by K. M. Shea
“You rode admirably in the races,” Queen Rime said.
“I appreciate the compliment,” I said. I had to carefully pick my words—saying thank you to a fae could be tricky as some of the nastier ones might construe it as you admitting that you owed them a favor now.
I could feel the gazes of everyone in the area as they watched us, murmuring to one another.
Queen Rime stared at me for several long moments.
I couldn’t figure out if she expected me to say something, or if she was thinking—she was too good at veiling her expressions.
But she nodded, and as abruptly as she arrived, she left. “Enjoy the summer ball,” she said. “I look forward to seeing you at upcoming events.”
She swept off, the tapping of her shoes producing little crackling noises, as if she was walking on a thin layer of ice.
Before I could ask Skye if I made her proud, another fae appeared before me—a male who had the classic handsome appearance of the fae with his smooth skin, flawless brunette hair that was short with just enough hint of a curl to it to give it a disgustingly perfect amount of body, and otherworldly grace. Oh, and enough smugness to warrant breaking his nose.
I recognized King Fell of the Autumn Court—he was way too obnoxious not to know.
“You’re the new Night Queen.” He looked me over from head to foot. “It’s a sad thing to see just how low some of the most illustrious Courts have fallen.”
Coming just behind Queen Rime in power, King Fell was arrogant and loved to yank the rest of the Courts around as long as Queen Rime chose not to exercise her power—as illustrated by his thinly veiled insult.
I smiled, but before I could respond, King Solis spoke. “King Fell of the Autumn Court, Queen Leila.”
I offered King Fell a brittle smile. “Good evening.”
King Fell actually snorted at me before another fae monarch appeared just behind his shoulder.
“What’s this, Fell? Greeting the neophyte, I see.” This fae had an elaborate tunic that was such a vivid and bright blue that it made my eyes almost hurt, despite places where the fabric was shot through with a few shades of yellow and orange.
His long blond-brown hair was tangled in a complicated braid, and his crown was wrapped with tendrils of a plant I didn’t know which draped down over his temples.
That’s King Birch of the Summer Court—I recognize him from the pictures. He’s third in power behind Fell. But where’s his consort?
“She’s not much to look at,” King Fell said.
I openly rolled my eyes. “Puh-leaze,” I said. “You’ll have to do better than that if you want to insult me.”
“And why would we want to do such a thing?” King Fell smirked.
I shrugged. “Probably because your head is so far up—”
King Solis cut in with his warm laughter. “Ahh Queen Leila—you have such a remarkable sense of humor.”
“Thanks. But that wasn’t an attempt to be funny.” I was tempted to say more, but Skye—standing directly behind me—managed to discreetly kick my ankle in a warning.
“Humor—that must be a human trait.”
Apparently Queen Rime’s visit opened the floodgates, because the new conversation intruder was none other than the beautiful Queen Verdant of the Spring Court.
She was easily recognizable with her long, curly blond hair that cascaded loosely around her shoulders, her bare feet, and the flower crown she wore that was ornamented with a small set of antlers.
She came behind King Solis in power and just ahead of me—which, yeah, I didn’t understand, considering Solis’s and my Courts were supposed to be fatefully linked to preserve the power balance, but whatever. The fae were all about being unfair anyway.
“Humor is a human trait,” I confirmed. “The fae got the short end of that stick. But at least people will still listen to fae because of their great beauty, even if they’re dead bores.”
It took Queen Verdant a few moments to work through that and see it was an insult. Thankfully, by the time it dawned on her, the conversation had moved on.
“Ahh yes. Such sharp wit you believe you have.” King Fell clasped his hands behind his back—a move I thought would be uncomfortable given that he wore a gold chestplate, and it looked like he was jabbing himself in the process.
“Since you are new to your title—and to the refined elegance of fae society, being that you are human—I’ll look past your brashness for now,” King Fell continued. “But in the future, endeavor to do better. You cannot possibly face the true consequences of your so-called clever words, because you could never afford to pay them.”
I’m pretty sure that was a threat. I don’t like threats, and I don’t care what the other Courts think of me. But between the Night Court’s massive debt, the crumbling castle, and the shrinking realm, he’s right that I can’t afford to tick them off.
That was somewhat maddening—that Pretty McSnooty Pants was right about something, I mean.
“My respect for the Night Court has dropped even farther,” King Birch announced—as if I’d care. “I didn’t think it was possible after Nyte so badly botched things with the vampires, but I guess you could never expect better from a half human.”
“Oh, you could from some half humans,” I said. “Unfortunately, my other half is fae. I guess that means it’s a lost cause.”
“She sounds like a mutt, howling to the wind.” Queen Verdant sighed and pressed her fingers to her mouth.
“Indeed,” King Birch said.
Skye scuffed her feet behind me, and then I heard the tap of her shoes as she stepped away.
Skye’s backing away. Why is Skye backing away?
I felt a moment of panic, particularly when all the monarchs settled on a point just behind me.
“Ahh. Lord Rigel,” King Fell said. “I never imagined meeting you here.”
Surprised, I glanced over at Rigel as he stepped past Skye’s spot and stood shoulder to shoulder with me.
“Good evening, Lord Rigel.” King Birch said.
“Lord Rigel.” Queen Verdant wouldn’t quite look at Rigel, but her voice was polite if distant.
I looked from the monarchs to Rigel. How on earth would they all know him—oohh. They’ve hired him for jobs in the past.
The grim realization dawned on me as King Fell eyed my husband.
“I was…surprised to receive news of your nuptials. Perhaps even more surprised when the Night Court power structure remained the same.”
Is he implying he’s shocked Rigel didn’t instantly kill me? Or is he talking about the spiders sent to assassinate me? Was that his doing?
I wanted to groan.
The past three-ish weeks with my Court had been gloriously simple. No one had tried offending me or offing me, and it seemed like my people accepted me as their queen.
But the fun, the insults, and—probably—the assassination attempts are about to start all over. Whee!
Though the thought made me groan, it also fueled the fires of my goal to shatter the fae’s obsession with power and the way it ruled their lives.
If they let things continue like this, they weren’t going to survive many more generations.
“Leila is the queen,” Rigel said. “I am her consort. Since the power still rests with her, there has been no reason for change.”
“I never pictured you as the diligent consort, protecting his queen’s back,” King Birch said. “But it sounds as if that is your role, now.”
Rigel shrugged. “She has people for that. And I still have activities of my own to see to.”
Dang it—he is still out there, murderizing! I was hoping his new title would make the fae less willing to hire him. Apparently not!
I slightly shook my head, and my earrings—obnoxiously big gemstones Skye had dug up from the mansion’s jewelry vault—banged the side of my face.
King Fell smirked. “I see. How reassuring.”
As fun as the conversation was, I was long past ready to leave. I scanne
d the crowd of party goers, looking for an out. A few of my nobles had gathered just behind the monarchs, their expressions flickering with worry and concern—how sweet!
Although I suppose I don’t know who they’re concerned for—me, or our Court. I stifled a deep sigh that almost escaped me. Maybe we should just leave. I can always call Hazel.
“I was also surprised to hear of your marriage,” King Birch said. “It didn’t seem like you to enter a failing situation, Lord Rigel. I would have thought you were too intelligent for that.”
Yep. A phone call is better. I’m sick of listening to this.
“This has been a barrel of laughs, but it’s high time I say my farewells to my friends and leave,” I announced.
“Oh? What do you have to rush off to?” King Fell asked. “Unless we’re making you uncomfortable?”
As I stared at the Autumn King, I was pretty sure King Solis was getting concerned that I was going to blast him with another insult because he was glancing at me with flickers of worry. Really, I was just trying to picture what would most horrify Fell and the pack of jackals surrounding us.
“You’re so thoughtful, King Fell,” I said. “But, no. It’s just because I was hit by inspiration.”
King Birch raised judgmental eyebrows and fell right into my trap. “Inspiration? For what?”
“I am so glad you asked,” I sincerely said. “It is undeniable that my husband is a fine fae specimen. Or, as humans would say, he’s gorgeous. Drop dead gorgeous to be precise. I mean, look at his face—and his abs! Wouldn’t you agree, Queen Verdant?”
The blond queen backed up a step. “I—yes,” she haltingly said, unable to lie, and unable to easily wriggle out of the question.
“Exactly. His gorgeous self—and those chiseled abs, I can’t stress that enough—have inspired me to try my hand at artistic expression.”
King Fell stared at me. “What?”
“That is, I want to attempt to draw Rigel and record his attractiveness for all of history—he is that good looking that an attempt must be made,” I rattled, having more and more fun trolling the monarchs as they looked increasingly more uncomfortable. “Though I will admit it is my own selfish whim, because then I’ll also have something to look at during the times he leaves me, for I do miss him then.”
Queen Verdant had backed up another step, and King Fell looked like he was about to toss his cookies, while King Birch had settled for swinging his gaze back and forth between Rigel and me.
“Wait, you really love him?” King Birch asked.
Ho-ho-ho, yep, they’ve totally forgotten I can lie. Or maybe for all their sneaking and maneuvering, they never found out that I could.
“Does the moon hang in the sky at night? Of course I love him—I adore him! He’s my Bae!”
“Bae?” King Fell repeated as if it was an infectious disease.
“Before anyone else,” I explained. “Obviously we are a true blue, love-at-first-sight pair! Besides.” I turned my trolling up a notch and blinked innocently at Birch. “Why else would I want to marry him?”
Movement behind the monarchs caught my attention, and I saw my Court members peering at me, their jaws slack and their eyes wide with horror.
Haha, the monarchs are too oblivious to recognize my outright lies, but my Court does! I considered wiggling my fingers at them, but I didn’t want to point their reactions out to the monarchs.
I glanced at Rigel, trying to gauge how he was taking this fun.
He blinked, but he didn’t seem bothered, or prone to violence.
“Wait.” Thin lines edged Queen Verdant’s eyes. “Do you mean to imply that the pair of you were a love match?”
Crap on a cracker—that was the one question I was hoping to avoid, because there’s no way Rigel is going to play along when asked something directly. I mean, he can’t lie!
I was trying to figure out how to invent a reply, when Rigel offered me his arm.
When I took it, I gaped up at him.
“If you are that eager to get home for your art, we can leave now,” he said.
I fidgeted. “Is it really okay?”
“Of course.” The edges of Rigel’s lips curved slightly. It was barely noticeable, but considering how expressionless Rigel was, it was the equivalent of a smile for him. “As our whole Court knows, your fits of inspiration are a wonder to behold.”
Oh. He is good. I’m glad he’s on my side—for trolling, anyway.
King Fell had lost that glassy, expressionless beauty the fae have due to his deeply furrowed brow, and his royal cohorts were similarly shocked.
Even King Solis was staring at us now—which was silly because he totally knew Rigel and I were the least likely “happily-ever-after” pairing ever.
“That’s how it is. It was lovely to meet you all—I do hope you call upon the Night Court soon. I’ll show you the drawing—though you have to promise not to be overcome by Rigel’s shirtless beauty,” I said.
The monarchs stared at me, and behind them my nobles looked in danger of experiencing heart attacks. A few of them slapped their hands over their faces, and I saw one fae lady plant her hand on her heart and swoon a little before her husband caught her.
I grinned—in a way better mood than I had been five minutes earlier—and winked at them. “Enjoy your night!” I trundled off—or I tried to. The mermaid skirts of my dress only let me get away at a graceful but quick sweep.
“Do you really think he loves her?” King Birch asked as we walked off.
“Impossible,” King Fell said. “He must be wielding the power in their relationship and purposely seduced her.”
His guess was so very far from the truth I couldn’t help but cackle as we fell out of hearing. “That was beautiful, Rigel. Well done!”
“I did nothing,” Rigel said, back to blandness now that the playful moment was gone.
“Sure, sure. Then thank you for doing nothing,” I said as one of our nobles, Lady Korinna—I really liked her because she owned a petfood store and dabbled more in human society than most of my nobles—and Lord Dion hurried up to us.
“Good evening, Lady Korinna, Lord Dion. I hope you are both enjoying the Summer’s End Ball?”
“Yes, indeed, my Sovereign,” Lady Korinna said with the automated perfect manners of a fae.
“Queen Leila, while your daring is to your credit, you really must be more careful not to blatantly lie to the other monarchs!” Lord Dion kept his voice to a whispered hiss. “They’ll find out the truth!”
“Nah—we’re talking about matters of the heart. They’ll never really be able to prove I’m not head over heels for Rigel. Especially when everyone knows I adore him.” I hugged Rigel’s arm to my chest and batted my eyelashes, trying to look as insipid as possible.
Lord Dion shuddered. “I pray you never do that again.”
“They’ll find out if you’ve drawn such a portrait or not,” Lady Korinna pointed out.
“What you’re trying to tell me is that I should go ahead and try to draw a picture of a shirtless Rigel to hang up in the main entrance of the mansion,” I innocently said.
“NO!” Lady Korinna and Lord Dion said as one.
I cackled some more. “You guys are so much fun to tease. But seriously, don’t worry about it. None of this is stuff they can call me out on—and if they realize the truth, maybe it will teach them a thing or two about the tenacity of humans.”
Lady Korinna looked pained, but when a fae from a different Court called out to her, she curtsied. “If you’ll excuse me, my Sovereign.”
Huh. Indigo started calling me that after she swore loyalty to me. Is it a special title or something?
I magnanimously smiled, then glanced at Lord Dion. “Still sticking around?”
“In hopes that I can tell you how dangerous this is, yes.”
“Oh, please. You’re a lawyer—you dodge the truth all the time.” I glanced back at my entourage, which had rejoined me. “I think the important question is if
my fae advisor agrees with you or me,” I asked Lord Linus.
Lord Linus winked. “When in doubt, lie through your teeth.”
“Why is it you only ask for his advice when you know it’s going to be improper?” Skye asked.
“Because that’s the only time I would ever want to hear his advice,” I said. “Shall we head out? Or do I have to mingle longer?”
“I think it would be best if we finished for the night,” Skye delicately said.
“Yeah.” Indigo adjusted her cat eye glasses, which would have made her look disapproving, if not for the smile she was trying to hide. “No telling what you’ll do if we stick around.”
“Really? I was hoping I’d have the opportunity to dance with you, Skye.” Lord Dion gave her a smile, which was more dazzling than usual thanks to the way his crimson red hair flickered like flames in the soft light of the ballroom.
“I’m sure it will be an easy thing for you to find a different dancing partner,” Skye said.
I twisted back to look at Skye—she was fussing with her clutch and paying zero attention to Lord Dion, who was staring at her as if he’d never been refused before.
Hmm, now that’s an attraction I’m not sure I would have guessed. But maybe I’m jumping ahead a little bit.
“If we’re good with leaving, I’ll find Hazel and say my farewells, and then we can head out,” I said.
“I’ll send word to Azure to bring the car around,” Chase said.
“Thanks, everyone. You’re the best!” I said.
All of them laughed, and there was something fun about the moment.
I didn’t feel like I was scrambling like I had a month ago, because I trusted them.
Yeah, I was going to have to do something about the other Courts, yes someone was trying to assassinate me, and yes, the shrinking Night Realm was a major problem.
But at least I finally had friends.
“It’s just as well we retire earlier than typical from tonight’s ball,” Skye announced. “Tomorrow you have magic lessons with Lord Linus, an appointment with the accountant, a meeting with several pixie representatives, and you’re to attend the reopening of a garden in one of the apartment complexes built on the land owned by the Night Court in the human realm.”