I answered him, and he shifted into that sultry, teasing persona of his, saying something about a waltz of family feuds and curses. And then…nothing. Why did he never tell the tale he’d tempted me with? I only remember silence after that, until I dozed off.
Mother speaks again. “I apologize for subjecting you to the indignity of traveling alone with a man. I know the rules of society forbid a young woman from being in such a precarious position, but I wanted as few people as possible to be involved with your retrieval. I had to stretch the truth a bit when it came to relaying information to your fiancé. He’s under the impression you were at the convent doing volunteer work, and I didn’t want him to glean otherwise. Thankfully, Mr. Blackwood agreed not to relay any classified intel to Mr. Phillips, for the less reason we give your fiancé to doubt the strength of the match, the better. Anyhow, fret not. You’ll have a chaperone in attendance when Mr. Blackwood escorts you to the Earthen Court.”
I blink a few times, almost dizzy from how much she spoke all at once. Not to mention how fast. My surprise turns to amusement as I recall her rambling letter. She’s the very same in person.
Mother fully turns toward Thorne again. “You’ll make my daughter’s cake now, won’t you?”
“I’d be delighted,” Thorne says, though there’s no delight in his tone.
Mother snaps her fingers, and her rodent fae servant approaches Mr. Blackwood.
I furrow my brow and ask my mother, “What is this about cake?”
“It’s still your birthday, my love! For another few hours at least. We’re going to have a dinner celebration.”
My eyes go wide. “Tonight?”
Her shoulders fall. “Oh, I forgot you’ve traveled so long. Was the convent not nocturnal?”
“Some of the sisters kept nocturnal schedules, but not the school—”
“We aren’t nocturnal either. For the most part, that is. Since we must hear petitions from the humans, we open court during the day. That’s why we decided to host your party at night, when it will be the most private. Oh, don’t worry, it will be only your close family and very little staff. Everyone is so eager to meet you. They’re waiting in the dining room now! Besides, it’s the only night you’ll be home.”
My heart drops to my feet. “It is?”
“Mr. Blackwood is taking you to Sandalwood Manor tomorrow. That’s where your fiancé lives. Oh dear! I didn’t add an itinerary to my letter, did I? I knew I forgot something, but your father insisted I was being too long-winded. For the love of the night, I’ve overwhelmed you, haven’t I? If you want to cancel the party, we can.” Her eyes turn down at the corners, lips pulling into a grimace.
“No, it’s fine,” I rush to say. The words grate against my tongue, tasting very much like a lie. Butfineisn’tgreat. Fine is tolerable, and I do think I can tolerate a dinner party if it means making my mother happy. If this is my one chance to meet my family before I leave, I want to take advantage of it. Yet through that joyous want writhes a spear of irritation. One night. That’s all I’m being given before I’m pawned off on my stranger of a fiancé! Clenching my jaw, I swallow down my anger and force a smile. “I can at least get cleaned up and changed first, can’t I?”
Mother beams at me, her face so bright it rivals the moon shining upon us. “Yes, my darling, I’ll show you to your room.”
With a more somber expression, she nods at her servant. “Virgil, show Mr. Blackwood the kitchens at once.”
Virgil nods back, as does Thorne. Mr. Blackwood darts a quick, expressionless glance at me before following the servant up the stairs and into the palace. For a moment, I’m struck with a sense of panic at his departure, at watching the only familiar sight around me vanish from view. I chastise myself for the notion. The real Thorne is a prickly stranger. My dreams of him are folly. False. Nothing to be comforted by.
Mother laces her arm through mine and guides me up the staircase at a leisurely pace. “I’m so glad you’re here. Oh, I have been waiting for this day for so long.”
“Me too,” I say, meeting her warm gaze. I’m struck by how young she looks. While she has thefeelof a much older fae, she appears not much older than me. Fae aging is like that. Most cease aging after they reach maturity, though some can willingly age should they desire an older appearance. And then there are fae like Sister Nessie, the bark-skinned dryad from the convent, whose visage belies her relative youth.
As we reach the top of the staircase, two small foxes—fae in unseelie form—wearing black bow ties greet us at the doors, bowing low on all fours.
“Get her things from the coach,” Mother says, and the foxes bound down the stairs. As we proceed inside, I’m overcome with awe at our surroundings. Moonstone walls stretch high to the arched ceiling, its beams strung with large orbs of light. An amethyst floor glitters violet beneath our feet. The occasional guard dressed in silver armor stands sentinel along our path, but the halls are mostly empty. Far more so than I expected from a palace. However, my mother did say there would only be close family and very little staff here tonight. Is my family always this secretive? Or is this again about the danger I’m in? I realize there’s still so much more I need to know.
“Mother,” I say, and my heart flips at hearing myself say that word aloud once more, “Mr. Blackwood told me some things about our family’s…situation, but he never explained—”
“Situation? Oh, you must mean our reputation. It was futile to hope you wouldn’t hear about that yet. Even Mr. Phillips knows about it, and it’s why you must leave with such haste. The sooner your marriage takes place, the better, though I’m in agony that you must leave tomorrow. You must understand, my darling, that this marriage has been long in the making. I know it must be quite a shock to you, and if I could have sent word earlier to break such startling news, I would have.”
“Yes, but back to what I was saying—”
“Right. Our reputation. Mr. Blackwood told you about my magic, didn’t he? How I’ve used it to keep your father on the throne? I hope you don’t blame me. And I swear, I don’t intend to rely on such methods in the future! See? I said it out loud which means I’m being earnest. You must understand that times were volatile back then. After unification, Faerwyvae was in chaos. Lunar needed a seelie ruler to balance the unseelie rule, and if we had to use underhanded methods to do what is right for our home court…well, you understand right? The mahrts weren’t the only clan that sought to claim the seelie throne. We had to compete with the kitsune clan, the wisps, the banshees, the moon dragons—”
“Banshees and moon dragons.” I don’t realize I’ve said it aloud until I hear the pause in my mother’s tirade. I’m not even sure why those two words stood out to me so much. It’s just…I feel like someone mentioned those two types of fae recently, but I can’t put my finger on when or what was said.
Mother’s tone turns bitter. “Yes, our enemies, the Lemurias. Before unification, it was just Morgana—a wretched banshee—and her banshee ilk we had to contend with. But when we made our bid for the throne, she married a moon dragon and backed his contest against your father. Your father won, of course, thanks to me.”
I say nothing in reply as my mind is still tangled in what feels like a forgotten dream. Something about her story feels familiar…
My mother must take my silence for disapproval, for she sidles closer to me, hugging my arm tighter. “My dear, I am trying to change. I hope you believe that.”
