Chapter 1
VALE
Snow crunched underfoot as an icy gust of wind whipped my stinging cheeks. I shivered and wished our ragtag group of fae and humans were closer to our destination.
Of those humans Roar had enslaved in his mines or endeavored to sell to the Vampire Kingdom, not a single person remained at Gersemi Mine. None wanted to go to the grave not having fought for a better life.
I respected their fight and will to live, but traveling with them was eye-opening.
I’d vastly underestimated how slow humans traveled when compared to fae. Their fragile natures too. In two weeks of travel we’d lost thirty humans to the cold, bringing their number down to one hundred and sixty eight. Before we reached the hiding place I sought—an ancient and now deserted dwarven stronghold in the far southwest of Winter’s Realm—we’d probably lose at least a dozen more lives. Likely those people who were bent at the spine andweak at the knees. As much as I hated to acknowledge that we couldn’t save them all, I had to be realistic. So much was on the line. My wife’s life, most importantly.
We’d left Avaldenn by an untraceable gateway and had hidden in Riis Tower for days, but was there still some way the Red Assassins could have followed Neve? The Vampire Queen Narcissahadplaced a high bounty on Neve’s head. The assassins would surely do all they could to find my wife and earn their coin.
Fates, I hated feeling so powerless in protecting those I loved.
But out here, skirting the Red Mist Mountain Range, in the remote reaches of the kingdom, I was a fae of few means. Particularly against highly skilled vampire assassins. Skies, even a medium-sized horde of the most dimwitted orcs would be too much for me and my best friend, Sir Caelo, to take on. So while I understood that Neve cared for the humans, I remained largely focused on her. I would not put their lives—oranylives—above hers.
This female I’d only known for but a moon cycle was my end and my beginning.
“We’ll need to eat and rest soon.” Caelo came up next to me. “Buy more food for the horses too.”
The five horses we’d taken from the now deceased Lord Roar’s stables in Guldtown were still with us, and thank the stars for them because the weakest humans often alternated riding. But as with any creature, our horses required food to continue, and we hadn’t packed enough for such a long, unforeseen journey. Thus, Caelo would ride the horses, one by one, into passing towns to feed them as the group kept walking. We traveled so slowly, it was easy for Caelo to feed each horse, give it a rest, and catch up later the same day or the next morning.
“More food for us too. Our meal tonight will be meager,” I replied.
Gersemi Mine had held more sustenance than I would have thought, largely thanks to the earth fae guards Lord Roar employed. Alas, those guards were no longer walking the face of this realm, and Neve, Caelo, and I did not possess earth magic to grow so much as a potato. We were quickly running through provisions.
“I believe we’ll be in the next town by tomorrow morning.” Caelo raised an eyebrow. “For such a large haul, you, me,andNeve will have to venture into the town. I can’t go alone and carry so much back.”
“Of course,” I agreed, even while weighing the concerns of leaving the humans defenseless against us all starving to death.
After we showed them to the Kingdom of Dergia and got the humans settled in, we’d leave. From that point forward, they’d have to make it on their own since the place was abandoned, which made it both perfect for the humans and dangerous if they did not have the skills to survive. Humans were not made for this world, but fate, or whatever they worshiped in their world, had brought them here and as they’d already eaten the food of the fae, they could never go home.
I suppose leaving for a few hours will be a testing period before we reach Dergia.
“When we make camp tonight, we should seeif any from the mines can hunt properly,” I added. “They can do that while we go into town the next day. Knowing someone can use a bow will ease my mind over leaving them.”
Caelo nodded. “Some say they supplemented the food brought in or grown by Roar’s men with wild game and fish.”
I’d noticed a few carried the weapons, though I figured them knowing how to use the weapons as likely as the humans simply bringing bows and arrows to make themselves feel better. They had not aimed well at all when we’d been their targets.
Caelo twisted as a pair of men began grappling about something. “I’m going to break that up. No use in wasting energy on petty squabbles.”
He left, and I took in the humans again. One young man limped, though determination shone in his face. He was one of the few with a bow on his back, a quiver full of rustic arrows too. I placed him on the top of my list of humans to test and moved on and on and on, assessing each person. As a result of work in the mines, many of the younger humans appeared strong, if a touch malnourished. That left me with a list of about twenty candidates who appeared to have the strength, dexterity, and enough determination to hunt in the barren lands of Winter’s Realm.
“What’s going on in that big brain of yours?” From behind me came a voice that made my heart skip a beat. I twisted to find Neve tromping through the deep snow, closing the distance between us. Red roses colored her cheeks, and though she had to be as cold as the rest of us, Neve beamed at me.
“Rhistel would laugh to hear you say such a thing about my brain.”
It was a common enough belief that I was, in fact, the stupidest Aaberg. Not that I was a true Aaberg at all, but a bastard male of the Riis line, though precious few knew that fact. Nor was Istupidby any means. King Magnus, the male I’d always believed to be my father, gave preferential treatment to his own blood, but he would not allow an idiot relative to command his armies. Still, when compared to my intelligent family members, all well-versed in other languages and academic fields, I often felt left behind.
“Your brother is a cruel arse.” Neve looped her arm through mine. The soft curves of her body pressed into me, and that familiar hunger for her came roaring back.
During our travels, we’d lacked privacy for intimacy, and it only made me more ravenous for my wife.
“What were you thinking about?” she asked again. “I caught you sizing people up.”
“Caelo and I were talking about teaching the humans to hunt. We’re hoping that some already know, but if they don’t, we’ll do our best. I plan to start at the next camp.”
