I made sure to steer us to the front of the carriage, so Enbarr could get a good look at Drayce. The skeletal horse ignored my murmured thanks, making my chest tighten. He still hadn’t forgiven me for burning Drayce’s cursed skin. After lowering his nasal bone to Drayce’s head for a sniff, he nickered as though he was happy with whatever he scented.
“Congratulations, Your Majesty,” Osmos murmured as we crossed the moonstone courtyard. “King Drayce appears to have regained his soul.”
A warm breeze meandered through the wide space and caressed my hair. Tiny bits of dust trickled down the back of my neck, reminding me of my escape from the Palace of Bóinne. I stared down between us at Drayce’s peaceful features. He still hadn’t regained the rich, dark hue to his skin.
“Can we wake him?” I asked.
“His Majesty’s body needs rest,” Osmos replied. “From what I sensed with my magic, he will wake when he’s ready.”
The servants bowed as we continued up the palace’s smooth steps, and I inclined my head in acknowledgement the way Mayor Mulloy did whenever he paraded around Calafort in his ceremonial robes.
Osmos’ hoofs clicked against the marble floors, and we crossed an entrance hall the size of Calafort’s town square. Crystal and gold chandeliers illuminated the space, shining brighter than the light streaming through the tall, arched windows.
At the end of the hall stood a grand staircase wide enough to fit the royal carriage. I swept my gaze up to the top, where a pair of ten-foot-tall statues stood at the landing. One of me in my leather armor, holding the Sword of Tethra in one hand and an iron dagger in another. The second depicted a long-haired male in a frock coat and breeches, whose face was entirely blank.
I clenched my teeth. The palace was either mocking me or telling everyone that I had neither secured my throne or my mate.
Osmos moved toward the stairs, but I raised a hand. “Let’s take a shortcut.”
His eyes widened with understanding.
I led him around the side of the staircase and willed the palace to create an entrance into the queen’s bedroom. Moments later, an archway appeared, its interior drenching us with light.
Osmos stepped into the bedroom and smiled. “You have increased your power.”
A shudder of revulsion skittered across my nerves. If inhaling the Banshee Queen’s last breath had turned me into a faerie, how would the Dearg Due’s red smoke or the cloud of green from the cú sídhe affect my magic?
With only a matter of days before the Dagda would claim me as his sword maiden, I didn’t have time to explore my new power.
Osmos opened the four-poster’s white drapes and laid Drayce on the embroidered sheets. A door on the room’s left flung open, and Destry rushed inside the bedroom and dipped into a low curtsey. After rising, she brought her hand to her mouth in a mime of eating.
“It’s wonderful to see you,” I said with a smile. “I would appreciate anything you have.”
With a nod, she disappeared behind the door.
Osmos stepped back from the bed, leaving Drayce underneath the sheet with his hair straight and lustrous, his skin glowing with health, and his nightshirt a pristine white.
I wanted him to perform the same cleaning enchantment on me, but I had other uses for his magic. “Can you fix broken items?” I held up the broken pieces of the Dagda’s staff. “Its owner was very upset when I cut it with my sword.”
He furrowed his pale brows. “My healing powers only extend to intelligent beings, but I can search the palace for someone who can help.”
“Thank you,” I murmured.
Osmos bowed and retreated from the room. I watched him leave, hope filling my chest. If my magic could reshape the interior of a palace, how difficult could it be for the right faerie to rejoin two pieces of wood?
“Neara,” said Drayce’s voice from behind. “What are you doing with the Dagda’s staff?”
Chapter 18
My heart thudded so hard that it made my ribcage vibrate. I scrambled back toward the door, staring at Drayce with wide eyes. Without thinking, my hands darted behind my back.
He pulled himself up on the bed and squinted. “That belongs to the Dagda. Why do you have it?”
“I…” The words died in the back of my throat.
Drayce had been very young when Queen Melusina brought him from the Otherworld and kept him as a prisoner. He had spent almost as much time with Father as me. If he had picked up an ounce of Father’s personality, he would look at me with disapproval when I told him everything I had done… everyone I had gotten killed.
“Neara?” He swung his legs out of the mattress, placed his feet on the bed, and stumbled.
Panic lanced through my chest, and the broken pieces of staff clattered to the marble floor. I rushed forward and wrapped my arms around his middle, trying to keep him steady.
Drayce chuckled. “I should fall more often. That brings out your soft and affectionate side.”
He was talking about the time I pulled out the Keeper of All Things’ stinger from his leg and how he nearly fell off Enbarr from the venom. My throat thickened, and I caught myself in his heavy-lidded stare. The curse made his eyes a darker shade of green—aquamarine with mossy flecks, overlaid with gold. His thick, black lashes blended with the dark ring around his irises that I found mesmerizing.
“Was that you?” I whispered.
“On that bed of moss?” he asked.
I nodded.
“I wasn’t myself at first,” he murmured into my hair. “The moss seeped into my mind and cursed me into complacency. I forgot about my throne, forgot about Melusina, forgot about the cursed Courts.”
My chest tightened. “But you recognized me.”
He grinned. “No curse could ever make me forget you. All those years ago, I knew you would be mine the moment Melusina brought you to Ailill’s cage.”
Apprehension squeezed my chest, making me catch a breath. “Did
