“You don’t know anything about my people, do you?” she asks, the sudden sharpness in her voice causing me to become more alert.
“True,” I say, speaking more carefully. “But why point that out right now? Unless you mean to insult me because of my ignorance?”
“I speak with regret, not contempt.” Her shoulders relax a little, but the tension in her face remains. “If you knew more about the fae, you would know that there are many among my people with the power to snatch the very air from your mouth and hear the words you say from any distance. Including from beneath closed doors and along hallways.”
I give a heavy sigh. “Well, that’s wonderful.”
“You would also have known that my sister was a healer from the moment she introduced herself.”
My brow furrows. “How so?”
“Our power is in our name.” This time, Gliss’s expression carries a hint of pity that rankles me. “Every fae belongs to one of two classes: Sunstream or Eventide. Fae in the Sunstream class have powers that reflect the seasons. For example, Solstice fae draw their power from the sun and therefore control heat and fire. Queen Karasi is of the Solstice. OurformerQueen was a Frost fae. She controlled wind and ice.”
“Wind,” I murmur, thinking it through. “I take it the Frost fae are the ones with the power to snatch the speech from my mouth.”
She nods. “Our former Queen was a master at making use of what she heard.”
“What about you?” I ask, considering what I know of Gliss’s power to heal, but I’m not sure how that would relate to one of the seasons.
“I’m in the Eventide class. We’re rarer,” she says. “We control the elements of night and spirit. There are only two types of Eventide fae: Dusk fae, who can commune with animals, and Dawn fae, who are healers.”
Damn. “Your sister introduced herself as Elowynn of the Dawn.”
Gliss nods. “Elowynn of the healers.”
I groan at how powerless that lack of knowledge had left me.
“You shouldn’t be angry with yourself,” Gliss says. “Even if you had known, Elowynn would have refused to help until she had Queen Karasi’s orders.”
I consider Gliss darkly. “I would havemadeher help me.”
“Oh?”
“I would have taken you hostage.”
“Hmm. Well, that would have been a very bad move. Elowynn may be loyal to our Queen, but if you had laid a hand on me, she would have stopped at nothing before she killed you.”
“She loves you.”
“To a fault.”
Now that I understand more about their class system, I’m puzzled by something. “You said Dusk fae commune with animals while Dawn fae are healers. You implied it’s one or the other, but you clearly have healing power while you also seemed to understand your bird’s wishes.”
Gliss hesitates. “My sister and I are… unusual. Our mother is a Dawn fae, hence we take her name and have healing power. But our father is an uncommonly powerful Dusk fae. Elowynn and I inherited both powers. Elowynn’s healing power is stronger than mine, while my ability to commune with animals is stronger than hers.”
She grimaces. “Most queens choose their champion—their personal protector—from the Sunstream class because they have greater strength in combat. I’m sure you can imagine the damage that, say, a Solstice fae can do with fire. But Elowynn’s dual powers make her particularly useful to the Queen.”
“In what way?”
Now, Gliss hesitates. Her focus flashes again to the door. She chews her bottom lip for a moment before she returns to her task without answering me.
The silence stretches and, after a few long minutes, I assume I’m not going to receive an answer. I guess it wouldn’t be smart for Gliss to speak about the Queen’s weaknesses or vulnerabilities with anyone, let alone with me.
My eyes drift closed.
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know, Gliss is leaning over me with another glass of clear liquid in her hand.
Relief floods her face.
