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“This is Boudica, my familiar.” He tossed me a pair of heavy leather boots. “Now, put these on. It’s time to go.”

Seventeen

Tessa

Armed and ready, the five of us marched into the courtyard just outside of the castle. The mists swarmed in from low-hanging clouds, blurring our surroundings. The Mist King led the way past a stone fountain, carved in the shape of a woman with wings. She held a bowl in her hands, tipped to the side so that it poured water onto the jagged peaks of a mountain.

We carried on. The Mist King led us through the curving castle gates, his cloak flapping behind him. His raven soared above, obscured by the mists. Outside, hundreds of fae were lined up on each side of the city street. When they spotted their king, they cheered.

I watched, in awe and confusion, as he strode ahead of the rest of us, smiling and waving at his people. Every now and then, he stopped to say hello to a child or shake someone’s hand. Beaming smiles lit up the darkness. Even the shadows seemed to peel back as he passed, revealing stone buildings packed tight. Their sod and birch bark roofs were covered in blankets of luminescent grass.

This was another thing I’d read about in my books. Trees and grass did grow in the shadow fae realm, just not like any found in Albyria or Teine. They fed on moonlight and mist.

Alastair hung back and fell into step beside me. He cracked a grin. “You look like someone just fed you a plate of literal shit.”

I snorted, caught off guard by his candor. “They love him, though I guess they have no reason to hate him. They’re not the ones whose cities he destroyed.”

“You’re still on about that, eh? Well, Kal looks after them, and he doesn’t believe in ruling through fear, like a certain king we all know.” He pulled his pack around to his front and rustled around in it. “Want an apple? We got some in a trade with the Kingdom of Storms last week.”

My chest burned. “No apples.”

“Well, you need something.” He pulled out a heel of bread and shoved it into my hands. “Here. Eat up, little dove.”

I grabbed the bread and took a bite. “We’ve barely even left, you know.”

He held out a hand and winked. “Give it back then.”

“Absolutely not.” I stuffed the rest of it into my mouth.

Alastair chuckled. “You know, I’m glad you asked us to help you find your family. I’ve been going stir-crazy lately, just like Niamh. There’s only so much battle planning we can do. Toryn, he loves that kind of shit. Me? No, thank you.”

“Battle planning?” I arched a brow.

“Don’t worry. There’s nothing to worry about on that front. Yet.” He shrugged. “But Kal likes to think two steps ahead of everyone else.”

“Hmm.” We kept striding through the streets, and the throng of people slowly started to ease. Dubnos was a larger city than I’d expected. Much larger than Albyria.

“You’ve got the wrong end of things, you know,” Alastair said, fiddling with one of the rings in his ear. “Kal’s not the bad guy here.”

I scowled. “Not the bad guy to you. He didn’t harm you or your people.”

“This journey would go a lot easier if you gave him a chance.”

“Have any more of that bread?”

His face brightened. “Absolutely.”

After passing me the bread, he returned to his attempt at convincing me the Mist King wasn’t so bad. I just chewed and chewed, a perfect excuse to refrain from a reply. I didn’t even have to listen to all his words.

That worked until we reached the gates and I ran out of food.

When we pressed out into the wilderness, the mists surged in, thickening around us. Gone was any sign of grass and moss on the ground. All that remained was sand, dirt, and darkness. The shadow fae shuffled around, their bodies bent into the harsh wind. Alastair and Niamh took the front while Toryn rounded out the back. That left me stranded in the middle with the Mist King.

Of course he didn’t take the lead.

“What’s that look on your face?” he asked me as we started down the mountain on a rock-strewn path far steeper than I liked. My boots scuffed along the ground as we inched across the dirt.

“What look?”