Sometime before dawn I fell asleep on the chair beside Tristan’s bed. A sharp knock at the door woke me and I looked over at Tristan, who did not seem any better. Had the antidote worked? I had no way of knowing.
Penelope answered the door, and Tristan’s father walked in, followed by three of his personal guards from the Night Court. They were huge fae-warriors dressed all in black with a silver star emblazoned on their chests, their hands resting on the huge swords at their waists.
He ignored me and spoke to Penelope, but he didn’t move closer to see or touch his son. “How is he?”
“It’s too soon to tell,” said Penelope. “I have administered the antidote, but we need to give it a day to work. He is strong, do not lose hope.”
The Grand Duke of the Night Court narrowed his eyes. “I will have my own healers look after him.”
“He can’t be moved,” I interrupted. “Tristan needs to rest. And there is no better healer here than Penelope.”
He turned his sapphire eyes on me. “I will decide whose care my son will be under. And you, half-breed,” he said with a sneer, “have absolutely no say in what happens in this kingdom. Penelope is under arrest,” he said, gesturing to his men. They came forward and caught her by the arms.
“For what?” I said aghast, moving toward Penelope. “She was the one who helped me close the portal and fight the Drakaar.”
“That’s because she was the one who opened it in the first place,” said the grand duke. More warriors came into the room to make sure there was no trouble.
I turned to look at Penelope—it couldn’t be true, I didn’t believe it.
“This is ridiculous,” said Penelope, shaking her head. “Why would I let the Drakaar into the palace and poison my own sister?”
“People have done worse things in their quest for a crown,” said the grand duke.
Penelope snorted most inelegantly. “You know I don’t care about the crown, Kildaren.”
“People change,” said the Grand Duke of the Night Court. And I realized there was some history behind that look. Penelope must have known Tristan’s father when she lived in Elfi.
Kildaren turned to me. “You are expected at the council meeting today; we will decide what to do with you next.”
“You can’t have a council meeting without my grandmother.”
“Yes, we can,” said the grand duke. “The Elders have supported the motion to convene the council today due to what has happened.” He turned to his guards. “Take Countess Penelope to the dungeons.” He walked out of the room.
“Penelope,” I said, moving closer. “I will speak to the council and tell them you did not do this. I will find the one who did.”
She nodded. But the guards didn’t give me a chance to say anything more as they dragged her out of the room and to the dungeons that lay deep under the Crystal Castle.
I left Tristan with Cade when the guards came to take me to the council chamber. He still hadn’t woken up, and I needed him by my side right now. I hoped he would recover soon. Rhiannon and my grandmother were gone, and I didn’t know where they were or when they would return. I was alone against the whole fae council. There was no one who would support me now. What were they planning to do to me?
The council chamber was abuzz when I walked in. Everyone was trying to talk at once and there was no order to the proceedings. Andromeda had arrived and was seated at the head of the table where my grandmother usually sat. Skye stood behind her mother’s chair, and I tried to catch her eye, but she looked down. Beside the Grand Duchess of the Day Court, seated on a similar chair, was Kildaren. It looked like they were calling the shots, and the Elders didn’t seem to mind.
They made me stand at the foot of the massive table, which depicted the map of Avalonia. All the Elders were seated in their places, their faces grave and pale. But I also noticed there were guards stationed all over the room, behind every pillar, in every corner. My grandmother never had guards attend a council meeting. Why were they here?
Andromeda noticed where I was looking. “The guards are here for our protection,” she said with a haughty stare.
She was so full of herself and deluded. If the Drakaar came back, those guards would not stand a chance. Even I could take them out if I wanted to.
“Your grandmother has become weak, more concerned with getting your kingdom back than with doing what is best for Elfi,” Andromeda said. “But she is still the queen, and poisoning the queen is treason.”
“Penelope did not poison my grandmother,” I said, my hands balled in fists. “You should be looking for the culprit closer to home.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” said the Grand Duchess of the Day Court.
“What I mean,” I said, looking at Skye, “is that the only people near the portal when it opened were Skye and Brianna. Penelope was at the other end of the room.”
“Nonsense. A powerful spirit-fae like Penelope could have easily opened it from across the room.” Andromeda paused and stood up, resting her elegant fingertips on the great wooden table. “Penelope has spent too many years outside Elfi, and we don’t know what she was doing all this time. She is the only one who could be in contact with Morgana and carry out this kind of elaborate plan.”
“What plan?”
“Morgana’s army is camped at the borders of Elfi,” said Andromeda.
“Already?” I gasped. The last I had heard they were still outside Brandor.
“It is not a whole army, but part of it, led by Lucian, the archmage,” said Kildaren. “She has been hiding them secretly in Brandor. The emirs have given them free passage through their lands.”
I shook my head, unable to comprehend what all of this
