Page 24 of The Path of Blood and Betrayals

Godsdammit.

“I’m not biased, if that’s what you’re asking.” The heir smiles wider, eyes glinting with dark amusement. He knows I screwed up, somehow knowing I was to be mute. He’s enjoying this blunder.

Clearing my throat, I cross my arms, cheeks heating. Griffin stares at me, mouth pressed into a firm line.

“No, but maybe your perceptions are clouded by the fact that the Covens do not trade with Dark Fae.”

”That would be biases,” he explains and my jaw cracks with annoyance.

“Regardless, maybe you’re keeping us from the forests, not because of fabricated beasts, but because of riches within. Is there something you don’t want to share, heir? Gold or silver perhaps?”

Kaden chuckles, unused to being challenged and drops his foot to the ground with a solid plop. “The only thing I’m trying to do is warn you of the real dangers present. Creatures that eat anything they consider weak,” he scans me, gaze bright. “Especially defenseless kittens.”

I hide deeper into my cloak. He’s unnerving, eyes burying deep as if he can see into my soul. Gods, I don’t like it.

“When I was a child in the woods, I never saw beasts,” I reply defiantly. “Nothing harmed me.”

The heir’s eyebrows quirk, that charming mask firm on his face. A mask I want to slap off.

“A child in the woods?” Griffin asks, tone soft. His ice-blue eyes crinkle at the corners in concern. “I’ve never heard of anyone, let alone achild, surviving in the woods.”

Licking my dry lips, I nod only once. “It was a long time ago. I was injured, traveling the woods. No beasts came for me.”

“Interesting,” he comments, swinging his gaze to Griffin. “King,” he starts,steeplinghis fingers, finished with me. “We are supposed to be hashing out a treaty between our worlds. Trade routes. Connections. Gods, a unity you spoke so highly of. Why are you asking about the cursed woods?”

The king nods, knocking his knuckles against the wood as a man to his left unrolls a large map. “You are right. But this summit concerns us and the woods, as well as another threat.”

My eyes take in the map, pulling the hood from my face. It’s old but wonderfully detailed, showing the various Covens, villages and the topography of Neevea. At the top, the drawing isobscured by whirls of fog, places we do not have knowledge of—it’s said other Fae kingdoms reside there, but they pulled away after the Great War.

To the left are tall cliffs and red sands, the area shaded out as if covered in darkness.The Shadowlands.That’s where the Dark Fae live, closer to us and out of the obscurity of the other Fae.

Off center and to the right, is a range of steep brown mountains with frosted tops. That is the home of thePhoka, theshifter clan. I’ve never been there, but we trade regularly for their furs.

In the center, a dark mass steals my attention. The Eternal Night Forest, aptly named, separates the two sides ofNeevea. At the corner of it, the Blackwoods forest butts up to it, the woods overlapping.

Could the Eternal Night Forest have creatures stalking inside, and the Blackwoods Coven’s wards prevented them from entering? If so, why did none of them attack me, as a child, when I was bleeding and weak?

“Get to the point, King,”Kadendemands, head leaning against the chair. His brother smirks at his sour mood.

“My kingdom is starving,” he admits, shame coating his words.

Tay and I share a look. The White Palace is full of so much wealth that it seems inconceivable that his people would be hurting.

Griffin taps sections of the map in different locations. “We’ve run out of farmland to feed my people. No amount of trade will ease the burden. By next winter, we will be forced to make dire choices.”

The Humans reproduce quickly, compared to Fae and Witches. Their numbers are too big to sustain them on such little land.

“And?” The heir presses, giving the king a bored look. “You are not the only King worried for his people”.

My curiosity piques. What is happening in theShadowlands that KingZelos and his heir are worried for their fellow Dark Fae?

“I am not. But I am showing you that I am weak. Vulnerable.” At the top of the forest, there’s a small a symbol for a village. “I sent out a group of skilled hunters through the woods to locate new lands suitable for harvesting. With no one laying claim to the forest, we thought it easy to travel and settle. When they reached their destination, they sent back hawks alerting me to a different problem.”

“Beasts?” Reid asks, lips quirking as I roll my eyes.

“Crimson soldiers.” Griffin sighs. “They’ve taken over the forest. My expedition was killed shortly thereafter.”

“We assume,” a lord mutters. “We found pieces of clothing and very little else.”