‘River, where is your sense of hospitality? We’ve been travelling for some time now. We were passing through on our way to the mountains, and I thought I would check in to see if you or your people needed anything while we were here, as well as to see how you were settling into our alliance,’ I said, not quite divulging the whole truth. That we were, desperate for answers and couldn’t afford the detour around their forest or the fact Cain’s note urged me here for one particular reason.
River bit down on her lip, visibly annoyed and trying to contain herself, knowing she had been made to look like a fool in front of her people, and that the grasp on control she thoughtshe had did not exist. It was only out of my generosity that she did not come under my thumb the way I could have made her.
‘We are fine. Now, why are you really here?’ she pressed.
I couldn’t help but smirk. My unexpected visit rattled her. She likely thought I was here to encroach on the freedoms I had given them to a degree. ‘Where is your brother Jasper?’ I asked.
River couldn’t hide the shock on her face at my question. She likely didn’t think I even knew she had a younger brother. He was her weakness and her blind spot. During our talks when I had first come into power, she had hidden him from me, and no one knew of Cain and Jasper’s friendship.
‘He’s indisposed at the moment,’ she said sharply, not giving anymore away. However, I knew far more than what she gave me credit for thanks to the latest report Cain had sent just before our departure.
‘By “indisposed”, do you mean locked away somewhere for helping to get your outcasts to the safety of my walls and defying your orders?’ I asked condescendingly. The surrounding Forest Fae began to whisper; this was a surprise. It seems she had been punishing her brother for his crimes behind closed doors because she knew what his actions would require of her, and she could not oust her own blood.
‘Let us speak inside.’ Her eyes darted around at the whispering voices surrounding us before she turned on her heels and walked away. I grinned at Sienna while she shook her head at me for poking and prodding the one person who could give us safe passage through these lands. My title only meant so much here; she would let me live, but she might not let us through, and that is what I needed most. There was no time to go around; it would add days to our journey that we did not have if we wanted to stay ahead of Morgad.
The inside of her home looked more elaborate than anything I had ever seen. Creatures, both old and new, were carved into every inch of the wooden walls and ceilings. We walked up a staircase that wrapped around the inside of the tree’s trunk untilit took us to a room that expanded across the entire level. Large glass windows that led onto a balcony showed us we were above the treeline, sitting amongst the clouds.
Jasper sat on a couch, chained by his ankle, reading a book as he raised his gaze to see who had disturbed his gilded prison. He smiled a genuine smile with the brightness of the sun pouring through the very windows behind him. His hair was a warmer blonde, unlike his sister’s, and his eyes were the same light green. His facial features were small and soft, reflecting his bloodline, but he towered over River in size.
‘Sister, you bought friends to keep me company,’ he said, rising to his feet and extending a hand in greeting. ‘And who might you two be?’ he asked, moving on to greet Sienna.
I had never met Jasper in person; every time I had come to these lands, he had been away. Cain had not told him anything about me aside from the necessities; he likely did not know who stood in front of him. I, on the other hand, had forced Cain to reveal every detail about the man who would be supplying the outcasts and runaways that would build our own force of Forest Fae. He was exactly as Cain had described: a massive man who oozed innocence and childlike wonder, yet was firm in conviction.
‘Prezivyelima,’ I said. A call to the survivors, Cain and Jasper used this as their code word. Jasper’s eyes brightened as he scooped me up and hugged me in an embrace. Sienna drew her sword at the ready, as I pulled free and pressed my own dagger to his throat.
Jasper released me, laughing. ‘Cain was right about you, fiery. Apologies. I am just so happy to meet you, the person who provided my people with safety from my slightly backwards sister and her ways. Thank you, Queen Skylar,’ he said, sinking to his knees before me. This was the first time someone of pure Forest Fae blood had kneeled to an outsider. River seethed, furiously pulling him up by his shoulder and pushing him back onto the couch. He laughed brightly at his sister’s anger.
‘What do you want, Skylar?’ River spat, dropping all formalities.
‘I want to give you a way out of this little mess you are struggling to clean up, River. What are you going to do with your brother? Lock him up forever? Kill him as is required by your laws? He betrayed you, his leader. You know what this calls for, but you cannot do it. He is your weakness, so I am offering you an alternative. I only require two things: your brother and the truth.’ This was the other reason I had decided the shortcut through the Forest Fae was worth any political repercussions. Jasper’s face was a mixture of pain and hope. River looked as though she bordered on losing all composure, like a wild animal backed into a corner, facing the realities of what I had just divulged to her people and the clock that was now counting down until they began to question her.
‘Let me take him. Bring him with me. I will not hurt him. He will work with Cain and the other outcasts you deemed unworthy. He will live and he will thrive. In return, you will take over your brother’s role on these lands and every Fae that would have been killed or thrown out will now be delivered right to my door and given the same second chance I am affording your brother.’
River looked at Jasper, pain etched on her face. She knew she could never harm him, but she also knew keeping him here forever was not possible. ‘My people would never accept him walking out of here alive,’ she said, looking away and walking to the balcony.
‘Please, sister, please let me leave. You know I was never made for this life. Neither of us will be happy with my being trapped here. Your people will turn on you; there are already whispers about why they haven’t seen me. Please, sister. Let me go. I want to go,’ he said, with hurt seeping from his voice that matched that in his sister’s eyes.
Sienna stepped forward. ‘No one would have to know you let him go. I can mask him with a simple spell as we cross through your lands. They will think he ran. You can tell your people thatyou had set a date for his execution for his crimes, but he escaped,’ she said coaxingly.
‘How can I trust you? Your reputation speaks for itself,’ River said disbelievingly, turning her attention to me.
‘Now, now, River, that is a little unkind, don’t you think? I’m not the one who treats those who are different or those with gifts they fear as if they don’t deserve to live. Every cruelty I have ever inflicted has been on my enemies, not my allies, and to be honest, you don’t have to trust me. You have no other choice. What options do you honestly have right now? You either take my offer or you don’t. But know this: I am not doing this for you or our alliance. I am offering this out of respect for Cain and due to the character your brother has shown. The only person in this room likely to ever face my wrath is you and your backwards ways. If I thought it would make any difference, I would slit your throat where you stood and make your brother lead, but I know this sickness and way of thinking runs deep through your people and I would have to slaughter them all. And I am not in the mood for more bloodshed today or wiping out nearly an entire race—there will be plenty of time for that should you step out of line in the future.’
River nodded slowly, taking in my words, and then sat beside her brother. Clasping his hands, she looked beseechingly into his eyes. ‘I am truly sorry, Jasper,’ she said as he hugged her close to his chest.
‘My dear sister, there is nothing you could ever do to me that I could not forgive. I love you,’ he said, drawing back and looking into her eyes as tears began to fall. A final goodbye.
‘Take him,’ River whispered.
‘One thing first—I told you I needed two things. I need the truth. So, River, tell me, what is it that you know of the Ancient Forest and what lurks within it?’
River’s eyes widened before she tried to compose herself, hoping I hadn’t noticed. ‘We don’t know; just that the magic there is different. All plant life carries frequencies that our magiccan tune into, but the moment ours tries to touch anything near the forest, it’s like a screeching that claws at our minds until we become delirious. Apparently, we had many records on it even before my grandparents’ time, but they were lost to time. All that remains are the stories that have been passed down through the generations. They say the forest has been touched by evil incarnate, and only those of pure of blood can enter without being tainted by it. Those who carry true evil within them—a darkness not unlike yours—are able to cross into its lands, but they are never to be seen again, consumed by the forest. That is why, for generations, we have aimed to remain as pure blooded as possible.’ The flame within me told me she spoke the truth and was not holding anything back.
Ignoring her backhanded comment insinuating I was ‘evil incarnate’, I scoffed, ‘Seems quite stupid to create entire bloodlines around old wives’ tales.’
Her eyes sharpened; she wanted to refute my callous comment, but she knew that, right now, I held all the cards.
‘Jasper, Cain may trust you, and I respect what you have done, but if you are to live amongst my people, I need you to prove yourself before I commit to the risk.’ Both River and Jasper looked at me curiously, not quite understanding what I was saying. ‘Many do not know just how far my gifts go as heir to the flame throne. One such gift is the ability to distinguish truth from lies. Jasper, I need you to think about your life with my people, with Cain and the other outcast Forest Fae. A life where you follow my orders, my laws, a life where you forget this one and never turn back. Where your loyalty to your sister no longer matters. In this new life, your loyalty will be to me and me alone. No one and nothing else. Can you do this, Jasper? Can you leave her behind and follow me into the darkness?’ I asked.
