“Anything for my darling daughter!” Lord Linus called over his shoulder, too far away for me to correct him.
“I can never seem to really commit to either liking him or hating him,” I said to Skye.
“You used to despise him,” she pointed out.
“Yeah, he’s worn me down a bit. What’s the problem?” I turned to my steward and slapped the dust off my jeans.
“I wanted to speak to you about the annual hunt,” Skye said.
“Gonna warn me about Fell and that he’s likely planning revenge of some sort?” I asked. “Don’t worry, I know. That’s what I’ve been discussing with Chase in all our extra security meetings this week. When the slimeball makes his move, we’ll be ready!”
“That actually wasn’t what I wanted to discuss, but I’m very glad you are aware of such a possibility.” Skye paused, then gestured to one of the few stone benches that could still seat two people on the cobblestone patio. “May we sit?”
“Sure.” I plopped down—facing the castle—and patted the spot next to me.
She sat down and carefully straightened her slacks. “I wanted to confirm that you were aware of the surroundings when you confronted Fell.”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” I said.
“Your surroundings, in particular the weather, perhaps? Or the surrounding flora…” she paused, then blurted out, “The sky. I mean the way the afternoon sun disappeared and it became night.”
“Oh, yeah, I checked the headlines, and no one complained about the sun disappearing in the middle of the day. I reckon it was just an illusion,” I said.
“It was not just an illusion,” Skye said. “But neither was it a wide spread phenomenon. It was the Night Realm.”
I nodded slowly. “I’m really struggling to follow you right now.”
“In an expression of your power at the moment, the Night Realm temporarily fused with the human realm. The Night Realm was responding toyou—which was a huge display of power, and one of the reasons why King Fell backed down.” She paused. “That, and Rigel holding a dagger to his throat.”
“Okay, so the Night Realm is…bonding with me, right? That should be a good thing,” I said.
“It is—and everyone would interpret the situation as a positive one because it indicates you are extremely powerful,” Skye said.
“That I don’t buy,” I said. “I’m having problems with my magic, and I can’t keep the barrier up. I’m not powerful.”
“I expected you’d feel that way, which is why I wanted to discuss it,” Skye said. “And after hearing what Lord Linus has to say, I think it’s more important than ever to talk about it.”
“Why? Because my half fae half human blood is making it difficult to resonate with my royal artifact? Presumably, anyway. We don’t really have proofwhatis making it such a poor magical conductor.”
“What Skye will eventually get around to saying,” said a recognizable, proper, and feminine voice, “is that because you brought the Night Realm forward, you are obviously very powerful, but due to your obvious struggles with your artifact, there is something blocking your full powers.”
Skye and I stared at each other, then turned around and peered over the crumbling stone bannister.
Sitting on a half-destroyed wooden bench placed at the bottom of the patio overlook was Lady Chrysanthe.
She was wearing a knee-length skirt patterned with black and yellow flowers, black ankle-high boots, and a perfectly fitting black sweater while she was sipping from a porcelain teacup, her hair arranged in flawless curls.
She rested her teacup in its saucer, then glanced up at Skye and me. “Don’t mind me. I just happen to be sitting here.”
“Happento be?” I asked.
Lady Chrysanthe slightly pursed her lips. “Yes.”
I wonder if the stress of Lord Myron targeting her made her lose it. She’s been acting weird for weeks.
I shook my head.
“She is correct,” Skye confirmed. “Although I am loyal to you, and I believe you are thebestmonarch the Night Court could hope for, I always imagined your powers lay in your charisma and your cleverness. I was shocked by the display of power that was the hunt.”
