Page 20 of Wings of Starlight

With her composure restored, Elvina regarded her less like a Sprinting Thistle about to tear through Springtime Square. Back into familiar territory, at last. With equal measure, the queen said, “It will be handled.”

Clarion set her teacup down on its saucer with a clink as brittle as her nerves. “How?”

Silence descended over them. For a moment, Clarion thought that would be the end of the discussion. But Elvina shocked her by responding.

“We must minimize the risk of repeating another tragedy. I will convene a meeting tomorrow to discuss the safety plan for Pixie Hollow. In the meantime, the scouts will handle flushing out the Nightmares—and disposing of them.”

Clarion could only think of how quickly the Nightmare had struck; of fairies falling from the sky, silhouetted by the bloodred sunlight, pixie dust streaming from their limp wings. There was no way to dispose of a beast like that so neatly. But then she remembered how it had fled when she’d unleashed her magic, like a roach skittering away from a sudden flood of light. Clarion still did not know how she’d done it, or if she could do it again.

But Elvina could.

“They’re frightened of our magic.”

Surprise passed over Elvina’s face. “Oh?”

“I was able to summon my magic—just briefly. If only you could have seen it.” Clarion tamped down her enthusiasm as much as she could. She reminded herself that composure, not conviction, would win her mentor over. “None of Artemis’s weapons did a thing to it. But if you or I accompanied the scouts—”

“No. It is out of the question, Clarion.” Elvina rose from her seat abruptly, her tone turning frigid. “Pixie Hollow is only as strong as its queen.”

What good is a queen if she’s forbidden to do a single thing?

Better than a dead one.

Her heart twisted. If that were true, then Pixie Hollow should have been unbreakable. Elvina, after all, was the perfect queen. Though now, Clarion was not so certain. Elvina would not hear counsel. She would not share valuable information, which could have prevented all of this from unfolding as catastrophically as it did.

If you are interested in solving this problem rather than avoiding it, you know where to find me.In that moment, she could think only of Milori and his sad gray eyes: someone with a plan to act.

Elvina was not lying to her, surely, but she clearly was not telling her the entire truth, either. Unless Clarion wanted to sit quietly—unless she wanted to completely smother her own intuition forever—she had no options left. For the good of Pixie Hollow, she would swallow her reservations. The moment she could, she would find Milori where Spring bled into Winter.

The next morning, Elvina convened an assembly.

On her orders, everyone set aside their work for the day and poured into the palace’s throne room. Ivy and flowering vines hung from the ceiling like royal banners, and sunlight filtered in from delicate fissures in the wood, washing the space in gold.

The throne itself sprouted from the earth: a sapling’s trunk, carved into a seat. Twisting branches, lush with summer leaves, formed the armrests and back. It was beautiful, but Clarion had always suspected it to be terribly uncomfortable. Here on the moss-carpeted dais, she towered above the fairies gathered below. It astounded her, just how many lives she would one day hold in her hands. She hadn’t seen all her subjects in one place since the day she arrived.

Elvina stood at the very edge of the dais, regal and utterly resplendent. She wore her full regalia today: her horned crown, woven with wildflowers, and her wide-skirted gown, glistering and golden with pixie dust. Clarion stood a short distance behind her, flanked on either side by the Ministers of Spring and Summer. Neither of them had said a word all morning. Without Rowan—without the lively discussion and laughter he sparked—they seemed almost lost. Their silence had suited her fine. Clarion startled at every rattle of leaves in the breeze, at every lengthening shadow.

Murmurs rippled through the gathered masses. In their upturned faces, Clarion saw all her worry reflected back at her a thousandfold. Absently, she reached for that spark of power within her and found nothing. Why had it abandoned her again, when it had come to her so easily yesterday? In that moment of danger, faced with that beast, something within her had given way.

Butwhat?

For the life of her, she could not remember what technique she had employed. At the time, her mind had been consumed with a sort of blankness, somewhere between desperation and resignation. It was entirely impossible to replicate here of all places, and she did not know how she could re-create those conditions unless she decided to make a habit of throwing herself headlong into life-threatening situations. Besides, she did not know whether she wanted to find out if—when it truly mattered—she could summon the power she needed to save someone.

Elvina lifted a hand, and a hush fell instantly over the crowd. There was that governing-talent magnetism at work. It never failed to impress Clarion.

“Thank you all for gathering here today,” said Elvina. “I understand this is unusual and that you all have work to finish, so I will endeavor to keep this brief. However, there is a dire situation in Pixie Hollow—one that I am sure many of you have heard of through rumors and speculation. Yesterday, a group of fairies was attacked in the Autumn Forest by a creature that crossed from the Winter Woods.”

Gasps and shouts of alarm met Elvina’s words.

“I know many of you have questions.” Elvina’s voice carried above the crowds, echoing off the high ceilings. “I know many of you are concerned. I want to put those worries to rest and assure you that we are doing everything in our power to keep all residents of Pixie Hollow safe. All the victims are alive and in stable condition. While we do not have much information to share, it seems these monsters can ensnare their prey in a slumber they cannot wake from. While we have not been able to rouse the victims, our healers are hard at work to restore them. Now—”

A storm-talent dressed in a gown of rain lilies shot up in the crowd. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, how did this happen? Just the other day, all of us were placed under a curfew—then assured the threat had been handled.”

Clarion tried not to let her surprise show on her face. In all her seventeen years, she had never heard someone question Elvina so openly. But many in the crowd nodded their agreement.

“Our scouts did not find any evidence of a continued threat at the time,” Elvina replied, with some ice in her tone. “With the information we had—and given Princess Clarion’s imminent coronation—it seemed the best course of action to resume normal activity. I very much regret the lack of caution, and I assure you such an oversight will not happen again. What happened was a tragedy, and I accept responsibility. Now, if I may?”

When no one else chimed in, she clasped her hands and resumed. “Eleven of your fellows are currently under our healers’ care. One of them, as many of you know by now, is the Minister of Autumn.”