“You’ve got a shattered heart,” Peri offered. “Ripped from your chest, stabbed, frozen, and then wacked with a sledgehammer until it shattered into a thousand pieces.”
Lilly turned, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. It took a few heartbeats before she could respond. “If that’s a damn rallying speech, you suck.”
“Jen has pointed out on several occasions that I don’t seem to understand the purpose of a pep talk.” Peri shrugged. “I don’t sprinkle sugar on feces, and the only reason I know that’s how you feel is because that’s how I feel.” Peri’s mask suddenly disappeared. Lilly could see the torment the high fae was bearing like a chain around her neck.
Lilly reached out her hand, but Peri blinked. An instant later, the mask was back in place. Take-charge-Peri was once again front and center. She lifted her hand and pointed at Lilly. Warmth ran up and over Lilly, and a second later, her hair, which had been a greasy rat’s nest of neglect, no longer touched her back.
Lilly reached up and felt her hair. Though she couldn’t see it, she could tell it was elaborately styled. Then, she felt a dense weight come down on top of her head. She reached up again and felt cold metal.
“You magicked my crown onto my head?” Lilly asked.
Peri shrugged. “I have my uses.”
Tears welled up in Lilly’s eyes as she walked over to the mirror.
“No tears, dammit,” Peri snapped. “If you cry, you’ll mess up all my hard work. And also I will cry and that will piss me off.”
“Hard work?’ Lilly snorted. “You pointed at me and this happened.” She motioned to her face, covered in flawless makeup, transforming her into a woman that didn’t appear as if she’d been weeping for weeks.
“I swear, you’re just like your daughter and her friends, acting like performing my magic is nothing, as if it doesn’t tax me and make me weak.”
Lilly immediately felt bad. “Oh Peri,” she blurted out, “I had no idea. I wouldn’t have let you do this if I’d known—”
Peri held up her hand cutting her off. “I was messing with you, queeny. Forgive me. It seems like my new therapy of choice is giving other people shit and taking great pleasure from it.”
Lilly lifted a brow at the high fae. “Are you sure that’s something new?”
Peri grinned. “Touche´.” The high fae took a deep breath, blew it out, and rubbed her hands together. “Now, we need to go over all the possibilities for tonight.”
“Gerick came and spoke with me about how I should handle it.” Lilly told Peri what the general had advised.
“While that is all excellent advice,” Peri said as she paced, “there are things that the good general has not considered. Yes, they want to see if you can handle being queen, but that’s not all.”
Lilly could already tell, by the tone of Peri’s voice, that she would not like what the high fae said next.
“Cypher has relatives.”
“Relatives?” Lilly said, sounding indignant even to herself.
“Yes. You know, those people related by blood, even if distantly.” Peri rolled her eyes.
Lilly ignored the woman’s obvious irritation because she understood how the fae felt. Dealing with people was not at the top of the list of things Lilly wanted to do either. Yet Peri helped her anyway.
“There are always relatives in a royal lineage waiting for their chance at the throne, no matter how miniscule the possibility that they will ever achieve it. Cypher, the long-time king, is gone, and those relatives will be frothing at the mouth to take his place.”
“Like hell,” Lilly said before she could censor herself. Not that she had some ambitious desire to be queen, but it was the position her husband had given to her because he believed she was the best person for the job. And though destroyed by the loss of him, the thought of someone trying to usurp his decision infuriated her.
Peri’s lips turned up slightly. “There’sthe fight in you. No matter how much you want to lie down and die, Lilly, you must stand your ground. Everything Cypher has done for your race depends on it.” Peri stepped close to her. The high fae lifted Lilly’s chin and pulled her shoulders back. “You will stand proud because your mate loved you and was proud to have you at his side. You will hold yourself as the queen you are: regal, strong, and steadfast. You will not fail, Lilly. You cannot fail.”
Lilly thought of all the things that could happen if an upstart warlock leader removed her from her station. Whoever took her place might not care about the other races or the trials they are facing. They might not be loyal to the Great Luna. They could even decide to join forces with the Order. Any and all of those things would be disastrous to their race, as well as to the others who were depending on the warlocks’ support in the battles to come … because therewouldbe more battles.
“It’s time,” Peri said, her voice tight with resolve. “I cannot join you for this first meeting. But once it becomes evident who is stupid enough to think to stand against you, they will see you have allies. That does not make you weak. It makes you smart.”
Lilly nodded. She turned toward the door. Her hands were fisted at her sides, and she had to force herself to open them, to relax. When she looked back to tell Peri thank you, the high fae was gone. “Well, all right then,” Lilly muttered. With one last deep breath, she took a step toward the door, then another, and another. As she opened then closed the door behind her, she said quietly, “Great Luna, give me strength.”
Chapter 2
“Scampering ants. That’s what the members of the Order look like as they try to regroup after having their asses handed to them by a singleCanis lupusfemale. If I had some cotton candy, I would toast the blonde one who has almost single-handedly brought the Order to its knees.” ~Myanin
