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“Hello, Quinn,” Siobhan says.
She’s lounging on an incongruously out of place throne. The room is lit by a crackling fire and freestanding candle stands, each of which has dozens of candles mounted on an ascending circle of metal. The throne is ridiculously ornate. Huge in size, the back rises as tall as I am, and its overlaid in gold that sparkles in the firelight, with sharp points on either side. Siobhan lies across it sideways, her legs draping off one side, her head resting on her hand.
“Siobhan?” I ask.
She smiles, showing her elongated canines, which makes a soft shiver race down my spine. Never forget what I’m dealing with.
“We meet again,” she says, brushing her nails on the front of the red, crushed velvet dress she’s wearing. The skirts are hiked up to her thigh revealing perfect alabaster legs that are ridiculously toned, yet curvy.
“What are you doing here?”
“I asked her to come,” Moira says, causing me to start.
She’s standing in the shadows cast by the fireplace off to my right. She steps out into the room.
“And what areyoudoing here?”
“Hoping to keep the entire world from being destroyed,” Moira says.
“And you brought her?” I ask, nodding towards Siobhan.
“Mutual self-interest,” Moira says.
“We sure about that?” I ask, looking over at Siobhan who is busily staring at her manicure as if nothing we say could possibly hold her attention.
“I am,” Moira says. “Dugald agrees.”
“Great, glad you’ve all decided something,” I say. “Bit too late, if you know what I mean.”
“It’s only too late when we give up,” Moira says.
“That’s rich,” I say. “Clever platitudes, just the thing to make it all better.”
“Being mean will get us nowhere,” Dugald says from behind me.
“Are you kidding me?” I ask, jumping to look at him. “Do the three of you coordinate on being this creepy or is it something that comes naturally?”
“We need to talk,” Dugald says.
“Fine, but how about doing it in a normal way?”
The doors swing shut and click behind me. I look over my shoulders, then at each of the Fae. Siobhan continues her act of disinterest but the other two are watching me.
“I’ve spoken to the Queen,” Dugald says.
“And?” I ask when he doesn’t continue.
Dugald shakes his head, staring at the ground.
“It’s worse than any of us suspected,” Moira says, filling in.
“That’s your point of view,” Siobhan interjects. “It’s exactly as bad as I expected.”
Moira rolls her eyes but otherwise ignores Siobhan.
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“The darkness has been manipulating both sides,” she continues. “In ways that none of us saw.” Siobhan waves a hand and Moira sighs. “Except, apparently, for Siobhan. Thank you for that, by the way. If you saw all this, you could have told someone.”
