“Dawn couldn’t have been that bad,” I told him.
He laughed. “She would fall asleep! Or play with the hem of her skirt, or one time she whistled a tune! So you see, no one is perfect. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.”
I also barked out in laughter then, before the smile was wiped from my face.
“Do you miss her?”
He nodded. “She never knew her father, so we all sort of helped raise her. I loved her.” His voice broke and he cleared his throat and stood. “Well, I think you’re ready and I can’t possibly delay another moment or the Queen will send messengers back to enquire after my whereabouts.”
I stood as well and walked him to the door of the supply room where we had secretly been meeting. I didn’t want my mother catching wind of what I was planning. I’d really come to respect Master Duncan, I was sad to see our time come to an end but I knew it was inevitable.
Master Duncan held out a hand and I shook it. “Thank you for everything,” I said.
He squeezed hard, affection shining from his gaze. “I think everyone underestimates you,Aribella.Thatis a weapon you can use. I think you’ll do fine. And please know that I’ll be rooting for you.”
I smiled genuinely, it was a kind thing to say. I was honored to have his support, but nervousness still sat in the pit of my stomach like a hunk of lead.
Could I really do this?
“Well, make sure to get the Winter princess ready just in case,” I told him.
He chuckled darkly. “Just come home alive. Faerie cannot handle anther loss.”
He was right. There wasn’t even a funeral for Dawn. They had accepted her fate, but if I didn’t return either, it would be chaos. Two of four court princess dead … it was inconceivable.
It was in this wild moment that I thought about the line of succession and how I didn’t have any children yet and had no cousins or aunts. My mother had been too emotionally weak to have more than one child. I’d heard her tell my father that once. But if I died, then the entire Fall Court royal line went with me. My mother’s monthly bleeding had stopped last year. I was it.
Dizziness washed over me and I swayed.
Master Duncan frowned, reaching out to hold me upright. “You okay?”
I nodded. “Just a lot of pressure.” I laughed nervously.
He gave me a serious look. “Remember. Don’t give them a chance to speak. They weave lies that will have you confusing your left from right. Land before the lord and take his heart. Come home. That’s it.”
I straightened my back, taking a cleansing breath. “I will.”
* * *
The next evening, the night before the portal was to open, my father sent Falana to call me to dinner. I put on one of my nicer dresses and met him and my mother in the small family dining room that we ate in when it was just the three of us.
“Hello,” I greeted my parents as I entered the room.
My mother sat next to my father, gripping his hand so tightly that her knuckles were white. My father’s face was an unreadable mask.
Something was up.
“Please sit down,” he said calmly.
I swallowed hard. “What’s wrong?” I asked as I took a seat.
“Don’t stress her,” my mother said to my father, looking at me pitifully as if she expected me to faint any moment.
I wanted to roll my eyes, but I knew it was just because she loved me so fiercely.
“Stress me about what?” I asked in the calmest voice I could muster.
“Your mother and I have spoken. We forbid you to enter that portal—”
