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And with that, Lainule removed her crown from her head, and Wrath removed his, and they turned and walked away.
My lower lip began to tremble and tears ran down my cheeks. I turned to Grieve, stricken, and saw that he, too, was crying. And then Rhiannon stepped up to her throne, looking dazed, and—with the guidance of her advisor—did as I had and dismissed the Court.
The trial was over. We were the new Fae Queens. A new journey had begun…and yet…old enemies were just outside the gate.
We met in the common room again, after the hall had cleared. Luna and Peyton were quiet. Kaylin was stretched out on the chaise. Grieve, Chatter, Rhiannon, and I gathered around the table. As we sat there, quietly eating a simple dinner of cheese and bread and meat, the door opened and Lainule and Wrath entered. They looked tired, and my heart went out to them. I silently stood and ran over to my father, throwing my arms around his waist. He embraced me silently, kissing the top of my forehead.
“I don’t want to lose you, now that I’ve just found you.”
“I know, my daughter. I know.” He rocked me back and forth. “But the tide waits for us with eager hands. If my Lady does not return to the Golden Isle now, she will fade and die within days. And I would go with her wherever she journeys, so great is my love for her.”
Biting my lip to keep from crying, I nodded, squeezing my eyes shut. I knew there was no option, but this was so much harder than I’d thought it would be. In the short time that I’d known him, I’d come to love him, like the father he was.
“The Golden Wood is in your hands, my dear niece. And in Cicely’s. It is the home of both Courts, though the rule shifts through the seasons.” Lainule gratefully accepted the chair Grieve drew out for her. “Our prophets knew this day might come; hence the preparations and birthing of you two girls. We didn’t know exactly when, but we knew…it was possible.”
“Is there anything we should know? Who are the prophets? Can we talk to them? Is there anything we should be on the lookout for?” If there were any more prophecies that involved us, it seemed that we should find out more about them.
Wrath laid his hand on my shoulder. “Strict will help you with all of that. And his sister, Edge, for Rhiannon. The two of them will meet with the two of you jointly to go over the million details we didn’t have time to address. They are to be trusted, girls. They are bound to both thrones, bound to their courts. They will die before they betray you. Of all the advisors you will meet, they alone you can trust with your lives and the lives of your people.”
Rhiannon leaned over and took Lainule’s hand. “You are my aunt. I will miss you—I didn’t get a chance to meet my father.”
“There is no help for that, child. He gave his life defending the Barrow against Myst.” She patted Rhia’s hand. “Your fiancé will help you master the craft of your Fire. Your advisor will help you understand how to shift into your alter-form. And Cicely, Ulean tells me she was helping you with the wind. She will teach you how to control the power, now that I have no time left.”
Her words sounded so very final.
“When do you have to leave?”
“At the latest, before the cock crows, but we will go after we leave this room. Now that I am no longer Queen, I will age at a great rate and that, I do not wish to do. We have packed our things and they have been sent on ahead. Tomorrow night, Rhiannon, you will sleep in the Queen’s chamber.” She stood, wearily. “Do you know, when Tabera and I took the thrones, we never again saw one another? Only on the changeover days—midwinter and midsummer—and then we barely spoke. We had no great love for one another, but we were isolated, each to our realm.”
“So you never saw her again?” Luna asked.
Lainule shook her head. “Only on the Solstices. She kept to her realm, isolated from the world. As for me, I only began venturing out when the prophets said there might be a need to know the outer world in the coming decades. I sent her word, asked her to join me, but she would not. Since Tabera would not answer my messages, Wrath and I took it upon ourselves to carry through the directions the seers gave us—which led to your births. Now the world of the Fae is expanding and will never again be the same. But that is a good thing.”
She stood, after a silence. “It is time, my husband. It’s time to go home.”
Wrath gave me another hug, so tight I could barely breathe. “I will not see you again, not for centuries. If ever. Be strong, Cicely. Remember what little I had time to teach you. Be strong and compassionate in your rule, but do not flinch when duty calls. And forever remember, I’m proud of you. You know that, don’t you? I’m so very proud of you.”
I began to cry in earnest. We were all crying. My father. Lainule. Rhia, Grieve, Chatter. Luna and Peyton were nose deep in tissues, and even Kaylin was tearing up.
“Safe passage home.” I clung to Wrath, burying my head in his chest. Then, slowly, I let go and turned to Lainule. “Thank you, for everything. I have no words…”
She reached out and kissed my cheek. “I am the one who should be thanking you. You saved my life, Cicely. In a saner world, I would be proud to rule over Summer with you as my opposite. But the world has gone mad. Never forget that Myst is still on the prowl. She will seek you down, try to destroy you. Never let down your guard until she is dead.”
I nodded. “I promise.”
And then, after a long hug for Rhiannon, Lainule turned to Wrath. “Come, my husband. One last journey, and then we can rest on the shores of the lake, under the silver moonlight. Our homeland awaits. It has been so terribly long since I came to these woods.”
We followed them out, down the hall to a locked chamber. Strict was there, and Edge, and they opened the door and we all went in. In the center of the chamber, a cloaked figure knelt, a woman, and in front of her was a glowing orb, hovering about four feet above the floor. She murmured something I couldn’t catch, and the orb grew brighter, lengthening and widening until it formed a glimmering rip in the fabric of space. Colors shifted and spun, and emanating out from that rip were the scents of honey and sweet wine and snow and rain and summer grass and the soft whispers of twilight.
I longed to go through, to follow the call, but Ulean kept me steady.
Eventually, Cicely, you will journey through this portal, but not for a long, long time. It is not in your destiny…not now.
Feeling for Grieve’s hand, I held tight, and he squeezed my fingers. We all kept silent, not wanting to disturb the spell. Lainule and Wrath looked at each other, then at us. Together, they walked down the line, giving each of us a kiss, even Peyton. When she came to Luna, before she pressed her lips softly against the bard’s head, Lainule whispered, “Pass this to Kaylin, if you would.”
And then I was hugging and kissing my father yet one last time. I drank in the feeling, bound it tight. He slowly let go, then without another word turned to Lainule and took her hand. He kissed her softly.
“My Queen. I will follow you anywhere. To the Golden Isle, and when it is time, into the embrace of death.”
