* * *
By the timewe reach the mouth of a cave, Lorelei and the queen have already cycled through several rounds of verbal assaults and steely silence. I tuned them out long ago for my own sanity.
The queen stops outside the cave’s opening, her mood unflustered, while Lorelei’s irritation wafts like a tangible essence as she stands at my side with her arms crossed. “Here we are,” Nyxia says in a sing-song voice. She enters the cave, and Lorelei and I follow.
“The fire fae are gathered inside?” I ask, trying to hide the tremble in my voice as the damp cave walls seem to close in on me.
“Yes. Those who received my summons in time, that is.”
“How did you gather them so quickly?” Foxglove couldn’t have requested this meeting more than a few hours ago. I was surprised when he told me it would happen tonight.
“Owls.” She says it like it should be obvious. “They are the most astute messengers and spies my court has.”
As we venture deeper into the cave, a faint light begins to glow up ahead. It soon proves to be from more glowing mushrooms protruding from the walls of the cave, joined by the luminescence of enormous crystals.
“Where are we?” I say with a gasp.
“Oh this? It’s Venitia’s house.”
“Venitia?”
“A moon dragon. You’ll meet him.”
I swallow hard. The light grows brighter as we continue on, and soon comes the sound of voices, growls, and yips. We come to a wide chamber, its walls lined with more glowing fungi and crystals. Throughout it, various fae are gathered including several kitsune with their orbs of fires hovering over their mouths or tails, blue wisps, a black dragon, and something I at first took for an overgrown fungus but now see is some kind of crustacean-mushroom hybrid with curious eyes peeking beneath its shell.
The fae grow quiet as we enter the chamber, eyes falling on Queen Nyxia. She addresses them with a smile. “Thank you for gathering to meet me on such short notice and being so willing to greet my guest.” She flicks a finger at me, and I come up beside her.
My mouth dries up as all eyes lock on me, some with boredom, others with keen interest, and a few with open hostility. “I am pleased to meet you,” I manage to say.
Nyxia frowns at me for a moment before returning her attention to the fire fae. “It is my great honor to introduce to you King Caleos’ granddaughter, Evelyn.”
Gasps and yips emit from my audience. Some of the expressions have now turned reverent while others seem a bit more fearful.
Nyxia continues. “With King Ustrin growing more and more militant in his rule as the centuries pass, your kind have sought shelter in other courts. You’ve always been welcome here in Lunar and will continue to be. However, I ask you to consider what it might be like if an unseelie ruler were on the Fire throne. Not just any ruler, but the blood of the great King Caleos.”
Whispers, grunts, and other animal noises rumble throughout the cave. When they subside, a kitsune steps forward on graceful paws, a ball of flame hovering in the air above its muzzle. Its eyes move from me to Nyxia. When it speaks, the words come through like Aspen’s had in stag form—not from its lips but from somewhere inside it. Or inside my mind. “I see the blood of King Caleos, but I see no unseelie ruler but you.”
Nyxia extends her hand toward me. “Evelyn plans to stake her claim as Unseelie Queen of Fire according to the Old Ways. Once she defeats King Ustrin, she will be the only ruler of Fire and the unseelie will be safe to return to the Fire Court if they wish.”
The kitsune doesn’t look convinced, nor do the majority of the fae in the crowd. “What is her unseelie form, then?”
Several voices echo their support of the question. A blue wisp bounces forward, her ethereal voice slow and smooth as she says, “Yes, I too want to see her unseelie form. I want to see she’s truly one of us.”
The blood leaves my face. Do they honestly expect me to be able toshift forms? Surely, they must know I’m not full-fae.
Queen Nyxia gives the crowd a placating smile. “She will show you her unseelie form when the time is right.” I shoot her a look of surprise, but she ignores it. “This is but an introduction so you can spread the word that hope is coming to Fire. That an unseelie rule is soon to return.”
Voices rise, calling out demands to see me shift. I feel like I might be sick.
“Why doesn’t she speak for herself?” the crustacean-mushroom says in a low, gravelly voice. A rumble of agreement moves through the crowd.
Nyxia gives me a pointed look before nodding.
My palms grow hot as, once again, all eyes fall on me. I want to run, to forfeit this entire plan and forget I ever thought I have what it takes to do this. This is what it would mean to be queen. I’d be required to give speeches, to represent a people I hardly understand.
I take a step back to catch my bearings, but my heart leaps into my throat as my lungs constrict.
“Breathe,” Lorelei whispers. “You can do this.”
