“Then I cannot say.” Her lips quirk. Oh my god,shedid.
“I don’t understand anything about this.” I sigh, holding my fingers to my temple. “For most of my life, I didn’t even know magicwas real.”
“All new things are learned with time,” she says in a soft, low voice. There’s something so effortlessly warm and charming about her that the tension in my shoulders relaxes with just a few words.
“Magic like this needs something: a token of desire, an intention to command. I took hair from your brush, and as I stepped through the portal, I imagined I was entering the woods you described.”
“And that’s allit took?”
“We shall say the portal is the train, and everything else is the ticket.” She nods. “I apologize for the invasion of yourprivacy.”
“No big—seriously.” I shake the bottle of Synthroid in my hands. “And thank. Wow, wait ’til Moth sees this…”
This seemingly normal comment is enough to wipe the smile from Queen Plume’s face. With all the authority of a queen, she raises a hand indicating me to stop. “Oh, you mustn’ttell him.”
“I can’t just keep a secret like this.”
“His sister is so happy to have him returned. I’m not asking you to keep this place locked away from him forever, just ’til the end of the week. These years have been hard on her. To think she was playing with transportation magic behindmy back!”
I mean, you’re literally hiding a portal, so you can’t really be mad,I think. Obviously, I don’t say soout loud.
She sighs. Her head bows and her hands fall to her sides.
“My son wanted nothing more than to be king when he was here.” For a moment, her gaze is distant as if the memories are playing before her eyes. “There is so little he remembers of his past and some I hope he neverrecovers.”
“Uh, what?” That’s obviously not what I meant to say, but more secrets?Please no.I love Moth with everything in my being, but can’t a girl catch a break?
“It is not my place to say more.” She gives the mirror another touch of her longfingers.
“Moth’s past is his past,” I tell her firmly, forcing myself to make eye contact. Her green eyes are unflinching in a way that’s uncomfortable.
She clasps my hands tightly in hers, giving them a small motherly squeeze. “And I hope,” she says tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear, “that his future willbe yours.”
As the two of us move through the small space, I can’t help but notice the unnatural movement of her wings. I wonder if the all the fabric she decorates them with weighsthem down.
“You are a real treasure, Heather.” She laces her arm in mine as she guides us past the ivy curtain and down the steps toward the rest of the castle. “We will do good worktogether.”
We slip out of the tower, quickly moving ahead of the guards who were waiting at the bottom of thestaircase.
Is this place really a secret if the guards are standing watch?
“Thanks for talking with me about, well, everything. I like, honestly, super appreciate it.”
I think I have experience putting on good events. None of my experience putting together influencer parties—or going to them—could have prepared me for a ball inEclipsica.
I don’t know what the logistics would be of my mom meeting Queen Plume, but something tells me they’d really hit it off.
They both love people, parties, and pushing me to my limit with an endless list of tasks. The queen asks me questions about everything from table settings to floral decorations to which song should accompany the first dance.
I don’t know anything about the customs here. Without Moth next to me, it feels like I’ve been thrown into the deep end, but somehow, I’m keeping my head above water. There’s something fun about planning something this grand. I just wish we had more timeto do it.
Though, all I really want to do is find Moth and tell him everything. Heck, I still need to mention the whole “your sister might be a murderer” thing. But what if keeping my mouth shut is honestly in his bestinterest?
For now, all I can do is wait for the right time. Maybe after all the festivities tonight we can stay up late and trade notes from the week. After so much time apart, I think we’d both really like that.
12.
Time has shifted while Queen Plume and I stood in her hiding space. The new secrets weigh heavily on my chest. My eyes dart around the corners looking for Moth until I remember he’s sitting for the rest of his portrait with Oak out in the garden. Good. Until I can swallow all this new information, I’d rather not have toface him.
