The queen? “Have you already spoken to her?” I asked Sana. “Do you know what we’re doing here?”
Across the room, I caught the vampires’ heads swivel to stare at us. I returned their attention with a scowl, which at least made them turn back around. They could probably still hear us, but I didn’t want their cheating eyes on me.
“Absolutely not. The queen only stopped by our rooms to greet us once we settled in. Our families are friends, after all,” Ayla said, coming up to join us. She sat down and leaned in closer. “But I can guess what they will ask us to do.”
I plopped myself onto the couch next to her. “Go on . . .”
“Ayla . . .” Sana warned, but her sister waved her off.
“It’s just a guess. Don’t be such a stickler, Sana.”
The younger twin huffed and took up position on the other side of her sister.
“How familiar are you guys with Faerie?” Ayla asked.
“I’m well versed in the fae species and the courts we’ve studied so far,” Diana said. “Which is about half of them.”
Sam and Andre said they were both pretty knowledgeable.
I just shrugged and was relieved to see that the two shifters did too. Thankfully, I’d packed the sheet that Ms. Seeley had given me. I made a mental note to study it when I returned to my room.
Ayla nodded. “This is the Snowcap Court. It borders the Riverlands, where our family hails from, and the Dark Court.” Her face grew serious. “I’ve heard that in recent years, the Dark Court has been growing stronger. I bet you anything that our challenge has something to do with them.”
My heart sank. I’d wondered as much when the guard in the hall had pointed out the Dark Court’s proximity, but to have Ayla say it out loud made it seem much more likely.
“Stronger?” Heath asked. Since he talked so little, the single word got everyone’s attention. “How so?”
“They allow no one in or out of the kingdom. Only those who can fly incredibly fast through the Rift—that vast expanse of darkness that can suck out your soul, and separates the Dark Court from the other kingdoms—have even glimpsed that land in ten years. That isn’t very many fae. But those who have succeeded say that the shadow fae, that’s what we call their people, are building an army.”
Holy shit. Did Headmistress Wake know this? Did anyone in our world? Something told me they had to. But why hadn’t they mentioned it?
A million questions bubbled through me. “What are they going to—”
The doors to the lounge burst open, and Howley and Gregor stormed in with ferocious looks on their faces.
“Dasha! How could you just leave the room like that!” Gregor roared.
A line of fae guards rushed forward to stand between Dasha and her mates.
“Here we go,” Dasha rolled her eyes and stood. “You two were zonked out hard. Heath and I shook you and you didn’t wake. What did you want us to do? Stay in the suite until you regained consciousness?”
“Yes!” Gregor and Howley growled in unison.
The line of fae guards brandished their swords.
“It’s okay,” Dasha said, coming up behind the guards. “They’re my mates. They’re upset, but they won’t hurt me. I’m their alpha, and they must obey. So when I tell them tocalm downthey will.”
The fae looked confused by the whole multiple-mate situation, but they backed off so the last two shifter champions could join us. Heath moved seats, allowing the other two guys to claim spots by Dasha. The second they were next to her, they calmed. And when Dasha gave each a soft kiss, all the anger in their expressions vanished.
The multiple mates thing was interesting, but definitely too much testosterone for me.
A guard near the door banged his staff on the stone floor. “Champions. Now that everyone has arrived, I am pleased to announce Queen Tially Frost of the Snowcap Court.”
He opened the door, and a beautiful woman with long, blonde hair and piercing, ice-blue eyes glided through. She wore a dress of pale gold that fluttered around her like fine silk. A stole of white fur wrapped around her shoulders, and a delicate crown of gold and diamonds perched atop her head.
The Torna twins stood and fell into elegant, deep curtseys. I couldn’t pull off their grace, but I followed suit alongside everyone else, standing and bowing for the queen.
“Welcome, champions.” Queen Tially’s voice was musical and light. “The Snowcap Court is delighted that you are here. Please, continue eating and sit. I’m aware that traveling to Faerie is a feat for those of your world.”
