The cold night air was putrid despite its freshness.

Kill it. Wyrn’d told his mother to kill a fairy.

His feet took him to Bluebell’s pen. Her pregnancy was more obvious now.

He wondered how his mother would kill the fairy. They could no longer let it go, not after what Wyrn had done. And she couldn’t cause the death directly because that would come back to her.

Perhaps Wyrn should go back and break its neck.

The thought nauseated him. But he had to be the one to do it so the retribution wouldn’t be visited on anyone else.

Bluebell stood in companionable silence with the bastard mule from the princess.

Wyrn felt hollow at seeing them at first, but finally, he was happy and satisfied. He hung his head, eyes closed, and let out a slow exhale, trying to understand what had happened and how his life’d come to this.

Finally, he looked out at the fading sunlight and made peace with one fact. The princess was gone, and she was never coming back. And all the hurt he gave others wouldn’t change that.

Maybe she’d been right to leave him. He deserved nothing less.

Night had come by the time he made up his mind what to do.

Prince and fairy, he’d let them go.

And then he’d grow big enough and allow them to take their revenge.

He stepped into the house to find a crowd long formed before his arrival.

Father was dressed for battle. The table, turned up, revealing the coffin below, was empty.

Wyrn imagined all that was left of his insides shriveling up and dying. He’d come to let the bastard go…but he was already gone. And now Wyrn looked like a proper fool.

Bonn, armed to the teeth, tore his gaze away from the hollow space and focused directly on Wyrn.

“There was a stench of a human down by the river yesterday. I’d thought nothing of it. But if he’s in that forest, he won’t get far.”

“But how can that be?” someone asked. “If he was gone, who was banging all this time?”

No one had an answer. While Father, strong arms folded over his slight gut, watched the empty makeshift prison, Bonn watched Wyrn.

“Brother, you’re to be the leader one day. What do we do? They’re likely lost in that forest. We’re sure to find them. There’s nothing on the opposite side. They must know that by now.”

Despite his words, Wyrn could find nothing to offer at first.

Finally, he said, “Find them.”

Bonn hefted his sword. “And?”

“Drive the prince to his end. Let him take his own life with a trick.” He anticipated his brother’s word and cut him off saying, “As for the princess, I no longer care what you do with her.”

Everyone traded a glance. Bonn slamming down the table set the crowd in motion. They filed out of the room, charging into the night.

All but Father who sat at his usual spot.

The moment Wyrn’s brothers had raced out, Wyrn had felt powerful and respected.

His father did not participate.

Instead, he sat, thoughtful, and Wyrn knew then that he’d done something wrong. But he couldn’t say what.

He’d been strong and steady. He hadn’t begged anyone to spare her. In fact, he was acting like a proper giant for once.

“Sit,” his father instructed with a wave of his hand.

This wasn’t typical giant behavior. They weren’t a thoughtful breed. Action and might took precedence over all else. Little could persuade one once the rage set in.

Wyrn focused on the table rather than that disappointed frown.

“The day you were born was one of the worst days for us. We lost so many people that day. I feared for you—that your mother wouldn’t arrive at the temple to The Living Goddess in time to give birth to you safely.” He stared at the table for some time then said, “I found her in the forest, looking haunted. She couldn’t recognize me. She’d ripped up most of her dress to wrap you up. You were so weak. And then she just looked at me, directly at me and clung to me and no one else and I did not know what to do with her. I’ll admit that.”

Wyrn’s stone expression showed wear.

That image of his mother wasn’t one he could picture; she was always so steady and strong.

Long ago, this valley was overrun with fairies and giants alike. Wyrn’d seen enough carvings in caves and otherwise to know that it was true.

“Do you know I am my father’s only son?”

Wyrn picked his head up to search for truth in his deep green eyes.

“And I told you—I said let her come to you. I’ll explain something to you. In your grandfather’s time, they started catching fairies and ripping their wings out.”

Appalled, Wyrn leaned away. “But you said never to do this—that it kills them.”

“It does not kill them. It makes them mortal. Their small size is for protection. It’s also magic. Once mortal, they look human. Only…they have the scars on their backs. Our king and their queen were once lovers. And he fell out of her favor, so he ripped her wings out and realized she became mortal.”

Wyrn nodded. “The Living Goddess.”

“Yes. She never forgave him. The fairies tried to save her with magic, and it bound her to the land. But it also kept her safe and it gave her a different type of power. In retaliation, fairies, the only ones who could safely bear our young, refused us. So, our king, vengeful and angry, ordered his brothers to snatch away any fairy they wanted and rip her wings out. My mother was one such fairy.”

Perhaps it was his father’s uncharacteristically soft tone, but Wyrn broke their gaze to hide his discomfort.

“And I told you to wait. My father did not. Some waited a year, terrible ones waited a day, my father waited a week. And I came into being. But she never loved me. And she fought him until the day he wanted to be free of her so that he could find a new wife.”

Wyrn swallowed hard. “Should I guess how that divorce came about?”

The man didn’t answer. Instead, he said, “Shortly after, he went on a rampage and humans killed him. But I was old enough to remember the haunted look in my mother’s eyes each and every day. And that was the look your mother had when I found her carrying you in the woods.”

Unsure of his meaning, Wyrn asked, “What are you saying?”

It was the first time the man hesitated. “A woman visited by a fairy cannot enjoy anyone else. My mother had already found her pair before my father captured her. Physically, it’s excruciating. That is the danger. And he did not care—he did not see a reason to woo her. When your mother and I first met, I’d stumbled upon her near the forest. The first thing I looked for were scars on her back. There were none. Just a spell. And you waited seven months for your princess. Boy, I waited three years. Three.”

Relief spread through Wyrn, but dread came with it.

“Everyone called me a fool. But I didn’t care. I waited. At the time, when I first met her, she wouldn’t tell me of her village. And I worried that she’d been in that forest because the fairies had her. But…that was not true. And she gave me seven boys and I was glad. After…after I found her walking with you, she was different. She…she wouldn’t feed you. She wouldn’t look at you. And I decided I needed to change. And I had to when I saw your back. She’d written a spell on it, but it didn’t work, it was…a strange shape. And she feared my rejection of you. So, I changed. I cleaned you. And I went against my nature and doted on you, especially in her presence. I brought you to her for feedings. I had to hold you because she wouldn’t.”

He let out a slow sigh as he patted the table.

“I came to find…why, when I tried to go to her.”

Wyrn was in no way interested in learning anything about his parents intimately, but the man had his attention.

“She came back changed and my first thought was of my pride and of a fairy slighting me.”

“And that wasn’t the case?”

“No. She swore it to me. But she also showed me my selfishness. I worried about her safety, not for her own sake, but mine. So, I will remind you of this one important truth I’ve learned, a woman cannot love you if you love her for the wrong reasons.” He sat back, defeated. “Your defiance had shocked me when you chose her over us, but deep down, I respected your stance. I admired your attempt to conquer this on your own. You love her—you love your princess, don’t you?”

Wyrn took interest in the table without answering.

“Then you don’t get to say things like, I don’t care what you do with her. Not for pride’s sake. You don’t get to pick and choose when to be a husband to her. She’s out there, and she’s in a forest of enchantment, a forest with no end to it. If she doesn’t starve, then she may suffer a fate worse than death by perhaps stumbling upon the temple of The Living Goddess. A place with rules of its own. Rules that take a hefty fee from mortals. Even we giants must present a sacrifice in order to safely give birth there. Bonn’s wasn’t enough, and his woman died. Would you risk the same for yours?”

Father was always someone Wyrn admired but could never truly understand.

His father preferred hunting over talking. Fighting over liquor. But he had constants. One was rules. Rules followed by giants, rules followed by men, rules followed by husbands.

It didn’t matter how big he was, Wyrn always felt wanting in his presence.

But the man also valued truth, and Wyrn told the only one he knew. “She humiliated me You always said not to let people mistreat me. And she’s lied. You hadn’t sent for that prince and neither had I. And she said she hadn’t either, but he’s here so it must be a lie. Perhaps…perhaps her so-called love for me was a lie, too.” As soon as the words left his lips, a pit formed in his stomach. He feared he’d vomit. “It was all a lie.”

After a long bout of silence, the man stood, saying, “A giant’s way is might. It’s not wrapping a baby to your chest and doing the wash, but I did that for three months straight and I felt no humiliation for it. I’ve longed for you to be bold and headstrong—something I wanted from all my sons, you especially. You’ve become this, yes, but at what cost? It does not fit you, Wyrn. I know that now. And I accept it. It will serve me and my army to have someone ruthless and cold leading us, but what will be left of you?”

Wyrn trembled when he found the strength to look his father in the eye.

“You’ve tried to fit my expectations. But I now know how wrong that was.” Father held Wyrn’s shoulder. “If she’s lied, then send her on her way, but safely. Because it will eat you up if you don’t. I am not asking you to beg for her favor. I’m asking you to be true to your feelings. She is in need of rescue. What will you do?”