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If this opportunity is as rare as he says, then this might be my only chance to see the truth with my own eyes. I nod. “Let’s do it.”
Chapter
Forty-Four
WILLOW
Foxflickersus into Titania’s private gardens inside the palace grounds, unnoticed by guards on the boundary walls. New snow falls in lazy whorls as we crouch behind a tall column of frost-hardy roses and take stock of our surroundings. Another column stands ten feet away. It’s high—at least three stories—and marks the entrance to a maze of hedges. Nero’s private garden was similarly landscaped. We did most of our death training at the maze’s center, away from prying eyes.
“These hedges protect Titania’s Cabinet of Curiosities,”Fox sends.
The enormous Ivory Palace dominates the rest of the grounds. The manicured garden stretches onward, mainly water features and pretty marble statues. Sparkling webs decorate the trees. Guards roam the high curtain walls, thankfully peering outward, not inside. I doubt they’ll do that for long.
“How much time do we have before the guards are a problem?”I send Fox.
He points down the maze path toward a tall, craggy rock looming above the hedges a few hundred feet away.“The Baleful Hunt keeps watch from its nest up there. As long as it’swith Sylvanar, and we don’t cause a disruption, the guards shouldn’t be a problem.”
“That sounds almost too easy.”
His lips flatten.“The problem isn’t just getting past the Hunt. It’s getting inside the temple where I believe Styx is held. We need a mortal for that. Punishment for the public discourse of a Radiant is petrification for one year.”
“I thought you said he would be permanently trapped as a statue.”
“Titania doesn’t plan on releasing him.”His jaw works.“The truth is, his twelve-month sentence was up two years ago. The spell’s narrative is making my hive forget him.”
I suppress a gasp.“Two years! So if you don’t rescue him by the end of this Gentle Interlude...”
“I might be alone in the knowledge of his existence.”
His sadness wraps around my heart. How can anyone holding this much pain, while still putting me first, be wrong for me?
“We’ll figure it out,”I promise.
“Prepare yourself. The Cabinet is... confronting.”He takes my hand andflickersus further into the maze.
We land in a lawned clearing between two stories of stone pillars surrounding a giant uneven boulder. Slabs on the pillars help create archways, each holding a different statue.
“Oh, my. They’re all... I mean, theywerereal.” From their expression of fear or resignation, it’s obvious each statue was once a living creature. From faerie to mortal to nightmare, this Cabinet holds many species, like a menagerie. It’s yet another parallel to Nero that makes my stomach revolt. He had a room at the top of his Sky Tower filled with fae wings pinned on walls like butterflies in a box. As I walk around and inspect each statue, I read the inscription on a plaque beneath. A rare one or two mention a crime, but most are simple species labels.
“After the Awakening five years ago,” Fox explains, “Titania had Sylvanar collect as many different creatures as he could. For research.”
I snort. “She’s insane.”
“Unfortunately, you may be right. Her madness grows each year when she rises from her winter slumber.”
“Why?”
“She makes out like her sleep freezes the watergates and ceases hostilities, but it’s a bargain struck with Oberon.” He gives me a dark look. “Her dreams are locked in the realm of nightmares for the duration.”
“Why would she lie about that?” The truth would only add to her martyrdom for her realm.
His lips curve. “It would mean admitting her sordid love affair with him continues.”
“Are you telling me she’s down there... you know?”
“I suspect he likes to punish her just as much as he likes to fuck her.”
That sounds . . . complicated.
