“Yeah, except neither of you have to touch it, and I do,” I grumbled.
“If it works, it means you’ll be able to defend the lands better,” Skye—knowing just where to poke me—said.
“Okay, okay, let’s get this over with. I’m staying seated this time though,” I grumbled.
Skye held out the staff for me. I gritted my teeth, then set my fingertips on the crescent moon top.
Again, the world rocked as magic pulsed through my brain. It felt like I was simultaneously on fire and drowning. I felt the wild magic everywhere—it was so strong I couldn’t evensee. My brain was too busy trying to cope with the magic that flooded my body.
Someone yanked my hand off the staff, and I wheezed, finally able to breathe again.
Once my eyes recovered, I discovered it was Chrysanthe who had plucked my hand off the staff. She and Skye watched me, their worry apparent in different ways. Skye’s forehead wrinkled, while Chrysanthe’s eyebrows traveled halfway up to her hairline.
“That was not a normal reaction—not even for something like resonating,” Chrysanthe said.
“I agree,” Skye said. “I expected it would have been calling to you, and you just didn’t notice until you touched it. But that was…not what calling looks like. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it seemed to be an incomplete resonation.”
“But how could that be?” Chrysanthe asked. “The staff is whole. A part of it would have to be broken for an incomplete resonation.”
I coughed. “It’s that Original Creep. I seriously dislike him.”
“The original king has nothing to do with your reaction to his staff,” Skye said.
“Maybe not, but I’d seriously love to deck him for all the trouble he’s saddled me with,” I grumbled. “Then I’d feel a lot better about life.”
“If you feel that strongly about him, we could egg his gravesite,”Chrysanthe, of all people, suggested.
I widened my eyes to the point of goggling. “You’d do that? But you’re from the Night Court! Everyone in the Night Court belongs to the cult of the Original Creep!”
Chrysanthe shrugged. “When Grandmother believed I had a chance of being the next queen, I read over the rules for becoming the ruler. I also did not think highly of the law that required the monarch to marry before being crowned.”
“I’mglad we’re friends now,” I said.
That got another blush out of Chrysanthe, but I was surprised that Skye didn’t react at all. She was staring at the small, chipped crystal that jutted out of the tip of the staff.
“Skye? Is something wrong?” I asked.
“No, I just think I have some research to do.” Skye shook her head, then bowed to me. “Thank you for showing us what happens when you touch the staff, my Sovereign. I’ll go return this, and then we should head back to the mansion. You have many important tasks to complete today. Foremost, you need to respond to a correspondence from the Paragon. He’s invited you to his personal pocket realm for tea.”
“Gotcha. Thanks, Skye.”
“My pleasure.” Skye smiled at me, but when she turned to go back into the castle—still carrying the staff with her cloth-covered hands—I caught her frowning down at the staff, deep in thought.
She’ll tell me if she finds something.Whatever it is, though, I hope it’s not bad.
Based on her expression, I wasn’t sure.
* * *
I was initially pretty excitedwhen Skye told me about the Paragon’s invitation, because I liked him a lot. But when I took a look at the fancy card, I read the fine print and saw it was an invitation for the Fae Ring. In other words, Solis, me, and the four season Courts.
I didn’t like tea, but it was the idea of getting stuck in a small space with Fell and Birch that inspired me to try to wiggle out of it.
Skye wouldn’t let me—said it was too important, and then got Indigo to back her up.
They did let me protest the event in my own small and—as Indigo told me—“unimportant” ways.
First of all, I drove myself to the meet up point in my truck—don’t get too excited. Chase had installed a wireless camera and a hotspot in my truck for outings like this.
