“They are as much a part of this now as you are, Seven. We are all in this together, for the good of our kind,” Kieran says.
The good of our kind. What a crock of shit. He sounds likeChance. Connections spark in my mind as I stare out over the balcony at the creatures pulling carts and carrying axes into the tunnels below. The mine reminds me of something from a Tolkien novel, spiraling into the ground with endless activity, only it isn’t orcs doing the work. It’s goblins—unseelie fae who are, I’ve read, normally uncooperative.
“How did you get goblins to work in your mine?” Even as I ask it, the hair on the back of my neck stands on end because I know whatever he’s done, it must be dark.
Seven darts a glance toward me and then at the mine, and I see the moment it registers on his face.
Kieran responds with a wicked smile that makes my skin want to crawl right off my body. “I’d heard you were a clever pixie, Sophia. No wonder Valentine dressed you as Titania. You would make a fine queen. You already see where this is going, don’t you?”
Beside me, Seven has gone terminally silent. I wonder if Kieran knows how worried he should be right now. The last time I saw Seven look like this, he was bringing down Yissevel’s house around him.
“I could guess, but I don’t see any prizes for being right. Why don’t you save us all some time and tell us,” I say dryly.
“Such a smart mouth.” He focuses on my lips.
Seven gives a low growl beside me. “What are you up to, Kieran? If you want my help, you need to tell me all of it.”
Kieran turns to face the mine and rests his hands on the balcony rail. “Delivering malivite through the silver is only the beginning. For too long Shadowvale has been cut off from prosperity because Godmother didn’t have the vision to allow it to grow into what it could be. The goblins are working for me because I’ve promised them they will be rewarded when we bring down the wall and meld this realm with earth.”
My eyes widen. “You’re a madman. If you bring down the wall, the unseelie will never respect the peace we have with the outside world. There will be chaos. Once the unseelie start feasting on humans, the only outcome is war.”
Kieran nods. “A war we should have fought over a hundred years ago. After the humans’ Civil War when Johnson tried to force us from Devashire, I wanted to release the unseelie and put the colonizers in their place. Only Godmother believed a peaceful solution was the most profitable. She gathered enough support among the seelie elders to banish me to this realm. And what has become of you who live on the other side of the wall? Relegated to jesters for human pleasure.”
“You were wrong then and you’re wrong now.” Seven shakes his head. “Devashire is more successful than ever. Our gross national product exceeds that of Germany, and we have power and presence economically in every major industry in North America. Humans flock to our tourist attractions. If the seelie had done it your way, there would be nothing left to rule. The unseelie would have ravaged the States. We’d still be living in forests of claws and teeth, hunting for our meals and battling each other for survival.”
Kieran turns his focus on me. “What do you think about that, Sophia? How are things in Devashire for you? Is what Seven says true? Has posterity blessed all fae equally?”
I swallow and answer honestly. “No. Of course not. Leprechauns have benefited the most from Godmother’s arrangement, but—”
“And what about walls? Have walls worked out well for you as a pixie? The barrier between Devashire and the United States proved especially problematic for you, did it not?”
“Yes, but—”
“Did you enjoy being treated as a thing? Being told it was illegal for you to live on land that was once ours? Wouldn’t you prefer to come and go as you please? To be treated as an equal to the humans that you now serve? And what about the barrier between you and Seven? That’s a different sort of wall, isn’t it, Sophia? Oh yes, I know all about you and your relationship.” His eyes dart to Alicia, who is still holding her son protectively. “Do you enjoy being considered a lesser class than your lover? Do you think they’ll allow you to marry? Is it fun for you to think that Godmother and her laws will determine your future with the man you love?”
“Stop it,” I hiss through my teeth. My head pounds, and I’m not sure if it’s because he’s crazy or because he has a point. It’s unsettling, and I find my mind racing from his words.
“The citizens of Shadowvale feel the same way about their captivity as you feel about yours. And yes, it is captivity. If there are walls, there is captivity. You understand, don’t you Sophia? You understand in a way that Seven never can how tearing down all the walls, all the borders, all the barriers, is the only fair and equitable future.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying,” Seven says.
“There the leprechaun goes again, speaking for you. Stealing your voice.”
“I don’t need anyone to speak for me,” I snap. “What I need is for men like you to listen to me. It is true that walls have consequences and sometimes barriers need to be torn down, but that’s where the truth in what you’ve said ends. A fair and equitable future for the fae is not one where there are no walls and no rules, because in that scenario I’d be dead. It is no secret that pixies are a delicacy to the unseelie.”
Kieran shrugs. “Nature must take its course.”
“Who decides what is nature and what is brutality? Will it be you who rules over the chaos, Kieran? There has always been a fairy king and queen, hasn’t there? Someone has to rule. Someone has to settle disputes. If I remember my history correctly, you came into your position by killing the king before you.”
“The strong survive, Sophia. I am the fairy king, and I will rule the kingdom that is to come, alongside Hearst, who has made preparations to help us take back North America in exchange for exclusive rights to this.” He gestures at the mines and the goblins toiling below us. “Hearst sees the writing on the wall and is willing to bow to my rule. As I have served as the ruler of this unseelie kingdom, believe me, I am strong enough. Look how even the goblins do my will.”
“Then there are still walls. You’re still above everyone else. It’s true that I wish things could be different between Devashire and the United States and maybe the unseelie should be represented as well, but the answer is thoughtful and controlled change, not war and complete chaos. Not sitting back while an army of goblins feasts on hapless humans.”
He shakes his head, and the hounds holding me grip my arms harder. “I expected better of you. I thought you of all people would see that this is how it has to be.”
Alicia straightens. “I told you, Kieran, she’s dangerous and uncooperative. Throw her in the dungeon. It’s the only way you’ll ensure Seven’s compliance.”
Seven struggles against the hounds holding him, his power rising until I can feel its heat on my skin.
