“And that’s what you want?”
“I want to find the crown. After that, I don’t much care what happens.”
His eyes narrowed, but he stayed silent, another piece of his assessment not adding up. He turned to leave, but paused before he did, removing something from the small pocket at his chest.
“I thought you might need these.”
He held something gold and delicate out to me. I stared down at what lay in his hands before truly understanding what they were.
Spectacles.
But they looked different than mine; the arms of my previous pair were serviceable and plain, but these were fashioned to look like ornate golden vines. The glass inside was clean and uncracked, unlike my previous frames. I hadn’t been able to get a replacement for years, so I’d just made do with the broken glass.
I looked up at him, knowing my shock was clear on my face. I couldn’t even try to hide what I was feeling. “Where did you get new spectacles?”
“Your old pair were in what was left of the beast. They weren’t in the best of shape, so I had them fixed by a deo smith in the city. Giants aren’t often pleased to work with peris, but they are the best smiths. He did some... changes, as we couldn’t get them back to how they once looked.”
“They’re beautiful,” I breathed.
He cleared his throat. “It seemed like you used them for more than just adornment.”
He lifted them up to my face, his intention clear.
I blinked, and gave him a nod, taking a step toward him. He slid them over my ears, his fingers brushing them as he did so, causing a pleasant tingle where he touched. I was deeply aware that his hands were on my face and I stood inches from him, looking up into his dark eyes. What was worse is that when he perched them delicately on the bridge of my nose, his face came into view, clear and unfocused. I could see every small line on his face, the flex in his jaw, the scar bisecting his cheek. My heart raced so loud I was scared he would hear it.
“Humans use them to see,” I explained, my words too breathless for my liking.
He lifted a brow, and I realized how silly that must have sounded to a fae. I probably couldn’t see half of what he could, even with my spectacles on.
“And can you now see?” He tilted his head, watching me. Now that I could see the details on his expression I was even more confused, because behind the tightness in his jaw there was also a disquiet in his eyes, something simmering behind his gaze I couldn’t put my finger on.
“Yes, they work beautifully.” I gave him a small smile. “Better actually.”
It was true—I could see things in such detail I hadn’t known what I’d really been missing.
He didn’t return my smile. “Good. Then you’ll be able to see properly to be able to find the ancient Queen’s crown.”
He said the words abruptly before striding out of my room and closing the door with a very final click.
But even his frosty demeanor couldn’t chill the warmth spreading through my chest as I picked up a book from the shelf and began flipping through it, seeing the words more perfectly than I’d seen them in years.
Chapter 29
Dear Amma,
Nani says I have hair like yours, that when my father was working for Empress Lorna, you would come go to my Nani and have her cut it. And one day, when my father came back, he picked up a freshly cut lock of your hair and kept it as a reminder of home.
I’m going to grow mine long, I think.
I’ll only cut it when I fall in love, just like you and Baba did.
—Letter from Yaseema Nazir to Mahira Nazir, written in Mahira Nazir’s journal
Yaseema
I studied the map once more, my hands shaking to finally be able to touch it again. The Viceroy had finally let me look at it, under the watchful eye of Kiyan. There were still flecks of the general’s blood on it, but I ignored them as I focused on the details scrawled in parchment.
By this time next week, I could be using the crown to take down the wall and have life magic flow freely to the human world again.
