When he stops in front of me, towering over my small frame, I just stare, unsure about what to say, lost in the depths of his gaze.
“I’m King Cassius of the Water Fae,” he announces, his voice smooth like a gentle stream, “and you are Alette, of the humans.”
I nod, unable to speak.
His gaze moves to King Ashton beside me and, a flicker of recognition passes between them before his attention drifts down to the dagger at my side, and a spark of curiosity ignites in his eyes.
Suddenly, King Oberon and King Sylvian have managed to circle around me, their energy intertwining with the tension already present. King Sylvian seems to be watching our interaction with amusement, while King Oberon studies it all with a narrowed gaze.
Why are they all staring at me?I shrink back into myself the most that I can, trying to judge how far I am from the door, andwondering if I’d be able to make a break for it before these four caught me.
“That’s the blade given to you by the goddess?” King Cassius asks, his question now focused on me, his tone shifting to one of genuine curiosity.
My voice feels small and far away as I answer, “Yes.”
The room falls silent for a heartbeat as the fae around us lean in, their curiosity piqued, their hunger for knowledge palpable. Apparently, a weapon created by a goddess is interesting, even to these powerful creatures.
King Cassius watches me closely, his eyes flicking to the dagger before meeting my gaze again, searching for something deeper. “May I hold it?” he asks, his tone polite, but there’s a hunger in his eyes. A hunger I don’t fully understand.
King Oberon scoffs from behind me, a low growl rumbling in the fire fae’s throat as he sneers, “Don’t bother. Only she can touch it.”
King Sylvian chuckles, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Maybe it’ll burn him. But then again, he’s a water fae. He might manage.”
I don’t quite understand what’s happening, but the room seems to lean forward in anticipation, as though this is yet another game. Still, I take the dagger from my side and offer it to King Cassius. His fingers brush against the hilt, then close around it, drawing the dagger from my palm, and for a fleeting moment, I think nothing will happen. But then, his face twists in shock.
He gasps and drops the dagger back in my open palms as if it’s on fire, the sound echoing in the silence that follows. The room goes deathly still, and I can feel the weight of everyone’s gazes on me. Yet again.
These people need to learn not to stare.
“How can she hold it but we cannot?” he whispers, his voice tight with disbelief. "We're kings… She's human."
A smirk forms on King Oberon’s lips. “It appears even the great water fae isn’t an exception to the goddess’s magic.” The smugness in his tone is palpable. “Only thishumanAlette is.”
I’m not sure if they’re surprised, impressed, or just… confused. I shrink even further back, trying to keep my thoughts steady, trying to keep myself from instinctually disappearing into that quiet place inside me. What does it mean that this dagger allows only me to touch it? And why is it so powerful that it stops even the fae kings from touching it?
Tension simmers again, and King Cassius’s hand twitches as if he’s about to reach for the dagger again, but then he thinks better of it. The room settles into an uneasy quiet as I return the dagger to its place at my side.
“Let’s eat, shall we?” King Cassius says, his voice calm. His suggestion is met with nods of agreement from the others.
“A meal with the chosen one sounds perfect,” King Ashton says, a wicked glint in his eyes.
But I can’t help but feel like there’s something I’m missing, something important that none of them are sharing with me. They want me to… save the fae’s magic? Go on some kind of adventure? I don’t understand. Not any of it. My chest tightens, and I can’t hold back the question that’s been gnawing at me since I got here.
“You all keep saying that. Chosen one,” I ask, my voice small but firm, a tremor of resolve breaking through my anxiety. “Chosen for what exactly?”
Flinching, I realize I’m not sure I want the answer, but I can’t take the question back now. So I look between the kings, holding my breath, waiting for an answer.
The room grows quiet again, the weight of my question hanging in the air like a dark cloud. I want answers. They seem to have them. And yet, no one speaks a word.
It must be worse than I even imagined.
8
Alette
There'san uncomfortable silence that goes on a bit too long but rather than answer me, they choose to simply ignore my question and drag me to the long oak table on one side of the room that servants have laden with a feast. Behind them, they lead a swarm of fae, who flit around the four kings like wasps disguised as butterflies.
Only I see their stingers.
