“It’s a magical tool, the same as my shadows.” He raised a hand, and a shadow fell across the bed. It split into two forks and parted the curtains surrounding the footboard. “The more you become attuned to it, the more you can wield its power.”
I twisted around in his arms and onto my back to find a gilded portrait of us on the wall opposite. We stood in a vast chamber with a single throne positioned behind me in the background and space for a throne at Drayce’s side. The portrait version of me wore a gown of forest green, with deep blue jewels that contrasted with my orange hair. It curled around features that were a mix of Melusina and Father’s but somehow didn’t look as awkward as they had when I was human.
Next to me, Drayce wore a deep-blue jacket with silver filigree on the cuffs and seams and silver plating on his sword arm. His dark skin shone like burnished copper with smiling, green eyes that matched my dress.
My gaze lingered on the Sword of Tethra in my portrait’s hand. “You’re not holding a sword, and neither of us have crowns.”
“I expect that one of the princes is keeping it safe,” he replied. “With each blessing comes an item that will secure your hold on the throne.”
“And yours?” I turned to meet his sad, green eyes. The noticeable gap in the portrait where Drayce’s throne should be told me that the palace also deemed his rule of the Otherworld incomplete.
Drayce lowered his thick, black lashes and sighed. “She took the throne, crown, sword, and shield from my father, thinking that they would transfer his power to her. When they didn’t she offered them to her allies as gifts.”
“The generals?” I gulped, hoping that Drayce hadn’t doomed himself when he tore out their souls and sending them to the Otherworld.
He shook his head. “I had servants check their rooms years ago. The items I need are scattered across the kingdom. Without them, I cannot take my throne.”
I squeezed his hand. “Then we’ll find them.”
“Perhaps,” he said, not sounding hopeful.
A tight fist clenched my heart. He was prepared to help me take my throne and defeat Melusina but hadn’t once mentioned me helping him.
I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders and buried my face in his neck. “Magical items like that must be powerful. We might find some clues as we visit each of the Courts.”
The smile he gave me was sad, as though he thought returning to the Otherworld was a distant dream. “Let’s focus on defeating Melusina.”
I brought his hand to my lips. “When we’ve broken the curses, we can get the princes to help us search for the items you need.”
A knock sounded on the door.
“Yes?” I said.
“Your Majesty,” said Osmos from the other room. “Destry has brought breakfast. And we have ninety-four visitors outside the throne room awaiting an audience.”
I closed my eyes and asked the palace to uncover malevolent intentions. Images of a marble hallway pushed themselves into my mind’s eye. At the head of a line of faeries stood a twisted crone in a brown coat, clutching a shepherd’s staff thick enough to conceal a blade.
The faeries standing directly behind her were a blur, but further down the line, a blue haired pixie clutched a wooden box with breathing holes to his chest. At the back of the crowd loomed a crown-haired faerie standing on stilted legs with quills pulling from her cloak.
An annoyed breath huffed from my chest. Either the Fear Dorcha was furious at the loss of his shadow assassin or my enemies extended to more than him and Queen Melusina.
“Please ask Captain Maith and his men to arrest three potential assassins,” I said to Osmos through the closed door and described the three people the castle had shown me.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” he replied.
I settled back into Drayce’s arms. “Let it be known that my mission is to break the curses on the Courts and defeat the usurper queen. Anyone who wishes to see me must go through your office.”
Osmos paused. I held my breath, hoping he wouldn’t object to the extra work. Father had prepared me with the knowledge of faeries and the means to defend myself, but my secretary knew more than me about sitting on thrones and granting requests.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Osmos replied. “Is there anything else?”
“Could you gather a team of strong warriors to accompany me to the Summer Court?” I asked.
Another pause. This time longer than the first. “Apart from the guards securing the palace, we have Rosalind, Aengus, and His Majesty.” Osmos paused again. “Will you consider the druid?”
My eyes narrowed. Cathbad had been demanding as the human’s spokesperson and would likely be a hindrance for sneaking into the Summer Court. “Isn’t he asleep?”
“He insisted on staying awake to safeguard his charges from faerie trickery,” replied Osmos.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and exhaled a long breath. He sounded a lot like I did before becoming a faerie. Drayce’s comforting palm rubbing circles in my back did nothing to ally my frustration.
“What about Gerald?” I asked.
Osmos made a choking sound from behind the door. I expect it was because the gancanagh’s most devastating weapon was his ability to shift into whatever a female desired and the venom he used to make her hunger for his touch.
“Say yes to the druid,” Drayce whispered.
I frowned. “Why?”
“Because he can wield iron weapons.”
I turned to the door, tired of the druid already. “You can ask Cathbad if he wants to come along.”
After a bath and breakfast, Drayce and I donned hooded cloaks and emerged from the floor-to-ceiling windows of my writing room into a balcony that I commanded the building to wind around the palace’s exterior. It was made of the same flint as the rest of the mountain with a polished handrail supported by moulded balusters.
Chirping birds swooped in and out of tree-covered hilltops that stretched out to the
