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My father was right.
I found Talen’s top hat in the crowd as he wove his way to me and held out an arm. His jacket was smooth under my fingers as I took his arm. “Show me the other kings,” I whispered. “I need a win tonight.”
“They are gone,” he told me. “All left at the same time, a few seconds ago.”
Was it some message from Brock that pulled them all away? His tongue was not mine to control, and already he might be telling how he bested me out of my own foolishness. Heat flamed my cheeks.
“Then there is nothing left for me to gain from tonight.” I marched toward the steps. “Enjoy the music and wine. I will be in my room.”
“Is everything alright?” His voice was soothing, but it couldn’t quell my emotions.
I paused with my back to him. “No,” I said. “I made a terrible mistake, and now I pay the price.”
Long after the music and laughter had ceased in the grand halls, I crept barefoot in my satin gown down the vast stairwell, lit by the stars in my throne. The fish swam to the edge of the river like scaly gems on a bright blue canvas, almost begging to be painted. They peered at their midnight guest, but I passed them.
I carried a single oil lamp and held it at arm’s length. The room was spotless, not even an empty wine glass or platter of crumbs to show for the night.
My wall paintings lured me. They greeted me with soft colors and the scent of pigments as I set the lamp down with a clink.
Desperate prayers flew through my head. We’d always prayed to the fae on the five islands, but now I prayed to a power higher than theirs to deliver me. I prayed with all my might as I examined the painting for writing along the bridge, a note tucked into the stone, or a faint message hidden nearby. My fingers scratched at the walls, my feet dug into the ground, and my eyes searched madly.
I needed this so badly. I needed there to be a Mortal Queen who had survived, and I needed to know how she’d done it.
My skirts billowed under my knees as I searched lower to inspect the corner where the wall met the stone floor, prying at the marble for a crevice fit for a note. I ran my fingertips over the dry paint, combing for any bump or alteration.
There was nothing. No message. No answers. No hint that anyone had noticed my plea.
Tears streaked my cheeks as I checked it all again. Then again. And again.
I pounded my fist against the wall, then sank so low my head touched the ground. I broke into deep sobs.
Just like that, the last bit of hope I’d held on to drifted away like one of the chariots, lost in an endless sky where I had little chance of finding it again. I was utterly trapped in the fae realm and totally unprepared to die.
Talen had left enormous chocolate muffins the size of my head on my bedside table, along with a promise to bring more paint since he’d noticed I’d run out of blue.
Just as I read the note, he knocked on the door. A silver platter held fifteen jars of fresh paint, which Talen beamed over.
“Did you grind the pigments yourself?” I asked as I stretched from my bed. If I focused on how poorly last night had gone, I’d never get up.
He slid the platter onto my desk. “Odette helped.”
My feet met soft slippers. I took a muffin and examined each jar. Talen tilted his head to see my face.
“What, no comment about me and Odette this morning?”
I turned away. “I haven’t the strength to pry right now. You can mention her name once I finish my muffin if you’d like, and we’ll see what happens.”
I went to rub my eyes but my hand hit my mask instead. Not even a week in and already the black mask felt as much a part of me as my own skin. This realm had changed me that much that quickly.
Talen turned in a slow circle about the room while I pulled on a knitted sweater. “The air feels like misery. What’s wrong?”
I chose that moment to bite into the muffin. He waited patiently while I savored the taste and riffled through my brushes. I needed a few more moments to suffer in my failure privately.
“Do we have more canvases?” I asked through my next bite.
“You’re done blemishing the palace walls?”
I swallowed. “You’re in a funny mood today, but no. I simply want to send paintings out across the realm instead of confining them here.”
