CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
There’s nothing I find more boring than flipping through books on histories. They’re just so dry. Give me something more interesting. A romance between a knight and a common girl. An epic quest to retrieve—or destroy—some ancient artifact. Something that will actually keep my attention. And yet, flipping through a history book is exactly what Adriana has me doing.
“The history of the courts is one of the most vital pieces of information you’ll need to learn if you’re to be living at court,” she had said.
I mean, I suppose it could be worse. We could be going through a language lesson all over again. A lot of good the lesson this morning did. I only made it far enough through to sayhello, my name is Oliviabefore we gave up. And even then, I don’t think I could replicate it now without actively looking at the words. Plus, my pronunciation is atrocious.
The only saving grace of this book is that at least it’s a copy that’s been translated into common language.
I mindlessly leaf through the pages on the Seelie Court. Flicking past pages upon pages of portraits of my parents andprevious Seelie rulers but not really taking in their features. They all look fairly similar anyway. Fair skin, tall, slim, elegant.
I flip to where the Unseelie section begins and thumb through the pages to see how much information they really have on the Unseelie. It’s a larger section than the Seelie, which I’m not entirely sure if that’s a good or bad thing.
At the dawn of the realm, the two courts were set to rule over the lands as one. An arrangement was made between the two rulers to bond their offspring: the Seelie Prince and Unseelie Princess were thus promised to each other from birth. It was thought that through joining the power of the two courts in matrimony, their combined powers would exceed that of any other Fae in Alinea. There were dissenters within each court that vehemently rejected the idea, but none as loud and persistent as those within the Unseelie Court. Their dark and devious nature resulted in the brutal murder of the young prince. The princess went missing around the same time, leading scholars to find the timing to be highly suspicious. To this day, the Unseelie continue to be held responsible for the death of the Seelie Prince and reneging on the deal between the two courts. They should never be trusted with such a deal ever again.
My eyes fly across the page, sucked in completely by the story of the young prince and princess. Betrothed? Did they even like each other? Was this only to be some sort of duty for them? Will I end up betrothed to someone out of some sort of duty to the court?
Gods, I hope not.
Especially after how tragic that story seemed to end for the couple. Let alone the effect it’s had on the courts for the subsequent millennia.
Flipping the page, I find similar portraits of the various rulers. Though these are darker, with more shadows; they’re haunting. Some of the smiles are downright vicious.
I start to flip through without even really seeing them, but my hand freezes mid-turn when my attention snags on the portrait on the next page. My eyes are locked on that of what looks to be a teenage boy with the Unseelie King and Queen I remember seeing in Fleur’s vision. The resemblance between the boy to both adults is striking.
What’s even more striking is the familiarity with which I recognize in his own features.
The sharp jawline.
The strong nose.
The slightly shaggy, dark hair.
The light eyes that Iknoware a shade of ice blue, even though the image is grayscale.
It’sBastian.
But even worse, seeing him with the Unseelie King and Queen, I come to a realization.Hewas the little boy in the vision. He feltsofamiliar, but I couldn’t place my finger on why at the time. Now it feels like a puzzle piece has clicked into place. I feel like an absoluteidiotfor not picking up on it sooner.
When we first met, I asked if he worked for the royal family.In a manner of speaking, he had said.
When Robin showed up to pass along a summons from his mother.Your hi—. He was going to call him ‘your highness’.
Suddenly, every conversation we’ve ever had about his past plays on repeat.
My mother… is not the kindest of Fae. In fact, she may play a rather large role in the perception that the humans—even several of the Fae—have towards the Unseelie. She’s vicious, ruthless and will take what she wants.
I was raised by one cruel parent and one passive parent. My mother is your Unseelie of legends. And my father? Well, he was kind, but he let my mother take the lead on everything, including my upbringing.
He quite literally confirmed he wastherewhen Fleur consulted the fates.
No, I don’t suppose you would’ve recognized me immediately, unless you knew to look for me.
They weren’t wrong though to hide you away. The Unseelie Queen won’t be pleased to know you exist. I’ve told you how it’s common knowledge that she wants to overthrow the Seelie Court and rule over all of Alinea.
I really am such an idiot. How could I not see it sooner? It was all so fucking obvious and right under my nose the whole time.
You didn’t want to see it, my voice of reason whispers in my mind.
