Page 6 of Forgiving a Fae Warrior

“No,” Galen answered.

The cyclone returned twice as strong. Dark wings sprouted from Sigurd’s back as he rose into the center of the torrent. “She cared for you! Pleaded to have your vow to me removed! And this is how you betray her?” The king’s voice boomed over the gale. “I should end you for this.”

Sigurd advanced, his magical construct slipping through the barrier and hitting Galen with such force that he barely kept his feet. Sylvie shielded her face, hunching forward in an attempt to stay upright. Others let out gasps and cries.

“Sigurd!” Ambrose roared in warning, barely audible above the raging wind storm.

Another wave of magic rolled over Galen from behind, this from a singular source he knew well. The King of the Forest arrived at the worst possible time.

“You dare bring war to my court?” Riven demanded.

Galen hazarded a glance as the King of the Forest strode through the onslaught toward the border, his golden-brown hair whipping in the wind behind him. He hadn’t seen Galen yet or chose to ignore him, all his focus on the furious king mere feet away.

Sigurd’s cyclone calmed as he floated back to the ground and stared at Riven through the invisible barrier at the edge of the court territory. “You harbor one who stole my mate.”

Sigurd pointed to Galen, and Riven followed the angle of his arm until his hard stare made Galen want to sink into the dirt.

Shit.It looked that way, especially with him being on the Forest side, but he hadn’t even had the chance to explain himself before everything fell apart.

He had only one chance to get his message across, and he had to make it count. “I am free of my vow to the Court of Air and brought Wren here as a sign of my loyalty to the Forest. To you,” Galen said to Riven. His king. “I did not want to betray you or Lia. I care for you both.” A truth he was proud to share, even if an outright lie could not pass his tongue. “I belong here, but I was bound to carry out Sigurd’s command.”

Riven’s features remained impassive, giving nothing away. Sigurd huffed air through his nose and crossed his arms. The confession wouldn’t earn Galen any favors from Air, but he no longer cared. The Forest was his home, his hope.

“And where is she now?” Riven asked.

Anyone could have answered. Sylvie. Ambrose. Sigurd. Any of the others. They’d heard the truth of it. But no one spoke. The king’s question was for Galen and him alone.

So Galen summoned his courage and answered, “Stolen by the Unseelie, by the woman Katiya.”

Riven’s lips lifted in a snarl. “I felt a human. Here. And a few other places for a brief moment before her presence vanished.”

“Impossible,” Sigurd snapped, his wings flaring.

It should be. All magic could be felt. A shift. A mark. It would have been how Sigurd found them. He would have followed the magical traces of his mark on Wren to the spot where Galen had taken her.

“A null,” Riven said, almost a whisper.

Sigurd reared back but remained silent.

“It would explain much,” came Ambrose’s acknowledgment to his king.

A null.He’d heard of such a thing, a fae whose magic could not be felt and who could shield others, but it was rare. One had not been reported in generations.

“Chat all you want,” Sigurd snapped. “But my mate is missing. She’s in danger.”

Riven cut him a hard glance. “Now you know how it feels.”

Sigurd bared his white teeth. “You knew where she was. You found her in moments.”

“Youhad her stolen to begin with!” The ground rumbled, some construct of the Forest King about to break free.

“Stop!” Galen yelled. Both kings turned his way, staring him down as if they might rip him to pieces. “This is what the Unseelie want.” The sudden surety of it gave strength to his words and let them flow.

It had been Katiya he’d seen in the shadows on his walk with Wren. It had to have been. She must have knocked out the guards, something he certainly hadn’t done. Who else would? She could have followed his shift as easily as Sigurd. It was the only thing that explained how she found them.

But she could have taken Wren earlier. Knocked him out with the guards and taken her then and there. She hadn’t. She’d waited, maybe having some inkling of his plan.

“A war between the Forest and Air weakens you both.” He spread his arms to encompass both kings. “It only benefits them.”

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