Someone groans, drawing my attention to a cobbled road where two fae guards are escorting a fae male. The man looks broken, his shoulders hunched, his face pale and drawn.
“Please,” the fae man says, his voice cracks with desperation. “I’ll try harder. I swear it. Just give me another day or two. I can give more magic. I just need time to recover.”
One of the guards scoffs. “You’ve had every chance to meet your quota, and it’s clear as the pointed ears on my head that it isn’t going to happen anytime soon.” He shoves the fae man, making him stumble. “It’s time for the coal mines.”
“No! Please!” The man’s voice rises in panic. “What about my family? My children need me. I have a wife. I—”
“Should’ve thought of that before you failed to meet your quota.” The guard yanks him forward, and they disappear between two buildings, the fae man’s protests fading into the distance.
I stand frozen, the bowl of stew growing cold in my hands. My stomach turns.
“You humans think you have it sooooo bad.”
I jump at the voice. An elderly fae woman is sweeping the outside area of her vegetable stall; her lined face is etched with weariness. Her hair is mostly gray.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“You think we fae have it easy living in the courts. That humans are the only ones to suffer, but you are wrong,” she tells me.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I tell her.
She shakes her head slowly. “We suffer too. We’re drained, week after week, until there is nothing left. Then we are sent to one of the mines to work until we die.” Her voice is bitter. “She wants more and more from us. It’s getting worse. At least you can flee to your own kingdom or to one of the settlements in the deadlands. We are stuck at court.”
“Why does she need so much magic?” I ask.
The old woman shrugs, her gaze distant. “There are rumors.” She pauses, glancing around as if checking for eavesdroppers. Then, in a lower voice, “Rumors that the Lost Kings have returned.” She speaks so softly I have to strain to hear.
My breath catches when I register what she just said.The Lost Kings.She’s talking about the seven fae kings who ruled the seven fae kingdoms before Queen Snow took power. They disappeared years and years ago. Some insist that they are still alive, living in fear of Queen Snow. Most believe that they are dead, that she killed them.
“Where are they, then?” I frown. “Surely, it’s false information. It has to be.”
“Who knows?” The old woman’s eyes glitter. She leans closer, takes a few steps toward me, leaning on her broom. “Word is that they’re gathering strength and resources to topple Snow.” Her voice drops even further. “The queen is desperate to find them. To kill them. There is a bounty on each of their heads. She is searching…ever searching, gathering strength to hold her place of power.”
If they are back, then I can believe every word. Queen Snow wouldn’t let anyone threaten her rule. Not after she’s held the power for so long.
“How do you…?” I start to ask.
The old woman sucks in a breath, her head snapping to the left, her body going rigid. I look too and see that three guards are approaching, their dark armor catching what little light there is. She looks back at me, her expression urgent.
“Go now, girl!” she hisses. “Keep your head down. We are in troubled times.”
She turns and shuffles away before I can respond, disappearing into the gloom.
I turn away from the guards, forcing myself to eat, tasting nothing.
Troubled times.
They are indeed.
I need to maintain my focus. I can’t think about anything except tomorrow’s performance. I will practice after I am done eating. I have to.
If I don’t put on a good enough performance, Master Roland will boot me from the troupe. I’ll be left with nothing. No food, no shelter, no protection. Before I joined the troupe, I was barely surviving. I was hungry more often than not. There is safety in numbers.
But if my performance is too good, if I let slip for just a moment, I’ll be in the same predicament as that fae man. I’ll be forced to give my magic to Queen Snow until there’s nothing left of me.
Either way, I lose.
The uneasy feeling in my chest grows stronger. Something bad is coming. I can feel it in my bones.
