Page 3 of Forgiving a Fae Warrior

“My Uncle Mark, Hawke’s mate, left my family. Just up and disappeared one day. We didn’t know why or where he’d gone or even if he was alive,” she said.

Something moved in the shadows behind Wren, almost like a form slipping silently between two seemingly empty tents. The fine hairs on the back of Galen’s neck rose. He scanned for the guards, finding them absent. Perhaps they hid just out of sight?

“It’s true,” Wren continued. “I was so angry with him for years for leaving like that. But I found him here. I heard his story. It doesn’t make what he did right, but I understand his side of it, why he did what he did. If a few conversations can help overcome years of hurt and pain, then I’m sure they can do the same for you.”

“Perhaps,” he mused, staring off toward the nearest group of partiers and finding nothing amiss. “But they’ll have to listen to me first.”

Wren’s sudden intake of breath grabbed his attention. “Galen.” She tugged at his sleeve. “Did you see that?”

“See what?” The calm words belied the tingling feeling racing across his skin and the rapid thrum of the blood through his veins. The shadows were still, but he couldn’t shake the feeling he had a moment ago or dismiss the lack of guards. Something was amiss, especially if Wren noticed it too.

“I thought I saw someone.”

As did he. The guards wouldn’t be so secretive, and anyone else—

“I should go back. It’s late.” Wren turned back toward Sigurd’s tent.

The simple move snapped Galen from his worries, and he stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Wait.”

She turned to him and blinked innocently.

Shit.He needed a reason to stop her, and so, he spoke the worry he couldn’t shake, “You truly think betrayal can be forgiven?” His pulse hammered wildly in his chest. A little voice screamed in the back of his mind to act. The surge of emotion let out a soft glow from his eyes which he couldn’t hold back.

“Yes, I truly do.”

He nodded and swallowed hard. “Good.” Maybe she would forgive him too someday. Galen took her hand in his and squeezed. “Because I am so sorry about this, Wren.”

Chapter 2

Galenflunghismagicout to encompass Wren. Such a long shift, to the edge of the Court of the Forest, was taxing. It would have been easier if he had rested and prepared, but the idea for how to possibly earn forgiveness from the Court of the Forest, or at least the chance to explain himself, hadn’t fully taken shape until that evening as he’d wandered the celebration aimlessly, lost in thought. The moment his footsteps had taken him to Sigurd’s tent—to Wren—he knew with sick certainty what would give the Court of Forest pause and show their king where his loyalties lay.

He'd repent and earn forgiveness in the same way he’d become a traitor—one human woman to atone for another.

Finally, the pull on his magic faded, and Galen’s feet settled on solid ground. Wren stumbled and slipped, but he held her firm, refusing to let her fall.

“How dare—” She began.

“You’ll be safe,” Galen assured her. “The Court of the Forest will get you home.” No harm would ever come to her at the hands of those in the Forest. He was sure of that. She could still go home, just as she wished. If she returned to the Court of Air later, that was her decision.

“He’ll come for me,” she promised. Fury rang in her voice, and he’d wager in her eyes as well, though, in his shame, he couldn’t quite look at her.

Galen grimaced. “I know.”

Sigurd would be furious. He would follow, his retribution fierce, but if Galen and Wren were in the Court of the Forest by then, Sigurd could come after them without sparking a war. He wouldn’t be that foolish, not when he was to blame for ordering Galen to steal Riven’s consort, Lia, to begin with.

“Then why?” Wren asked, a crack in her voice that only deepened the ache in his chest.

“Proof of my loyalty to the Forest,” Galen replied. “If I give them you, the King of Air’s marked mate, they’ll have to listen to me.”

It would ensure they didn’t kill him on sight for daring to return. He would have precious few moments to explain himself, but that would be so much better than the alternative.

Wren wrenched in his grip, letting out a groan of fury. He’d swear he heard her hold back a slight sniffle but still refused to look lest it weaken his resolve.

The ground they stood on was dead and cracked, part of the Unseelie lands that ran in a narrow strip between the Court of the Forest and the Court of Air. Enemy territory. But he was currently an enemy of the Court of the Forest; their wards adjusted to prevent him from shifting directly onto their lands. It was only fitting he tried to enter this way.

Verdant grasses spotted with little flowers lay a step away, but there might as well be a chasm between the two lands. Galen pushed up against the barrier wards of the Court of the Forest, gritting his teeth as they tried to keep him out. He was strong enough to get through, but not without effort, especially given Wren’s resistance. He held tight to her as he pushed through the magic, one infinitesimal step at a time.

Finally, Galen broke through the last edge of the wards. The protective ring of magic all but spat him out within the Forest lands, sending him stumbling across the grass and Wren right along after him. She’d yet to speak again, but the feel of her simmering anger at his back was impossible to miss.

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