Page 11 of The Queen The Fae Forgot
“Surely, that’s not what you called us here to discuss.”
The slightest of smiles tugged at the corner of her mouth, but it wasn’t a smile of amusement. It was more like a tic, an expression practiced to hide whatever it was she truly felt, whatever it was that was simmering just beneath that perfect, unchanging surface.
She stood from her throne, the rustle of her gown filling the room as she descended the steps to stand before me. I resisted the urge to step back, to put some distance between us, to hide myself from her scrutiny. But I held my ground, my grip on the dagger tightening. I had to be strong, to show her that I was not the same helpless mortal she had abandoned all those years ago.
“You’re correct, my would-bedaughter,” she said, her voice now as low and dangerous as that of the dark fae that had cornered me not so differently. “We have more pressing matters to discuss.”
I felt a shiver run down my spine at the way she emphasized the word “daughter” this time. It was as if she had tasted the sound of the word on her tongue and found it vile, spitting it out as soon as she was able to, and not a moment too soon.
Would-be daughter.It was an insult of its own, a declaration of her doubts as much as if she’d come out and called me a liar.
She stopped advancing just before she reached the edge of the dais the thrones were set on, just high enough that even Icarus would have to lift his eyes to meet hers.
“The resemblance between you and my daughter, Fauna, is too uncanny to ignore … and since my advisors have been unable to detect any illusion on you, even I have to admit that the impossible might be possible.” She stopped just for a second, and for that second as she gathered her breath for what she said next, I thought I saw just the slightest shift in her expression. For just a space between breaths, I swore I saw not anger, not resentment, not hate—but regret.
“Changelings are uncommon, but not impossible, either. There is only one way to test your power, to see if you, Aurra, truly are the heir to the throne.”
And my daughter.
The words were not spoken, but the way hers ended left them hanging in the air between us. I was not the only one who heard her unspoken meaning. Eckhardt shifted where he stood, and even the eyes of some of the guards flickered my way, almost as if they were uncertain, too.
“So, what do you propose?” Shiel asked, at my side.
The Lord, and his Western Court guards, were the only ones among us who seemed completely unshaken.
“By the end of the week, Aurra must demonstrate her ability to perform the royal glamour, to performTongues. Only then can we know, for certain, that she is the true heir to the throne.”
Behind her, I caught sight of Eckhardt pursing his lips. This was clearly not his idea.
“But she already—” Finch started, only to be cut off with a swift jab to the ribs by one of Zev’s overly zealous elbows.
“And if she doesn’t?” Shiel asked, in his place. His gaze flickered only then, only for a moment, to look at the blackened tips of my fingers.
The queen cocked an eyebrow, a dark look clouding her eyes as she prepared to answer. But before she could, a shuffle broke the silence. Heads of the guards turned first, and then the rest of us followed.
I felt, for a moment, as if time stood still.
I’d yet to have a chance to get a good look at my own changed face, but as I turned, I finally did.
Only it wasn’t a mirror I looked into.
From some unguarded entrance, another fae had slipped into the throne room, and there was no mistaking who she was.
I knew in my soul, the moment I laid eyes on the imposter princess, that it was my face she wore. We froze together, both transfixed as we registered each other at the same time. The guards shifted uneasily now, and even Eckhardt and the queen had a hard time not looking between the two of us with a sense of awe.
Shiel, once again, was the only one who remained unshaken. “If Aurra doesn’t recover in time to complete the task, what then?”
“If Aurra does not—”
I dared interrupted the queen before I lost the nerve.
“We don’t have to worry about that,” I said. It was all I could do to force myself to look away from the face that had been stolen from me, along with my powers and my birthright all these years.
But something had welled within me at the sight of her. Something deep and ancient and primal rumbled into veins that had once been so dry that I felt searing pain at their emptiness.
But as Icarus had promised, as he himself and performed the impossible, so now did I. I needed my magic, I truly needed it, and this time when I reached for it, I found it.
I looked back into the turquoise eyes that had been stolen from me, widening now with fear instead of shock, and I felt the command boil its way up the back of my throat. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the shifting feet turn towards me, saw the stoic faces of Eckhardt and the queen shift, too. Shouts rang out all around me, dulled only by the sound of grating steel.
