Without question, he slid the fork into his coat.
Axelia walked forward.Why is this fae with you?There was no anger in her tone.
“This is Kane's cousin, Gideon.”
Gideon gawked at the female in front of us. “She's speaking to you?”
I nodded. “Telepathically.”
“Extraordinary.”
“The king is back at the palace. I’ve brought Gideon to show him the storm, in hopes he can help.”
The dryad nodded and ambled away, never even attempting to see through my lie. Her slow steps were full of ease and peace as if nothing in this realm was a danger.
I glanced back at the tree, desperately wanting to return and fix what I messed up. If there was an attack on the palace, they would need Kane’s help.
What if Liora or the pixies got hurt?
As if Gideon could read my mind, he said, “Would you stop worrying about them? You can't control what happens next.”
“I could help them.”
“No, you can't. Time is already passing there. The longer we stay here, the more time will have passed. We need to keep moving as quickly as possible.”
We walked faster, heading up the hill.
“What is that?” Gideon said, pointing to the house I could only assume Kane had grown up in.
When he had taken me here, there was a sadness in his eyes when I had asked what the structure was. He didn’t say that was where he had lived, but his expression said enough.
“I think that's where he lived.”
Gideon walked toward it. “He really lived here all that time by himself.”
I nodded. “He's not who you think he is.”
Gideon scoffed. “I know my cousin better than you. He's exactly who I know he is. Just because he's been nice to you doesn't change what he's done.”
“And what has he done?”
“Nothing. That's the problem!” Gideon’s voice rose and he shook his head, his normal relaxed decorum fading quickly.
“Decades have passed since he became king. You know, when the magi fought to close the Rift, he didn't even help. None of the fae did. We were forbidden to! Our cousins from the Underground did more than us. And the magi could have used our help; more lives could have been saved with an immortal dragon fighting with them. But no, he wasn't concerned. He only cares about his castle and his pixies.” Gideon’s bright-blue eyes darkened. He pulled out the tuning fork and pointed it at the room.
He’s not wrong. Kane seems to care only for those within his castle’s walls.
“While all of Saol united to heal our world, we stood and did nothing. Our legacy is a joke and one that will be laughed about for eons.” Gideon’s angry expression switched to a deep sadness, regret. “He has disgraced our people.”
In the temple, I had read the tomes on the Rift War. The Magi Council had spent decades creating a spell that would seal the Rift to the Never for good. No more darkthings or sickness plaguing the land.
Everyone had played a part in that war, except the surface fae.
Gideon was right. Kane had been silent, and being immortal, he could’ve saved lives.
We stood there in silence, and I wondered what I could say.
With a deep sigh, Gideon stepped into the house, looking around. “It doesn’t matter anymore. We will right our wrongs.”
