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I’m surprised to see her dressed so . . . human.
“Come.” She holds out an arm, causing Nick to blink in surprise. “Let me show you my office.”
Pushing past his shock, Nick nods encouragingly.
I don’t feel up to being around my past-mother, not alone. Not after the day I just had.
Yet her offer doesn’t really feel like something I can refuse. Waving goodbye to Nick, I follow the queen down a hallway to her spacious corner office.
More sprites and a white miniature centaur wait inside, poised to do her bidding. The centaur sneaks a glance my way, obviously decides I’m of no importance, and launches into a speech. “Your afternoon meetings have been pushed back, and city councilwoman—”
She lifts a finger, silencing him without a word, and turns her full attention on me. “Chilled cucumber water or strawberry and mint infused?”
It takes a second to understand she’s offering me a drink. “Oh, um, strawberry?”
A sprite dives for a glass tumbler on the bar counter opposite the queen’s desk, while another begins shoveling ice into the tumbler. Drink in hand, I follow the queen to the long cream bench lining the floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking the reservoir.
And wait. And wait. The queen’s silence swells to fill the room.
So in typically me manner, I begin rambling to ease the awkwardness. “This place, it’s beautiful. The views. The painting. And, holy crap, the restaurants. They have a fondue fountain with chocolate and—”
She holds up a hand, and my tongue literally stops working.
Yes, Summer. I’m sure she has no idea about the fondue fountain in the restaurant complex she owns.
Her head tilts as she studies me. “You stood up to Prince Hellebore during the Wild Hunt.”
It’s not a question, but I nod anyway. Where is this going?
She gazes out the window to the park below, showing off her sharp jawline. “Have you applied for my internship?”
Whoa, was not expecting that. “I . . . would love to, but as a second year, I’m afraid the final gauntlet will be beyond my skill level.”
“Indeed.” Her face remains placid, but her tone drips disappointment, and I’m shocked by how much I suddenly care about her opinion.
“Queen Larkspur, I don’t mean to offend when I say this, but the Evermore oppress and abuse us at every turn. The final gauntlet would be designed to ensure most of us die just for trying.”
A kind smile lifts her cheeks, and my heart clenches as I wonder how many times I was the recipient of that same smile. “I may be an Evermore, dear, but I cannot take offense to the truth.” She taps a long, slender finger against her ear lobe, drawing attention to the gold capping the sharp points—the only jewelry she wears. “After the Lightmare, when the Untouched Zone was just beginning to allow my kind to enter, I was told purchasing land here was a fool’s folly. My husband, the king and man who openly murdered my only child, forbade me. The Unseelie Courts mocked me.”
My heart skips a beat at the mention of my death. I don’t even know how to respond to that. “So, I’m not your prey, I’m just your bait?”
He chuckles. “Oh, you’re very much both.”
The smarminess in his voice grates on my nerves. I want to hurt him right now. I want to make him feel even a sliver of the pain he causes others.
Brushing the hair back from my face, I say, “Tell me. After you’ve snared your victims and utterly ruined their lives, does it go away?”
“Does what go away?” He asks this casually, calmly, his hands still inside his pockets, his lips still smiling. As if we’re enjoying a pleasant chat.
But the softness of his voice is a warning . . .
Screw it. “That hole inside you. The one you can’t fill no matter what you do. When you finally destroy someone’s life, I bet that hollow recess inside your soul doesn’t go away like you think it will. Like you pray it will. I bet it only grows larger. I bet it’s eating you alive.”
Holy poopballs, I’ve gone too far. His eyes go scary-dark, and the twisted emotions I see inside them—
He moves so fast he’s a blur. I careen backward, only to smack into the huge trunk of an oak tree.
He pins me, hands on either side of my head. “Little pet, I could call in my bargain right here in these woods.”
