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Don’t fall for it, Riley.
Her pale yellow eyes glow brightly in her golden face.
“We had an agreement, Shadow,” she claims. “You as a statue for my garden in exchange for your parents’ freedom. I gave them back to you. Now it’s your turn to give me what I want.” Her lips turn upward, a cruel smile that erases the whole innocent thing she’s going for. “It’s only fair.”
I gave them back to you.
My concentration breaks. The shadows at my waist flutter and evaporate. I manage to hold onto the pocket in the corner because it’s far enough developed to just disappear, but I forget all about my plans to chop off Melisandre’s head myself when she says that.
Because she did, didn’t she?
I always wondered why Nine was still a statue when we landed in the apartment in Newport, but Ash and Callie were alive and awake. The magic never made sense, but I was too grateful to question it any further. All my focus had been on bringing Nine back since I didn’t have to worry about my parents.
But if Melisandre is telling the truth, then that would explain it. Before I finished pulling me, Nine, Callie, and Ash through the portal, she must have released the spell keeping my parents as statues.
She has to be telling the truth. Evil bitch or not, she’s still a fae.
And fae can’t lie.
Oh, no.
Oh, no, no, no.
I entered into a bargain with a fae. I gave my word that, if she let my parents go, I’d take their place.
She let them go.
I can’t stop what’s going to happen next if I tried.
Melisandre waves her hand. It’s a graceful gesture, though the flinty look in her pale yellow eyes warns me what’s coming a split second before I go absolutely still.
Nine finally reacts.
He’d been careful. Even after the guard slashed at him, he refused to react. This was my show, I guess; he was my back-up. He’d protect me and he’d cover me, but he wasn’t going to get in my way.
Until I turned into a statue.
His hands go to my shoulders, shaking me as if that’ll do something.
“Riley?” He shouts my name. “Riley!”
“Leave her, Ninetroir.” Melisandre’s coy laugh makes my poor ears want to bleed. “Perhaps, if you beg at my feet for my forgiveness, I’ll let you visit the halfling in my garden. Until she has a little accident, of course. Statues don’t just stay standing as long as they used to.”
Nine’s face is terrible. Lifting one hand high, showing the Fae Queen his palm, his pale skin starts to go even whiter as the entire hand glows.
He’s going to shoot a blast of magic at her. Just like he did to distract the guards, only this time he’s aiming for the Fae Queen—and he’ll be next casualty. I know. And I can’t do anything to stop him.
Wait—
My parents said they lost their years in captivity. One moment they were alive, then they were statues, and they don’t remember a damn thing in between. Even Nine admitted that some of the most terrible few weeks of my life—when he was standing as a statue in the apartment—passed him by in seconds.
I can’t move. I’m definitely frozen. But I… I can hear him.
Something’s wrong with Melisandre’s curse.
I struggle to lift my hand, desperate to catch Nine’s attention before he gets himself killed.
My pinkie wiggles.
