Page 43 of The Crowned Queen

Baran stepped back, his flushed face twisted with fury. Jaxon sagged against the bars before regaining his feet, straightening his shirt with a huff.

“Father,” he started, “I⁠—”

“Shut up, Jaxon.” Garrick glanced into the cell, his gaze flicking over Araya as if checking that she was still whole. “Do you know how important Farhallow is?”

Farhallow—the same slum the Arcanum had traced the rebels back to. Araya swallowed, gingerly wetting her cracked lips with her aching tongue. It had to have something to do with Loren…but what could be bad enough to bring the High Inquisitor storming into her cell?

“And what do you propose to do about it?” Pryce demanded.

“We move her,” Garrick said. “To Elvanfal. It’s a military base. No fae assets, no civilians. He’ll follow her, and you’ll retake Farhallow.”

Araya’s heart skipped a beat, struggling to pound under the drugging influence of the poppy. Elvanfal—the Arcanum’s last open front in the war against the fae. Jaxon hadn’t talked much about his time stationed there, but the rumors she’d heard...it wasn’t a place she wanted to go.

“Jaxon will accompany her of course,” Garrick continued, “as will I⁠—”

“Because your oversight was so thorough?” Pryce sneered. “They attacked you in your own home, Garrick. You’re mad if you think I’m letting you take such an important—” he twisted the word in his mouth, practically spitting it “—asset without any accountability. You might be High Magister, but you aren’t the Arcanum itself.”

“There are those that might disagree with that.” Garrick shrugged. “Assign a monitor if you must. But my plan is the right one. My presence will allow Commander Redmond to return to Aetheris, where he can help clean up the mess you made with your ill-advised statement.”

Pryce reared back like he’d been struck. “I showed them what happens when they oppose us⁠—”

“You made them angry,” Garrick said softly. “I’ve been doing this a long time, Baran. You miscalculated. And you’ll answer for it.”

“Just get him out of my city,” Pryce spat. With one last venomous look at Araya, he turned on his heel, his footsteps echoing until a slammed door cut them off.

“Father,” Jaxon started, “surely there is somewhere other than Elvanfal⁠—”

“Don’t embarrass yourself further, Jaxon,” Garrick warned. “This isn’t a debate. Get yourself—and her—ready to travel. We leave as soon as I can arrange transport.”

Jaxon didn’t answer, his shoulders stiff as he watched his father walk away. No one spoke until the door fell closed again, leaving them alone.

“We should go,” Kai said. “You need to pack⁠—”

“No.” Jaxon turned, staring in at her through the bars. “Do you know what your beloved mate did, Starling?”

Araya shrank back under his scrutiny, clutching the blanket to her chest. Even through the hazy influence of the poppy, she knew she should be afraid right now.

“He killed two of our soldiers.” Jaxon’s fingers curled around the bars, his knuckles whitening. “Incited an uprising. They’re singing in the streets right now, calling it a victory. The fae king, come to save them⁠—”

“Jaxon,” Kai said softly. “She can’t understand you right now. Look at her eyes. You said they gave her poppy.”

Jaxon stared at her for a long moment, his face still twisted with anger and betrayal. But Kai laid a hand on his arm, drawing him away.

“Come on,” he said. “She’s not going to remember any of this. Let it go.”

Araya’s eyes drifted closed as she listened to their footsteps fade. She barely heard the door close, her mind already drifting.

Loren was alive. He hadn’t been able to save her. But he’d done something in Farhallow—rallied the fae to his name. He’d come for her next. She just had to survive long enough for him to make it to her.

Chapter

Sixteen

The evening sun bathed the streets of Farhallow in gold, warming Loren’s skin and casting his shadows into sharp relief. They spilled across the stones, stretching long and wide as if luxuriating in their freedom.

The fae manning the barricades greeted Loren and his shadows alike with smiles and clumsy bows. It had only taken two weeks for terror to fade to curiosity, fae craning their necks for a look at the darkness that had driven the Arcanum from their streets.

“People are getting used to them,” Finn observed. “It looks like the tea is helping.”