Page 47 of The Fox Heir

“And those are just the portraits. Come see the landscapes.”

I follow her to the shadow of a wardrobe carved with lilies and tulips. She flips the canvases one by one, balancing the weight against her hip. The paintings steal my breath.

The wild, raging sea, caught forever mid-storm. A canyon drenched in sunlight so golden it glows. A meadow thick with wildflowers so real I almost feel the brush of petals against my skin. And then, a castle perched upon a cliff, sunlight spilling over its towers against a flawless blue sky.

I blink. “Is that …?”

“Gwyllion.” She nods.

“It’s hardly recognizable.” Entire wings that have long-since crumbled stand whole again, bright with gleaming windows. Turrets stretch toward the clouds, tiled with patterned shingles. Gardens spill in lush waves of green, with statues of maidens and fae creatures draped in climbing roses.

“This is how I know the stories are true,” Elisandra whispers. “And this is why we fight so hard to save this place from the Fox King.”

“But you can’t bring back the past.”

“No,” she sighs. “We can’t.” Her eyes lift to mine. “But they can.”

“Who?”

“The fae.”

“I don’t understand.”

Her eyes bore into mine, begging me to see. “It’s why so many of us still pray to the old gods. The Moon Goddess gave us the Dead Queen to restore the balance between humans and fae. If the fae return, they could change everything. They could restore Gwyllion, and more.”

Her gaze drifts across the room. “And this is only the beginning. Gwyllion was a summer palace, but Annwyn holds far more: sirens and sprites, gnomes and great forests, caverns older than even the fae. Waterfalls so high their rivers vanish into clouds. Deserts so vast, no living thing has crossed them. The peace, the joy, the magic.”

“The magic?”

Elisandra closes her eyes, lost in a daydream. “Annwyn was glorious. In ways we can’t even imagine anymore.” Her voice trembles. “Someday, we hope to see it returned.” She turns to face me straight-on. “That is why we stay. Why we refuse to stop fighting for our home.”

She straightens, sniffing once. “The Heir to the North will help us. When the Dead Queen finds the Heir, they’ll sit on the human throne again and bring everything back to life.” She gestures toward the broken mirrors and tarnished silver, the moth-eaten fabric and the splintered bedframes. “Someday, the Heir will stop the Fox King, make peace with the fae, and restore Annwyn to its former glory. Then we’ll have no need of Dead Queens anymore.”

I whistle softly. “Sounds like a big job.”

She nods, her expression dimming. “It is. But the Heir to the North can do it.” She pauses. “We have to believe. Without hope, we have nothing left.”

Chapter 16

We return to the great hall reluctantly. Elisandra has to go back to her duties in the kitchens, and I’m still hungry after my morning with Tristan.

Thankfully, no one pays me much attention when I sit back down at one of the long tables. Elisandra leaves me with a plate of stew and warm bread. But before she turns away, she gives me a small smile.

As impossible as it may seem, I think I’ve made a friend here in Annwyn.

I eat in silence, lost in thought for several long minutes before footsteps approach. I turn to see three of the queen’s Wolves walking toward me through the hall. They’re a grizzled lot. All three are broad-shouldered and covered with furs, each wearing a silver wolf sigil pinned to their chest. Snow still clings to the hems of their cloaks, melting into dark patches along the stone floor. But their scars are the most menacing thing about them. These are men who’ve been to the borderlands and lived to tell the tale. I eye one man’s hand, where three of his fingers end in stumps.

The Wolves stop in front of me. “The queen wishes to see you,” the tallest one says from behind a thick black beard.

“Can it wait?” I ask as I take a bite of an herb-roasted potato.

The guard looks at me, incredulous. “No one makes the Dead Queen wait.”

I shrug. “She’s dead. She has all the time in the world.”

The room falls silent.

The guard’s face flushes. “Now.”