“Because they’ll attack me?”
“Most likely.”
She had said the words, but hearing him acknowledge their truth left her looking at the sky. “Where should we go?”
“The forest, for the moment.”
She reached for his arm and teleported them inside the woods to the stream she had stopped at earlier.
“Warn me next time,” Lennox said as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Apologies. I don’t feel anything.”
“It isna painful.” He met her gaze. “Just disorienting.”
They stared at each other. Ailis fidgeted before she lowered herself to a low-lying rock. “Since I’m the stranger in your land, I’ll begin. Would you like me to start with my people or my planet?”
“Whichever you prefer.”
He remained standing, which unsettled her. However, if their positions were reversed, she didn’t think she would’ve handled things as calmly as he was. Lennox was reserved. Whether that was just his way or how he presented himself to her, she didn’t know. Yet.
Now that he was in mortal form, it was easy to disregard the huge dragon that had risen from the lake. She could never forget that, though. It didn’t matter that she knew next to nothing about dragons. He had magic, strength, and size. Ailis knew how to defend herself if it came down to it, but she wasn’t a warrior. Lennox was all that stood between the rest of the dragons and her. She put her trust in him to keep her alive.
And they both knew it.
“I’m a Fae,” she began. “I come from the Fae Realm. From what little I’ve seen, our world is similar to this one. We are made of magic.” She paused, trying to find a way to share the next part so it wouldn’t cast her in a bad light, but there was no other way to tell it. “As a race, we’re divided into two groups. The King of the Light rules the Light Fae. And the Dark Fae are ruled by the King of the Dark.”
Lennox leaned a shoulder against a tree and crossed his arms over his chest. “Light and Dark.”
She held his gaze, knowing what he was asking. “Good and…bad.” She couldn’t make herself say evil, even though that’s what the Light called her kind.
“In my experience, nothing is a hundred percent good or bad.”
“While I agree, my people are only given two choices. All Fae are born Light. It is a…choice to become Dark.”
Lennox stared at her for a long while. When he finally spoke, what he voiced wasn’t the question she had expected. “Why would anyone choose to become Dark?”
“Power. It all comes down to that. As Fae, we have considerable magic, but some always crave more. Once a Fae chooses the path of a Dark, it alters more than just their magic. Their appearance changes, too.”
“So, everyone knows who is Light and who is Dark?”
“Exactly.”
“And that’s beneficial?” he asked skeptically.
She thought about that for a moment before shrugging. “The Light and Dark have been squabbling for generations. The Light fear the power the Dark gain and wish to wipe them out, and the Dark are concerned with the purity of the Light and wish to wipe them out. Things are getting out of hand. I fear someone will overstep soon, and things will shift from small skirmishes to an all-out civil war.”
“No doubt it will unless someone stops it.”
“I don’t think anyone can. Both sides distrust the other.”
“Can you do anything?”
She barked a laugh. “Me? I’m nobody.”
“Sometimes, the people we least expect make the biggest differences.”
Ailis glanced at the stream, watching the water run over a flat rock before dropping to the next. “If I could, I would.”
“You’ll never know unless you try.”
“A single Fae against two monarchies?” She snorted and cut her eyes to him. “But you do have a point.”
One side of his mouth lifted in a smile.
She leaned forward, resting her arms on her legs. “You can ask the question.”
“What question would that be?”
“If I’m Light or Dark.”
“Okay.”
Ailis waited for the question to come, but he said nothing. She cleared her throat and needed to fill the silence. So, she continued talking. “Because the Light and Dark can’t get along, we divided the realm. The Light stay on one side and the Dark on the other. It has been that way for so long that no one remembers a time it wasn’t like that. The land is divided into regions on my side. There are grand cities, all the way down to tiny villages and everything in between.”
“Where did you live?”
“One of the large cities, though my aunt had a cottage in the country that she left to me. I always thought of it as an escape when I visited her. Now that it’s mine, I rarely go. Too many memories, I suppose.” Ailis glanced at the ground. “She was the last of my family.”
Ailis was overcome with emotion at missing her aunt. It had been over five years since Bea’s death, but the grief still crept up on Ailis at times.
“I’m sorry.”
She jerked her gaze to Lennox to find him watching her. Ailis blinked rapidly to chase away the tears. “Death is a part of life, is it not?”
“It is. That doesna mean we doona feel the loss.”
She nodded and then smiled. “I try to imagine what Bea would think if she were here. She was an explorer, too. I think that’s where I got my love of it. Nothing ever held her back. She always did what she wanted, regardless of what anyone said. We understood each other when no one else did. That makes missing her harder. She had a long life, though.”
“How long?”
Ailis straightened her back and stretched her legs out before her, crossing them at the ankles. “Fae live for thousands of years.”
“Really?”
“What about dragons?”
“Dragons also live for thousands of years. Dragon Kings live until another King kills us.”
Her mouth went slack at his words. “Do you mean…are you telling me you’re immortal?”
“Immortality implies I’ll never die. I can be killed, but only by another King.”
Which meant she couldn’t do any damage to him or any of the other Dragon Kings. That was terrifying. No wonder he hadn’t been concerned when he found her.
“At least as far as I know,” Lennox added. “I’ve never fought a Fae.”
She raised her brows and shook her head. “Don’t look my way. I’m not about to test your theory.” Ailis frowned as she studied him. “If you’re all but untouchable, I imagine everyone wishes to be King.”
“Many do.”
“What stops them from gaining what they want?”
“The magic of the realm chooses who becomes King of their clan.”
She shoved her hair away from her face. “What about you? Does the magic choose who is King of Kings?”
“Aye.”
“What if someone doesn’t want the position?”
Lennox’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. “It doesna matter. If you’re chosen, you’re chosen. Tell me about your magic. What all can you do?”