Page 66 of Bane Bloom

I searched his face, his continuing uneasiness alarming me.

He handed the grimoire page back to me. “Nyv. The queen.”

I raised my brows. “The Queen of Elfame? From the bluebell glade?”

“Aye.”

I struggled to make sense of this—as well as not to panic over the idea of her being in the house with me, going through my things. “But why would she do this?”

He ran a hand through his hair, and it stood up in dark auburn spikes. “For a very long time, she has wished me to join her court. And I have resisted.”

I stared at him, not really comprehending. “What does that mean, exactly?”

“It means I would leave Pine Cottage behind for Elfame.”

“I still don’t . . .” I remembered what his mother had written about how her father believed the family had stolen Pine Cottage from the fairies. “Is it that they want Pine Cottage for themselves?”

Thomas nodded. “In part.”

“But what can a reverse love charm have to do with this?”

His gaze held mine. “She has invited me to join the court as her consort, and she has decided your presence is a threat to her plans.”

I swallowed. “Heavens,” I said faintly. “How do you know all this?”

“She told me plainly what she wanted from me many years ago. The rest became clear this morning in the churchyard.”

The other figure under the hawthorn tree. When I’d met the queen, she had told me that the Elfbloom could grant my heart’s desire—certainly fully aware of the danger. It had rid them of Mr. Carroll’s meddling, after all.

I shivered and set the grimoire page on the desk.

Then I wondered . . . was the queen’s spell working? Presuming he did have feelings the queen would prefer that he didn’t, might they have been altered already? The idea squeezed my heart.

But the details of Prudence’s spell came back to me.

Choosing my words carefully, I said, “According to your mother, the daphne charm works on unrequited love. That suggests the queen believes me indifferent to you.”

He studied me a moment, weighing his own words. I wiped dampness from my palms onto my skirt.

“Spells aren’t a fairy’s strength,” he said. “They aren’t especially good with details, and she didn’t have the grimoire to refer to.” I began to understand why family documents were being burned and spirited away. “But she was forced to use a spell because I’ve set wards to prevent anyone using glamour inside the house and glasshouse.”

I am the reason you would suddenly feel groggy or confused.

I eyed him wryly. “Everyone except you.”

He nodded. “I regret that I knew of no better way.”

“To protect me. And Carroll.”

“And myself, too.”

I was grateful for his honesty, but I didn’t exactly feel reassured. “So Nyv can’t use glamour. But she’s able to come into the house as she likes?”

He raised a hand and rubbed at his beard. “There are certain times when it’s easier for them to move between their world and ours. But even then, she doesn’t often come. She doesn’t like being limited.”

“She feels vulnerable without the ability to use glamour.”

“Mmm.”