Everyone roared and thundered with applause, and I slipped in next to her, following Liam to the tree. The other three Elders stood around its base.
Then I heard the door slam shut behind me.
Crap.
I spun halfway to the tree and faced the livid Elder of Summer. Liam kept walking and gave the Elders a nod before kneeling by the tree. Indra walked right up to me, looking down at me with such malice it turned my stomach.
She brought her body so close to mine that I shivered in fear. “If you ever speak to me like that in front of my people again,” she whispered, “I’ll cut your tongue out.”
Her true colors were finally showing. But I still had my card to play: I knew the truth about my lineage, which meant I was above her in status. One day, she would fucking bow to me and the queen before the queen cut her head off.
I’d wait to play that card, though. I needed to wake the queen first so that someone powerful had my back. Elders didn’t just become Elders because they were old and ancient. They became advisors to the royal houses because of their strong displays of power. Indra was an Elder of the Summer Court who had once advised Queen Isana of Summer, and she’d obtained that title because of how strong she was magically.
I didn’t say a word, just watched as Liam clicked the crystal into the base of the tree. A little pop of light flickered from the branches, a single pink flower blooming on its petals.
Indra leaned in closer, letting her hair touch my shoulder. “All you’ve shown me with this stupid display is that I don’t need you if I have him.”
Fear washed through my veins like ice water, and Liam stood, turning to me.
Had I taken it too far?
I swallowed hard, realizing this might be my only time to get one of the queen’s hairs and do the spell my mom had left me. Indra would surely not allow me around here much longer unless I had a crystal.
“I’d like to check on my aunt,” I told Indra, who bristled. She probably couldn’t believe I’d told Liam that she was alive. I had to be careful to pretend that I still thought she was my aunt and not my biological mother.
Indra turned to Liam. “You may take your men and wait for Lily at the blue door.”
He looked at me, nostrils flared.
I nodded. “I’ll be right there.”
With a sigh, he left the house, and I walked to the queen’s door.
The first thing I noticed was that she was all alone. “Where’s Trissa?”
Indra’s lips curled into a smile. “Oh, she was needed out in the farmlands. And you took Kira, so I’ve been looking after her.”
Fuck!
My hands shook with rage, and I had to fight to control my breathing. How dare she? Pushing down the warmth in my palms, which wanted to incinerate Indra’s face with sunlight, I stepped into the room. My stomach dropped when Indra followed behind me.
How was I going to get a hair with her standing over me? I walked slowly to the queen’s bedside, again marveling at the resemblance to my mother…and now myself.
Indra watched me like a hawk, stalking my movements. Falling to my knees on the cold, hard tile, I leaned over the queen.
“I’m sorry I never got to know you.” I had started the sentence as a farce, just to seem like I was all emotional, but saying it out loud brought tears to my eyes. “Auntie.” I leaned forward and kissed her cheek, inhaling as I did.
Snoozeberry.
With my left hand, I clutched the pillow on which her red hair was splayed and yanked on a single strand, pulling it up with me as I stood. I had no idea if I’d gotten it or not, and I didn’t dare look down. I simply slipped my hand in my pocket and walked over to Indra with unbridled rage boiling in my chest. When I got close to her, she tipped her chin in defiance.
“Hey, Indra?” I called out as I passed her.
She didn’t answer, but I paused at the door and looked back at her.
“Give the queen snoozeberry juice again, and I’ll have the entire village light you on fire.”
Her mouth hung open, her eyes bugging halfway out of her head. “Wha—I…”
“I see you,” was the last thing I said to her before I walked out of the room and slammed the door.
It was time to make a plan to get Indra out of power, because something was very wrong here. If I didn’t do something soon, she was going to put me in cuffs or cage me. I couldn’t let her rule the fae and preside over the queen’s care any longer. I crossed the house quickly, passing the tree and praying this would be over soon. Now more than ever, I needed to get those crystals and wake the queen.
When I got outside, I was alone. The crowd had dispersed, and Liam and everyone else were gone. Probably waiting for me at the blue door.
Pulling my hand out of my pocket, I looked down.
One of the queen’s dark pink hairs was intertwined between my fingers.
Gotcha.
When we returned to Mara’s, Liam asked her to take us all back to Seattle. We would check on his mom, give her the next dose of drops, and make a plan to get the final two crystals. We would mourn the dead and recharge.
As we pulled up to his farmhouse, Liam seemed in good spirits. We held hands as we walked to the front door. “I wonder how my mom’s doing,” he said.
“I’m sure she’s even better and can take the next drops,” I told him.
Without warning, Liam’s grip painfully tightened. “No!” he shouted, and yanked his hand from mine.
I looked up on the porch, following his gaze,
