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"There are lands beyond that?" Khala tilted her head and looked up at him.
Like it did every time I looked at her, my heart skipped a beat. I'd never seen a woman as fucking gorgeous as her in my life. She smelled of lavender, fresh rain and omega sweetness. Between her and Ryze, my cock ached more often than not.
I loved every minute of it.
"Gerian and Freid," I told her. "Human land. Very unwelcoming to Fae. Even less than the Autumn Court is welcome to outsiders."
She turned her pretty eyes towards me. "Sounds like a good place to hide if you don't want to be found by other Fae."
"Not so much if you are Fae and object to being shot on sight," Ryze said. He looked toward Cavan. "That wasn't what you meant."
Cavan shook his head slowly. "Natanya."
Ryze, Vayne and I all stiffened.
Khala looked from one to the other clearly confused. "What is Natanya?"
"Some call it the forbidden lands," Ryze said. He spoke softly as though not wanting to be overheard by the gods. "The land beyond the mists."
"Superstitious?" Cavan asked mockingly.
"When it comes to that place, yes, I fucking am." Ryze glanced back at the map. "I tried to go there once, when I was young and stupid." He shuddered.
"What makes you think the map is leading there?" Khala asked Cavan. "Apart from the fact hiding somewhere even Ryze is scared to go is potentially a good place to hide."
"I didn't say I was scared to go there," Ryze snapped. "I just said I've been and it freaked me the fuck out."
"There are records in the Temple in Havenmoor," Cavan said. "Specifically, a map carved into the wall. It dates back to when Fae occupied Fraxius. Before the seasonal courts were formed. Before the mists. On that map is a mountain range that looks like this." He tapped the map again.
"That could be nothing more than a coincidence," Ryze said.
"Or it might not be." Cavan straightened and crossed his arms.
"Are you suggesting the Court of Shadows put mist around itself to keep everyone out?" Khala asked. "That it was there all along?"
"Doubtful," Cavan said. "The mists appeared at least a hundred years after the courts disappeared. But the clues to their whereabouts might be there."
"Or they might be here." Khala leaned over the map and read out loud.
“In the Court of Shadows,whispers creep,
Where Fae of darkness dare to sleep,
Their hearts like knives, their eyes aflame,
They lurk and hide, a dangerous game.
The treeshere bend and twist and creak,
As if they're alive, they somehow speak,
The branches reach out with grasping claws,
And bite the skin with harsh, icy maws.
The Faeof shadows gather here,
A court of secrets, a place of fear,
