“And how old are you?” she wondered.
He smiled. “Quite young. Only a hundred and fifteen.”
“Young,” she repeated in disbelief. “Sure. Super young. Practically a child.”
“That must make you a fetus,” he countered.
“I’m almost twenty-one. In my land, that’s practically middle-aged.” Her playful demeanor faltered. “What about demi-fae? Do they live forever too, or do their human sides eventually die out?”
The king slipped the dark silver crown off his head and held it in his hand as though it had grown heavy. “They can live forever. Their human forms will continue to age, though, so they need to be careful not to die in a human body. Eventually, they can’t switch back at all.”
That was what would happen to Shaw, not that he’d bothered to mention it. He’d have to lose his human side, so she supposed he’d never really gotten a choice.
“I don’t want to rush you,” the king went on, “but you should understand the dangers of waiting too long to decide. Morally, I can’t make the island invisible again until you choose, but I urge you to decide sooner than later. We can wait a few weeks easily, but let’s not drag this on for years. Deal?”
“I don’t intend to,” Tanith assured him. “It’s not easy, though.”
“It certainly isn’t,” Riven agreed. “I could show you what the palace has to offer tomorrow if you’re interested. The library. The other historians. Anything you want.”
“The Kitchen?”
He smiled. “Yes. That too. We could make a day of it.”
“I suppose a stay-at-home king has nothing but time for his guests,” she figured. “I’m in.”
Her stomach growled embarrassingly loud, prompting Riven to place his crown back on top of his silver hair and reach out a hand. “I’ll take you to dinner. It’s early, but the others should be joining us soon.”
Eager for a whole meal, she let him pull her off the bed and lead her downstairs, describing parts of the structure and paintings as they went. “They’re all quite old, but we add a new one every now and then. If you touch the Light, your vision will improve and the detail will be more intensely beautiful, the colors twice as vibrant.”
“Is that your way of saying fae artists are better than human artists?”
“No, but it certainly isn’t a competition. Faeries win by a landslide.”
On the first floor, the dining room doors were open, one large round table placed in the middle with buffet tables and stacks of aged wine bottles on all sides. Everything was either glittering silver, black, or dark green, dim save for the hundred bright candles lit around the room.
“There’s no head of the table,” Tanith noted, sitting where one of the servers dressed in green and white pulled out a chair. Riven dropped into the one next to her.
“There doesn’t need to be. Only one man wears a crown.” He gestured to the tables. “Take a look around. What would you like?”
She wasn’t sure where to start, so she scanned the room left to right. The common theme seemed to be seafood, so she settled on something familiar. “Lobster.”
“I’ll have the same,” he said to the man behind him. Tanith hadn’t even seen where the second server had come from, but a minute later, there were plates with stacks of food in front of both of them.
Tanith had an enormous salad with two lobsters on top and pasta with a chunky bread roll on the side—more than she could ever begin to eat. “This is breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” she admitted.
Riven was already devouring his, sharp teeth tearing through every bite. “Faerie metabolisms work fast,” he explained.
She nodded and dug in, nearly moaning at the flavor. She’d eaten it all a hundred times before but never prepared by such experienced hands. Then again, the chefs had hundreds, if not thousands of years to learn.
“Tanith?”
She’d recognize that voice anywhere. She was on her feet a second before Kent crashed into her, embracing her tightly and lifting her off the ground. She nearly choked on the bite of noodles in her mouth before gulping them down whole.
“Holy shit am I glad to see you,” he breathed in relief before putting her down.
His strawberry blonde hair was unbrushed, his normally bright blue eyes unusually tired and dark. “Are you alright?” she asked him, though it seemed silly considering the situation. It would have only been two days since he learned the truth, but something told Tanith that no amount of time would make it easy to adjust. It was personal for him, more so than for anyone else.
He shook his head. “I don’t know.” At least his answer was honest.
“Your nerves will settle,” Riven insisted. “Sit. Eat. The nourishment will help.”
Kent sighed and dropped into the other seat beside Tanith. “You keep saying that, but it’s yet to happen,” he muttered.
“Give it time,” the king responded.
The youngest Shaw brother pointed to one of the tables, sending a server scurrying towards it before studying Tanith. “You know everything, then? About this place and… and Shaw?”
She nodded. “Yes. The question is whether or not to believe it.”
Riven didn’t make a sound, but he slowed his chewing considerably in wait for her to elaborate. Even Kent took a pause as his plate was placed in front of him.
“You have doubts about what we’ve been told?”
“Don’t you?”
He smiled slightly before digging into his shrimp plate. “At first. Not anymore.”
“And what do you make of all this? Have you made a choice?”
She hoped the question wasn’t too personal considering their company, but he merely glanced at Riven before nodding. “I decided before I even came to the island. We said we were going home, and I plan to keep my word. Shadow Hunt needs me now more than ever. They can’t be abandoned by both of their princes.”
Tanith stilled in shock, glancing at Riven as though he’d pose an argument. He said nothing, but he was clearly displeased.
“You’re okay with having your memories of this place taken away? What about Shaw? He’s letting you go home?” To his father was the unspoken part, but she didn’t need to mention the callous king for him to remember what waited for him in the human lands.
“It isn’t Shaw’s choice to make. He’s more than welcome to come home. He travels between, after all, but I was never meant to stay here. You and I aren’t half-breeds like him. We have no place with the fae.”
“You could make one,” Riven interrupted, reminding them both of the opportunities he’d offered. He’d suggested a place within the castle for Tanith. A job with the other historians. For Kent, she wondered what he’d have attempted to bargain with. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to be working.
“My kingdom is in unsafe hands,” Kent insisted. “And it could be worse after my father dies if I’m not there to pick up the pieces. As far as I’m concerned, Shadow Hunt is in as much danger as Xeres. I can’t abandon it.”
“It will fall eventually,” Riven insisted. “Sooner or later.”
Kent glared at the king. “It isn’t time yet.” He turned to Tanith. “We might not remember how important it is to ensure the human lands remain standing when we return. We won’t even remember that there are lands with creatures beyond human, but our will to rule and keep the six territories standing needs to be enough. We have to do our part.”
An unsettled feeling rose in Tanith’s gut as she twirled her fork over her plate. “You’ve decided, then? You’re going home.”
Kent nodded. “Yes.”
She looked to the king. “You said when someone decided, you’d procure them safe passage. Why haven’t you sent him?” Another catch, she feared.
“He wouldn’t leave without you.”
Tanith tried to keep the guilt from her face as she turned back to her friend. “What if I decide to stay?”
Her words were a shock to them both, but she wasn’t done considering
her options. His mouth parted in surprise, hesitation stalling him as he considered his next words carefully. “Why would you?”
She shrugged. “Because I’ve wasted the last twenty years of my life preparing to be sent to what our people believed to be almost certain death. Because if I go back, I’ll risk wasting the rest of it on the plans they’ve already made for me. If I stay, I could follow my passions and my dreams. I could watch Ellesmere and record its history for hundreds or thousands of years.”
Kent scoffed. “And then you’d have to choose whether or not to tear your sister and mother away. They’d have to face the same choice as you do now; whether to have their knowledge taken or leave Ellesmere without royals. You know what choice they’d make.”
“No. I don’t,” she tried, but she had already guessed. They wouldn’t leave the human lands. Still, she held onto hope.
“You do, which means you’d leave them to live and die in the human world, thinking you’re dead. It’s exactly what Shaw did.”
At the insinuation that she was no better than his selfish brother, her ears heated. “You aren’t even considering the positives.”
“You’re ignoring the negatives!”
Riven put his fork down and cleared his throat. “As I’ve told you both, there’s plenty of time to decide.”
“And as I’ve told you, I’ve already decided. I’m just waiting for Tanith to come to her senses,” Kent quipped.
She leaned back with a frustrated sigh. “Don’t pretend I’m being unreasonable. There’s a whole world we’ve never known about, and I have the right to explore it if I want to.”
His jaw ticked in irritation before another voice spoke up. “She’s right.”
Tanith paused immediately, her breath catching in her throat before she turned, unsure if the island had mustered up an illusion to mess with her.
In the doorway next to a familiar man stood Ardeen.
CHAPTER 16
She certainly hadn’t been subject to the harsh wilderness of the invisible island. Ardeen’s dark skin was glowing, her thin form wrapped in pale yellow fabric of the lavish Wickenvare designs.
The man next to her was more casually dressed, his blue shirt tucked into tan pants and his hair knotted back. His skin was brown, and Tanith didn’t mistake the faded green paint peeking out from the collar of his shirt. She was on her feet in an instant, grabbing the knife next to her plate for good measure and pointing it at him.
“You,” she seethed in displeasure. She’d recognize him anywhere. “You’re one of the barbarians.”
No one else wore those markings that she’d seen. No one other than the men who’d attacked the firstborns on the beach. She didn’t remember seeing him there, but she knew his face. His hair.
He’d been dragged out of his house the night before, right across the street from where she and Shaw were hiding out. It was definitely him, his nose crooked and long, one pointed ear carved unnaturally on the edge. She’d thought he looked like a fighter before, but now, she knew he was nothing short of an attacker.
“It’s not what you think,” Ardeen jutted in quickly, stepping forward and holding out a hand, a silent gesture pleading for Tanith to lower the knife.
She did, but she didn’t let go of it. “Then he’d better explain, because I know what those marks are, and I’m pretty sure he was arrested for a reason.”
“How did you know we were arrested?” Ardeen asked in shock.
“We?” Tanith’s brows drew together in confusion. “I saw him get escorted out of his house by the guards last night.”
King Riven was the one to explain as the servers led the new guests to their seats. “He was arrested on the charge of hunting firstborns. It’s illegal to do so, but some fae make a sport out of it. He’s since been pardoned, but Princess Ardeen was taken in with him as a convenience.”
Ardeen looked to her companion, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Uhri isn’t like the others. He saved my life.”
The not-so-savage man interlaced his fingers with hers on the edge of the table before diving into an explanation. “My uncle is one of the hunters. He had me initiated over a decade ago. I was still a young fae then, and I didn’t understand the gravity of killing humans for sport. When the firstborns arrived all these years later, my uncle said I had a duty to uphold. I had to go with them, but I wasn’t part of the attack. I stayed in the woods and took out one of our own men when I noticed my uncle sneaking up on Ardeen. He was about to kill her, but I convinced him that we should take her instead. Once she was safe from the attack, I turned on my uncle. It wasn’t my intention to take his life, but he wouldn’t stop. He had no mercy, so neither did I. I killed him.” His throat bobbed, the only sign of his guilt. “Ardeen helped me bury his body, and I brought her to my home. She’s stayed with me for the last few days, but when my uncle’s body was found, my scent was all over it. Thanks to the grace of King Riven, I remain a free man.”
He dipped his head towards the silver-haired fae with gratefulness and Ardeen smiled at Tanith across the table. “He told me everything, too. I trust you’re aware of the situation by now?”
Tanith nodded. “Very.”
“Well, I think staying here and feeling things out with Uhri is a step up from returning to Larune and being married off. Besides, my sister Zofia is always looking for a new adventure. I think she’d take a liking to Wickenvare.”
“Wait,” Kent interrupted quickly. “Are you thinking of staying?”
Ardeen shrugged. “I think it would take a lot of convincing to make me want to go back at this point. What about you two?”
Tanith answered when Kent shook his head as though betrayed by Ardeen’s decision. “I’m still considering it. Kent wants to go home.”
“Really?” she asked in surprise. “What about Shaw?”
A silence settled over the table. “He’s half-fae, actually,” Tanith answered finally. “He’s been on the island for most of the time he was missing.”
Ardeen’s eyes widened. “Really? But… How?”
“I’m sure he’d more than happy to explain it all again later,” Kent finally said, tone bitter. “And if you stay, you’ll have a thousand years to soak up every detail.”
Uhri studied Kent in confusion. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Yeah,” he said, standing and excusing himself. “It is.”
Without another word, he left, the table silent in his wake. They all ceased up one another, gauging the sensitivity so as not to send another member storming away.
“Tell me about the initiation process for the hunters,” Tanith said finally, turning her attention to Uhri. If she was going to record history, she wanted all the details.
He shifted slightly, sipping his wine before answering. “You have to be invited,” he admitted. “Most everyone was a family member, but a few were trusted friends. It all began with the original thirteen. They were men. Husbands who met bi-weekly to get away from home. Hunting animals was never much of a challenge for the fae, so they started the tradition. To be initiated, you have to hunt a half-breed on the island and drain three pints of their blood. You bring it back to the group and you propose a toast before drinking it. Then, every two hundred years, you hunt the real thing. Full-fledged humans. Purebloods. Royals.”
“They believed it made them strong,” Ardeen added. She’d clearly heard the story a time or two. “Hunting is a badge of honor for them, but to the rest of the fae, it brings shame.”
“Immense shame,” Riven added, lips curled down in displeasure. “It’s natural for us to watch humanity die out bit by bit, but we were never supposed to interrupt the process.”
Tanith bit her lip. “Do they really have to die? Why can’t we give everyone the choice to touch the Light? Why only the royals?”
The king sat up straighter. “It’s a blessing like I said. The Ghods only ever meant for royals to touch it, so if you were to give all of humanity the option, war would ensue. Think of the h
uman lands now. How vile the creatures act that they come up with fake diseases to pass the blame off on. Imagine your world, the evil and terrible things on it with the Ghods blessing. Imagine all of humanity with the strength—the immortality of the fae, and understand that we are selective for a reason.”
“I understand,” Ardeen admitted. “It’s just unfortunate that no non-royal will ever have the chance.”
Riven paused. “That isn’t exactly true. The chance isn’t freely given or offered to the general public, but there have been two non-royal humans in our history to touch the Light. The first was a woman who arrived on the island hours after a set of firstborns. She was a village girl who fell in love with a man from our city during her own search for the Crish cure, and he begged my father to let her touch the Light. She did. She lives among us to this day.”
“And the other?” Tanith wondered.
Uhri looked unpleased as he answered. “Jedidiah. The barrier is only permeable every two hundred years, but he made it through one of the cracks by pure luck. He wasn’t a half-breed, so he couldn’t see the passage, but he guessed well. He stole a touch before anyone bothered to intercept him, and he tried to make it back to the human lands to expose us.”
“What happened to him?” Ardeen asked. He obviously never made it back. If he had, humanity wouldn’t have been so clueless.
“He was killed,” King Riven answered easily. “He couldn’t be turned back and we couldn’t lock him up forever. Some conspiracy theorists still think he’s alive in the dungeons, but I made sure of his demise long ago. He was too much of a casualty to risk keeping around.”
Jedidiah. Tanith committed the name, the story to memory. She couldn’t wait to start writing it all down. Her fingers itched to do so, but she’d have to get her journal back from the townhouse first.
She thought of the knowledge on Wickenvare, and she thought of the lack of it at home. Could she really go back? There would be nothing to write about if they took her memory of the fae and the island. She couldn’t be a historian unless she remembered, or unless she stayed.
Tanith & Shaw (The Fealty of Firstborns Series Book 1) Page 13
