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I put that idea back on the table while searching for another.
Though my figure wore purple, hers wore a slip of red. Ruby red. Blood red. The river and the red could be intertwined. I swiveled to see the real river where the clear, narrow water met the marble, and counted all the red fish. Nineteen, unless I counted that one twice. And there were those outside where the river sliced through the courtyard, but I couldn’t go there.
I dared a step out. Instantly, my feet burned.
Nineteen red fish, plus however many were out there. The number nineteen meant nothing to me besides the age I’d barely reach if I didn’t survive.
This wasn’t the answer. Again, I dropped to my knees by the painting and scanned every detail of the girl’s beautiful face. She didn’t wear a mask. Had she escaped back to her own realm after all? The very fact that she was drawn into my art signified there was some truth to the tale Troi told me. Someone had found my message and answered.
A queen had survived.
There might be another river in this realm that I needed to find. Or a place where the color red was significant. Or perhaps her tears were the message after all.
“How did you escape?” I whispered. “How did you survive?”
The thinnest layer of dust collected over her features, and I wiped it away.
The moment my fingers grazed her, my world gave way to a new one.
With a jolt powerful enough to thrust me to my feet, the mighty throne room melted, expanding to open air. The painting faded from my hands, and the river stopped trickling. Sunlight licked my cheeks with a warmth I hadn’t felt in two weeks.
My face turned upward. The sun.
I wasn’t in the fae realm anymore. I was home.
Very close to home, it seemed. Bodies pressed against mine, stepping on the hem of an outdated floor-length gown with a tight sash that suffocated me. Dust caught in my nose, making its way into my lungs. A hand squeezed mine.
“Don’t worry so much. You’ve got as good a chance as anyone.” An older girl with hazel skin and a pointed chin held on to me. “You’ll make Momma and Dadda proud.”
My skin prickled, while my mind crunched to sort out what was happening.
Banners hung from the square, and the musicians played a familiar tune. Was this—
The figures at the front answered my question. The three fae ambassadors stood there, the same ones I knew, scanning the crowd. The middle fae reached into a glass bowl.
“We thank you for your Mortal Queen,” she declared, unfolding the slip of parchment. “Dhalia Mari Severs, will you rule over us?”
The merry crowd roared with cheers and applause that shook the ground beneath my feet. I looked down. That wasn’t the applause. My feet were moving.
It should have hit me earlier. But it hit me now. This wasn’t just any Choosing Ceremony—this was her Choosing Ceremony. Dhalia’s. She must be the girl who survived.
The past couldn’t be changed, but I tried with all my might. I pressed into the ground to still her feet, I threw my weight backward, I screamed in my head. Not so much as a coil of her thick hair responded. All I could do was experience this as she floated in a daze to the front where the ambassadors stood draped in silver robes and placid smiles.
Last year’s chosen stood behind them, the fear evident in her cloudy eyes. Would she tell Dhalia what awaited her as Gaia failed to do for me, so this girl could be prepared for what would come?
The smile on my face pulled at my cheeks. “I’d be honored.”
No! I screamed again. Their realm isn’t made for you. Run!
But the words were lost in her head.
Dhalia turned to the crowd with her chin held high, and her feelings seeped into mine. She’d bring honor to her parents. Slivers of thrill tangled with that thought, until they overtook it completely. She had no idea what awaited her.
“We are ready to leave whenever you are, my Queen,” the ambassador spoke in a lyrical tone. They’d moved into the general’s house. There was no offer to return to her home to fetch belongings or say goodbye to loved ones, and Dhalia didn’t ask for it.
Dhalia’s voice wavered only once. “I’m ready now.”
She fiddled with a strip of the veil over her blood-red dress until the fae took hold of her hand. The mortal realm dropped away at the icy touch.
