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“The energy of magic is tainted by the dark,” the Queen says, “but what is the darkness?”
I shake my head, unsure of an answer. The dark is dark, I hadn’t thought about it any further. The Queen sips her drink, then turns and walks towards the Tree of Life. The chill in the air increases as we approach. Most of the branches have lost their leaves but the Queen reaches out and runs her fingers along an empty one which is almost nothing but dark veins. Where her fingers pass the veins of darkness turn to silver, lighting up, and leaves sprout. When she removes her fingers the light fades and the leaves curl up and die.
“I don’t know,” I say.
The Queen watches the leaves fade and fall, then sighs before turning back to me.
“If we are the source of magic, then we are also the source of darkness,” she says.
That hits me like a punch to the gut. I reject the idea out of hand. Every fiber of my being rebels against the entire concept but something about it niggles in my head. The dark thoughts I’ve struggled with, those thoughts I recognize as notmebut they’re still thoughts, in my head. So they must be me, in some way.
“What do you mean?” I ask, my voice hoarse.
“Everyone has dark thoughts, impulses,” she says. “It is part of the nature of a being. It may not bewhoyou are, but it is part of you. Mistakes made, unintended consequences, bad things that happen because of our actions but that we failed to predict. Regrets.”
Weirdly this all makes sense. But it doesn’t answer any of my burning questions.
“How do I use all this to stop the darkness?”
“You must focus your power. There is a way to do this, but it won’t be easy.”
“You said that those who use outside forces to focus their power are wrong,” I point out.
“No,” she shakes her head. “I said those who do it and assign the cause of it to an outside source. That is not the same thing.”
“Oh,” I say, and it all clicks into place.
A spell, or an item, any magical artifact acts as a focus. A way to orient yourself, to guide your thoughts and magic, but if you then decide you didn’t cause it, you lose some of that power. I hate to compare it in this way, but it reminds me ofThe Lord of the Rings.Sauron poured his power into one ring and became less than he was instead of him using the ring as a focus, the ring itself became the source of his power.
“Now you see,” the Queen says.
“I think so,” I agree. “It does make sense, in a weird way.”
“Weird or not, the world works the way it does. Now you are ready—”
A commotion behind us interrupts the Queen.
“You can’t be here!” someone cries, followed by the sounds of struggle.
Armor clanks and steel is drawn. I whip around to see an armored group walking towards us. They have their weapons drawn and aren’t stopping but the woman in their middle holds all my attention.
She’s a dark, duplicate version of the Fair Queen. Black hair, black eyes, but the same features. Dressed in dark leaves that flow around her and a gossamer shawl that looks like a spider’s web. When our eyes meet cold chills race through my soul. Beside me Siobhan and Moira both take a knee with their heads bowed.
“Sister,” the Fair Queen says. “Your timing is as bad as ever.”
ChapterEleven
The tensionbetween the two Queens fills the air and makes it hard to breathe. This is the Fair Queen’s counterpart, the Queen of the Unseelie. They are mirror opposites, one light and one dark, both with an unearthly beauty.
I realize how little I know about or understand the structure of the two Fae courts, but at the same time, I don’t care. Their politics are nothing more than another barrier between me and rescuing Duncan while also, incidentally, saving the world. Hopefully at the same time.
“My timing is what it is,” the Dark Queen says. “None of this would matter if not for your games.”
“We did not see this coming, and it wasn’t my Court that interfered with the Destroyer’s family,” the Fair Queen snaps.
So much has happened since then that it takes me a moment to relate her words to the imposter that posed as my mother. The instant it connects in my head I’m angry. She’s right. That was horrible, and while there are more pressing matters to hand, someone needs their comeuppance for that.
“A rogue agent,” the Dark Queen responds, waving a hand.
