“Yes, well, if we had discussed important matters first, maybe I wouldn’t let you win a round.”
“Perhaps it’s time we have this discussion. Let us walk.” He stood and motioned for me to walk toward the pond, away from his guards and servants, clasping his hands behind his back in a relaxed posture.
He was dressed more casually today, not in his fancy brocade vest he normally wore. There were shadows under his eyes, though his icy-blue gaze was as sharp as ever.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” he said.
“Yes. The ceremony was last night.”
“I’m hurt I wasn’t invited.” The wind ruffled his golden hair. The shade was too similar to Gideon’s.
“Humans are still not allowed at the castle.”
“Even though one of our kind is now the Queen of the Fae?”
I groaned and dragged a hand across my face. Why was I even wasting my time with this human?
Yet, I could not deny the vulnerability she’d showed in my chambers.
I wasn’t foolish to believe that sparing her from consummating our union would seal the rift between us, but I wondered if it was a start.
Would she be able to see past the fae who killed her husband, or would she blame me for her suffering until her death?
“We're not here to talk about my bride or my marriage. We're here to discuss the dead human in my settlement. The one who looks like my queen. Care to explain?”
“A decoy,” he said, stopping by the edge of the pond where two golden swans glided across the water. “You see, while you don't believe in the prophecy and what it can bring, there are those of us who do and believed that Deirdre’s location should have been kept secret. When we learned of her disappearance, we planted a decoy in our castle.”
“How did I not know about this?”
“The decoy wasn't for you. When we learned the child of prophecy had been born, we searched other settlements to find a similar baby, then used a little magic to create this.” He tapped a finger over his eye, marking Deirdre’s birthmark. “We had her hidden in one of our estates in case the need ever arrived to use her to keep the belief going, if something happened to the true child of prophecy. Our people need hope.”
“And yet the real one slipped away through your fingers.”
He frowned. “We had been searching for Queen Deirdre and the treasonous human who had taken her with him. Unfortunately, her grandfather refused to speak and then fell ill before we could question him further. The trail vanished.”
“I understand the need for a decoy, but why was she in my village and why were the twisted there? The Lich King’s minions are never this far north.”
“I have been asking myself that very question. The decoy was kept under careful watch, but we believe she may have slipped out.”
“But why?”
“There have been skirmishes around our areas in the market. Fae and human fighting each other, blaming one another for the unrest. We believe she went to show peace.”
One of the swans swam toward the bank and he reached into his pocket, pulling out a handful of grain for her. “That's the problem with lies. When you live one long enough, you believe it as truth. She truly thought she was the child of prophecy, and I'm sure whatever she was doing in that fae settlement was probably a way to get you to notice her.”
“Your Majesty!”
Both of us turned around at the guard running forward. A moment later, a loud horn blew in the distance.
“What is that?” I asked.
The king tossed the grain to the swan, then unsheathed his sword. He ran his hand along the blade, lighting it in a white flame. Light bearers had always been on the human throne just like moon fae had always been on our throne.
“That's outside the castle,” he said. “We're under attack.”
We ran, meeting the guard on the way.
“Undead,” he gasped. “Dozens of them. The town of White Plains is being overrun.”
