Page 46 of The Queen The Fae Forgot
Was there truly rebellion brewing, or was my mother calling on the courts for more nefarious reasons?
“We need to get ahead of this.”
“And how to we do that?” Finch asked.
I considered that.
“By finding out with our own eyes just what this rebellion looks like.”
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
I slipped outof the room, Finch trailing behind me, as we made our way through the winding halls of the faerie castle.We moved quickly but discreetly, trying not to draw any more attention to us than was absolutely unavoidable. It wasn’t difficult. The castle was busier than usual, especially as we neared the main hall.
We’d no sooner slipped out into the courtyard, however, then we were accosted.
This time, for once, by a friendly face. Or, if not exactly friendly in the way it took in the sight of Finch so closely hugging my side, at least recognizable.
“Zev!”
The massive golden-haired fae stood like a wall before the both of us. His face was stern, but he was unable to hide that hint of something softer in his gaze that appeared whenever he looked at me. Like Shiel, his hair had grown longer too, half of it tucked up in a bun, but the rest cascading in waves until it reached well past his shoulders.
His shirt clung to him with the remnants of swear and dust, his blade still hanging at his side from where he’d doubtless returned to sparring with the queen’s guard.
Though I’d spotted him yesterday, the sight of him up close warmed me. It was the first time I’d seen him since we were parted in the queen’s throne room, and I’d missed him more than I realized.
“What are the two of you up to?” he asked, eyeing the both of us suspiciously. For a second, his gaze flitted over our shoulders to search the darkness of the doorway at our backs. “I’m guessing Shiel doesn’t know about this.”
Shiel.
A knot formed in my stomach at the very mention of the Western Court lord.
We hadn’t exactly left on the best of terms. In fact, there weren’t many worse terms I could have left on when I strode from his bedchambers this morning. I’d let the lord take my innocence, and in return, he’d accused me of not only using him—butcoercinghim. He’d claimed I’d used my glamour, but that didn’t make the accusations hurt any less than if he’d accused me of using physical force.
I’d tried hard not to think on it then, and I certainly didn’t want to think on it now—not with Zev and Finch staring me down.
“Shiel doesn’t need to know about this.”
It was Finch who said it, but I was all too quick to agree. I reached out and caught Zev by the collar of his shirt, tugging him into the shadows along the edge of the white stone courtyard and out of the doorway, my voice dropping low so that anyone passing by wouldn’t overhear.
“Either you can come with us, or you can keep quiet. Which will it be?”
Together, the three of us were able to make it out of the castle courtyard and into the innermost ring of the city without trouble. Zev had lent me his jacket and suggested I pull the hood up over my head, since only the castle had been glamoured to forget I wore the princess’ face.
The innermost ring of the city was inhabited, at least it seemed, only by fae—those who worked but did not live within the castle itself. The houses were grand and stately, built from that same white stone of the castle. There were no markets here, but shops lined the corners selling fae food that made my mouth water. The palace kitchens had been quickly fattening me up in the little time I’d been there, but I didn’t think I’d ever grow used to the faerie food.
The streets were manicured to perfection, the fae polite, and the presence of guards nearly undetectable. It felt safe.
The same could not exactly be said for the next ring of the city.
It was a stark contrast, the lives that were lived on the other side of the gate.
This was where the humans lived. Some fae lived among them too, but they were few and far between.
I knew this was the only faerie court where humans and fae lived side by side, but I had no idea how greatly they outnumbered us. The houses were smaller in this next ring, built from stone and brick that had been lime washed to match the fae homes and castle higher up, and though there were crimson panes of glass in some of their windows, precious gems were nowhere to be found.
Neither, however, were any signs pointing to rebellion.
Not, at least, until we reached the outer ring of the city. Each ring of the city leading away from the castle was larger than the last.
