“Please don’t take this the wrong way,” I say, “but why exactly are you here? Is your...sister here too?”
Her expression darkens. “Of course not. Maddie is quite comfortable with her new arrangement, despite the questionable ethics she’s embroiled in.”
I raise a brow at Aspen, still bewildered.
He takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. “Marie expressed to me her reservations about Faerwyvae from the start.”
Marie nods eagerly. “I begged him to send me home. I thought for sure he was going to kill me for my insubordination, but instead, he was kind.” She lifts her chin. “He promised I wouldn’t have to marry—ever—if I didn’t want to.”
I flash a grin at my mate. “That’s quite good of him.”
Marie crosses her arms. “It’s the first time in my fifteen years of life that option has ever been given to me.”
I look away from Marie to take in the rest of the refugees, seeing the exhaustion tugging their features. “It must have been a difficult journey.”
“One I didn’t expect any of you to make without aid,” Aspen adds. He seems hesitant, anxious almost, before he says more. “The rebels and I had plans to send spies to help you escape.”
Then I realize the source of his conflict; he’s fighting not to show how touched he is that his household came. They followed him before he even sent anyone to assist them. For a king who keeps his truest, kindest nature behind a mask of stoicism, it must surprise him to find so many loyal to his reign.
It’s my turn to give his hand a squeeze, and we exchange a smile.
“We were stuck near the border between Solar and Lunar for two days,” Marie explains, oblivious to Aspen’s internal struggle. “There were soldiers patrolling the area. It wasn’t until Ambassador Foxglove and the Lunar Prince came along that we were able to make it the rest of the way. Some of us were smuggled through the carriage, while the prince flew others across the border one at a time.”
That explains why it took Foxglove and Franco so long to arrive.
“Are there more of you?” Queen Nyxia’s voice comes from over my shoulder as she approaches us.
Marie pales at the queen’s domineering presence. Belatedly, she sinks into a clumsy curtsy. “Yes, Your Majesty. We left Autumn in three separate groups. The second caught up with us when we were stuck in Solar, but the third is still unaccounted for.”
“I will inform my owls,” Nyxia says. “I’ll have them on high alert with orders to allow them safe passage.”
“Thank you,” Aspen says.
She raises a brow. “I suppose you’ll want me to house all your refugees until you get your palace back?”
His jaw shifts back and forth. “Please.”
She tuts. “It won’t come free. I’m already hosting you and your mate. What will you give me in return?”
I step forward, fingers balled into fists. “We’re giving you what you always wanted. A broken treaty.”
“Youare giving me a broken treaty, but what is Aspen providing?” She extends her hands toward the fae cluttering her entry. “A fragmented household? Exhausted soldiers?”
“His household is my household. If you ally with me, you ally with them. Once Aspen and I have our thrones, our people will be out of your way.”
Nyxia studies me through slitted lids. After a few tense moments, she says, “You’ve chosen a side after all.”
I maintain my composure beneath her scrutiny. “Will you send word to the fire fae to meet me tonight?”
Her lips pull into a devious grin. “It would be my pleasure.”
34
After nightfall, Nyxia, Aspen, and I make our way through the forest toward the same cave I visited before. The waning moon is bright, but the forest is oddly quiet, making the glowing mushrooms and bell-like flowers that light our path seem almost sinister.
It makes me grateful I accepted the presence of my two companions. My first instinct was to refuse. I wanted tonight’s meeting with the fire fae to speak volumes, to show them I stand on my own, that I am no one’s puppet, and that I don’t see them as a threat. However, Nyxia made the compelling point that there are other creatures to fear besides the fire fae. Going to the meeting alone would be foolish.
At least the three of us are under the same agreement. Tonight, I represent myself. Nyxia and Aspen will support me as my allies, not my protectors.
