Page 54 of The Queen The Fae Forgot
My stomach still twisted at the very idea that he thought me capable of that.
A change had settled over the city since the night before. It wasn’t until we reached the gate to the next ring of the city and found it closed, a long line stretching towards a small door at the side, that anything actually seemed amiss, however. The line stretched so far down the street that I didn’t see the end of it. Humans and fae made up those waiting, but even in just the short time it took us to approach, I saw no human given entry. The guards at the door looked exhausted, their faces taking a few seconds to recognize us when we approached, Shiel and his advisor leading the way straight to the head of the line instead of settling in at the back.
A few grumbles broke out from the crowd until I turned my head, hidden again under my cloak, and a few faces recognized me still.
I just hugged the cloak tighter and followed along as Shiel ushered me inside to the next ring.
It was quiet here, too.
The few fae that had made it through the gate had long since disappeared, or were already well up the winding road leading up towards the innermost tiers of the city.
I let my eyes wander for a moment, taking in the almost eerie stillness that had settled over the city, and then I felt a hand on my arm that pulled me towards the west.
Shiel’s gaze was hard as he looked at me, and he spoke with an urgency that I’d never heard before.
“Come,” he said. “We’re already late.”
He was already several steps ahead of me before I stumbled after him.
“What’s going on, Shiel,” I asked.”Late for what?”
Behind me, I heard the others hurrying to catch up as they were ushered in through the gates after us, one by one.
Shiel didn’t respond right away, however, just kept trudging onward. I glanced back at Zev and then at Finch. The advisor was still at the gate, his papers getting checked.
I hurried my footsteps to catch up to Shiel, but it was difficult to match his gait without having to practically run to keep up.
“What is it?” I repeated, a little breathless. The city streets here sloped upwards, and I’d grown used to sitting at a desk studying for a little too long.
“The city has gone into lockdown after last night’s riots.”
The answer was simple, too simple. I knew from how he refused to look at me that it was not the real answer, and he knew it too.
“No, Shiel,” I said, catching his arm just long enough to make him slow for a second. “That’s not what I meant.”
He ignored me, just shook me off and kept walking.
I stood, stunned for just a moment, before I took off after him again. The others had almost caught up to us now.
He kept his head straight, refusing to so much as acknowledge my existence even when I caught up to him again.
“Come on,” I snapped, finally, when he refused to budge. “Tell me, Shiel, what’s going on. As your future queen, don’t make me order you.”
He stopped then, finally, and suddenly. His head snapped to stare me down as he growled out his answer.
“Why not glamour me, instead?”
My jaw fell open.
I took a step back from Shiel, the shock of his accusation hitting me like a physical blow. The hurt and anger that had been simmering inside me since our last encounter bubbled to the surface, and once again, it was too much to force it back down.
I was the one to storm off this time.
I was almost surprised when he followed, more surprised still when his hands caught hold of my shoulders and forced me to a stop.
“I’m so sorry, Aurra,” he said, breathless, my feet barely done moving by the time his hand was on me this time. He kept one hand on me as he slipped to stand before me, his other hand tilting up my chin a bit to force me to look up at him in his eyes. “I know you didn’t glamour me. You would never.”
He stopped and looked up briefly. I heard the others’ footsteps fast approaching.
