The huge windows gave the home a more modern feel, as did all the fancy deck furniture placed strategically near the bits of the gardens that I could see.
But the beauty of the place was broken up by the massive crowd I saw spilling through the front doors of the house.
It seemed only the Night Court nobles were in attendance. Fae nobles appeared more humanoid, or picture-book, even, given their slender bodies, slightly tapered ears, perfect hair, and perfect skin.
While a fae Court was actually made up of a wide variety of fae—from trolls to pixies to brownies—it was usually the more humanoid fae that made up the nobles, and it was the nobles who most typically interacted with the human world because they were a whole lot easier to use for marketing and PR than a giant, wrinkly faced troll.
But the hierarchy also had to do with power. The fae nobles got their titles because they were the best at using artifacts and magic. Some of the common fae could only cast certain kinds of magic, and others were very weak.
I swallowed hard as the car rolled to a stop.
“Remember,” the Paragon muttered as Azure the chauffeur slipped out of the car and circled around to open the door for us. “Don’t show any weakness—they’re worse than vampires who have scented blood.”
The Paragon flipped his glasses back down his nose, slid across the seat, and was out of the car before I could respond.
I took a deep breath and forced myself to think of Mom and Dad.
I’m going to do this. I’m going to survive.
I put a smile on and slipped out of the car, standing next to the Paragon at the edge of the brick walkway before I looked out upon the stony crowd.
The fae were unnaturally still.
We were outside, and there was a slight breeze which should have blown through their hair or tugged on their clothes, but they were suffocating in their stillness.
They looked like a glossy magazine picture—so perfect in hair and dress that it was almost alien.
That was the difference between them and me: perfection. I was dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a cute lace top, and a few artful strands of my thick black hair were already slipping from the ponytail I’d pushed it back in.
The fae were dressed for a garden party, with the females all wearing dresses and skirts, high heels, and fresh flowers accenting their clothes, and the males wearing navy blue or dark gray suits with glittering swords secured to their belts. Not a hair moved on any of them, and the planes of their faces were equally frozen.
My smile wanted to die, but my stubbornness kicked in. I willfully relaxed my posture and made my grin grow a little.
The Paragon gave me an approving nod, then turned to address the crowd. “Night Court, I give you your new queen: Leila Welkin.”
I’m sure they meant their frosty expressions to be frightening, but it actually made them look like clothing mannequins as they stared at me with lifeless—but somehow still disapproving—eyes.
The whole stunt was intimidating—not because I particularly feared well-dressed people, but because it really showed just how many more of them there were than of me, and displayed the clear line between us.
“The night mares have bound her to the Court and made her queen,” the Paragon continued, “but she will be publicly crowned before the end of the summer.”
“She’shuman!” A beautiful fae who appeared to be about my age—which didn’t mean much as fae aged way more slowly than humans—stepped out of the crowd, breaking their flawless formation.
Her button nose was scrunched with anger, and there was a slight flush to her olive complexion, but that didn’t break the image of beauty she made with her blond hair floating in loose coils, her light pink dress that was a perfect fit and fell just below the knees, and her pink parasol trimmed with enough ruffles to strangle a doll.
“You have a skill of observation!” the Paragon marveled, not a hint of sarcasm lining the comment. “Yes. Queen Leila is half human, half fae.”
The crowd collectively exhaled quiet murmurs that barely made their lips move.
Yep. They’re going to betonsof fun to hang with!
The pretty fae curled her lips back in revulsion. “We can’t have ahalffae as our queen! It would bring shame to the Night Court!”
“It’s a little late for that,” I grumbled under my breath.
The Paragon cleared his throat to keep down a gurgle that sounded suspiciously like the start of laughter. “The night mares bound her,” he said. “Her connection to the Night Court cannot be broken.”
Lady Demetria stood next to the blond fae. She clutched a fluttering fan which hid her mouth, but I could tell by the way she leaned into the younger fae she was whispering to her.
