Page 20 of The Queen The Fae Forgot
Phina cleared her throat a second time, so as much as I wanted nothing more than to bash my head into the nearest sharp object, I just let out an audible groan and forced myself to tune back into Phina’s monotonous lecture on the power of the East’s rule. Surely, there had to besomethingshe could teach me today that would be actually helpful as a future ruler if I really listened.
But no—this was merely a repetition of the previous five sessions’ material.
There was no denying the place my court held in Luxia, but I’d never questioned that. I’d only used my powers a few times now, but that was enough to understand the respect—and fear—it possessed. There was enough power in my glamour that my court could rule over all others despite the fact that only one of the fae that resided within these walls had any glamour at all.
As I often did, when my lessons grew dull enough to rot my brain, I reached deep for the wells of my glamour, to feel how deep it now ran. My recovery had been slow, the glamour required to place the entire castle under a complex enchantment almost enough to blacken the tips of my fingers again, but I’d finally begun to feel an inkling of it return the last few days. I had to reach deep, ignore the prickle of pain to dredge up the sparkle of that magic river, but it was there. And it was growing.
I was momentarily reminded of another pain, and suddenly, a realization hit me that was so heavy, it felt as if the weight of it was suddenly pressing down on me so heavily from above that it might suffocate me before Phina’s lecture had the chance.
No one in my court has magic except for me.
That wasn’t strictly true.
Not anymore.
This time, when I reached for the glamour, I felt for the one that felt like trying to mix oil with water. I reached for the one that stung like salt on an open wound when I took hold it.
The old glamour is back.
What had Icarus told me about this glamour? Something about how the magic of the courts had forged deep pathways in the fae, that it made it impossible to harness the full power of the old glamour without threatening to destroy them in the process?
But what about fae that had never practiced the glamour? What about fae that had no pathways … fae like me?
My attention snapped back down to Phina, my posture straightening as I looked at her more carefully.
Did that mean Phina had access to this new glamour now?
Could she harness it, too? Did she even know?
And more importantly … did the queen know?
If she did, that was about to change everything.
I was dragged back to reality a moment later when, as if on cue, a sudden knock on the door instantly silenced even Phina. She glanced towards the door, but said nothing, as if she hoped whoever was interrupting us would simply leave.
But after a pause, the pounding of fists resumed. This time they were much more insistent. Phina released an exasperated sigh and gave the knocker permission to enter.
It was a sign of just how deprived of excitement I’d already become that just the sight of a strange male fae peeking into the crack between the door and the frame was enough to set my heart racing. His eyes glanced towards me for a brief moment before shifting away and focusing back on Phina. I felt my arms tense in response to the momentary flicker of confusion that flirted with his features so briefly any other fae might not notice it, if they didn’t know to look for it. I did, of course, because it was the same look I got from every fae who looked at me a little too close.
“I apologize for disturbing you, but there seems to be an issue …” He trailed off, his vision flitting nervously between both of us. “With some of the queen’s scrolls …”
Phina remained quiet, her silence enough to set him even further on edge.
He swallowed hard, his brow furrowing as he glanced between us and seemed to be struggling to form the connection hiding just behind that wall of glamour I’d placed. Phina waited a moment longer, but when it became obvious that her silence wasn’t enough to drive him away, she let out another, even more exasperated sigh.
“What sort of problem?”
The male fae hesitated before continuing, “Some sets seem to be … missing.”
She repeated him slowly, as if unable to comprehend what he meant.
“Missing?”
A chill entered her voice as she looked upon her assistant with disappointment and—unless I was mistaken—suspicion.
“Which scrolls exactly, are you talking about?”
I was probably mistaken, more than likely mistaken, driven so close to near madness by boredom that I was looking for anything that might cure it. But still, try as I might to convince myself otherwise, I couldn’t deny the way he shifted uncomfortably beneath Phina’s dark gaze, as if he was hiding something.
