Warrior King New Worlds (Crystal Kingdom #6) - Milly Taiden Page 0,27

the males out to be in her mind. He was nothing like the asshole in the dining room, the prince. Ferrus seemed like any other guy on Earth. Except he was nice to her.

But he hadn’t done anything to stop the injustices the females had been enduring for years. But as a lowly warrior, how could he help with change? He didn’t see his home as the toxic environment that it was. It was what he was used to. He wasn’t experiencing the bad. Well, if he mediated between her and the king, he’d know exactly what the problems were. He’d know what needed to change, and what needed to happen now.

Lilah would stand for these women who didn’t have a voice in their lives. She would make sure the children, girls and boys, didn’t suffer as their mothers had.

By the time Lilah reached the village, some were already mingling. She noted that many of the red Fae Citogen had brought stone bowls and dishes and kitchen knives. The Gnoleon village was in the middle of preparing breakfast, and the visiting women jumped right in.

The mountain women marveled over the berries and nuts that the forest held. She heard Valori say that she remembered eating the exotic foods when she was little. For some reason, no one came out to collect such delicacies any longer. Lilah doubted the king would let them out to gather anything.

Iridia told her that she was welcome to gather at any time. In fact, the female alpha said she would have the gardeners plant several of the bushes on the forest perimeter to the mountain, so they had easy access. They would make sure every year that the plants remained healthy and abundant just in case the Mother of the Land needed a little help.

The Citogen stared at Iridia. “Do you mean Mother of the Mountain?”

The female alpha tipped her head to the left. “No. Mother of the Land.”

Valori smiled. “We need to share stories on our beginnings. I think we may find many similarities.”

Lilah moved through the village to see how the rest of the Citogen were. If the tension was thick somewhere, she was the one to smooth things over. Oddly enough, she found Ferra surrounded by men and their weapons.

The girl appeared to be a little young to look for a mate, maybe in a couple years. At the rate they were going, it wouldn’t matter if she found a mate or not. She’d be condemned to no love or joy.

Ferra held an arrow with a stone arrowhead the forest people used to hunt. The edges were sharp, as sharp as rock pounding on a rock could get. Ferra pinched the edges between two fingers and ran them around the perimeter of the triangle. When she pulled her hand away, the edges were razor sharp and smooth. The men gasped and pushed all of their arrows at her to do. The girl laughed. That was something Lilah hadn’t seen from the princess. Happiness.

Down the way, she heard Shinni’s voice. Lilah wandered toward the edge of the village where the gardens were. Several of the men and women from both sides were gathered around a section of dirt where the Gnoleon demonstrated how their magic worked with the plants.

Lilah watched as one of the Gnoleon women buried a seed then placed her hand on top of the dirt. Within seconds, a green sprout popped out of the soil. The Citogen gasped just like the Gnoleon had with Ferra.

Peace settled in her heart. She was confident this was the best thing she could’ve done for the red fae—technically, her people. That thought nearly knocked her on her ass. Her people, if she chose for them to be.

Xenos had given his right to rule to his sister so he could stay with Wren as they trekked to the Island of the Standing Stones. Lilah would do the same and stay the hell away from the mountain. But what about the women and children? As soon as she left, would they go back to the way things were? Absolutely they would. She already knew.

She had to choose whether to sacrifice her happiness and stay to ensure the women were treated fairly, or to run away and hate herself for the rest of her life for being a wussy.

But what if she didn’t tell the prince who she was. Maybe she could stay but be an “unmated” female. That way, she could see Ferrus. As long as