“Ah,” the Paragon said.
I turned to him, my spine stiffening with dread. “What?”
“Traditionally it takes a minimum of two night mares to select the next monarch.” The Paragon smiled kindly at me, instantly putting me on my guard. “It’s fairly common for three night mares to choose—which they do by congregating around the chosen fae, who is then anointed and sworn in as the official monarch. However, the night mares also have the power of King Makers.”
I don’t like the sound of that.
I glanced at my fae horses. “And what does that mean?”
“It means six or more night mares have to mark you.” He tapped his forehead. “With their essences. They’re creatures that are made of magic; it’s a simple matter of shedding some of themselves on you—as I can see they have on your forehead.”
I touched my forehead, recalling the way each horse brushed my temple when they arrived. Feeling oddly betrayed, I swung around to stare at the fae horses.
They avoided looking at me.
“And besides—you hadsixof them bind you. As soon as the sixth one marked you, their essence became strong enough to bind you to the Court—a process that would normally happen as part of a monarch’s official crowning.”
“And binding me to the Court means?”
“That you are already Queen of the Night Court.” He gestured to the other fae. “They cannot harm you, and if you have enough resolve, you can control them.”
“As you already have—when you stopped the guard,” Suits “helpfully” piped in.
Mom and Dad came around the corner of the house in time to hear the Paragon’s explanation, both of them looking a lot more worried and much less confused than I thought they’d be.
“Paragon.” Mom bowed her head in respect.
Dad was a second behind in copying her, but I was mostly shocked that Mom knew who the Paragon was.
I didn’t think they paid much attention to the supernatural community. I mean, I did. But that’s because my general wellbeing depended a lot on who was in power. Unpledged fae like me typically don’t last long. Usually a faehasto swear to a Court because otherwise they’re easy pickings for any supernatural. When you belong to a Court, messing with a fae means you’re involving their Court. Us Unpledged don’t have that protection.
I’m pretty sure I survived only as long as I did because I lived next to the Drakes.
“Hello, and who might you be?” The Paragon smiled warmly at my parents.
“We’re Leila’s parents,” Dad said.
The Paragon blinked as he studied my clearly human parents. “Aha. Is that so?”
“She’s my daughter from a previous marriage,” Mom said.
Lady Demetria sniffed. “And her father?”
“I’m her father. I adopted her.” Dad’s usual easy, warm smile was gone. Instead the slight downturn of his lips and his lowered, thick eyebrows gave him a watchful look as he moved closer to me.
He stopped to pet one of the fae horses or…night mares or whatever.
This elicited a mewl of alarm from Suits, but Comet—the night mare he was stroking—didn’t even twitch a nostril.
“I see!” The Paragon’s cheer was back. “What a quaint childhood here on a farm.” He gestured to a few of my mom’s black and white speckled chickens that had wandered over and were roosting on the lowest bar of the wooden fence. “Very idyllic, I’m sure.”
“Who fathered her?” Lady Demetria interrupted, her chest puffed with self-importance.
Mom and Dad exchanged glances, and Mom’s cheek twitched.
It struck me as a little weird—she hadn’t ever given me the impression she hated my bio father, even though I wasn’t shy about saying I did.
“He was a Night Court fae,” I said. “What’s it to you?”
