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Kes was quiet for a moment, and Ciaran was beginning to think he was about to rage, when instead, he threw his head back and laughed a full belly laugh. “Oh, cousin. Thank you for that. I needed a good laugh. You should know by now I have no desire to sit on the throne. It is enough responsibility for me to be on your council, I would never want to be the head of a court. Thank you for telling me, but I think you are more concerned than anyone. I have never missed power I didn’t even know I was supposed to have. While I wouldn’t mind more power, the price is too steep. I am happy for you to have the curse end in your line. Since I am the only other living descendant from our wretched great-grandfather, there is no one else to warn.”
“What of any offspring you have?” Ciaran asked.
“Ha! Do you think me fit for younglings? I would be surprised if the opportunity ever arose. I suppose if it ever did, I could tell them about the curse or choose to never let them know. Then like me, they wouldn’t know what they were missing.”
“I think you would be fit for younglings with your mate,” Ciaran said to see what Kes’s reaction would be.
“Yes, well I do not think I will ever have one of those,” Kes said as he rubbed the spot Ciaran knew the mate bond resided. Although Kes’s looked like it pained him, as if something was wrong with the bond that Ciaran was now certain his cousin shared with Anin. Ciaran saw the extent of his cousin’s turmoil when he let his mask of happy indifference fall for a moment.
“Mate’s are fated, cousin. And fate has a way of getting what it wants.”
Kes nodded as if he didn’t truly believe it.
Forty Seven
Etainwassittingina chamber called the “Queen’s Suite.” The room was bustling with so many beings; she was nearly dizzy with the activity. Anin sat quietly next to her, seemingly distracted. She kept rubbing at the place on her chest where Etain knew a mate bond could be. Etain had thought Anin and Kes were mates for a while, but she hadn’t wanted to ask, feeling it might be rude to inquire over something that personal.
“Are you well, Anin?” She thought that was a safe enough question to ask.
“What? Oh, yes – thank you. I must’ve eaten something that disagreed with me.”
Etain was sure that wasn’t the problem, but she was not going to pry into her friend’s business. If Anin wanted Etain to know, she would tell her.
“Well, you must be incredibly excited to see your sisters soon?” Etain asked to change the subject for Anin. The effect was immediate. Her face lit up at the mention of her sisters. She began to tell Etain exactly how she thought things were going right then at the Coven. This was the first time most of them had ever been to the Night Court, let alone to the capital for a mating ceremony and coronation. In fact, there were a good amount of them which had never left the coven. Anin described pure chaos of the best kind. Excited younglings running through the halls, likely dirtying their finest dresses. Elders halfheartedly yelling at them to settle down. Then, the rest of them put even Kes to shame with the amount of preening they were surely doing.
“Are you sad to be missing it?” Etain could see Anin struggling to find the right answer. “It’s okay if you are. They are your family after all.”
“I am sad on one hand, but not on the other. I get to watch the spectacle up close and personal.” As the words left her mouth, another being came bustling in with the most outrageous poof of a black gown either of them had ever seen.
Etain leaned in closer to Anin. “Am I supposed to wear that?”
They both broke out in laughter again at the outlandishly gaudy creation. The fae holding the gown indicated for Etain to come and stand in front of her so they could begin to dress her. She did her very best to seem pleased, but she was sure her forced smile gave her away. She let them continue to ready her, and by the time she was done, her hair was tightly braided around her head in a way she did not think suited her. Though she did like the way they had lined her eyes with black kohl; it made the warmth of her eyes seem even brighter. But the red stain they placed on her lips felt like too much with everything else. Itallfelt like too much.
Finally, she was alone in the room with Anin and looked at her friend with a horrified expression. How was she supposed to face a room full of beings looking like…well, she wasn’t sure what to call her look, but it was not flattering in the slightest. She had a sinking suspicion they had done it on purpose. The beings of the Night Court were not yet ready to accept a witch as their new queen.
Anin rose from the chair and walked around Etain, studying every angle of her. She felt the material of the gown and even lifted it a bit to see what was underneath making it so big. Then she looked at Etain’s hair and felt it to see what it was that helped hold the braids. Finally, she came back around to look Etain in the face, and Etain was preparing to hear exactly how horrible Anin thought she looked.
“I can work with this,” said Anin.
Etain blinked in surprise.
“It won’t be perfect, but it will be much better than this disaster. Do you think they did this on purpose? There is no way this is the style of the Night Court.”
“I do think it was likely a bit of a rebellion. I imagine it would be hard for them to accept a witch as their queen, but I will win them over in time. Likely, lots of time.”
Both of them laughed at that.
“Please, Anin, do whatever you can with this. Anything is better than…” She waved up and down at herself.
Over the next several moments, Anin ripped out a bunch of the fabric under the main gown which had made it absurdly large, then began to tuck the dress around Etain in much the way she did her wings. When she was done the gown had gone from an explosion of black fabric to a sleek elegant gown made interesting by all the folds and tucks Anin had given it. Anin removed the sleeves to show off Etain’s markings. She said she wanted to remind the Night Court of Etain’s power, should they have forgotten. Etain felt beautiful in this version of the gown.
Next, Anin had her sit and took down all of her braids, immediately giving relief to her scalp. The braids had given her hair a wonderful type of curl, and Anin pinned it expertly around her head to lay across one shoulder. The effect made it look effortless, and the texture the previous braids had given added an etherealness to the style. For a final touch, she pulled some tendrils to fall loosely around Etain’s face.
Etain could have kissed Anin; she felt immensely better. She felt like the queen she was to become. The only thing Anin was not going to touch was the garish red stain on her lips, fearing she would only smear it and make it worse. Etain decided she could live with red lips since everything else looked beyond better. Anin had made her look every bit the Night Court Queen she was to become.
“I believe the Coven is to arrive at any moment. I wish to greet them with a friendly face and help them find their seats,” Anin said as she inspected Etain one last time.
Etain hugged her friend and thanked her again for making her feel beautiful before she was left alone in this unfamiliar room to wait. She was too full of nervous energy to simply sit and wait. Etain decided to look around the room and was almost saddened to not find a bunch of nonsense hidden behind every drawer and cabinet. The room was mostly empty. She was about to give up and sit back down to wait when she found a hidden part of the bedside table. It was a little square that looked like she could push it in. As soon as she did, she heard a click, and a hidden compartment opened underneath the drawers.
