Page 41 of The Queen The Fae Forgot
I’d done more than enough of that already since I arrived here, in my own court.
No. Not my court.
Not yet.
But it would be soon, because Ada was right.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
My encounterwith the changeling princess had at least reminded me of one key thing.
I was better than this, better than all of this.
I was the one with the power here.
The crown of the Eastern Court was mine to take when I wanted it. One word from me and it would be mine.
But one word—one wrong word—and we’d be plunged straight into a bloody prophecy, instead.
Fauna had reminded me of something I’d known from the very beginning, but I’d chosen to ignore. I’d chosen to believe that it was the confusion of the glamour I’d placed on the castle that made my tutor run me in endless circles. But they weren’t instructing me. They were distracting me.
I needed to know the truth about what was happening outside these castle walls.
And I knew exactly where to start.
It was time to pay my mother, the queen, another visit.
If only it was that simple.
The castle was alive too early, a side effect of a court built around the rising of the sun. Even dressed appropriately, no longer just in the sheer silk shift I was so unfortunate to confront Fauna in, the guards at the door to the Queen’s wing looked at me as if I might as well have walked in naked after sleeping with the pigs.
The guard cleared his throat, head facing steadily forward, eyes refusing to look at me when I asked for an audience.
“The queen isn’t taking visitors today.”
I glanced first at the door, then back at him, then down the hall—to where a trio of fae approached, clearly headed towards this door to do the very thing I was attempting to do, now. I wondered if they’d be given the same answer.
The other guard, stationed on the other side of the door, shifted slightly. His eyes followed mine, then flickered back to stare straight ahead.
I steeled myself, my voice sounding far surer than I felt as I declared to the guard, “I’m certain that my mother will be able to make time for me.” I met his gaze head-on, challenging him not to dare hold me back. He looked at me a second time, and for a second, I saw his gaze grow cloudy as he took in the sight of me.
I was not the princess, heknewthat, thanks to my own carefully placed glamour, but I looked like her. I knew I really looked like her, even if his muddled mind was trying to convince him otherwise. I held his gaze, challenging him to ignore that. I considered, even, using that same glamour to convince him further, but my challenge, it seemed, was enough.
With a shake of his head that didn’t clear it, he finally relented enough to step into the throne room, shutting the door behind him with a soft click.
“What’s going on here?”
The trio of fae had reached us. A tall male, dressed all in dark blue velvet, was accompanied by two females dressed the same. They had a distinct look to them that I couldn’t place. They were fae, sure, but different from those I’d encountered from the other courts. Something about them didn’t seem like they were from here, from my court, from the East.
The other guard, still standing at the other side of the door, glanced first at me, and then back at the leader quickly growing agitated before us.
“We have a meeting with the queen,” he said. “Urgent business.”
The guard still said nothing.
The man turned to me, and I felt my neck stiffen.
Thankfully, he looked at me a little too closely, and that same confused expression stayed his tongue. He and the two blue-clad females cast me a few sideways glances, but they said nothing. Together, we waited in tense silence. My heart thundered against my rib cage and sweat trickled down my temple. I’d been so determined to see my mother, to demand the truth from her, that I hadn’t truly considered what exactly I would ask her. She wasn’t the most forthcoming of fae. I doubted she’d give me any answers I didn’t specifically ask her, no matter the threats I might make.
