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It hadn’t been what she’d wanted. But it looked good on her. And she looked good on that throne.
“I don’t understand,” Norah finally whispered. “I closed the Faerie Ring.”
Bree’s heart thumped heavily against her ribs. “You did what?”
“I closed it.” Frowning, Norah peered up at her, confusing rippling in those familiar light eyes. “I took my mother’s sword, and I closed it. I had no idea you’d gone through…” Her face flushed, and she gritted her teeth. “Oh my god, Bree. I trapped you there.”
Shaking her head, Bree stepped forward and took Norah’s hand in hers. She squeezed tight. Bree wouldn’t let her friend blame herself for something that she had no control over. “You had no way of knowing. Taveon stole me away before I had a chance to tell a soul.”
Fury whipped through those eyes, replacing the confusion and pain. “I could kill him for that.”
“But you won’t,” Bree said firmly. “He shouldn’t have done what he did, but he’s apologized for it. And if I can forgive him for what he put me through, so you can you.”
“Hmm.” She ground her teeth and stared down the length of the hall, though her eyes were distant. “So, there isnoprogress with the Tithe?”
“Not for lack of trying. Things have been…complicated, to say the least. Taveon wants to find a way to fix it but, there have been curses and angry lords and champions and a lot of other ridiculous things.”
“These dark fae. The way you speak of them, they don’t sound as monstrous as what I’ve been taught.”
“That’s because they aren’t.” Bree paused. “Well, some of them, anyway. Obviously, the previous king was pretty much everything you’d expect, but he’s dead now. As you well know. Taveon, on the other hand…well, he’s not so bad.”
A glimmer of fire flickered in Norah’s eyes. “You sound fond of him.”
Bree flushed. “I don’t hate him.”
“And Rafferty?”
“We should be focusing on the war.”
Norah smiled, and then chuckled. “That’s what I thought. Let me guess. Eurig also caught your eye.”
Bree’s chest burned at the thought of the outposter. Eurig had abandoned her. He hadn’t even said goodbye. But her thoughts had been consumed by him despite all that. Despite the fact that she wished she could burn his face from her memory, just so her heart wouldn’t feel as though it had been put through a blender.
She understood why he’d returned to the outposts. It was his duty.
That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.
“Maybe in the past but not anymore,” Bree said tightly.
“Ah, I see.” Norah sighed and stood. “Well, how long do you think we have before these demonic forces invade the dark fae realm?”
“I can’t be sure, Norah. It could be days or it could be weeks. Whichever it is, I worry it won’t be long enough.”
She nodded. “My army is itching for a battle since I took care of the dark fae king myself. They never got a chance to fight. Although, I can’t promise they’ll love the idea of fighting side by side with the dark fae. They’ve been our enemy for…a very long time. It might take some convincing. Plus, there’s still the Tithe to worry about. If they won’t agree to dispense of it, I do not think I can bring myself to ally with them.”
“We’ll figure it out, Norah. We have to.”
She gave Bree a tense smile. “Let’s hope so.”
* * *
As Bree sat beside Norah in her Meeting Hall, surrounded by powerful fae, she couldn’t help but think this was a far cry from their old days back in Manhattan. Night outs in the club, dancing the hours away. Pizza and movie marathons. Giggling on her twin bed.
And now here they were, plotting a way to bond the dark and light fae together, on one side, so that they might fight a horde of demons.
Norah must have been thinking along the same lines because she turned to Bree and lifted her brows, and then shook her head, smiled.
“Right,” Norah said, turning to the gathered fae. She’d brought all manner of lords and hunters and ladies together for this. “You all remember Bree?”
