absence as he began walking me through the halls of the guild. “That has left you to do everything yourself, but tonight we are here to celebrate your kicking ass on this place.” I waved my hand in the direction of the main gathering hall as evidence. “So, tell me what’s new, how many recruits did we end up with, and what do you need that I can provide to make this easier on you?”
“Three more hunters showed up last night. We’ve got the dormitories set up for species.” Passing a door on the left, I peeked inside to see rows of beds and makeshift closets against the walls between each bunk. “So far, it’s mostly witches and a few wayward creatures that are tired of being kicked around by demons. Headcount as of last night was sixty people. Not bad for our first week open, huh?” Alden’s eyes sparkled with renewed life. I also noticed the old pep in his step that he’d lost months ago, which made my insides warm with happiness that he was filled with purpose once more.
“You’re in your element, Alden.” I took in the men and women moving about and winced at how scrawny and undernourished they were. “You need food?”
“No, you guys supply enough to keep them fed. They just need time to recover. A lot of them come from towns that had little left. Some came from as far as California when rumors of a new hunters’ guild reached them. Others are from guilds that went down when Seattle fell. It’s not like they could go out and just grab some food.
“Most of the enforcers hid. It’s been weeks since the walls fell, and even with Lucian and his men keeping the streets clean, they can’t get all the demons. By the time they clear one town, another fills with those nasty creatures. Lucian and Vlad have been rather helpful, but there’s only so much they can do, all things considered. Now, Erie, she’s enjoying hunting demons, and most of the ones around here are now under her control, somehow. I choose not to ask since she smiles, and it freaks me out a little. She’s using the demons in her influence to fight against the others.”
“Erie is? I would think she would be too busy running from Callaghan to be useful.”
“He’s around too,” Alden muttered. “It’s a fucking mess out there. Vlad has sent some humans here, and he’s housing a few below his bar. My guess is he doesn’t plan to run out of food anytime soon, so they’re safe enough there.” Wrapping one arm around my shoulders, Alden pulled me into him in a side hug. “Why are you really here, kid?”
“I need to go through the archives.”
Coming to a stop, Alden dropped his arm and took a step back. “You could’ve just asked me to bring the files you needed.” Rubbing his chin, he arched his brow, studying me before he cleared his throat. “What else is going on?”
“Ryder gave the order to slaughter anyone who fled the Horde Kingdom and the war.”
“That’s expected in the middle of a war, kid.” Nodding at my angered expression, he smirked, crossing his arms, willing me to argue against what he’d just said.
“It’s not, though, Alden. Think about it.” I began walking again, my feet falling heavy on the stone floor as my previous anger started to build again. “I’m the Goddess of the Fae, and those are my people. Ryder didn’t even ask me what I thought. He just gave the order,” I said, my voice raised enough that it echoed slightly through the hall, and I winced apologetically at my outburst. “These people just want to protect their families, and if we’re the ones killing them, then how can we expect them to fight with us?”
“Ryder’s the King of the Horde, kid, not the fae.” Sad, understanding eyes met mine, and I knew Alden was about to impart his wisdom on me, and I wasn’t going to like it. “His job is to rule the horde, and the only way to do that is if they fear him. That puts him in a position where he must