The driver barely glances at me as I close the door, then snaps the reins and orders the horses to keep moving. When the carriage is gone, I stand alone in front of an impossibly tall set of wooden doors. Two guards stand unmoving on either side, their white uniforms stitched with gold.
I turn and take in the flowers, the bright blue above, and the white stone that seems to grow from the ground to form the massive entryway. Solano isn’t here. No one is. I glance at the guards. They look straight ahead. I do a little dance. They still look straight ahead. I could walk away and into the town around the castle, just slip back to my own lands, and they wouldn’t stop me. Then again, it’s not like I can blend in and slip through the towns and countryside unnoticed. I look down at my rumpled dress and pale skin.
“Lollygagging?” A shrill voice seems to slice my eardrum, and I turn, almost losing my balance when my slick shoes decide it’s time to act up.
A lesser fae strides toward me, her horns curling behind her ears and her golden hair in a neat bun behind them. Her dress is simple and white, no gold thread, but there’s an air of command about her all the same.
“I, uh—”
“Come with me.” She frowns, her brown skin wrinkling around her mouth into a sour glare. “Nightling.”
I hesitate.
She snaps her fingers. “Come. Now.”
I don’t have any other options, so I walk to her. She turns on her heel and marches away through the now-open doors. The guards still don’t look at me. Where’s Solano?
“This way.” She leads me around a glittering glass statue of a royal family. Solano is young in it, but I can still tell from the tilt of his chin, the way his eyes follow mine—that it’s him and his parents.
“Where are we going?” I follow her clipped steps.
She doesn’t respond, just takes a sharp left into a white stone hallway lined with art. I want to stop and study each piece, their colors drawing me closer, the utter mastery in the strokes igniting my desire to draw, sketch, and paint. But the lesser fae keeps marching, and I have to hurry to catch up.
“Where—”
“You will do as you’re told.” She holds up a finger. “You will please the king. That is your sole function. Do you understand?”
“Yes, but—”
“You will not ask silly questions. You will not act above your station. And you will obey any command given by your betters.” Her voice is certain, like the fall of an axe. “If you’re trouble, you will be cast out. If you aren’t, you will be treated as a treasured pet and given all the luxuries you could hope for, but don’t deserve.”
We pass several high fae dressed in gold and white, their blonde hair swept up and decorated with crystal and jewels. Each one seems to sneer at me, their beauty marred by the looks they give. But the lesser fae keeps walking as if they aren’t there, so I follow.
“The consorts’ quarters are empty save for you.” She pauses and gives me a hard look. “Fornow.”
“I’m the only one he chose.”
“As I said.” She picks up the pace again. “For now. Changelings grow old and fade, some sooner than others. The king will take more consorts. They always do.” She turns again and again until I’m utterly lost in the maze of white marble, paintings, and haughty fae that appear at intervals.
“Can we slow down. I’m—”
“No.” She turns again, this time passing through a set of white double doors. One guard stands to the left, his eyes ahead.
“These are your chambers.” She pushes through another set of doors, and we enter a large room with a glass ceiling and open windows along two of the four walls.
“It’s so … bright.” I gawk at the space, the fabrics, the lounge chairs, and the furry floor coverings. “And big.”
“It’s made for ten of you,” she reminds me, then waves a hand. “It’ll be full soon enough.” Continuing inside, she turns through a doorway to the left. “Your bedroom is here.” She gestures to a wide bedroom with even more windows. “And the bathing chamber is here.” She continues to the end of the hall, though the rest of the doors are closed. More bedrooms, I suppose.
She finally meets my eyes again, though I can’t read anything from her other than the disdain in her tone. “You will be comfortable here as long as you behave. Please the king. Do your duty.” She sniffs. “You smell of the road. Bathe and prepare yourself. A closet is attached to the bathing chamber. Choose what clothes you think will please the king.”
“I figured Solano would prefer me naked.” I smile brightly.
She frowns again. It seems to be a common thing for her. “KingSolano will tell you what he prefers, and you will abide by his wishes, or you will be thrown out.”
I try again. “I’m Emma.”
“I know who you are, nightling.”
