Keeper of Storms (The Fallen Fae #3) - Jenna Wolfhart Page 0,30
casting a glance around them. She hurried after them, careful to keep her face blank so as not to rouse suspicion. When they reached the western edge of the camp, they approached a tent that stood thrice as tall as the rest of them. Banners on tall wooden stakes had been shoved into the ground around it. They fluttered in the wind.
Reyna held back as the guards rushed inside the tent. Her heart thundered as she inched closer. When another warrior passed close by, she slowed her steps, focusing her attention on the bowl of stew.
Voices drifted from the tent.
“The Grand Alderman of the Air Court has been demanding your presence again,” one of the warriors barked in a commanding voice. “Your Highness, what would you have us do?”
“That bastard won’t let it go.” High King Ulaid Molt chuckled. “He’s lucky I don’t chop off his head for showing up here unannounced and leaving that damn court in the hands of that girl.”
Reyna frowned. What girl?
“We can drag him before you if you’d like,” the warrior said. “I can’t imagine the air fae have much loyalty toward him.”
Molt grunted. “They might surprise you. Their king abandoned them, and he stepped in. We need his air fae warriors on our side, at least until we take Findius. Then, fuck them. They can burn in the fire pits.”
The air fae warriors. He must be talking about the ones that Thane’s father sent into the Wood Court just before he died.
Footsteps pounded behind her. Heart hammering, Reyna spun away from the tent and busied herself with the empty food bowl she still clutched with tense hands. She risked a glance over her shoulder. Two more warriors rushed toward the king’s tent, mouths set in a grim line.
Reyna whispered closer once more when they disappeared inside. “Your Highness. We’ve found something in the woods.”
“Go on,” the king replied, voice curious.
“One of our warriors has been killed and stripped bare. All her clothes are gone, along with her weapons.”
Oh no. Reyna’s heart thumped. She’d covered the dead fae with a blanket of leaves. In time, she knew they’d find her, but she had not expected it to come so soon. Well, this wasn’t great.
“Someone killed one of our own?” the wood king asked in a voice as chilling as the shortest winter day. “One of my warriors?”
“It seems that way, Your Highness,” the guard replied.
A boom shook the ground where Reyna stood. The wood king growled, an animalistic sound that slithered through her bones. “Unseelie will curse their soul,” he hissed. “Traitor! I am the only wood fae who may kill his own.”
Reyna shuddered. Time to get the hell out of here. They knew an enemy was amongst them.
“Search for anyone who looks suspicious or guilty,” the wood king growled. “And start with the females. Round ‘em up and bring them to the fire.”
The tent flap shifted, and Reyna scuttled out of the way. She tossed the bowl onto the ground and took off at a jog. Somehow, she needed to sneak back out of camp, when she’d worked so hard to get inside. If anyone looked too closely at her, they’d notice the inconsistencies. The armor was a little tight. The trousers were a bit long. Bits of silver near the top of her head had begun to poke through, even though she’d touched up the dye on the boat.
Her foot hit something hard. A startled cry ripped from her throat as she fell forward and slammed into the ground. Mud squished between her fingers as she hastily scrambled back to her feet.
“Look where you’re going,” a nasally voice said.
She glanced down to find Aengus hiding behind a tent, but his boot stuck out into the path, which must have been what tripped her.
“Sorry,” she said.
“Why are you in such a hurry anyway?” he demanded.
“Getting some exercise in,” she said, forcing her voice to take on the more lilting quality of the wood fae. “Gotta stay strong and healthy for the battle.”
“Sure, if there was actually going to be a battle,” he snorted.
She frowned. “What does that mean?”
“Surely you don’t actually think we’ll have to clash swords with those shadow fae parasites? They’ve been living on borrowed time for decades now. They have nothing left inside their dead lands except for that throne. It’s only a matter of time before that bastard prince surrenders to Ulaid Molt.”
Reyna narrowed her eyes. “I don’t see that happening.”
“Why not?” Aengus pushed up from his crouch behind the