Page 2 of The Queen The Fae Forgot
If it was her, after all.
It was with the same unspoken question that my mother’s gaze once more flickered in my direction. Her eyes met mine, only for a second, before flitting away almost as if in shame.
Or perhaps not shame, perhaps the same disbelief that kept mine from meeting my sister’s.
We were at an impasse, stuck three ways at once. Every hand that had access to a blade already held it. A thousand unsaid words hung between us, distrust and fear thick enough to slice the moment one of those blades was drawn. And drawn they would be, if something didn’t change—and fast.
Not for the first time, the only thing standing between a war of the courts was the dark fae lord smirking down at the rest of this as if this was nothing more than another scene played out for his own amusement.
Perhaps blood would be shed, after all.
CHAPTERTWO
Icarus,Lord of the Wildness, had us right where he wanted us.
He might not have had control of my powers directly, but he held more power over me than ever. He’d found the one thing that actually mattered to me, the one thing I wasn’t able to risk, even as I struggled to believe the creature before me was the sister I’d been willing to risk all for in the first place.
That wasn’t what concerned me the most, however. What concerned me the most was the way the queen turned to look at Icarus as she, along with the rest of us, waited for the words that would either sate or damn us all.
Icarus let out a low chuckle, the sound sending shivers down my spine.It was obvious he was enjoying this, savoring the power he held over all of us, this game of his all too similar to that of a feral cat playing with an already exhausted mouse. I could feel his gaze on me, and I shuddered involuntarily. I was no match for him, not in my current state. But I refused to let him see the mix of emotions that were churning inside me, the fear and dull remnants of something more like desire that together threatened to overwhelm me at any moment.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke. “My dear Captain Eckhardt, though our past … interactions … may have led you to feel otherwise … I assure you that I come in peace. I have no intention of causing harm to you or your court.”
My uncle narrowed his eyes, clearly not believing him. Once again, we agreed on more than he knew.
“And what of the other courts? Are they safe from your … intentions here, with us? Certainly, I don’t have to remind you that whatever you do here directly affects them all. What you consider to be kind in your own court cannot be said to be so for ours.”
A thought returned to my mind then, a memory of the seven fae swinging above my head the day Icarus discovered one of his court had attempted to kill me when I first arrived. It was an image that should have struck fear into my heart, but instead, the next shudder that wracked me was one of heat.
It was a gift, after all, one that I’d come to appreciate with more time spent amongst these creatures so often bent on making similar attempts on my life.
As if reading my mind, Icarus’ smirk only widened. “I’ll not deny that I rule over my court differently than the other lords and ladies, but I assure you again … Captain, Queen …” For a brief moment, his eyes flickered to me, and not my mother when he spoke of the queen, and once again, my body flooded with heat before he continued. “I am here for reasons outside myself and my own desires. My only concern is with the balance of power in this realm.”
This time, it was Shiel who’s voice growled out. His lip curled up in disgust as his own accusation rumbled out from the back of his throat.
“You know nothing but your own desires,” he snarled. “Any fae who chooses to trust a single word that comes from between those lying lips of yours is a fool.”
“What of the Oracle, then?” Icarus asked, without so much as skipping a breath. “Do you trust her word?”
The heat that had bloomed inside me cooled as the rest of the room froze.
I wondered if the others’ hearts beat as loud as mine now did.The Oracle.
I’d known that Icarus visited her shortly before I did, and that whatever she’d told him had caused her part of the Wildness to disappear in flames—a sacrifice for the dark fae that now stood before us all, eyes lit from the knowledge that only he now held and the rest of us desired.
I knew still, somehow, the words that he would speak next before he spoke them. His eyes met mine, his lips parted, tongue darting out for the briefest moment as if he tasted the heaviness in the air between us. In that look I saw the words before they came, felt the way he relished speaking them, heard the crack they formed, threatening to split the courts that gathered before him. Still, it didn’t stop my blood from turning to ice as they washed over us, one by one, even though I’d heard them before.
“A deal once made is now completed,
All the royal thrones unseated.
What was stolen soon forgotten,
At the very core is rotten.
Avarath has turned its eye,
Heed the cost or you will die.
