Page 71 of Lady Knight and the Thief

Time stretched between them while Torren gazed at her face, storm grey eyes clouding over for the barest of moments. His teeth grazed over his bottom lip, indenting the flesh before he said, “Come on, Lass. Havanj is this way,” with a nod of his head toward the center of the village.

Cypress fell into step beside Torren once more and tried to focus more on the people than on marveling at the way the village was built beneath a hill, at the sheer amount of power that must have been used to create such a place.

Like before, when they’d entered the village, the Fair Folk under the hill all greeted Torren with a short bow of their head, hands pressed over their heart. And in return, Torren would repeat the gesture or simply smile at the people. Every face Cypress saw was friendly, joyous, even to see the face of their Prince.

“Forgive me if this sounds… rude, but,” Cypress began.

Torren laughed and asked, “What is it, Lass?”

“If your mother is dead… And Caelith is obviously not King of Faerie, why are you merely the Prince?”

“Ah, that’s not a rude question, Lass.”

“So… what’s the answer?” Cypress pressed, giving a fawn child a small smile in return when they waved at her while jumping up and down on cloven hooves.

“After the Hunt rose the last time, the human who proclaimed himself ruler in the aftermath forbade any other being heralded asKing.”

“Caelith’s ancestor?” Cypress guessed.

Torren nodded. “By that point, our King had seen enough fighting, had already witnessed his people being destroyed, and entire villages being erased. He accepted the demand, despite how ridiculous it was. It is because the Fair Folk are nothing if not honorable that we have abided by that agreement ever since.”

“So in Faerie, Prince is really,” Cypress started.

“King,” Torren finished with a wicked grin.

Unable to let the moment pass without getting the last word in, she replied, “Yeah, okay,just Torren.”

Torren’s sudden burst of laughter surprised both of them. So much so that Cypress ended up laughing just as hard as he, clutching onto his arm to keep herself upright.

She had no idea how she ended up here, deep in Faerie territory. She’d slain apparently one of their most feared creatures and trekked all across the country– all at the side of the apparent King of the Wylds.

And, no matter his assurances otherwise, being the firstborn to King Caelith– and one that abided by the treaty between their peoples– made Torren heir apparent to Grethnah, as well.

At that sobering thought, Cypress shook her head and pushed away from Torren, who’d drifted closer to her.

“Lead the way,Just Torren,” she said with a bow of her head and a wave of her hand.

Instead of just resuming their walk down the cobblestoned street, Torren grabbed her hand and tucked it in the crook of his elbow, and pulled her along with him.

“Now, when we get to Havanj’s cottage, I want you to remember one thing, okay?”

Cypress furrowed her brows. “What could that possibly be?”

“Magic is real, Lass. We have been traveling along Lae Lines throughout our journey, and there are fair folk who are more deeply…connectedto those lines of power. The power of a Diviner is to know the absolute truth.”

“But is whatyousay truth? Is our blood oath somehow invalid because I didn’t know I was part Fair Folk, therefore changing my true name or some bullshit like that?” Cypress asked.

The thought had been burning at her for the past few days.

Torren chuckled, “No, Lass. Your name is your name. If not knowing whose loins ye came from meant something like that, we’d be proper fucked, don’t ye think?”

“Alright, maybe,” she conceded.

“Here we are,” Torren said, gesturing to one of many cottages lining the streets.

White stucco walls above a stone foundation that rose to about waist height. Dark stained beams were exposed at the corners where they weren't covered by creeping vines.

“Remember what I told you.”