A wicked, dangerous idea weasels into my brain.
“You think a feeble trick like that would work on me? Let me go, soldiers,” I command darkly. “Or are you too stupid to recognize me?”
To my surprise, the two men holding my arms release me with a start.
“Don’t obey him, you fools!” the Red Queen shouts.
The knights clutch the hilt of their swords, uncertain, waiting.
Rain is still beating down on me, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I unfurl my wings and rise a few feet into the air. “I’m Ezra Hermes Lightbringer, prince of the Sun Court, and you answer to me, not her.”
The leader hesitates for a single beat before striking a closed fist against his chest. “At your command, my prince.”
The other soldiers immediately imitate him, lowering their gazes to the ground.
“At your command,” they say in unison.
My palms are sweaty as hell, and I’m deeply thankful for the invisibility, because I’m not sure I could keep my face straight.
Ezra Hermes Lightbringer.
There were two names on that attic tree. I took a shot.
But I managed to say it without triggering theFae can’t lierule. It slipped out of my mouth without resistance, almost poetic in its cadence. I’ve never been able to tell an outright lie before.
So is it the truth?
Or is it enough that I’m simply not certain it’s false?
“Pfft. Ezra Lightbringer hasn’t been seen in decades.” The Red Queen seethes. “He’s lying.”
“He’s got wings, madam,” the knight points out. “Our king shan’t suffer anyone he doesn’t approve of to keep them.”
“Except the Lord of the Tides,” she huffs.
“She’s the exception,” the knight grumbles.
Wait. She?
“Those two prisoners aren’t Tidecallers. Release them,” I order.
The Red Queen braces her hands on her hips. “Prince or not, you don’t have authority over my prisoners.”
“They’reourprisoners,” I counter with a derisive chuckle. “Or are you confused about who gagged and bound them?”
The ten or so Reds guarding the Queen unsheathe their katanas.
“You’re onourlands,” one of them says.
I glance at the autumn tree behind them in the distance. “Close to it, but not quite.”
The queen clicks her tongue. “Your father will not approve of your manners.”
“Take your grievances to him, if you wish. I’m taking what’s mine, and that’s that. Unless you want to fight all of us. Soldiers, unbind the prisoners?—”
The squadron leader clears his throat uncomfortably. “With all due respect, my prince, we should take the prisoners back to the castle and wait for the king’s orders. We hardly expected to find you here, and the king will want to hear all of this from your lips.”
His voice trembles, and he doesn’t quite look up, as though he’s terrified to defy my authority. “Are you prepared to come back with us immediately to the Solar Cliffs?”
