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There are two women waiting for me. One is another impossibly beautiful fae woman. Her hair’s the lustrous, pure silver I expected all the unicorns’ manes to be. Her cheekbones and jaw are carved from ice and her blue eyes are just about as warm. She’s wearing robes like Callan’s—thankfully the twins are dressed in normal, if designer, gear—flowing layers of blue, black, and silver silk. A silver filigree collar stretches from her neckline to her jaw, emphasizing the graceful curves of her neck. An elbow-length cape of what looks like blue-black feathers hangs around her shoulders.
When she turns to greet us, her cape swirls and I see the suckers on the undersides of the tentacles.
Those are not feathers. And I’m not getting in tentacle-distance.
Next to tentacle-lady stands Phoebe, Darwin’s semi-girlfriend and the fae he handfasted in the future after his-Teddy died. Phoebe gives me a razor-edged smile.
“Greetings, Theodora,” says Tentacles. “Welcome to Faery.”
Happily, she doesn’t hold out her hand, because there’s no way I’m getting close enough to shake.
The twins both curtsey to Tentacles; I reckon that’s the thing to do and follow suit. My curtsey’s fumbling compared to theirs, but Tentacles ain’t the Queen, so I figure I get through it okay.
“Princess Tyr,” Leanna says, grabbing my right hand. “Look at Teddy’s ring.”
So this is Darwin’s stepmother. She is pretty terrifying. I still wouldn’t abandon my husband and kids rather than face her, but I’d definitely spend a lot of time researching spells to snip her wigglers first.
Tyr glides into the middle of the room, draping a languid, blue-taloned hand over the curving brass footboard of the bed which might not be a single but isn’t going to fit the four of us, either. As she gets closer, a couple of her tentacles lift off her upper arms and wiggle toward me.
That’sgonna give me nightmares.
“Very nice, Theodora,” Tyr says, although she don’t sound much impressed. “Did you make it yourself?”
Phoebe makes a noise that might be a snigger. Yeah, she ain’t sticking around.
I don’t yank my hand out of Leanna’s, but I curl my fingers around hers and guide them back to my side. Orlaith’s taken my other hand and I wonder if that’s to give me courage or steel herself.
“We did,” I confirm.
“Ah, yes,” Tyr says. “My Prince informed me you are involved with more young men than the Prince. How ... unusual.”
It’s not quite an insult, but it’s not far off, either. Still, as Darwin explained it, other than her beef with Darwin’s mum, Tyr’s a fairly neutral party in the swirling politics of the court. She wouldn’t hesitate to kill Darwin if the truth of his Empyrean spirit came out, or so he says, but she weren’t a bad stepmother to him. Just distant, which is fair because he’s blocking any claim her kids might have on the throne.
“Greedy is the word,” Phoebe says.
Phoebe walks across the room like she’s walking a catwalk, putting one foot in front of the other, showing off her legs, which are damn fine, I admit. She’s wearing her Bevvy cheerleading uniform, which would be intimidating if I gave a fuck and if Darwin hadn’t told me the season’s over. Now it just looks like that’s the only power move she has, which is lame-arse. Never be defined by your job.
Orlaith giggles. “I’d be greedy if Charlie and Gabe liked me, too.”
“Or!” Leanna reproaches her twin, but she’s also giggling.
Tyr gives the twins an indulgent look. “Girls, why don’t you leave Theodora with me?”
Yeah, leave me with the Sea Witch. I’m dying to practice that blood-to-stone spell again.
I squeeze the girls’ hands then loosen my fingers so they know it’s okay to go.
Orlaith tightens her grasp. “I promised Dar I’d show her everything. I picked some of my clothes that I thought would fit based on the pictures Dar sent me, but now that she’s here, I think there are other things that would suit her better.”
Tyr’s smile chills. “Very well. I’m sure we’ll have a chance to speak later, Theodora. I look forward to getting to know you.”
Kinda doubt that, but I give her a firm nod and a curtsey. “You prolly already got plans for tomorrow, but if not, boys an’ me usually take a mid-afternoon study break. Be nice if we could go for a walk or sommat.”
I’m not showing throat, but I’m not letting her lure me onto her turf, either.
Tyr tips her head to the side like she’s considering something. My skin prickles as her icy smile sweeps up and down me. “I’ll look forward to that. If you haven’t seen theraointean òir, I would be happy to show you my family’s vineyards.”
Theraointean òir,where the fae grow goblin fruit. I bet she’d love to get me addicted. “Sounds good,” I agree.
