can he pretend they aren’t tied to me by a higher power, a higher power we need torespectandtrust? His male dominance makes me feel sick to my stomach. He doesn’t have this power over me.
I control my life, no one else. Not my friends, not my mate. I do.
Izan and Dreyden begin talking over plans to evacuate the lost fae first thing in the morning, and I tune them out as I think through my options. If their place isn’t here, then my place isn’t here either, and I need to plan accordingly.
“What about Tartarus?” I interrupt their intense conversation.
Dreyden turns toward me with a confused expression on his face. “What about Tartarus?”
“I’ll take them to Tartarus,” I breathe, unsure if this plan will actually work or not, but it feels right and I’m going for it.
