“You,” Fell cursed and coughed. “You wouldn’t risk yourself and your Court for someone else!” He struggled to sit upright, and I crouched down next to him.
“Oh, no. You’ve got me totally wrong, Fell.” I lazily scratched Kevin’s head and petted Muffin when the two moved to stand on either side of me. “I’d risk itallif it means stopping beasts like you from hurting people.”
“You could never stand against the Autumn Court in a war.” Fell tried to scramble backwards, but he smacked into Nebula’s legs.
I’d noticed the plants in the area seemed…differentsomehow. They were less brown and dry from the cold season, and more skeletal. I briefly glanced at the sky and noticed that somehow, the bright afternoon sun had transformed into a silver moon and hung in the haze of dusk, even though it wasn’t even three in the afternoon yet.
Something to ponder later.
“Who said anything about a war?” I asked.
“Indeed.” Rigel must have used his shadow magic, because he appeared at Fell’s side and pressed a dagger to the monarch’s throat. “We could kill youright now.”
“No one will stop us, either.” I glanced back at the other monarchs, who were all standing as still as stone. I leaned in to whisper to Fell. “That’s the funny thing about being a tyrant—it doesn’t win you friends.”
My purple magic twined around my fingers—active and ready. Rigel’s magic—a pale gray—skated around him, and his eyes seemed extra dark.
“So, tell us, Fell. Is there going to be an annual hunt next year?” I asked.
Fell’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “There will be no more hunt.” He grunted when Rigel’s blade pricked his skin. “It’s abolished.”
I patted Fell’s knee. “Smart choice.”
I stood up and started to turn away, but Fell gurgled, “I’ll pay you back for this, Leila. I’ll see to it—you’re going to crush yourself under your self-righteous behavior.”
“Autumn,” Rigel said in a voice of death. “Do not overstep yourself. I know where you rise and where you sleep. If I come to think of you as athreatto my queen, I will silence you forever.” He glanced up at me. “Perhaps we should just kill him.”
Based on the light of fury in Rigel’s eyes, I didn’t think he was trying to intimidate him.
With his knife balanced on the monarch’s throat, Rigel was asking mefor real.
“Nah.” I offered him my hand. “I can’t stand the twerp, but we can’t kill him just for being annoying. If he tries to bully anyone again, though, we’ll need to revisit this talk.”
Rigel looked doubtfully down at Fell. “If you say so.” He leaned in to the Autumn King and whispered something that made Fell turn bone pale.
Then he stood and took my hand, and together we walked under the three o’clock afternoon-night-sky.
I rubbed at the spot on my forehead where the stag had pressed me with his muzzle—it still felt warm.
Rigel glanced at me. “What is it?”
“It’s—”
“Fine,” he finished with me.
I laughed and swung our joint hands, then scooted a little closer to him. “Thanks, Rigel.”
He shrugged.
“It’s not shrug-worthy. Even though I’m furious with Fell, the other Courts deserve it, too. Rime is more powerful than Fell, and she didn’t put him in his place. And if Solis had teamed up with Verdant, I’m pretty sure he could have gotten Fell to back off, too.” I shook my head in disappointment and disbelief. “How can they live with themselves?”
“They have their own Courts to worry about,” Rigel said.
“Butwhy?” I asked. “Wouldn’t it be amazing if we were united together asfae? And if we didn’t invest so much time and effort into political sabotage and ruin?”
Rigel let go of my hand. I thought he was making a statement, but then he lowered his arm over my shoulders. He stopped about halfway through and glanced down at me.
I stepped into his half embrace—which might have been just for acting purposes because Rigel didn’t react at all.
