Page 29 of A Divided Duty

Luna turned to look at her, disbelieving, and then continued looking around, searching for a speck of support. When she didn’t find it, she inhaled sharply through her nose and straightened, back becoming a hard line, shoulders going hard.

“I see,” she said. “If this is what’s desired of me, if I’m meant to sit placidly by as my daughter is ripped away, I see. At last, I understand. May the rose and the tree forsake you all.” She turned on her heel then, glowering, and stalked away into the crowd, disappearing quickly.

“The punishment of Rayseline Torquill is extended by another four months, while we finish recovering from what was done by the enchantment cast by the Lady of the Flowers,” said Arden, voice clear and carrying. “And with that matter settled, we are through with scheduled business for the evening. To request a position on tonight’s open agenda, please see either Madden or Cassandra. Food will be provided now.”

There was a soft gonging sound, and servers began to appear from the back of the room, silvered trays at the ready. Arden caught my eye and nodded, then stepped through a portal, followed by her brother.

I leaned closer to Tybalt. “Can you make sure everything’s cool here?” I asked. “I need to go see the queen.”

He nodded. “Of course. Go.”

I love that man. I kissed his cheek, turned, and made for the balcony door.

SEVEN

THE DOOR WAS UNLOCKED, and while I knew the sun was still up and the park was still open in the mortal world, here in the Summerlands, full night had fallen, casting the knowe into shadows and starlight. The fae side of Muir Woods was like the most fantastic treehouse ever imagined, an entire palace built into the redwoods, the various levels connected by wooden bridges and winding stairs. Enough of it was braced on wooden platforms and securely scaffolded foundations that I wasn’t worried about falling, but looking directly down was definitely a quick trip to vertigo city.

As always, pixies flitted around the rail, their tiny bodies glowing like Christmas lights. I moved toward them, careful to keep my hands visible at all times. Most of the pixies in Muir Woods knew me well enough to not be scared of me, but with so many new faces around, I didn’t want to push my luck and wind up getting stabbed with a poison-tipped toothpick for my troubles.

“Hey,” I said, once I was close enough not to need to raise my voice. “Queen Windermere wants me to meet her somewhere, but I’m not entirely certain where. Can you take me to her?”

A few pixies chimed, somehow managing to make the delicate tinkling of bells sound bored. It was a skill.

“I’ll ask the kitchen to set out a platter for you at the next banquet.”

Another chime, just as disaffected.

“The next two banquets.”

All the pixies were looking at me now, their faces almost unreadable due to both their scale and the glow emanating from their skin.

“And a punch bowl of mulled wine, but that’s my last offer,” I said. “If that’s not good enough for you, I can see about finding the Queen on my own.”

Now chiming loudly, the pixies pushed themselves into the air and flitted over to circle my head, the wind from their wings ruffling my hair. Then they scattered in all directions, and I was alone.

I crossed my arms, settling in to wait. If Arden was in a hurry, she knew where I was likely to be, and could portal back for me. If she wasn’t, the pixies would find her soon enough. Either way, it was nice to have a moment to myself, one where I could just breathe and let the night wash over me, soothing away some of the tension from what had just happened. It wasn’t a shock that Luna would think Raysel was above being punished for her actions. I’d already known she felt that way, at least to a degree: I hadn’t expected her to come into a formal court and insult our allies in the process of trying to get Raysel’s record forgiven, but it wasn’t that far from what I’d assumed she would do.

No, the shock was that she’d been willing to be that dismissive of Sylvester in public, in front of the queen who held his oaths. She’d even argued with Arden: she was losing her faith in our government, if she’d ever had it to begin with. That didn’t bode well for her continuing to fit in to this kingdom. It might be time to talk to Raysel about what my mother’s divorce had been like, and what was likely to be asked of her if it came to that.

I sighed, rubbing my forehead with one hand. Things were supposed to be getting simpler, not harder. When were they going to get easy again?

When had they ever been easy in the first place?

Some sort of bird cried off in the distance, sounding like nothing I knew from the mortal world, and I moved to lean against the wall, trying to force my shoulders down and into a neutral position. May and Jazz were home with Miranda: Simon was with my sisters in the Undersea: my family was safe. All I needed to do now was talk to Arden, and we could go home.

The scent of river lupine wafted through the air. I tensed momentarily, then tipped my head back until it was resting against the wall. “Hello, Ginevra.”

“How?” The young Princess of Cats sounded genuinely confused, if not annoyed. “I know I didn’t make any sound.”

“Your magic gave you away.”

“Oh, right,” she said, half-scoffing. “I always forget that you can smell what I had for breakfast three days ago.”

“Only if you were eating something magical. Were you?”

“Dunno.” I heard a rustle as she settled against the wall next to me. “Is McDonald’s magical?”

I couldn’t quite stop myself from laughing. Opening my eyes, I turned my head toward the woman next to me. She was slightly shorter than I was, more delicately-boned, with hair that was white at the crown and darkened to orange by the time it reached the end, and eyes that were very, very blue. Faerie likes its deep saturation. She was wearing a dress of purple and gold, the fabric stylized like dragonfly wings folded over each other and around her body.