Page 40 of A Legacy of Poison and Lies

Travelling together had been as easy as it had been to live together in Virian. Uncomplicated, Zylah thought as she dismounted and discreetly knocked back the contents of a vial. She’d need to make more of her tonic soon. There were plenty of ingredients to be found in the forest—but making it without Holt noticing would be an issue. This pain was her tithe, and she would pay it. She ran a hand through her mare’s mane as she made a mental list of everything she would need, which plants would be accessible in the forest and which she might need to buy.

Holt had dismounted the moment the snow had thinned, surveying the forest as his horse rested. Zylah followed his lead, looking for any signs in the snow. Nothing but animal prints dotted the white powder, their hot breath clouding in front of them the only motion breaking the stillness. They moved in comfortable silence until something snagged Zylah’s attention.

“What is it?” Holt asked. He was a short distance away, seeing to the horses, but still on alert.

“Tracks,” Zylah said, crouching to take a closer look. “Something big. Two somethings.” As large as a wolf, but no claw marks.

Holt moved closer as the snow fell again. “Identical?”

“Yeah,” Zylah said with a frown, her attention on the snowflakes that had fallen onto his eyelashes.

Holt offered a rare smile, glancing at the forest about them. “Didn’t Jora ever teach you not to taunt your prey?” he called out into the snow.

Zylah arched a brow, just as a grey wildcat approached them, fangs bared as it growled. But Kopi didn’t cry out, didn’t even budge from his position in one of the nearby trees.

“Suggestions?” Zylah murmured, glancing sideways at Holt. He folded his arms across his chest, waiting. For a moment Zylah wondered if he could talk to animals, whether he’d been silently communicating with Kopi this entire time. Prince of the Forest.

It wouldn’t be the strangest thing she’d seen, by far.

The trees around them rustled, snow-laden branches creaking in the breeze. Light flashed, and Zylah raised a hand to shield her eyes.

“Imala’s tits, Kej. I thought we said I was the evil twin today?” A young woman dropped down from a tree, landing lightly and barely making a dent in the snow. Silver-grey eyes met Zylah’s, but they were soft, unthreatening. Her black hair was short, exposing her pointed ears. She was High Fae.

“Two big identical somethings,” Holt said with a smirk.

Another flash. The wildcat turned into a young man, dressed in similar cobalt attire to the female, his black hair braided close to his head, the same silvery eyes, the same pointed ears. Their clothes were fine, with silver details at their cuffs and hems. A uniform, perhaps, Zylah thought.

“Holt. It’s been too long.” A wide grin stretched across the male’s face as he reached out a hand.

Holt threw an arm around the Fae, pulling him close. “You’re looking rather dressed up for a trek through the snow.”

“It’s for Jora’s funeral.”

Holt frowned. “When?”

“You’ll make it if we leave now,” the female said, shoving the male aside to give Holt a hug. “Come on.”

“They won’t let him in, Rin,” the male added.

“Of course they fucking will.”

Holt cleared his throat as the two continued to bicker. “Kejin, Aerin, this is Zylah.”

“Rin,” the female said, a wide grin on her face. “Kej for my halfwit brother. Sorry if we startled you.” She held out a hand in greeting.

“No… not at all. Kopi would have warned me if there was trouble.”

Kej scoffed, a hand pressed against his chest. “Oh, Zylah. How you wound us. Two fierce wild cats, prowling through the snow.”

“I… Sorry?” Zylah glanced between the two of them. “Can you change into anything else?” She couldn’t resist asking. Zylah had never met a Fae that could change their form.

“Anythingelse? Where did you find this one, Holt?” Snowflakes settled in Kej’s hair, peppering it with white. His grey eyes sparkled with mischief as he folded his arms in mock offence, and Zylah held back a smile.

Holt led the horses from where he’d left them nibbling at some exposed grass. “Kejin and Aerin can only shift into one form. Multiple forms are incredibly rare.”

“They’re a fucking children’s tale, is what they are,” Rin added.

“What happened to Jora?” Holt asked.

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