He looked absolutely affronted.
Good.
It was time people started questioning the Elders. Because something wasn’t right here, and I was going to get to the bottom of it.
Turning on his heels, Aubin blasted past me and left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Kira looked up at me, the queen’s feet still in her hands. Maple had been right—her toenails were green.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Kira hissed, giving me a look of total shock.
I shook my head and knelt to whisper. “They need me, they won’t kill me. And something is seriously fucking wrong with them if we think they will kill us over talking back.”
She gulped. “Look, I’m new to this, too, but Petal…she told me some crazy stuff before she died.”
Chills broke out on my arms. Petal had been the lead healer for Faerie until she’d died about six months ago, and then Kira had taken over.
“What kind of crazy stuff?” I asked.
Kira lowered her voice. “Petal liked attention. I thought she was lying at the time, but now I don’t know…”
“Kira. Tell me.”
She let out a shaky breath. “She just told me weird, random things, like…that Indra put your mom in the cages once.”
My eyes widened. “What?” Anger flared inside of me, red hot. The cages were for criminals and wrongdoers.
Kira shrugged. “And that the queen had bruises on her upper arms in the shape of fingerprints.”
You could have blown me over with a breath of wind. This was crazy.
“What else?” I leaned in, trying to piece things together in my mind like a puzzle. Bruises on the queen? That was…treason.
Kira shrugged. “That’s all I remember. I thought she was lying.”
“Okay…” My thoughts raced a mile a minute. “Here is what we are going to do. I want you to get a bed in here and sleep next to the queen. I want her under twenty-four-hour observation.”
Kira’s eyes bugged. “What? The Elders won’t allow that.”
I shrugged. “I don’t care. The queen is…my aunt.”
I waited for the inevitable gasp, which was accompanied by a slack jaw and wide eyes. “Are you…?”
I shook my head. “Not royalty. She and my mom were half-sisters, but it makes me her next of kin.”
Kira bowed her head. “Then it is my duty to follow your instructions, as I honor family wishes over political ones.”
It was in their healing code or something; my mom had told me once.
“I should have known.” Kira shook her head. “You look just like her.”
I stared at the woman in the bed and wished she could just wake up and tell me what to do.
After giving Kira a quick hug, I left the room.
When I opened the door, I was prepared for the fight of my life. Indra would no doubt be pissed by my behavior and want to punish me. But instead, I walked straight into Rose. The Spring Elder looked nervous as she pulled me by the arm to her room, which was just down the hall from the queen’s. I allowed her to drag me inside and shut the door.
“Oh, crystals, you’re going to end up imprisoned like Mara, you crazy child.” She kissed her fingers and raised them in the air as a sign of pleading with the ancestors.
My blood ran cold. “What?”
Rose frowned. “I don’t agree with it, but Indra has sent for another pair of cuffs to be made. The next time you step out of line, she’ll bind you.”
Bind me? I laughed—I couldn’t help it. “And then who will get her crystals? If I can’t go to Earth, I can’t save Faerie.”
Indra was all about instilling fear. I could see that now. She controlled with fearmongering.
Rose nodded. “Oh, she’ll allow you to go to Earth, for certain periods or certain days. Every move will be tracked, and once Faerie is restored, you’ll be stuck here forever. Branded a traitor to your people.”
Fear flashed through me as I was knocked off my high horse. “But…I’m important.”
Rose nodded. “And Indra wants to be the most important of us all.”
That statement rang through my entire body, echoing inside my head as I really thought about what she’d said. “So important that she would hurt the queen?” I ventured. I knew it was a wild speculation, but bruised arms, green nails…something wasn’t right.
Rose reached out and covered my mouth. “Never speak like that again. Of course not. Indra loves the queen more than anything. Everything she does is to keep her safe and bring her back to health.”
I wasn’t sure about that, but clearly Rose was, so I nodded. “I’ll tone it down,” I promised.
Rose sighed in relief. “Way down. No more talk of the Halflings, and no more disrespect. Indra can be strict when she feels her rules aren’t being taken seriously.”
“Her rules? I thought all Elders made equal decisions.”
Rose’s eyes widened. “Our rules. Our rules, dear, but Indra is the leader of the council, and she’s done a wonderful job of keeping us safe all these years.”
Yeah…I kept hearing that.
“All right, well, thanks for the warning.” I brushed my hands off on my pants.
She nodded, giving me a sweet smile as I headed for the door.
“Oh, one more thing.” I raised a hand. “Since I’m next of kin to the queen, I’m insisting Kira sleep in there with her and monitor her case more closely.”
Rose nodded. “I think if that would help the queen, it’s a wonderful choice. We’ll just run it past Indra—”
“No. I’ve made my decision, and it will be honored, lest we upset the gods.” I kissed my fingers and held them up to the air. Family wishes over a dying loved one were to be honored above all else. We took healing and consent very seriously.
Rose blanched, then nodded. “All right, then. I don’t see a problem with it. The queen needs all the help she can get.”
Yeah, she did. And Rose was clearly blind to the fact that Indra was
