“Good morrow, Prince Evlan. I wondered if you would be here.” She could play the game of fay names as well.
He nodded towards the dais where two silver filigree thrones sat side by side. “Is it the naming, then?”
“It must be. She has not said as much, but Titania gave Libbet a crown to carry on a silken cushion.”
“It has only been two days. She has not wasted any time.” Eversleigh sounded as calm as ever, but his eyes betrayed his worry. “Has she given any hints whom she may choose? So much depends upon it.”
“Not a word. She has spoken privately to four Sidhe men, including your Lord Cathael.”
“She likely only wished to speak to him about the war. He would be an improbable candidate for King; he is not of sufficient stature among the Sidhe.”
“Titania also interviewed both Libbet and me separately, not at all in her usual manner, asking in great detail about mortal knowledge of the fay. I was also quizzed on the magic of mages and the history of magery. Can you imagine how the Collegium would receive the news that Titania learned everything she knows of magery from a mere woman?”
He smiled slightly. “Your father would be proud of you.”
Frederica was less certain of that. “I hope so. Last night Titania went alone to the clearing to consult with the moon. She did not tell us what the moon may have said.” As if the moon could say anything at all.
“It is a good sign that she asked Libbet to bear the crown. She would be unlikely to show so much public favor to a mortal if she intended to allow the war to continue.”
“Is Aelfric here?”
“In line with the other Sidhe. I think he would have preferred to be with us.”
Frederica wondered just whom he meant by “us.” She glanced up at the overcast sky. “How will Titania know when it is noon? The Sidhe do not have timepieces, do they?”
“No. They eschew metal devices, apart from those made of silver and gold. Perhaps she just knows.”
Silence fell over the clearing as Titania mounted the dais, followed by Elizabeth bearing a silken pillow with a gem-studded circlet resting on it. The queen’s own delicate crown sparkled with diamonds as she stood in front of the thrones. As if she were unaware of the crowd before her, she took the circlet from the pillow and held it high in the air, her face turned up to the sky.
The expectant silence continued. Titania stood perfectly still, her raven tresses swaying gently in the breeze. A narrow shaft of sunlight burst through the clouds, setting the circlet in Titania’s hands ablaze, and cut a line through the clearing.
Titania looked out over the lines of the Sidhe. “Lord Cathael, come forward.”
Frederica could barely see Lord Cathael’s form with the sunlight reflecting off his armor. He stepped out of line and strode to the dais, mounting the steps to stand before Titania. His face was pale, even for a Sidhe, and a muscle beside his mouth twitched. Despite his interview with Titania, he clearly had not expected this.
Without a word, Titania reached up and placed the diadem on his head. They both turned to face the crowd. Titania took his hand and raised it with hers. “Behold your King!” she said in a voice that carried throughout the clearing.
Cheers and stamping of feet met her announcement. The armor of each of the Sidhe shifted from black and silver to Cathael’s colors of gold and sea green.
A shiver went down Frederica’s spine. It was the end of the age of Oberon and the beginning of something new.
Titania and the new king sat in the thrones and conversed quietly as their subjects began to leave the clearing.
“That is all?” Frederica demanded of Eversleigh. “Choosing a king for the next few centuries, and that is all? Our coronations go on for half a day.”
“The Sidhe do not like to waste time,” said Eversleigh. He was smiling broadly and looked years younger.
“You are pleased with her choice?”
“I barely know Cathael, but the outlook for relations between mortals and fay has brightened substantially. Titania could hardly have made it clearer that she intends an end to the war. I am delighted.” He shook his head as if unable to credit it. “Not only that, I finally have an answer as to how the moon picks a new queen.”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you not see her name Cathael moments after the sunbeam struck him?”
“Surely you do not think she would have named whatever Sidhe the sunbeam happened to fall on?”
“I do not think it was that random. Last night Titania communed with the moon, and today at midday the sunbeam struck one of the four Sidhe she was considering. I have not the least idea how it could be possible nor what it means, but it is real. And I thought nothing about Faerie could astonish me now!”
