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“Ouch,” I hissed.
“What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. I’d been stepped on by a horse, thrown from a saddle countless times, and kicked in the shins with an iron-shod hoof. I wasn’t going to complain about sore muscles and aching joints.
Rafael broke my stare and wandered off, loping out of sight behind a cluster of red-topped mushrooms that looked like card tables. I’d wanted to love him. From the moment I’d married him, I’d set my mind to loving him, no matter how long it took or how many obstacles I’d have to overcome. But I’d never imagined that he’d married me simply to dispose of me.
Everence stepped around me and noticed I was rubbing my neck again. She smiled kindly. “May I look at your wound?”
I lifted my arm and sighed. Everence placed a palm directly over my dress where the wound hid and closed her eyes. It was awkward, holding my arm up as she hovered so close, but as her melodic voice hummed softly, my muscles relaxed, and a wave of energy flushed out through my extremities.
Her eyes fluttered open. “You’re still weak, but the wound has fully closed.” She stepped back. “Your muscles must be holding on to the exhaustion that accompanies severe injury in mortals. I didn’t expect that. Your body—for some reason—is resisting my magic.” She tapped her nose with a finger. “I sense you feel more pain than you are admitting.”
My lips pinched. “Perhaps.”
“Sit. Rest. We’ll ride again soon.”
When I turned to scan the surrounding area, she added, “He will follow.”
I whirled back around, angry that she’d caught me looking for Rafael.
“I think you’re strong enough to ride,” she said. “Especially now that the hounds have left us alone.”
We sat on the blanket again. The sun rose over the colorful landscape, and I felt like I was sitting in a bizarre painting. A mouse scampered past us and sniffed at the bread. I flicked him a little piece. He took it and darted away.
“Tell me about the Sun Palace. I know nothing about this world or the king we’re going to meet.”
Everence snorted. “He’s still a prince. And the only reason he’s about to take the crown is because he murdered his own father.”
“And no one cares that he did that?”
“No.” She shrugged. “Not the fae who remained in the Sun Court. Fabian has been garnering supporters for years.”
“Tell me of the courts.”
Everence picked a clover and twirled it between her fingers. “The four main fae courts each have their own separate areas of dominion—separate sources of power. The sun for summer, moon for autumn, stars for spring, and darkness for winter. The First and Last granted us the right to manipulate the light and the dark, though little remains as it once was—when the courts were first established.”
Rafael had mentioned the First and Last in the hallway. I’d never heard the name before, and yet they’d both used it like they were referencing a deity. I opened my mouth to ask about it, but Everence’s expression darkened, and she continued.
“There is a fifth court, however. The Shadow Court.” She frowned and pressed her hands firmly into her lap, as if smothering some unpleasant memory. “A subset of nobles under the Night Sovereign wanted to gain power apart from their king, so they created an entire scheme of marriage bonds to amplify their magic and satisfy their ambitions. When they were strong enough, they used the power of darkness to create a counterfeit court, one where darkness was never permanent but doubly potent with its magic of deception. The Shadows, they called themselves. They were rejected by every other fae court, so they took their power where it was strongest—the mortal lands. The fae in Rivenmark do our best to ignore their existence.”
My people worshipped the sun, but according to the fae, one of their courts harnessed the power of the sun. I was about to travel to the palace of the sun, a place I’d thought humans only reached in death. But if the stories of Rafael’s brother were true, he was no deity, and his palace no place of eternal rest.
Everence talked on, explaining that her strongest magics were a combination of ice and elixir, and she’d been learning to hone her magic through song. Fae gained magic through marriage, and children were born with an unpredictable mixture of their parents’ magics. It all sounded too much like horse breeding: champions begot champions. Rafael had married me not for my power, but as a means of regaining the power he’d been born with. I was simply a vessel into which he could cast his greatest weakness.
The sun grew hot quickly, and Hector approached, holding out a flask.
“What’s in that?”
He chuckled. “Water.”
I took a long sip and handed it to Everence.
To my surprise, Hector sat down beside me and crossed his ankles. His long, blond hair was knotted on top of his head, and he stared down at his linked fingers as he rested his elbows on his knees.
“I want you to understand something,” he said quickly. “I hoped you would be the one to save my brother. Yes, that means I wanted you to die. Yes, it means I care more for my brother’s life than yours. I admit that.” He finally looked at me. “Rafael deserves to be free. He is a good man, and I would cut off my own arm if it meant he could taste life without a curse. As it stands, he loves you and will do everything he can to keep you alive.” He exhaled slowly. “I’ve accepted that he will never be healed. His time has run out. You and Rafael are about to walk into a maelstrom at that palace. Step carefully, or you’ll end up cursed or dead or enslaved. For Rafael’s sake, I do not want that to happen. He’s bade me to protect you…if he cannot. If they…if anything happens to him, I will get you out.”
So Rafael did still want me safe, even if he were to die. That wasn’t just a ruse to get me to love him, was it? I swallowed. Fae were tricksters, and I couldn’t afford any more tricks. I offered a small nod, unsure how to respond.
