Page 15 of The Crown of the Last Fae Queen (The Heartless and the Wicked #4)

“Try to run?” Rakel sauntered over with a serpent-headed metal staff in her hand.

Her long, white braids were tied together into a low bun with a leather ribbon.

She nodded over to Astrid, who lowered her head in respect.

“If you were anybody else, Commander Alfaer would have tossed you through the sky a long time ago.”

Kolfinna frowned. “But?”

“But—” She sighed, setting the base of her staff down on the grass. “You’re not just anybody .”

“You don’t sound pleased to admit that.” Kolfinna glanced between Astrid and Rakel; the former was watching them with intrigue, her white brows pulled together over her amethyst-like eyes, while the latter was glaring down at Kolfinna like she didn’t know what to do with her.

“You caused a lot of trouble for us,” Rakel said with another exhale. “You let one of our prisoners go.”

Hope swelled in her chest at news of that. Had Herja managed to leave successfully without any of the fae or elves catching her? She hoped that was true.

“I underestimated how sneaky you are,” Rakel continued, shooting a glance at Astrid. “Don’t trust anything this one says, got it? She might look like she’s innocent and unable to do any harm, but she’s a lot craftier and meaner than she looks.”

Kolfinna blinked over at the elf woman. “I’m not mean .”

“Don’t believe a word she says,” Rakel said, ignoring Kolfinna.

Astrid bobbed her head. “Yes, General.”

“I’m not crafty either,” she added.

Rakel waved her staff in front of Kolfinna, and the shadows binding her disappeared altogether. She rubbed her stiff shoulders and her ink-stained arms, the magic slowly wearing off from her flesh.

“Don’t try to run again.” Rakel scowled, and Kolfinna got the idea that it hadn’t been her plan to release her from the shadow bindings. “If you do, we’ll just keep you tied together with shadows the entire time until we get to our queen.”

With that, she left the two of them and headed toward a group of elves and fae warriors.

Kolfinna slowly rose to her feet, her muscles cramping from being stuck on the back of the dreki for so long.

She stretched her arms and legs, keeping a watchful eye on the rest of the army.

Although they were bloodthirsty, heartless, and cold, they didn’t treat her like they did the rest of the prisoners.

She had respect, here, mostly because of who her parents were.

The last time she had seen Rakel, the elf woman had threatened her that she would regret trying to escape. But seeing how she had been given this freedom, she was sure Vidar had something to do with it, because if it was up to Rakel … she probably wouldn’t be this lucky.

That made things easier. She was allowed privileges. She was in a unique position to gain their trust, as fleeting as it probably was, and escape. But she had to do it when Vidar wasn’t around, because she was sure she wouldn’t be able to escape in his presence.

“I’ve been put in charge of watching over you until we reach our destination,” Astrid said, placing a hand on her hip. She flashed a toothy grin at her, and beckoned her forward. “Come on, let’s eat something.”

Kolfinna followed behind her slowly. She could feel the warriors casting glances at her, most of them looking unsure what to think of her. Some looked angry, others neutral, and some … Some looked at her as though she was their last hope. It made her uncomfortable being the center of attention.

It also made her realize she had never been around so many fae in her life.

And they were so very open about it, too.

Nobody had to hide their eye color with a blend of tea that steeped their brilliant eyes to shades of brown.

Nobody had to hide their wings, which some wore on full display and others kept tucked close to their backs.

Their ears, and even their sharp teeth, didn’t need to be hidden.

It sent another uncomfortable wave to settle over Kolfinna.

Seeing this unnatural mishmash of fae and elf warriors seemed to awaken something with her.

This was the world she had wanted to be a part of her whole life. Where she wasn’t the odd one out. Where being fae was something to be proud of. Where she could blend in.

But she also wanted humans to be a part of this world. She wanted Blár to be here too, to be accepted, for everyone to live in harmony. She had to remind herself of that, because it would probably be too easy to get caught up in their company.

A line of fae and elves waited behind a makeshift table of vines and logs—fae magic, Kolfinna realized with a start.

A giant pot sat on top of it, and a fae soldier stirred the contents with a ladle, poured some into a bowl, and passed it to the first in line.

Astrid stood in line and waved her over, where she reluctantly stood.

“It’s still so crazy to me that you’re the princess,” Astrid said, thumbs jammed into the pockets of her leather tunic. She rocked on her heels, glancing at the shortening line, and then back at Kolfinna. “When we left you behind at the palace, you were a small little thing! One, or two, I think?”

Kolfinna blinked over at the white-haired fae. “You knew me?”

“Me? Oh, heavens, no .” She laughed, her eyes crinkling. “I’m too low on the rung of soldiers to personally know the royal family. But we’ve always heard about you. You’re the heir to—” Something passed over her face and her smile faded. “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

The heir to a throne that didn’t exist anymore.

An awkward silence fell between the two of them as they waited in line. Kolfinna smoothed down her wind-swept hair, her fingers working through the tangles that had formed while riding the dreki. “Do you have a family?”

Astrid gave her a strange look. “Most of us did.”

“Oh.” She grimaced. Of course they had; just because they were bloodthirsty warriors didn’t mean they hadn’t had family, or someone waiting for them back home, or …

hopes and dreams. Horror slowly seeped into her as she glanced at the soldiers.

Were most of their families … dead? They must have been.

Hundreds of years had passed since they were frozen in time.

“I left my mother and brothers behind,” Astrid said suddenly, quietly.

“I … I’m sorry.”

“They must have died waiting for me this whole time.” Her eyes welled with tears and she quickly blinked them away. “Or maybe the humans sacked the capital and killed them all anyway. I’ll never know.”

They were both silent after that. Kolfinna couldn’t look at her, so she stared at the back of the heads of the other fae and elves in front of her.

She noticed the way they all had sharp ears—some sharper and longer than the others, some with piercings and metal clinging to the pointed tips—and she noticed the way their wings twitched and stretched, and how some didn’t have wings, and yet the slits along the back of their armor or leathers suggested their wings were only dematerialized at the moment.

It was all so strange, being in the company of an ancient army; she wondered how jarring it was for them.

“Why fight?” Kolfinna murmured when they got to the front of the line. She glanced sharply at Astrid, who had just grabbed a wooden bowl.

“Excuse me?” Astrid lifted a white eyebrow, and a flash of anger rushed over her amethyst eyes.

“Why fight, when the empire you’re fighting for … doesn’t exist anymore? When the people you’re fighting for …” Are dead , she wanted to say, but found she couldn’t.

The fae in front of them ladled stew into a bowl and thrust it in Kolfinna’s direction, the contents spilling over the rim and dripping onto the forest floor.

“The world is not so black and white, Princess,” he hissed, orange eyes glowing.

“If we give up now, then all that we’ve done—all that we’ve sacrificed—will be in vain. Our race will die .”

“That’s not true,” Kolfinna took the bowl from him, and he yanked his hand back quickly, as if her touch would corrupt him. “Our race has survived this long without you all.”

“Survived?” Astrid turned to her sharply.

“You call huddling in forests, caves, and tiny cabins, hoping that no one finds you, surviving ? Our race has been decimated because of the humans. Our people are existing in fear, every day, hiding, and hoping the humans never find them. That is not living, Kolfinna.”

She cringed at the harsh reality, the harsh truth .

“I’ve lived this life—” she started, voice wobbling.

“I cannot fault you for not knowing any better,” Astrid said, a hint of sympathy entering her hard voice.

She tried to smile, but it came out forced, tightlipped.

“But Kolfinna, how can a race like ours, who crave connection with all living creatures, thrive in an environment that wants to stifle it? We were not meant to be forced into caves and recluse mountains.”

The orange-eyed fae continued to glare and she could feel the surrounding fae start to stare too, so Kolfinna pulled the bowl of steaming stew closer to herself and nodded toward the clearing.

“Maybe we should eat?” Her voice came out tight, and she tried to soften it, but her embarrassment wouldn’t let her. “We’re holding up the line.”

Thankfully, they moved away from the other fae and stopped by a set of benches someone had made with the roots and vines of nearby trees and plants.

Astrid sat on one end while Kolfinna sat on the other, neither of them breaching the short distance between them.

They ate in silence, and Kolfinna tried not to glance at the pretty fae.

She clearly wasn’t in the mood for politeness or happy grins anymore.