Page 40 of The Queen The Fae Forgot
I did as she said.
I bowed.
It was a shallow bow, a mere nod of respect, but it was enough.
This newest insult only served to sprinkle further salt into the wound of Shiel’s betrayal still freshly oozing in my chest. But at least, it had its intended effect. I could feel the tension in the room dissipate, and Fauna’s face split into a cold, satisfied smile.
“That’s better,” she said, her voice dripping with arrogance. “Now, go. And remember, this ismypalace.”
She turned for a second to the courtiers at her back. “Things are worse than we thought if I’m having to remind my own subjects of that.”
My heart pounded heavy in my chest at her words, long after she had gone. I had no good retort, nothing to throw back at her as the group erupted into dissatisfied whispers as they slowly moved away, leaving the hallway. I remained bowed, my head down, until the flush of shame finally faded. Eventually I straightened back up, only to be surprised to find that two of the courtesans were still there, staring at me.
The first was a female with hair the color of the night sky, her eyes the same dark gray of the rocky hills that sloped down to the outer city walls.
Then, she stepped forward, her voice barely a whisper. “You handled that remarkably well,” she said quietly. “I’ve seen Fauna destroy a fae in fewer words. You know what they say about the crown and their gift with words.”
I blinked, taken aback by her kindness.
“Thank you,” I said. I hadn’t expected to find kindness among the fae who lingered around the princess. Even less expected, however, was the sight of the second figure at her side … because it wasn’t just any other female.
I hadn’t recognized my sister in the crowd. She’d transformed, dressed in the trappings of the fae until she looked like another one of them. But she was still herself. Still human.
Most surprising of all, however, was that it wasn’t hate or disgust on her face when she looked at me. It was pity.
Somehow, though, that was worse.
I hadn’t seen her at first because of the gown she wore, so white she nearly melted into the white walls behind her. She wore a dress of the purest white, and for a moment we just stood there, staring at each other in silence until she finally broke it.
“You shouldn’t let her treat you like that.”
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t deserve her kindness.
More than that, I didn’t understand it.
“You’re better than this, Aurra,” Ada whispered.
The sound of my name in my sister’s mouth made something simultaneously skip and sink inside me. I had no reason to hope that she remembered me, but it was hard to look into the face I knew so well and know all she saw looking back at her was a stranger.
“Ada … about earlier …” I started.
She shook her head. “Stop.”
Confusion muddled my mind even further. “But I owe you an apology.”
Something strange crossed her face. She reached out as if to take my hand, but then stopped.
She glanced once over her shoulder, past the courtesan that had stayed with her, towards the place where the princess had now disappeared.
“You owe me nothing.”
I was taken aback again. I searched her face, trying to understand what she meant, but I found nothing but a hollow feeling in my stomach. That feeling only grew and grew as I looked back at her. Maybe I didn’t know this girl, this version of my sister, as well as I thought.
And that was the worst feeling of all, worse still than realizing she didn’t know me.
It made me want to be selfish, to force her memories back upon her. Before I was given a chance to try, however, the courtesan at her side took hold of her sleeve and tugged her back towards the end of the hall where the others had gone.
I waited until the echo of their footsteps were gone too before I let out a sigh and looked around me, the hallway, now empty except for me. If that was a test, I wasn’t sure that I’d passed it, but I was sure there would be more to come.
