AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Me, too?” Not for the first time, I wished I could check my own damned makeup, but that wasn’t ever going to be a reality, so I sucked it up and asked for help. She leaned close, brushing my face with a quick sweep of powder.
“You’re good to go. You look great.” She winked. “Not that the Queen’s going to care, but…”
“But it isn’t politic to visit royalty looking like a slob.” The carriage lurched to a stop and the door opened, the driver reaching in to help us down. “I guess we’d better see what bad news is in store for us now.”
“I don’t even want to know.” Camille flashed me a wry grin as the driver put his hands on her waist and swung her down from the carriage step to the rain-slicked path below. “But I guess we don’t have a choice.”
Once Delilah and the others stood next to us, Trenyth led us into the palace to meet the Elfin Queen.
Overhead, the stars glimmered. They were beautiful, but all I ever saw were the stars and the moon and clouds against the night sky. Sometimes it seemed like sunlight had become a myth—a dream I’d once had, a dream that was beautiful but fleeting. For me, only the starlight existed.
The palace of the Elfin Queen rose in gleaming alabaster. Simple, elegant lines mirrored the symmetry of the city in general. Amid a flurry of gardens, the royal courts were clean, quiet, and decorous. They were nothing like the Court and Crown of Y’Elestrial—our home city-state, which was a hotbed of lush opulence and debauchery.
The cul-de-sac ended in front of the entrance to the palace, and as we quick-stepped up the path behind Trenyth, Camille sighed happily.
“What is it?”
She clasped her hands under her chin and whirled around, her skirts swirling in the breeze. She stared up at a tall tree. The faintest hint of green leaves were beginning to show among tiny starlike white flowers that covered the branches.
“The scent of the untahstar tree…we’re really home.” A catch echoed in her throat as she gazed up at the vine-laden tree that grew only in the northern reaches of Otherworld. I could see the war waging within her. She loved being Earthside, but this was her home. She was more wistful now than ever, since Father had exiled her from Y’Elestrial.
Delilah followed her gaze and smiled softly. “It smells like childhood, doesn’t it?”
Our father’s home—the house of our youth—had two untahstar trees growing in the front yard. Their branches had wound together and Mother used to joke that the trees reminded her of their marriage. Two trees, on opposite sides of the path, reaching together across a void.
I allowed myself a quick breath. I didn’t have to breathe and by now I was out of the habit, but when I wanted to smell something, I could force my lungs to take in air, to hold and catch the scents riding the wind.
The spicy floral fragrance swept me back through the years, to days long gone and dreams that belonged to my former life—the one I would never, ever be able to reclaim. Disconcerted, I shook them off, not wanting to be caught up in memories. Memories were dangerous for me, even now.
Trenyth motioned for us to get a move on. We followed him into the alabaster palace, leaving old dreams and lives behind.
Asteria, ancient queen of the Elfin race, wore the tire tracks of age on her face—which meant she was probably older than anyone we would ever meet with the exception of the dragons, or the Hags of Fate.
She had been queen before the Great Divide, before the Great Fae Lords split the worlds apart and Otherworld was forcibly shifted away from Earthside. She had been old when Titania and Aeval were young and new to their thrones. As she swept into the throne room, she ignored the throne hewn of oak and holly and crossed to a marble table standing to the side. As we waited, she gave us an impatient look and motioned for us to join her.
Trenyth’s mood had gone somber. It was clear we weren’t here for a potluck or a game of Monopoly. Something bad had gone down, and whatever it was, the fallout filled the throne room.
Camille gave me a cautious look. She shook her head and mouthed, Bad.
Delilah edged her hand into Shade’s as they glanced around the room. Trillian, Vanzir, and Rozurial moved in closer. Even Chase seemed ill at ease. As for me, the tension set me on edge to the point where my fangs descended in a rush, in auto–defense mode, breaking the skin of my lip.
Camille curtsied while the rest of us bowed. “Your Highness, we came as soon as we received your summons. Something is wrong, isn’t it? What happened?”
Asteria looked at us, one after another. Tension rode her face. Even in the darkest circumstances, I’d never seen this much stress on the Queen’s face before.
“Sit. There is much to discuss and we have little time.”
As we slid into the chairs around the table, Trenyth motioned to one of the elfin guards who’d been standing nearby, holding a long scroll. He brought it over and rolled it out on the table. A map of Otherworld, it filled the table, and we rolled it out and held it flat as Trenyth picked up a long pointer. Serving maids quietly offered us food and drink—they’d even filled a goblet with blood for me, though the girl’s nose wrinkled as she handed it to me.
Head down, Queen Asteria closed her eyes, her arms crossed across her chest. She looked like she was gathering courage.
After a moment, she looked up and said, “We have dire news.”
Delilah let out a little gasp. “The spirit seals are missing, aren’t they? We feared—”
But before she could get out any more, Camille silenced her. “This is worse, isn’t it? This is far worse.”
Inclining her head slightly, with a pained voice, Asteria answered. “Yes, far worse. Although, it does have something to do with the spirit seals. At least, the two that Shadow Wing has managed to steal away from you.”
