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Unprompted, my father’s warning came to mind. You are not ready for the fae realm. Mother coated it as rich and fulfilling, but Father’s lip would curl up at each story, and he never daydreamed over it with us. Suddenly, I wished I’d paid more attention to his grumblings than Mother’s stories.
What a day. Becoming a Mortal Queen and wishing I’d listened to Father. Both equally surprising.
My mouth opened to ask another question, but I quickly closed it when Carlene raised a brow over the tip of her mask. Not trusting myself to speak, I nodded.
Cal would love this. He loved puzzles. So far, this realm had offered me a few.
The stairs led to a hallway longer than my eye could see. Thankfully, we stopped at the first door. Carlene pushed it in. “This is where you’ll stay.”
Mother’s stories of the rooms were some of the best. Entire chambers for baths with fountains in the center. Sleeping in beds of feathers and silk under the stars. Walls of fire that kept occupants at the perfect temperature, whether they needed to burn hot or cold. My personal favorite included platters of chocolate-coated berries.
Carlene stepped aside and I blinked.
There was no fire. There were no berries. There was nothing aside from three men clad in emerald-buttoned long coats, standing in an empty room.
“What is this?” I asked before realizing that was a question. Carlene sent me a look.
“Choose one.” She kept by the doorway while I stepped farther in to survey the scene. The walls were lined with lanterns, but that was all. There wasn’t even a single window. I eyed the door for a lock. This was closer to a cell than a bedchamber.
I stared at her, then at the men. The situation was beyond my understanding, and no matter how I placed my words in my head, I couldn’t form anything but questions.
“My name is Thea,” I began, hoping to get them to speak. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The one on the left nodded, and a twist of tightly coiled red hair toppled across his forehead. “Thomas of the House of Berns. Friends to all, and enemies to none.”
At this point, I wasn’t certain they were speaking the same language as me, because nothing they said made sense. The middle one cleared his throat. “Caedmon of the House of Low. We are known as warriors and academics alike.”
I wished I could give the proper reaction, but my mouth hung slightly open as I sifted through everything I’d heard of the fae realm. What was going on?
The third straightened and tilted his head back. His chin came to a little point between wide jawbones and sat beneath sharp cheeks. His hair matched the shade of cotton, far from resembling mine, but his eyelids rounded at the top just like Cal’s and, for a second, I’d found a hint of home.
“Talen,” he said. “From the House of Delvers. We are the richest of the Houses and have been aligned with King Arden’s bloodline for centuries.”
“Thieves,” Caedmon whispered.
“Rich thieves.” Talen wore a ghost of a smirk.
Then they looked at me, and the pit in my stomach grew. “I don’t know what I’m to do with that information.” It wasn’t a question, but my tone begged for answers.
Carlene delivered. “You enter our realm as our queen, but you come with nothing.” She ignored my packed bag in my hand as I glanced toward it. “Alliances are everything. This will be your first one, and unlike future alliances, this one is binding. Whoever you choose, they and their House will be aligned with you. They will gather things for your room, connect you with other alliances, steal secrets for you, whatever you need.”
She said it so simply, as if that made perfect sense. The three waited for my answer with polite smiles.
“I’ll take whoever can get me a bed,” I said. They all chuckled.
I sighed. The first said his House had lots of friends and no enemies. I’d need friends here. But having no enemies spoke of weakness. Only powerful people incurred enemies. As queen, I didn’t want to set myself up as weak. My eyes glided over him to the next.
Warriors and academics. I’d had enough of warriors while growing up on the center island. But rich thieves . . . my attention went to the third. Something in that sounded promising. Plus, his resemblance to my brother soothed me, and that alone made the choice worth it.
“Talen.”
Thomas drew his lips into a dangerously thin line, and I hoped I hadn’t earned him his first enemy. Caedmon took the decision better with a polite bow. “My Queen.” He stepped from the room.
The doorway was massive, yet Thomas practically pushed against me as he passed. “Be careful with that one,” he muttered. Then he was gone.
Carlene was bowing. “Very well, my Queen. May your alliance serve you well.”
She left me with Talen, who stood stiffly until the door closed.
