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The crowd reacted to her words as expected. Fae cheered and shouted when the queen talked about the horrible acts perpetrated against our kind.
“Their monsters won’t deter us,” she said, and the crowd cheered to support.
“We will win this war,” she added, and the crowd believed.
I did not focus on the speech as much as I should have. My mind was elsewhere.
I was still thinking about Aislinn and how I could get her to forgive me when the queen ended her words and announced a feast that would be held in the Crown Square.
The crown was sharing its wealth with the Seelie.
As the queen turned around to leave the stage, the crowd rushed to the center of the square. The poor would be more eager to get to the food than the nobility, which meant the fae standing in the front lines were quickly replaced with the ones standing aback.
Once the queen left, we had no reason to stand before the crowd. The court officials and advising members of the queen’s council went with her, whereas the rest stayed with the public as they sat for the feast on the tables quickly conjured by servants.
We would not be eating with them. There was a feast in the palace for the court. It would be held in the great hall, possibly the final celebration before the war. As we turned away from the crowd, the great gates to the palace opened wide to let the queen back into her home. We would follow her inside, and then, we would be free from our ceremonial duties.
I watched Aislinn as we walked on the road leading to the gates. It had been a while since I’d been in the city, but I did not care about it.
Hogan glared at me as we marched, but I did not dare to meet his gaze. I was afraid that I would get angry again, making Aislinn even more frustrated with me. I did not want that. Despite our difference of opinion, the flickering possibility of friendship between us was not something I could easily let go of.
Once we were inside the palace walls, the march picked up its pace. All the lords and ladies competed with each other to walk closer to the queen. I saw Lady Cara, looking beautiful and elegant in her long silver dress as she turned away from the crowd and walked into the palace using another entrance. Her arrow slit and bow hung on her shoulder like always, and her elegant fingers wrapped around the strap. She did not seem to be amongst the nobles eager to be seen with the queen. She did not need that sort of thing to increase her status. She was the champion of the last trials. Everyone respected her and got out of her way.
Aislinn was one of those people who took a step to the side to let Lady Cara move past her. After that, she kept walking and reached the steps leading into the palace. My heart ached to be walking beside her.
Perhaps I could sit with Aislinn at the feast and ask for forgiveness. That thought made me pick up my pace, but before I could catch up to her, I felt a hand on my shoulder that made me stop.
“Come with me,” Master Leo leaned in to whisper in my ear. “We will not be heading to the great hall immediately.”
I did not question my master’s orders. As we parted from the rest of the court, Master Leo dragged me into one of the maze gardens circling the palace grounds. It was dark here, and there was an ominous feeling to following him as the music from the great hall rose to include the whole palace in the feast.
I really wanted to go to the great hall. Aislinn had to be there; it was considered rude to miss a feast such as this one. There would be great food and good music. This was my chance to catch her in a good mood so that I could apologize for speaking harshly. I wouldn’t take back what I’d said since she was in the wrong, but I could apologize for the way I chose to argue with her. But Master Leo seemed agitated. I could not go against his demand and I was curious what made him act so.
“Master?” I asked as I kept following him. “Where are we going?”
He waved his hand without looking back.
I realized that Master Leo was taking me back to the palace, albeit using a longer route than the one the rest of the court was taking. We circled the western garden using the interior garden paths. Finally, we reached a small door hidden behind some bushes.
“Sir?” I asked. “Why are we here?”
He finally stopped. He turned around to face me. I expected him to explain why he was acting so odd, but instead, he reached with both hands and grabbed me by the arms. I flinched at the abrupt change.
“When you told the queen about your vision,” Master Leo said, his eyes searching my face frantically as he squeezed my arms like a madman, “how did she react? Did she look scared? Sad? Tell me, boy!”
“I don’t know,” I shrieked. “I...”
His face was twisted oddly. The sun was going down, and the dying light was the only way I could see his face. It made him look scary.
“Your vision... Aislinn said you saw a crown being broken? Did you? Did you see anything else that might mean the queen will be replaced?” Master Leo asked.
His words made my stomach flinch. The vision was always in my mind, ready to be understood further. And as soon as he said it, I knew. The breaking of the crown had been a warning. I had missed it.
“Yes,” I replied. “Yes, it did.”
I thought I saw a flicker of joy in his gaze. He seemed thoughtful for a second.
“You’ll have to tell me all about it, boy,” Master Leo shook me again. “But we can’t do this here. You’ll come to my room, and I’ll write it all down.”
