Mr. Duveau takes a step closer. “Follow me. Now.”
I pour my intent into every word. “You have my name wrong.”
“Excuse me?”
“My true name isn’t Evelyn Fairfield.”
“That’s a lie. Your mother gave you the name Evelyn Fairfield at birth. It is your true name, and it’s a name I’ve memorized since the day you were born.”
“I may have been born with that name, but my name has since changed. It is now Evelyn, Unseelie Queen of Fire.”
His face goes blank, but only for a moment. His lips pull into a devious smirk. “Is this your true name you’ve given me?”
I smile sweetly. “Yes.”
Mr. Duveau squares his shoulders. “Evelyn, Unseelie Queen of Fire—”
“No!” King Ustrin’s shout roars through the chamber, but it’s too late. Mr. Duveau steps back, hand to his forehead as if to stifle a terrible pain.
A roil of nausea washes through me, followed by the feeling of something ripping—somethinginsideme. With it comes a searing agony, and I call my fire to combat it. In a flash, it’s gone. Like it was never there to begin with.
I open my eyes to find Mr. Duveau panting, face pale and covered with a sheen of sweat.
King Ustrin lunges toward him. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’ve broken the treaty!”
The councilman steps back, unsteady on his feet as he shakes his head. “The Legacy Bond should have—”
“The Legacy Bond was destroyed the moment you named her queen,” King Ustrin says through his teeth. “The treaty is broken if King Caleos’ descendants claim rule. And you, with the breath of the Bond, spoke that very thing into being.”
Aspen takes my hand, and we step back from the pair. There’s nowhere to go. Behind us are the fire fae and King Ustrin’s guards. Ustrin and Mr. Duveau block the exit.
Ustrin’s chest heaves as he pins the councilman with a vicious scowl. “Which means our arrangement is over.” He lunges for Mr. Duveau, his fingers stretching into claws as he swipes at the man.
Mr. Duveau reaches beneath his jacket and pulls out his revolver. The movement makes him wince, and he brings his free hand to a place below his ribs. That must be where Aspen wounded him. The arm that holds the gun, however, is steady. Firm. Ready to shoot.
Ustrin recoils at the sight. The two are frozen, eyes locked. Slowly, Mr. Duveau takes a step back. Then another. Ustrin hisses, body shaking as if fighting his instincts to attack the man. When the councilman moves far enough into the tunnel, his form is swallowed entirely by shadows. A moment later, I hear his pounding footsteps fleeing from the cave.
King Ustrin points at two of his guards, nodding his head in the direction of Mr. Duveau’s hasty exit. The guards obey, streaming past us.
Aspen and I take another step back.
Ustrin faces me head on, fingers curling and uncurling as flames dance between them. “You get your way. We will fight for the Fire Court throne after all.”
36
Ustrin’s chest heaves with rage as he storms over to me, fire climbing from his fingers to his shoulders. The blood leaves my face. This is what I asked for, but it doesn’t mean I’m ready. Still, I don the bravest face I can, throwing back my shoulders as I take a step closer to him. Aspen’s fingers cling to mine, and I can feel his reluctance to let me go. To let me fight. To stand down. But he does.
I’m right here,he whispers in my mind.
King Ustrin burns me with narrowed eyes as he removes his jacket and cravat, throwing each to the ground with force. “You must make the first move,” he hisses. “Our bargain keeps me and the council from engaging the fae rebel royals in violence. Even according to the Old Ways, a bid for alpha status is considered an attack. Since you have sided with them, I cannot engage you.”
My pulse races, and my mouth goes dry. “Very well.”
His fire grows, dancing over the scales of his face and scalp, creating a blinding shimmering radiance around him. “Come get me.”
I make no move as I seek my fire, allowing it to rise from my core and burn down my arms, my hands, my legs. Doubt creeps in, so heavy it threatens to dampen my fire. I hardly know what I’m doing. I’m not ready for this. I can’t do this.
What exactly is this anyway? I know we must stand before the All of All. We must prove which of us is the alpha. Do I really have what it takes to do that? I’m not Queen Nyxia, the most powerful lunar alpha in generations. I’m not even close in power to the weakest fae royal I’ve met.
