I blocked out their good-humored bickering and turned to stare out the window. The forest still beckoned on the edge of the field, but then we rounded a bend and I gasped.
“Whoa,” Kyla murmured. “It’s like something out of a fairytale.”
“Yeah. Probably means something will try to kill us soon.”
Aubrey sent me an amused look, and I let out a tiny laugh. Even I had to admit that the castle was beautiful.
It glowed like the sheen of a pearl. It was as if someone had taken my every expectation of a fairy palace and made itmore.
It was all turrets and towers, with a moat that encircled the castle, accessible only via a bridge across that moat. I had a sudden longing to see the sunset here. To watch the reds and purples and pinks reflect off the pearlescent glow of the castle.
I half expected to see unicorns frolicking in the courtyard.
We stopped at the gate in front of the moat. A group of guards surrounded our car. One of them held up his hand, and the engine shut off. Aubrey rolled down his window and smiled at them.
“My friends have a meeting with the king.”
While he arranged for us to be allowed into the castle, I studied the guards.
They were dressed in white, which was a terrible choice for people who would be expected to spill blood in defense of the castle, but it wasn’t exactly surprising in this place. They moved as a team, well-trained, but the one who’d used his power to stop our car was clearly in charge.
“The vehicle stays here,” he said, and we climbed out.
The water in the moat was so clear, I could see the varying colors of the stones that lay on the bottom. My mouth twitched and Kyla glanced at me.
“What is it?”
“Just comparing this delightful experience to the castles over human history. That water would likely have been filled with human excrement and occasionally cleaned by the peasants.”
She wrinkled her nose and Aubrey shot me a warning look. I shrugged.
More guards stood on either side of the main entrance, all of them watching carefully. Surprisingly, they didn’t ask to check us for weapons. Maybe with our dresses, we looked like we didn’t know how to use a weapon. Or perhaps they knew neither of us had a chance if the seelie king decided we’d offended him in some way.
My own power flickered at the thought.
“I can’t go in with you,” Aubrey said as we crossed the courtyard. It was creepily quiet, and my neck itched at the eyes on us. A guard bowed, opened the door to the castle itself, and we stepped inside.
“If you wish to negotiate on your terms, you must do so alone,” Aubrey continued. “I’ll have to wait outside the throne room.” A hint of regret flashed through his eyes and I nodded.
“Thank you for getting us this far.”
My feet sank into the lush white rug beneath my feet, and we all moved silently down the entrance hall.
My eyes scanned over the gold panels of the walls and up to the painted ceiling above us. I’d once seen pictures of the Sistine Chapel before the Decade of Despair, and my heart had ached for the ruination of all that beauty. This looked entirely too familiar.
Aubrey smiled at me when I met his eyes.
“Our king was quite impressed with the talents of the mortal responsible for such beauty.”
Bitterness warred with relief in my gut. On the one hand, it was nice to know that some of Michelangelo’s genius had survived. On the other hand, it was so like the fae to allow beauty to be destroyed in our world, but to keep it for their own.
One of the guards held up a hand, gesturing for us to stop in front of two gold doors.
“The king will see you now.”
The doors swung open and I swallowed, my mouth suddenly bone dry as all eyes turned toward us. I’d thought we’d look ridiculous in our dresses, but Enslie and Aubrey had been right—we would’ve stood out a lot more in jeans and sweaters.
Courtiers lounged in chairs near the back of the room, their outfits making ours look sedate. One woman’s neckline plunged almost to her bellybutton, and around her neck hung a chain connected to a tiny cage. The cage held a single bird which attempted to stretch its wings, only for them to press up against the gold bars.
