My throat dried. “When the Dearg Due killed the soldiers and tried to kill you, I screamed. It cracked the carriage window. Do you think I have the Banshee Queen’s power?”
He stared at me, his eyes glittering with wonder. “I thought it would trigger your innate magic, but if you can scream like that, you might learn to become incorporeal, too.”
We reached the end of the wall. At the corner among the rough stones was a single slab of moonstone. It was as smooth as marble and reflected a myriad of colors like mother of pearl.
“Is this it?” I asked.
He stepped back with a nod. “See if the palace will let you take a piece of its power.”
I edged toward the white stone, my heart pumping out blood so hard that the tips of my fingers trembled. Stretching out my hands, I closed my eyes and commanded the palace to release some of the stone.
Nothing happened. No scraping or clinking of stone hitting the ground.
I cracked open an eye and fixed my gaze on the iridescent surface. “May I please have a piece of you?”
The palace didn’t respond, and I placed both hands on the stone. “Thank you for accepting me. My rule won’t be safe until I defeat Melusina and break the curses on each of the Courts.”
USE THE BLOOD
The words echoed in my skull, sending a jolt of alarm through my chest. I skittered back and gasped.
“Neara!” Drayce caught me in his arms.
“It’s alright.” My voice shook. “The stone just spoke.”
“What did it say?” he asked.
“I have to take it for myself.” I pulled out the sword, nicked the tip of my finger with its point and smeared a circle of blood onto the stone’s edge.
As the stone didn’t voice its protest, I carved around the blood with my blade. When I completed the circle, a white disc dropped onto the ground with a clink.
“You did it.” Drayce stepped forward and placed a hand on my back.
“Thank you.” I pressed my palm onto the stone and slipped the piece into the bodice of my armor, making a promise to myself to carry it with me at all times.
When I removed my hand, the stone had soaked up my blood.
Chapter 21
We traveled up an interior staircase of polished granite, our footsteps echoing across the walls. I glanced at Drayce, whose green eyes shone with pride as he squeezed my hand.
The smile I gave him was tight. While he seemed to think that obtaining a piece of the cornerstone would bolster my powers in the battle ahead, it just seemed to me that the stone and the palace accepting my blood deepened our connection.
The sound of footsteps and chatter drifted down from an arch. Servants and soldiers bustled through a hallway, making the palace look less desolate than during Melusina’s reign.
At the top of the stairs, passing faeries inclined their heads, bowed, and smiled with the kind of warmth I’d expect they would have offered Queen Pressyne herself.
I leaned into Drayce and whispered, “Have they always been here or did Osmos hire them?”
He offered me a sad smile. “Those servants who weren’t imprisoned kept to the shadows to avoid the notice of Melusina’s court. Most of the soldiers have been here for years, working under the generals.”
“I’m glad everyone in the palace is free.” I glanced through a wall of windows at tree-covered hills and the mountains beyond.
The sun shone down from its zenith, highlighting the lush green forests. My knowledge of fae geography was still shaky, but I think this was the land that separated us from the human territory.
Drayce wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Are you worried about freeing the other Courts?”
The disc of cornerstone pulsed against my chest, its power infusing me with a confidence I hadn’t felt in years. Perhaps I was wrong about the stone, and it was going to help me outside the palace.
I placed my hand over the stone and met Drayce’s concerned frown. “It would feel less daunting if we actually knew something about what we’ll face in the Summer Court.”
We turned a corner and entered the hallway I recognized from earlier, when the castle showed me the line of faeries outside the throne room. It was now empty, save for a quartet of silver-uniformed guards standing outside the double door.
The pair on the outside swept into low bows, while the pair by the handles clicked their heels and opened the double doors, revealing its empty, marble interior and the steps that led to my golden throne. A trio of dust motes swirled in the shaft of light that streamed in through the room’s tall windows.
Drayce placed a warm hand on the small of my back and guided me inside. “Would you like me to gather a team?”
I shook my head. “Osmos mentioned that he had information to share.”
“Where is he?”
My gaze darted across the throne room’s white walls and landed on a panel in the corner with a horizontal line eight feet up from the floor.
Without asking the palace for help, I knew that this was a discreet door that would lead me to Osmos. “Over there.”
We headed to the corner. Drayce grazed the panel with his fingertips. The door snicked open, leading to an office about the same size as mine and a similar color scheme, except the walls were ivory with rose-gold moldings. Sunlight shone through arched windows covered in gossamer curtains to soften the glare.
A scratching sound from the far end caught my attention. It was Osmos, frowning down at a parchment and writing something with a quill. He sat at an ivory desk with curved legs and a curved apron decorated in the same rose-gold brocade as the walls.
Long white hair tumbled down the shoulders of his silver jacket. Much like moonstone, it reflected a myriad of colors in the sunlight.
Rosalind stood at his left with her
