No more hiding.
The time to take up my royal birthright and be honest with Faerie was now.
“Lily?” May, head hung low in respect, looked up at me with confusion.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “We’ve all been lied to… myself included.”
As soon as I said it, the elders turned the corner, minus Maple. The elder had died protecting the crystals. Indra looked at everyone on their knees as shock marred her face. The same expression was worn by Rose and Aubin.
“The Spring Queen lives!” I yelled and watched as Indra’s shock turned to anger. “She remains in a magical sleep until I can retrieve all twelve crystals.”
There were gasps, and some fae even fell over as they processed what I said. “I… am… her biological daughter, the Princess of Spring.”
I let that sink in. No one said a word; they just stared at me in shock, whispering among themselves. I went on, “Until the Queen wakes, it will be up to me to save us, and Iwill. I promise you that.”
Rose and Aubin looked surprised at that, but Indra just glared at me, and I dared her with my gaze to say something to the contrary.
Elle pulled her dagger and pointed it at the three elders. “Show respect to the Princess of Spring,” she declared.
I stiffened at my bestie’s boldness.
As elders, they wouldn’t need to kneel, but a head bow was customary from what little information I knew about royal lineage.
Rose and Aubin immediately dipped their heads low while Indra’s nostrils flared as she gave the slightest of nods.
“We must have missed the show.” Indra smiled. “Did you prove your lineage with a power display of sunlight magic?”
Oh, she was going to test me? In this mood?
Without thinking, I flicked my right wrist and sent a bolt of buttery yellow light right at her feet. She stumbled backward, wide-eyed, as the other fae gasped.
I looked at my people on their knees in the dirt and shook my head. “Get up. Please. You don’t ever need to kneel to me again.”
They looked unsure, but when May stood, they seemed to catch on. Indra was like a frozen statue of shock, hand clutched to her chest and face marred in surprise. As if she didn’t know. I just didn’t trust her anymore, not after reading my mother’s journal.
Elle leaned into me. “What do we do about the crystals? We have no army.”
I swallowed hard. “We build our own army. Fuck Liam.”
I stepped forward and pointed to three tall and lean looking farmers. “You three, grab a bow and arrows and man the river. If anything crosses it, kill it.”
They blanched but nodded before leaving. Our protection dome was down, and the dark creatures of the forest would use that to their full advantage, I had no doubt.
“You five!” I pointed at another group of fae who looked like they might be decent warriors. “You need to train with Trissa or Elle and learn to shoot a gun, understand?”
One of them gasped. “A gun? That’s an Earth weapon.”
I nodded. “And they will use them against us. We must fight in kind.”
With some reluctance, they agreed and walked over to Elle who started to pull the gun off her hip and explain how it worked to them. The elders just watched me silently as I barked orders and put the entire village to work. I kept sneaking glances at Indra, daring her to disagree with me or try to take charge, but she kept silent.
Trissa popped up beside me. “What do you need of me?” She bowed her head slightly.
“Fetch Jasper.” I hadn’t seen the warlock since we got back from the Winter Court lands. “We’re going to war.”
My heart hammered in my chest as I fought to process everything. We had one crystal.
Fucking one.
