Page 55 of A War of Three Kings

“Who are you?” I yell back at the man who tried to slit Silvan’s throat. “What do you want?”

The warrior spits. “We are here to rid this kingdom of fae, as is our duty.” He stares hate at Aldrin. Silvan elbows the man in the nose with the last of his reserves, and the sickening crunch and spray of blood almost makes me retch. The blade slices Silvan’s cheek as the human soldier crumples to the ground.

Aldrin’s roots snake up the bodies of any enemy warriors left standing around us, wrapping around their torsos, pinning their arms to their bodies and squeezing them until their faces turn purple. The bows strapped to their backs crush under the force. These were some of the archers from the forest.

“Please! I can’t breathe,” one man rasps out, clawing at those wooden tendrils.

“You should have thought about that before you stormed this camp. Before you fired arrows at us. Keira Appleshield is standing right next to me, you stupid fools! You could have killed her!” Aldrin roars, pointing at me. His lips peel back in a snarl, the stubs of horns showing within the mass of his dark hair.He is losing a fight to keep them hidden. To not make himself look any more alien. He shouldn’t have to hold back like that.

“Some fucking gratitude,” Silvan snarls. “And we are fighting for these people?” He shoots a dark look at Aldrin, then sit hard on the ground as his wound gets the better of him.

Aldrin stares intently at the fighters withering in his grip of roots, barely restraining himself.

“You can’t kill them,” I murmur to him.

“I know.” He flicks a look at me. “The Northerners can insult me, attack me, try to kill me, but if I take one of their lives, none of them will accept us fae.”

“Then let me do the fucking honors,” my father booms, striding straight past us. Barely contained fury ripples through him. His longsword drips with blood and his clothes and face are scattered with crimson droplets. With quick thrusts of his blade, he kills the fighters Aldrin trapped on the ground.

My father stalks right up to the man who tried to kill Silvan, still snared upright, and yells incoherently as he removes the man’s head from his body with a powerful swing of his sword. I jump as it hits the ground and rolls toward me. I scurry back into Aldrin, trying to get away from the gore as horror churns through me.

I turn and bury my face into Aldrin’s bare chest, wrapping my arms around him, panting hard as panic and nausea roll through me in hard waves. “Oh, gods. I think I’m going to throw up.”

Aldrin strokes my hair and threads a strong arm around me. “Breathe through it, Keira. Breathe. You are safe now. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

The blood pounding in my ears slowly fades, and voices crowd in. The chaos of people shouting out orders and wailing with pain. At least the clash of swords is gone. Arrows no longer sail through the sky. The footfalls of people passing are calm and slow. There are no more charges.

“Is she okay? Unharmed?” My father’s voice is tense, but the usual accusation in it whenever he addresses Aldrin is gone.

“She’s in shock.” Aldrin’s chest vibrates beneath my cheek. It is wet. From my tears, I realize.

“You really will protect her with your life, won’t you?”

Aldrin tenses. “I will protect her with my life, and I will destroy anyone who dares to harm a hair on her head. I will kill this King Finan for the fear and pain he has caused her, whether it is in this war, or after I regain my crown.”

I pull away from Aldrin and peer up into his face. His amber eyes burn with intensity.

“Keira.” There is repressed irritation in my father’s tone. “Are you okay?”

I turn in Aldrin’s arms to face him. A muscle ticks in my father’s jaw as he frowns down at me, his shoulders completely taut. He holds out a hand to bridge the gap between us, but it seems leagues long. An impossible distance to cross.

Before Aldrin arrived here, I always ran into my father’s arms when I was afraid. He was the one who picked me up and put me back on my feet. Now, he has never felt more alien. In some ways, he too has become my enemy.

I force myself to take step toward him, but he sees my hesitation. He places a hand on my shoulder and I flinch. “I never wanted you to see battle like this, Keira. Many grown men vomit or cry their first time. Are you okay?”

I nod, not trusting myself to speak.

“This isn’t her first,” Aldrin says at my back, and the look my father gives him makes me fear he might become murderous toward Aldrin all over again. “We technically met in the middle of a battle.”

I let out a nervous laugh. There is so much I want to say, but my oath to never speak of my pilgrimage stills my tongue.

My father’s eyebrows shoot up and he stalks toward Aldrin. “If you were fighting against my daughter, I swear I will destroy you myself!”

I place my hands on his chest and force him back a few steps. It doesn’t help that Aldrin laughs behind me.

“Aldrin has never tried to hurt me or Caitlin.” I drag each word out of my mouth, fighting the restriction on my tongue.

“They stepped out of the portal right into the middle of a fight, and neither side knew what to do with them. I thought Keira was a damsel in distress and foolishly tried to rescue her,” Aldrin grumbles from behind me. “I ended up with multiple stakes piercing my flesh for my efforts.”

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