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Feremir
I LEANED AGAINST THEwall for support and tried to make myself enter the hallway leading into the queen’s quarters. My chest was tight with grief for the girl I had once thought of as a friend.
I did not want Aislinn to be punished. That was the truth. That feeling was the reason I had spent all day on my bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to decide if what I was planning to do was the right thing. It was a feeling caused by an illusion of friendship.
Aislinn had probably gotten close to me because she wanted information. Everyone at the palace knew I was close to the queen, and Aislinn might have thought that this connection could give her coconspirators even more ammunition to use against the Queen of Light and the realm. But she had done her job so perfectly that even as I knew that she was my enemy, it was hard to imagine her being punished because of me.
It had been difficult to ignore that feeling and focus on the facts.
Aislinn had been the one to tell Master Leo the prophecy I had. Even after she knew that the queen told me not to tell anyone, she insisted on spreading the false prophecy. The breaking of the crown should have been my clue. The prophecy could not have been true, but in her message, Aislinn had told her accomplices to share the prophecy despite the queen’s orders. I did not doubt that the prophecy in question was the one I had.
She was working against the queen. They were trying to overthrow her by spreading lies about the end of her reign. That much was certain.
I had no way of knowing how deep her influence went or who she was working with, but after deliberating it only for a few seconds, I decided against asking her to explain herself. There was no explanation for what I had seen, and telling her anything would make her aware of the danger against her illicit plans.
The palace was calm tonight. There were no feasts or unique visitors that the court needed to host. The guards walking by me did not seem to be in a hurry.
Soon, that would all change.
I had to do this before Aislinn and her coconspirators acted.
I started walking. Every step brought me closer to the Queen of Light, and I knew that once I reached her and stood before her, any ounce of doubt left in me would disappear with her calming presence.
My feelings for Aislinn had been the stupid dreams of a boy. She had used my love for her to get closer to the queen. Hopefully, her mission had failed when I ignored her pleas to go against the queen, but there was no way of knowing how much harm was done. I blamed myself for it. The queen had trusted me to be her eyes and ears anywhere I went, yet I had been blind to Aislinn’s treachery.
The yearning for her was still in me despite the knowledge that it had all been a lie. I ignored it.
To love a traitor was to be one, and I would rather die than betray the Queen of Light.
I reached the large double doors leading into the queen’s quarters. The soldiers stationed at her door acknowledged me with a respectful bow. It warmed my heart to know that the queen had told them to let me in as soon as I arrived when the guards opened the wide double doors without even bothering to ask me who I was.
I entered the room.
The door on the other side was closed.
Like always, I started to wait for the queen to invite me in, but I could not sit down and be motionless. I paced around the room, stood near the window to look out, and when I decided it had been too long, I anxiously walked toward the door.
It happened then.
The door opened as though it had been enchanted to open for me. A woman stepped out.
It took me a while to recognize who it was, and when I did, I bowed clumsily.
Lady Cara’s pale blue eyes were reddened as though she had been crying. Her silver hair was tucked beneath the same scarf she wore whenever she walked around the palace. The silver lady looked stricken; I did not know why.
“My lady,” I said as I bowed before her.
She paused and met my gaze just as I finally looked up.
Within her gaze, a memory flashed.
It only lasted a second, but I saw the Silver Lady standing in the middle of a hallway. She was looking at me, shocked to see me appearing out of nowhere.
She had a bow at her palm.
A silver bow...
It was a vision, but it was so quick that Lady Cara couldn’t have noticed it. Still, her eyes widened as she stared at me, and I knew that she had recognized me.
