stared at the shifter king, his lips twitching. “I think we should wait to make sure King Athon is all right before we continue.”
Solid black eyes shot upward from the desk, pegging Red Louie with a gaze ready to kill. “To Fairy and back with you. I am perfectly fine.”
“Are you positive?” Red Louie teased. His long and grotesque green nose twitched as he grinned with ugly delight. “We can wait.”
Red Louie must be the one holding the string of destiny.
I glared right at him.
He could change this in a heartbeat, have anyone else be the one we were in an urge with. But from the glee on his face, he did not look the sort to change anything that gave him dark pleasure. Red Louie was enjoying our agony—and possible deaths to come—far too much.
King Athon snarled at him, and then turned his pointed gaze to Black Louie. “Please proceed. I am most assuredly all right.”
“If you say so.” Black Louie opened the old book and flipped to the specific page he was looking for. He raised the book right in front of his face, and mumbled into the pages, “The Fae gifted this book to the Fates, should the giants ever waken. There are ancient artifacts that they hid in the kingdoms that will help to control the giants. But only those who should find them will, descendants of the originals who have the royal power.”
Red Louie glanced around the room. “Are there any questions so far?”
“How many artifacts are there?” Queen Mikko asked.
Black Louie did not even bother to lower the book to look around. He kept it plastered to his face, and smashing his nose. His muffled voice stated, “There are six. The first artifact is hidden in the Blood Forest. That is where you must go, and I will not speak of the next artifact until it is time.”
“What?” Queen Alora practically shouted. “Are you sending us to our deaths?”
In his deep voice, Blue Louie stated adamantly, “No.”
It was possible Blue Louie held our death strings.
I smiled sweetly at him.
Blue Louie did a double take at me. He stared for a long moment and then rolled his too large eyes at my antics.
“You will cut your hand and let your royal power blood drip onto the Blood Forest’s leaves,” Black Louie expounded in his monotone way, the book a few inches up higher on his face, apparently having issues with his eyes. “You will say the single word giants, and the Blood Forest will give you free entry one time only.”
King Traevon’s red brows furrowed low over his emerald eyes. “How do we exit?”
“Hold on a moment,” Black Louie stated. The book rose another inch higher. “Here it is. You will each hold onto the artifact found, and you will be freed from the Blood Forest.”
“So they must find the artifact before they can leave?” I asked for clarification. “They could be in there for a thousand years searching, but if they don’t find it, they’ll be imprisoned in the Blood Forest?”
“You are correct, Princess Trixie.” Black Louie moved the book a half-inch higher. “But you are incorrect on one point.”
“What is that?”
“You are assuming that it is only the rulers going. But do you not have royal power, too? Are you not also a direct descendant of an original?”
Is this what fainting feels like?
I was awfully lightheaded. I shook my head hard to snap out of my shock. I was going to search for these artifacts, too?
That couldn’t be right.
Father’s chair creaked as his spine straightened. Outrage—and fear—covered my father’s face. “My daughter cannot go into the damned Blood Forest!”
“She can. And she will,” Black Louie said. “I’m moving on from that topic. You can worry about that later on your own time.”
King Traevon’s wide eyes shot to me.
I stared back at him and shrugged a frightened shoulder.
What else was there to do? If I must go, then I must go.
Father leaned against the table and rubbed his forehead again, stress eating at his mouth, his lips pinched into the most severe of lines.
“As for the Blood Forest, when you all enter, your powers will be nullified,” Black Louie rambled on. “The Blood Forest removes any and all powers that are not pureblood born Fae, seeing as the originals tended to kill one another off too often for the Fae’s liking.”
Queen Mikko’s mist-created eyes were positively spinning in their sockets. “We will be powerless?”
“Except for your minds? Yes,” Black Louie stated.
“If we get hurt,