His wings extended behind him, the traitor surveyed the burning city from the top of the castle wall. To his right, he watched a gold-winged fae destroy the gates. Devira. What a perfect little goddess she'd turned out to be. He was glad she'd made it, and he hoped she lived through the next year.

To his left, he saw the cowardly queen of the unseelie flee, no doubt planning to join her armies to the west. His soldiers were descending upon Asra from the north, tearing it apart.

Not his soldiers, he corrected himself. Not quite yet. There was no king seated on the crystal throne. And there wouldn't be any until he dictated it.

The traitor smiled, recalling the day he'd found his calling, when he was but a child.

The overking had been sick, and the traitor had asked his mother whether he was going to die. He'd wanted that fat, disgusting pig to die. Even as a child, the traitor had been thirsty for the blood of those who'd wronged him.

“Hopefully not,” his mother had said.

He had frowned. “Why, Mother? He took you and set you aside like you were nothing. His men did this to you!” he'd roared, pointing to the scar that devoured half of her once-charming face.

“Because for all his faults, if he died today, the world may end up a darker place for it. The realm of crystal isn’t a democracy. A leader is appointed by a technological device I don’t quite understand. And they all are bound to follow that leader. While it is Orin, the Isle is safe because he demands peace. But if he was to die and another leader was chosen, there could be war. People like us are the first to die in war, my little prince. I may hate fae, but I’ve seen wars. I hate them more.”

The traitor had kept his mouth shut, but secretly he'd wished for war. Suffering. Chaos. He'd wished for the world to burn, and now it was.

She would never admit it, but Devi would have preferred to carry on riding with Valerius. She was a proficient rider, but she’d never been fond of horses. They had minds of their own, and relying on a creature that may very well hate your guts didn't seem wise to her.

But she had a plan. She tiptoed to the elegant, powerful brown and white beast that she was to ride and whispered, “I heard you're called Alarik. Well, I'm Devi, and this shall stay between us.” She emphasized this by doing a shushing motion. The animal seemed unimpressed—at least until she pulled out a brown sugar cube and held it up on her hand. “There are a few of those where that one came from, boy. Here's the deal. You don't throw me over or change course, and you definitely don't ridicule me in front of His Mighty Pain in the Butt. Sugar cubes for you in exchange. What do you think?”

The horse whinnied, and she chose to believe it was a sign of agreement. "Good. Here's another one to seal the deal."

Devi knew little of horses, but she was aware that this one was mighty all the same.

Elham was far removed from any other dwelling, standing alone with nothing but open fields for miles, because the principal family of the little town had bought every stretch of land on their horizon.

The Fairfolks bred horses and sold them to the soldiers of the unseelie realm. The horses that pulled Shea's silver carriage had also been born here. In fact, fae came from near and far to this small, otherwise irrelevant little town just to purchase their beasts. Valerius must have emptied a fair part of his purse to acquire three tonight. But they could not have hoped for better steeds, hurried as they were.

Where a normal horse may strain after trotting a mile, the dyrmounts could cover ten before they needed a break.

The horse was eating out of her hand when Valerius came out with their supplies. He handed her a share to store in the bags they fastened to their saddles.

“These will give us a fair advantage,” he said, visibly satisfied with the two beasts before them.

“Unless, of course, those who come after us decide to stop and buy horses themselves.”

Valerius’s smile showed all his teeth. “Aren't you cute, thinking I haven't thought that through.” He lifted a brow. “I bought them all, except for the pregnant mares and the yearlings. Express delivery. Three of Thain Fairfolk’s sons are leaving at once to deliver the rest of the herd to my mother. We're bound by honor to bring them back three studs by spring.”

Devi knew enough of finance to feel a little dizzy. When her agent told her that new horses had to be bought, she always groaned, thinking about the fact that she would have to spend more on one animal than on the food provision of her entire household for a month.

And Valerius Blackthorn had just bought a herd. At least fifty horses.

“I'm gonna be sick.”

She could come to terms with the fact that they now were at war, but throwing millions away in the space of half an hour was another matter.

“Such a spoilsport. No one likes a penny pincher, you know.”

“You're going to ruin this kingdom if it ever becomes yours to rule.”

“Now, now. I'll have you know that I didn't spend a penny of the royal coffers. No, this all comes from my pocket."”

“And you so happened to have a fortune on you?”

He shrugged. “Some of my bonds were in my bag, fortunately. Asra may have fallen, but gold bonds from the Isle's Bank can be cashed anywhere.”

She shook her head in disbelief. This male may as well live in another universe.

“Don't you get all judgy, little miss. If you must know, I make a salary, just like you. I've just lived a lot longer. Money amasses when you don't do much with it.”

“And you don't do much with it?” she questioned doubtfully.

Valerius lifted a brow. “Someday, when we have some time before us, ask me what I do in my home. I may yet surprise you.”

She didn't say so, but he was probably right, because Vale surprised her at every turn.

Another thing that she wouldn't say, even under torture: she was glad to have company. Besides, while the elves of Wyhmur might have something against finding her at their borders, they probably wouldn't turn their back on Valerius Blackthorn.

As well as a bloody herd and a coat she hadn't asked for, Vale had bought her a change of clothing, food, more arrows to replace those she'd used, and other resources, paying for her supplies without making a big deal out of it. It was a little weird to her. Normally she was the one who bought things for others, but tonight she had nothing on her except for a few coins. When she was leaving her room, Devi had believed she was just going to spend a normal night at work; she generally didn't need her purse for that. 

Surveying everything she was packing away, she realized she'd be set to head to Shea. She didn't need to beg the elves for the essentials, thank all heavens. 

But still, whatever way she thought of it, the safest path for her now was through the well-guarded woods.

The dark forest extended from low south to all the way up in the far north of the Isle, slithering along the lands of the seelie and unseelie alike, stopping right at the southern bothers of Corantius. All of it belonged to the elves, and no one with half a brain would enter without their consent. If they let her pass, she could circle the enemy's army and join the queen west of Asra, where her troops had been stationed.

Once he was done dividing their purchases between Alarik and Midnight, the black horse he'd chosen for himself, Vale took her hand, leading her to the horse's flank. Again she noticed how warm it was, particularly when he wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her to help her on the horse. She was too busy contemplating how stupid she was for being quite so aware of him to protest that she could very well mount a horse by herself.

“Let us make haste,” he said, once he'd gotten on his own steed. “Whether those sent to hunt us be of Corantius or the seelie realm, they are day dwellers. We're to put as much distance between us and the city of night by dawn.”

“How far are we exactly?”

She was vaguely familiar with the road ahead because she'd looked at maps, but she wasn't quite certain of the distance they had to cover.

“It would be a twelve-hour ride if a horse was capable of covering that distance in one go. We'll have to stop one or twice. These horses may be good, but I'll not have them die on our account.”

“We'll get to rest, at least,” she said, quite thankful.

Four hours later, Alarik was fine, and the large beast of Vale's was galloping ahead of her at a pace and with an ease that seemed to say, “Pfft, I cover that distance as a warm-up, bitches.” Meanwhile, Devi hurt absolutely everywhere, including muscles she didn't know existed. She was as fit as any female—the protectors’ rigorous training paired with her time in the basement with the queen had whipped her into shape—but damn, she was gonna walk funny for days.

Still, she wasn't about to say anything, imagining Vale's mockery. To her relief, although he seemed just fine, Vale still slowed down for a break once they neared Shorthaven.

It was close to dawn, and the streets were empty, quiet. Devi wondered if word of the war breaking out had reached the small village yet; she doubted it. From there, they couldn't see the clouds of smoke over the city.

“We announced our presence at Elham. Let us be discreet here. There's an inn at the other end of the village. We’ll stop for an hour and pay them to tend to our horses. If anyone asks, and they will, let us say we're headed to the ocean for a getaway."

“In the winter?” She lifted a brow, questioning the hasty story.

Valerius thought it out. “Good point. Did you say you came from a county near my land?”

“Yes, just east of it, along the borders of Graywoods.”

“Where Kal is headed.” Valerius frowned, weighing his next words carefully. “If we say we've taken the quiet, picturesque roads to head to your home, whoever asks will follow Kallan's trail, I'd wager.”

And he didn't want his friend to be in more danger, so that wasn't an option.

“All right, the beach it is.” She added, “No one will believe it, but that's a story.”

Valerius smirked wickedly, his maddening smile lighting a certain mischievous glint to his violet eyes. “They’ll believe it,” he stated.

For the first time today, she was a little afraid.