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Demons? Could this place get any wilder? Wait. Scratch that. I didn’t want to know.
“Frost sparks from it with every blow, but if we obtained some soil from the Summer Court with its fire abilities and used it against him, we could pierce his armor and defeat the king, bringing peace to our lands. Instead of taking something that isn’t ours to take, as the king did, we came as a show of good faith to get your permission.”
Whoa. They even had evil kings. Now that sounded like a badass story.
“What do we get out of this?” Orla crossed her arms and arched a brow.
Wait. Was she serious? They were talking about taking down a fucking evil king.
“The satisfaction of knowing an evil tyrant will be eliminated and no longer a threat to your lands.”
She laughed. “As if he would be a threat to us. Unless you can give us something of equal value, the answer is no.”
I turned my head, hoping she was joking. She was not. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and she was scowling.
“You’ve got to be kidding. They could’ve just taken the soil. They should now just because you’re being stubborn.” And there went my mouth. Excellent.
“Alina,” Maeve warned just as Dallas shook his head at me.
Too late. The damage was done.
Orla snarled and glared at me. “You aren’t queen, so keep your mouth shut.”
I’d insulted her, which meant she would be even more unwilling to help these people out.
I lifted both hands. “Fine.” I strolled over to the weeping willow tree and reached up, threading my fingers through the branches hanging just over my head. It might not be ground, but the tree was still part of our nature and rooted in the Summer Court earth. Maybe this would create the same sort of abilities for them.
“Like I said, the answer is no. This sounds like a Winter Court problem.” Orla expanded her wings, making her status known. “My people will watch you leave to ensure you don’t take anything with you.”
“I told you,” Morgana whispered to Avalon and frowned.
I pulled a few leaves from the branches and fisted them in my hand. This might not help much, but I couldn’t do nothing and have people get hurt and die because my sister was a jerk.
“We must get ready.” Orla pointed at me. “You should go to your room. You have a big afternoon ahead of you.”
I pushed off the tree a little too eagerly, and just as Avalon lifted Morgana again, I stumbled and fell into them.
“Oh, excuse me,” I muttered while putting my hand on top of Morgana’s, which clutched Avalon’s shoulder. I slipped the leaves into her hand and winked. “I’ve been training hard and must have overextended myself there.”
Maeve marched to me just as Morgana mouthed, Thank you.
I didn’t wait for them to depart. Just hurried back to my room, hoping like hell I’d get some time alone.
Two hours later, I was in my bedroom, preparing to leave for the Rioghail Tower.
“I think this is the perfect dress,” Lilidh said, placing a hand over her heart.
I looked in the mirror, taking in the light-green dress with leaf sleeves that hung down my upper arms. The dress was a sweetheart cut, emphasizing my cleavage, with a bunch of small white roses and thorns bunched at my waist. The front of the skirt opened slightly, revealing a light-gold underskirt, giving it more dimension.
I almost didn’t recognize the woman staring back at me in the mirror. Cara hadn’t done my glamour yet, but I looked like a different person … at least to myself. My strawberry-blonde hair had light-gold tips, my irises were darkening to forest green, and my skin seemed more sun-kissed.
“It is perfect.” Cara clasped her hands. “She looks very much like Alina. Now, let me add a little bit of flair to complete her look.” She waved her hands like before, and my skin buzzed as the glamour slipped over my face.
I watched in amazement as my lips turned pink and my cheeks blushed. Her glamour added a polish that made me truly seem like another person. This had to be how movie stars felt every time they glammed up for a red carpet.
Enid beamed from her spot in the corner of the room. “There won’t be a single doubt about who you are.”
A shiver ran down my spine. I understood that everyone expected me to be Alina, but after my conversation with Maeve, even if I was Alina’s reincarnation, I didn’t want to be the same version of her.
