House of Lies and Sorrow (Fae of Rewyth #1)(35)

“You’re human, Jade. Hasn’t it always been that way?”

She stiffened again. “Just because I’m not fae, just because I don’t live in a fancy castle or party with rich court members every day, doesn’t mean I’ve been fighting for survival every day.”

I considered her words. “When I saw you in the forest, I could have guessed differently.”

“I was fighting for my family.”

“Quite a family you have.”

“Likewise.”

I froze. Jade stared me down. Her and I were different. I knew that. Jade was a human who was living off scraps, hunting her own food.

I was a prince of Rewyth. In fact, I was the most feared prince in the kingdom. And it wasn’t for no reason.

But Jade didn’t need to know that just yet.

I held the knife to my side, pushing the thoughts aside. “The quickest way to harm a fae is a silver blade to the heart. It might not kill them, but it will hurt them enough for you to run and get help.”

She held her own knife, examining it as if it were the only thing keeping her from death.

“Try to stab me,” I said.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“I’m not going to stab you,” she sneered.

“No,” I agreed. “You’re not. But you can try.”

Her brows furrowed. “Are all fae as cocky as you?”

I smirked. I couldn’t help it. “Not all fae are the heir to the kingdom.”

“And not all fae are the Prince of Shadows.”

“Also correct,” I said.

Jade’s hair was beginning to dry, curling slightly at the ends where the long locks hit her waist. She was thin, thinner than she was in the forest the first time I had seen her.

She wasn’t strong enough to fight off a fae.

As if she could read my thoughts, Jade lunched forward, dagger in hand and aimed directly at my chest.

Her form was decent, but I easily batted her away with my hand.

“Try again.”

She huffed, clenching her fists. It was good if she was getting angry. Anger would give her strength. Adrenaline.

She lunged again, this time with a grunt of frustration.

I grabbed her arm and twisted. Her weapon clattered to the floor.

“Are you even trying?” I asked.

She backed away and ran her hands over her face. “This is stupid. I’m not fast enough.”

“You have to be, Jade. And if you can’t be faster, you have to be smarter.”

“Smarter than who, exactly? The dozens of fae who may or may not want me dead?”

I rolled my eyes. She might not have been trying to be difficult, but we were stuck in an endless cycle.

“Are you done feeling sorry for yourself?” I asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Look,” I said. “I get that you’re in a shit situation. But your attitude really isn’t helping.”

“My attitude?” she repeated. I just nodded in response. “I’m sorry that I can’t be happy and helpful all the time when my sister might be freaking out, your brothers may want to kill me, you ripped off someone’s head on our wedding night, and now we might be walking into some sort of testosterone bomb. Apologies, my prince.”

I chose my next words carefully. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

She just nodded, the tough walls of her composure slowly crumbling behind her deep eyes. Part of me wanted to comfort her, but I didn’t.

“You have no idea what it’s like,” she said. “None of you do. You don’t know what it’s like to starve for days because your father was too drunk to come home and bring food. And when he finally showed up, he had spent the rest of our money on drinking. You don’t know how it feels to have to hunt and steal for food just so your little sister doesn’t starve. And you certainly don’t know what it feels like to have your coward of a father ship you to the fae because he can’t pay his own debt. So, I think the next time you have an opinion on my attitude, or anything about me for that matter, you can respectfully shove it.”

I just nodded. “Okay.”

She looked shocked, like she expected me to fight back. “Okay,” she repeated, picking up the dagger. “So teach me how to use this.”

“I thought you said you’ve used it before. On men, if I’m not mistaken,” I said, repeating her words from the first night I met her.

A wicked smile spread across her face. One that almost made me smile in response. “Stories for another time, husband. I need to know how to use this against the fae.”

I nodded. We would definitely have to come back to that. “The facts are that you won’t be stronger or faster than a fae. Probably ever. So you’ll have to use other advantages.”

“Like what?”

“You’re human. Nobody’s going to expect you to fight back. Surprise is going to be your best bet. Just keep that thing where you can grab it easily, somewhere nobody is going to see it.”

“You had a pretty easy time knowing I had this at the wedding.”

“Maybe, but nobody else should be looking at you that closely.” Jade blushed, but I didn’t back down. Something primal inside of me wouldn’t allow it.