Page 26 of Fallen Court

Genuine fear widened their eyes, and they quickly lifted her. A rush of sympathy hit me as they carried her toward my fate, but I quickly turned up my nose. Sympathy, kindness, a shred of decency—showing signs of any of those things would be a dead giveaway that I wasn’t Titania.

Marin and Ilsa followed a few steps behind me as we made our way toward the bedroom. Each step inside the Hallow Court sent my adrenaline surging until I was in full-blown survival mode. I gave in to the familiar. Reacting and responding—this was what I was good at after endless nights working as a nurse. There wasn’t time to consider all the terrible ways this terrible plan might end.

Ilsa moved beside me, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Oberon expects the ritual to take longer, but we must hurry.”

I refused to let myself consider what he would do to the three of us if we didn’t make it out of here. I refused to think of the locked room one floor down, refused to consider the servants cursed to move in silence through the estate’s beautiful horror.

Well, I tried to refuse.

“Send for Cate’s maid to watch over her while we’re gone,” I barked to the guards, snapping my fingers and feeling a foreign spark of magic that startled me. They nodded, too nervous to notice, and rushed off to fetch the mute woman.

“What are you doing?” Marin grabbed my arm. “We need to go.”

“I won’t leave her here.” She had shown me kindness, and my gut told me that woman was as much a prisoner as I was.

“There’s no time,” Marin hissed.

“Then leave.” I would find my own way out. Somehow.

“She’s right.” Ilsa reached for her companion’s hand and gripped it. “Gods know what he’s done to the creature.”

Creature? I didn’t have time to ask what the woman was before she appeared in the room. The guards paused outside the door. No doubt wanting to avoid my wrath.

The maid’s eyes followed me warily, seeing only the Hallow Court princess who’d probably made her life hell. But when they landed on the bed, she rushed toward the unconscious figure she mistook for me. I blocked her. I didn’t want her to actually stay here; I needed a reason to order her out of the room with me. “Where is my brother?” I demanded. “Didn’t you tell him his bride is waiting?”

She blinked, confusion clouding her eyes, but I grabbed her wrist and pulled her from the room. I paused near the door and looked at the witches. “You two better come along and explain what went wrong yourself. I am not taking the fall for your mistake.”

They glanced at each other, Ilsa looking mildly impressed by my performance.

“Wait here and don’t let anyone in that room,” I ordered the guards, throwing them one final, dangerous glare before I dragged the maid down the hall.

She struggled a little against my hold.

“Stop,” I hissed. “Just trust me.”

Her gaze darted to the witches, who nodded.

“This way.” Ilsa pointed to the end of the corridor, but when we reached it, we found an empty room.

“Now what?” I asked.

“Now you nip us out of here,” Marin said, reaching for my shoulder.

“That’s the plan?” I stared at them. All of this trouble, and that was their big plan? “I can’t nip. I’m not a fae.”

Another pointed look between the witches.

“It doesn’t matter. Titania is,” Ilsa explained. “Your entire beings were transferred into each other, including her magic. We’ve been working on this for days, preparing your body every night, Cate.” She grabbed my other arm. The maid, to her credit, didn’t try to run despite the absolutely ludicrous conversation happening in front of her. Instead, she looked almost relieved.

“I don’t know how.” I had never expected to die in such a weird, confusing way, but I had a feeling if I tried to magically transport us anywhere, bad shit was going down.

“Just snap your fingers and imagine you’re on Earth,” Ilsa said.

I stared at her. “Those are your instructions?”

“This might help. Imagine you’re going here.” Marin held up her phone, and I glimpsed a photo of a cobbled street lined with a row of quaint shops and restaurants.

“Where is that?” I asked.