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“You’re a pretty thing.”
A voice snapped me back to my senses and my arm dropped.
A woman approached to boldly lift a lock of my hair and twist it between her bony fingers. “We are so fortunate to have our Mortal Queens. And you are fortunate to have the attention of two fae kings.” Her sharp nose was like an arrow. “Tell me, girl to girl, which do you fancy more?”
I stepped back, knocking my hip against the shelf. Bottles clattered. The woman’s silver eyes pierced mine. “I don’t fancy either,” I said.
She smiled as if she saw through the lie.
She lifted her arms, her long sleeves draping down to her waist. “Kings are tricky. I can grant you your heart’s desire, whichever one that may be.” Another sneaky smile.
Now I saw her game. “I’m fine,” I said. Her breath hit me with how close she stood.
“Are you certain? You won’t be here long, and you don’t want to take your time making them fall in love with you. I can give it to you like that.” She snapped her fingers. “All it costs is one look inside your memories.”
If I could have slithered back farther, I would have. Already the bookshelf dug into me as I tried to keep back. I didn’t want anyone looking into my memories.
“I’m certain. Thank you.”
“Elda.” A man appeared from behind the woman. “Leave our queen be.” His voice was demanding, though his face was as calm as the seas of the five islands.
She sized him up for a moment. Then her face twitched, she clicked her tongue, and she waddled away. “As you wish.”
The man wore a velvet coat with two layers of brass buttons reaching from his collar to the end at his knees. The vivid red fabric rivaled a fire. “Not many girls turn down their heart’s desire,” he commented. He didn’t crowd into me as the woman had, but instead gave me room to move away from the shelf. His tone was soothing, if perhaps calculating. “Makes me wonder what your true desire is.”
It wasn’t one of the two kings. A month ago, the question would have been simple—to get home. But now? A tiny piece of me whispered it was to guarantee my family was well, while finding a way to remain here. That last bit had seeped into my heart, teasing me with uncertainty.
I offered a simple answer. “I don’t make deals with people I don’t know.”
“Then I assume you’ll be uninterested in mine, but I’ll present it all the same. He pointed to a necklace of emerald green. “This is the cheapest item I have, but perhaps the most powerful.”
The necklace twisted lightly, showing off all its angles. I glanced up to be certain Thorn was still deep in conversation with the bearded man, paying us no heed.
“It’s rare,” the fae said, keeping my attention. “This lets you control anyone you’ve seen without their mask.”
I looked at the necklace with new interest. Faces here were a powerful thing, or so I’d been told. Now I saw the first proof of those words. I bent closer to the lackluster shine of the emerald, catching my foggy reflection from within. “One could control them?”
“Fully.”
If I possessed this and saw an ambassador’s face, I could force them to take me home. However, I hadn’t seen anyone without their mask. New webs of plans stretched before my mind, weaving trails I could follow. Tricks I could run. Moves I could make. A chance at going home.
But you don’t know if you want to go home.
I shook my head, forcing the idea away for now. “It’s worthless to me. I haven’t seen anyone beyond the mask.”
“Not yet, I think. But perhaps one day.” He turned to riffle through other objects while I mulled that over. Next, he presented a thin gold watch with its flat face decorated with a teal band. Simple, by fae standards, but he held it like a treasure. “This lets you freeze time.”
I gingerly took the watch to feel the weight of it. “For how long?”
“Twelve minutes,” he replied. “Press right here”—he pointed to the side—“and you will be the only one who can move for twelve minutes. No one else will even know that time has passed. But it can only be used once. After that, this will be nothing but an ordinary watch.”
My mind jumped. “Could I remove someone’s mask in that time?”
He grinned as if very pleased I had thought of such a thing. But he shook his head. “Sadly, no, or else I’d use this myself.”
I held it, struggling to pass it back. Even without removing masks, I could do a lot in twelve minutes, if used at the right moment. I could search somewhere or someone. I could think through a situation. I could move with a twelve-minute head start. “How much?”
“One memory.”
