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“There you are, Mother,” Niamh said.
I sobbed. “Please…”
Niamh’s gaze lifted, and an elegant ivory unicorn moved forward, its mane hanging long and elegant.
The horn on the unicorn’s head began to glow.
Trembling shook my body. “Please, I—”
But my mouth wouldn't move. Wouldn’t let me beg for my life. A power permeated me. Pressure suffused my chest and my stomach, rising up my throat. My skin became an ashen gray.
There was nothing left. I couldn’t fight, couldn’t plead. The magic choking me would shred me alive. Any moment I was about to burst into nothing—about to die.
A fear unlike anything I’d ever known lashed up my spine and pulsed through my veins.
Oh god. Oh god. I wanted to live.
Niamh watched, no pity in her eyes. A slow, triumphant smile lifted her lips. “Do not struggle, Mother. With your death, everything will finally be made right.”
“Your Majesty, wake up!”
I awoke, thrashing in my bed, pillow shoved against my face. Roisin leaned over my shoulder, her eyes wide. “Tis only a nightmare.”
Whispers crowded my mind, and Roisin watched me, shaken.
“You were gasping as if you were unable to breathe,” she said. She stroked my hair like my mother once had as a child. “You are safe, my lady.”
I took a couple of cleansing breaths and looked around the room to steady myself. Safe.
The whispers retreated.
Roisin was right. It had just been a dream. Another dream of that harrowing night three years ago at the battle against the Fomori.
“Would you care to talk about it, your majesty?”
I shook my head. “I-I’d like to go back to sleep. ”How could I tell her everything that had happened? That night Thaya had died, and I had come an inch away from death. That night that never left me alone. Roisin didn’t appear convinced, but she didn’t press further. She moved away, and I tossed and turned in my unfamiliar sheets until I returned to a restless sleep.
The dawn brought the beginning of my first morning in the Otherworld. Roisin threw back the curtains in my room much too early. A curse escaped my lips as the brightness burned into my retinas.
“Forgive me, my lady,” she said. “But the king has requested that you join him for breakfast.”
I drew the covers over my head, my whole body aching. “I thought I was supposed to stay hidden.”
“The king has dismissed most servants and all but the most necessary guards. He has even demanded that the courtiers depart for the day.”
I groaned, peeking out from under the comforter. “Can I say no?”
She frowned, her expression scandalized. “Is that the answer you wish to convey to his majesty?” She turned and threw open the doors to the enormous wardrobe.
“I wish to convey that I’m not at his beck and call…” I stared in amazement at the dresses hanging there. Long and full, thin and silky, lacy and elegant.
She pulled out an ink blue dress. I sat up and crawled forward to get a better view. The neckline plunged daringly. Long, form fitting sleeves matched the skin tight gown through the waist and hips, designed to show off every curve and accented by a sequin belt before opening up into a small train at the bottom. I ran a finger over its velvety texture. Smooth and supple.
“Don’t you think this is a little over the top for breakfast?” I asked.
“These are the kinds of things you loved in the past,” she said. “Not unusual for your first meal of the day.”
Part of me wanted to act nonchalant. I didn’t want to be here. But my mouth watered to feel that soft velvet against my skin.
