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Then I turned toward my own chambers across the receiving room. My heart thundered in my chest as I reminded myself of all the reasons to keep to the path we had chosen. Greyson had vehemently insisted that for Rue’s protection and the realm’s stability, our marriage had to wait until after I had taken up the crown, but within me, my magic and the realm’s protested every increasing foot of separation between us.

Reaching my door, I burst through and closed the latch behind me before I lost my resolve. In the strangely dark confines of the familiar chamber, I sagged back against the solid surface of the door.

Raven must’ve been detained by his uncle or a task for Greyson, for he was nowhere in sight. My righthand fae apparently had divided loyalties, and I couldn’t care less. I trusted the fae who made demands on him. And at that exact moment, I was grateful for his distraction. I needed quiet and solitude to plot and plan for the morning.

Rue

“Rue!” Mela’s voice cut through the oblivion of sleep, jolting me to partial awareness. Someone shook my arm, but it did little to dissipate the heavy fog deadening my senses.

“Wake up!” Mela sobbed and pounded my arm with her fists.

I tried to ask what was wrong. It came out all garbled. “Wh—ong?”

My head felt like it had been crammed with wool.

“Rue?” The pounding on my arm stopped and a small tear-streaked face thrust close so that the scent of her breath filled my nose.

“Why won’t you wake up?” Mela hiccupped and started crying again. “The mean man kept saying that you were going to die. Are you going to die?”

I tried to reassure her, but nothing would come out of my mouth properly. “Mo…”

She jabbed her sharp little elbow beneath my ribs, driving the air from my lungs. Instinctively, I pulled my knees up to my middle with a groan.

I wheezed as she sobbed. “Don’t die!” she begged.

Forcing air into my lungs, I rolled onto my side. “Not dead yet,” I whispered. Finally, my mouth cooperated, and the words sounded close to what I intended.

“Oh, Rue! I was so scared. I thought you died and then you didn’t move or ans—”

“Enough!” Sicilia’s irritated order came from somewhere behind me.

Mela flinched and pressed closer to my side with a soft whimper.

“Fine. Fine! Your precious Rue is alive. Enough sniveling. Get over here and unbind my hands. Now!”

I blinked and tried to focus in the dim light of wherever we were. The shadows were too dark, and the glowing slit, which I assumed was the bottom of a closed door, didn’t offer enough illumination to reveal anything.

“Now!” Sicilia ordered again.

“No.” Mela’s whole body tensed with the single syllable. “You aren’t nice.”

“Nice?” Sicilia’s shriek made me flinch. “What are you to me that I should bother being nice? You’re nothing more than a useless child that isn’t worth keeping as a pet because you do nothing but demand, complain, and refuse to do as you’re told.”

“Heath says I don’t have to do what any fae tells me.” Mela tugged at my sleeve. “Lord Greyson said so, too. No one owns me.”

“Who said anything about owning?” Sicilia’s voice turned sickeningly sweet. “I just want my hands to be free. Come and unbind me, and I will reward you.” Beneath the sweetness, the malice of her intent leaked through.

“What do you want her to do?” I asked as I attempted to straighten. Dulled by the ache in my head and foreboding in my bones, I couldn’t do much, but my other senses were rousing at last. A glow, faint and feeble, far dimmer than Sicilia had exhibited before, emanated from the direction of her voice. Meanwhile, Mela didn’t glow at all, but I could still detect our connection, an invisible thread binding us, heart to heart.

“Free me!” Sicilia huffed in exasperation. “Haven’t you been listening?”

“I have.”

I rotated my shoulders slightly, triggering an inarticulate protest from Mela as she continued tugging at my bindings. As I moved, though, the ropes loosened, and Mela celebrated with a small squeal.

“I did it! I did it, Rue!”

“You did,” I agreed, barely catching her as she threw herself into my arms. She didn’t stay there long, preferring to dance about in a small circle in the dark.