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“The horse, your majesty.” The guard bowed.
I gripped the saddle and pulled myself into the seat. I wobbled a bit, but steadied and picked up the reins. At least I wasn’t holding onto a goat’s head any longer.
The guard surrounded me on their own steeds and cleared the way as we moved forward. I lifted my gaze to the north, where the castle lay, its towers of wood and stone reaching up to the sky.
This was my first time out in the city, I realized. The streets bustled with people—faeries—and a few other creatures. Some I thought I could identify, and others I wasn’t as sure. An odd sense of protectiveness came over me. Maybe I could be their queen.
The queen Dagda always believed I could be.
I hated my lengthening shadow and the light taking on an even more orangish hue. Oh god, please don’t let me be too late.
Raedia appeared in front of my entourage so suddenly the lead guard’s horse bucked, leaving him clutching the reins. The soldiers parted for Raedia, and I realized that someone was with her. The plain dress she wore indicated that she hadn’t put on any airs since her rise in rank.
“Roisin.” I slid from my saddle. “What are you…? I thought you’d be at the palace?”
“Well, seems the supposed queen did not like my mouth. Either that or she suspected I knew it was not really her and had me banned from the castle before I could stir up trouble.”
A smile split my face. “I bet she did.” I gripped her by the arms. Seeing her brought such relief to me. “I need to stop the ceremony.”
“I have a way into the castle, your majesty. Although it may be less than dignified for one of your rank.”
“What is it?”
“First, you must leave your guard behind.”
I faced Raedia. “Thank you for your help.”
“Good luck, Chels.” She winked. “It's good to see you.” She motioned for her soldiers to return to the outer wall.
Roisin led me down the street. The wall surrounding the palace was up one more block. She rapped on the door of a plain wooden townhome. It cracked open.
“Tis me,” Roisin said.
The door swung wide, and Roisin entered. A young woman who looked my age stood in the narrow entryway. Her eyes grew round as she recognized me and dropped into an immediate graceful bow. “Your Majesty.”
“We have no time for that,” Roisin said, a little snappish. “Fetch your sister.” The girl straightened and then bowed again before heading back into the darkened recesses of the quaint little townhome, only to return with another young woman who appeared slightly older—that is if their appearance reflected their actual ages. The older sister’s jaw dropped, and she also tipped into a bow.
“These are my nieces. They work in the palace and shall go in soon for the evening shift.” She eyed me. “Ellehave here is about your size.” She nodded to the older sister, who was still staring with mouth open. “If we dress you in servants’ attire and—”
I gripped the emerald around my neck and lifted it from my shirt. “There’ll be no need for that.” While looking at Ellehave, I ran my hand over it. My image changed to match that of the older sister.
The sisters gasped, but Roisin shook her head. “You royalty always have your magical gadgets. You cannot ever just do a normal sneak in the old-fashioned way.”
“Didn’t know there was an old-fashioned way,” I said.
“There is always an old-fashioned way.” She gave me a smile and then said, nodding to the girl who was close to my age, “Maeve here will see you into the castle.”
I looked at Maeve. “Are you ready?”
She nodded, still seeming to be overwhelmed by my presence. But I didn’t have time to deal with her shell-shock.
I turned to Roisin. “Badb had a potion, one made from my blood—it had a pinkish tint. Any ideas?”
She frowned in thought. “It has to be Doppolace. The potion is activated upon drinking. It would allow Badb to deceive the first person she touched into believing she was the person whose blood was contained in the potion.”
“So if she wanted Dagda to believe she was me…”
Roisin nodded. “She could do that.”
