To Catch a Queen

by Shanna Swendson

  When the smoky hell cloud passed, it was as though a great weight lifted. She almost felt that she would have floated into the sky if she hadn’t been holding on to Eamon. A glance at the nearby fae showed that they seemed to have had a similar reaction. They were all moving slowly, as though they were waking from a dream. The crowd was utterly silent for several minutes before some musician played a tentative chord and others gradually joined in the song. Another moment later, the dancing resumed, like nothing had happened.

  “Wow, that was intense,” Emily said when she was sure she had the breath to talk.

  Even Eamon looked a little pale and shaken. “Yes,” he agreed in a weak whisper.

  “I’m guessing that would be reason number one that we have to stop this impostor. This kind of thing isn’t good for the people of the Realm, and we definitely don’t want to unleash them on my world.”

  They went back to walking through the crowd. Emily kept her grip on Eamon’s arm. She wasn’t sure what protection he might be against the likes of the Hunt, but his presence was reassuring. She was looking around for the next group they might be able to infiltrate and question when a guard appeared in their path.

  “What are you doing here?” he demanded.

  Twenty-six

  At the Foot of the Tower

  A Moment Later

  It only took Michael a second to realize that Sophie was gone and one more second to grab his clover keychain so that he could see past glamour and spot that she’d disguised herself as a guard. She was moving quickly, but he had longer legs, so he caught up to her easily and grabbed her elbow. “Just what do you think you’re doing?” he asked.

  He got the impression from the look in her eyes that she’d forgotten for a moment his ability to see through magical disguises, but she recovered quickly. “You know exactly what I’m doing.”

  “I’m not letting you do it alone.”

  “I can move more quickly without you.”

  He tilted his head to the side, regarding her skeptically. “Really? I don’t recall slowing you down much. I’ve been pretty useful so far, and can you afford to leave a third son behind when going on a quest in fairyland?”

  “I never should have told you about that,” she said with a sigh. She resumed walking, but since she didn’t try to ditch him again, he figured that meant she was okay with him joining her.

  They made it out of the castle and through the crowd. As they neared the perimeter of the encampment, everything went silent. The silence was followed by the sound of thunder that soon sounded more like hoofbeats from hell. “The Hunt must be making their rounds,” he said, forcing his voice to sound more calm than he felt.

  “Turn around, quickly. Don’t look at them,” she said, her voice so taut with urgency that he didn’t even think about questioning her. Once they’d both turned their backs, she explained, “I’m not sure our glamour would work on them, and the last thing I need right now is to be outed.”

  When the thunderous sound had passed, along with the ensuing total silence, they turned back around. Sophie and Michael hurried forward while everyone else was still regathering their wits.

  The guards must have assumed that the passage of the Hunt had served to maintain the perimeter for the moment, for there was a big enough gap to slip through, and soon they were on the path leading up to the forest.

  Both of them paused to catch their breath. “This queen is obviously bad news, if those are her henchmen,” he said.

  “Oh, I think they may come in handy. I’ll have to bend them to my will.” He wouldn’t have been entirely surprised if she’d been serious, but he caught the faint twitch of her lips that told him she was joking.

  “It would take you about half an hour before they were wearing flowers and running around doing good deeds.”

  “I don’t know. They’re pretty nasty. It might take a whole hour.” She held her hand out to him. “Ready?”

  He took her hand and braced himself for a journey. “Ready.”

  They stepped forward together, arriving outside Sophie’s palace. It was still veiled with the illusion of vines. To him, nothing looked different, but he glanced at Sophie to see her staring quizzically at it. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “I don’t know if ‘wrong’ is quite the right word. That barrier spell seems to be gone, which should make things easier because we can get to the crown without climbing all those stairs.”

  “Maybe your sleeping spell was stronger than you realized and whoever cast the spell is still out,” he suggested.

  “Or they want to make sure I get the crown out of here, which just proves that I’m right about this whole thing being a trap.” She moved forward, pulling him with her by the hand he’d forgotten she still held. He caught up to her quickly. After about three strides, she dropped his hand. “Oh, sorry about that,” she said. “I didn’t mean to drag you around.”

  “Don’t tell me you got me confused with Beau.”

  “Of course not. You’re much taller.”

  “And I don’t snore nearly as much.”

  She quickened her pace enough that he had to lengthen his stride to keep up with her. He’d never figured out how a woman nearly a foot shorter than he was could outwalk him so easily, even when he was more or less in good health. His partner Mari was a tall woman and a fast walker, yet he never found himself lagging behind her.

  While he was contemplating this, they reached the main doors to the throne room, and Sophie threw them open with a casual gesture without breaking stride. The throne room was as deserted as it had been on their last visit, and Sophie blew through it on her way to the dais.

  She stopped just in front of the throne and stared at it for a long while, her hands on her hips like she was challenging or scolding it. Finally, with a deep sigh, she made a gesture that removed the shimmering dome that covered the crown. She picked up the crown and held it for a moment.

  “Are you sure about this?” Michael asked softly.

  She turned to look at him as though she’d forgotten he was there. “No,” she admitted. “Do you have any better ideas?” She sank onto the throne the way she might collapse on the sofa at the end of a long day, almost as if she was unaware of what it was.

  Even if she didn’t realize it, the throne seemed to. The changes were subtle—the silver shone brighter, the light in the room was stronger, and Sophie herself had a radiance about her. If he looked at her out of the corner of his eye, she appeared to be wearing royal robes, and she had the image of a crown resting on her head although she held the actual crown on her lap.

  She must not have noticed these changes or his reaction to them, for she just kept talking, apparently thinking aloud. “It’s got to be a trap. They need the real crown for credibility, but they can’t get their hands on it while it’s still here.”

  “Would anyone else be able to wear it, even if you brought it there?”

  With a wicked grin, she asked, “Care to find out?” Then she shook her head. “I don’t think so. The throne literally ejected Maeve when she tried to take it. I wouldn’t want to be the impostor who dared to put on this crown. It might even be fatal.”

  Figuring that if she was going to rest, so could he, Michael sat on the top step of the dais, at her feet, and turned to look up at her. “Then what’s the point of bringing a crown there that would only point out the fraud in an extremely unpleasant way?”

  She lifted the crown, holding it against the light, and stared at it for a while. “I think they might want to win it from me—like if they take it from me in some kind of challenge or battle, it becomes theirs.”

  “No figuring out and following an impossible riddle and then using your own blood to prove your worth?”

  “That was to pick up an unclaimed crown. I don’t know if rightful inheritance comes into play after that.”

  “If she had to constantly be on guard against others trying to challenge her, no wonder your ancestor retired to marry an enchanter and
become mortal.”

  “No kidding. And if it’s going to be like that for me, I’d as soon retire, myself. But I could never leave the Realm in the hands of whoever these people are, or anyone like them. That wouldn’t be any good for anybody. But I wonder if this kind of thing was all that common.”

  “Couldn’t the crown tell you that? It wasn’t in that download you got?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t recall anything about fighting to keep the throne. Things seem to have been pretty stable.” Wincing, she raised the crown and placed it on her head. If things changed when she sat on the throne, they were even more different when she wore the crown while on the throne. There seemed to be life in the vast, empty room, even though only the two of them were present, and Sophie radiated sheer power. This was what he’d imagined of her from the way Emily used to describe her formidable older sister. He felt like he should be kneeling before her, even as she lounged casually in the silver chair.

  “No, this situation seems entirely unprecedented,” she said after a while. “Which makes me think that either I’m missing something big or they’re missing something big.”

  “Wasn’t it that fairy who got you into this who insisted you get the crown?” He barely stopped himself from adding “your majesty” to the question, she was that regal.

  She leaned forward, resting her elbow on her knee and her chin on her fist. “Yeah. That’s what has me confused, and it’s the only reason I went along with this plan that I’m still certain is a trap—for someone, at least. If she practically forced me to take the throne, surely she wouldn’t demand that I do something that could risk losing it.”

  “Maybe she’s right. You can’t hold a throne by hiding out. The final step to really winning it is defending it.”

  Looking down at him with eyes that were bright with unshed tears, she said, “That’s what I’m afraid of. And the irony is, I don’t even want this throne.” One tear slipped from her eye to trickle down her cheek. “What if I have to stay here to hold the throne, if it’s the power vacuum from me being an absentee ruler that allows things like this to happen?”

  He didn’t have a reassuring answer to that. “What would you do if that’s the case?”

  She sat up straight, looking more regal than ever. “My duty, I suppose.” With a bitter laugh, she added, “It’s not like I have much of a life to give up—no husband or kids, no real career. Not even that many true friends I’d miss who’d miss me.”

  He remembered what Mrs. Smith had said about those who didn’t have anyone in the outside world who loved them enough to be able to rescue them and wondered if it applied to a fairy queen, as well. The last one had been saved from her throne by love. Could someone save Sophie? Almost without thinking, he asked, “Wouldn’t your grandmother be next in line for the throne?” It was a second or two later before the thought really clarified. “I know she probably wouldn’t be fit for the crown, but if you’re going to get technical, you’d be her heir, wouldn’t you?”

  Sophie’s eyes went really wide. “Ohhhhh,” she said, drawing the sound out. “I suppose so.” Then she shook her head. “But she’s old and ill.”

  “Isn’t this place some kind of fountain of youth?”

  “You don’t age while you’re here. I don’t know if it reverses aging.”

  “Even if you have fairy blood?”

  “I have no idea. But it’s rather beside the point right now. It doesn’t matter which one of us is the true heir to the throne if we can’t hold on to it.”

  “If you give the impostor a real public trouncing in front of the entire Realm, that should solidify your power, I’d think,” he suggested. “It’s entirely possible that the reason no one has taken the crown in a challenge is that the crown gives you enough power to prevail over anyone.”

  She smiled, and the entire throne room grew even brighter. “Let’s hope so!” she said with great feeling. She removed the crown, placed it in her bag, rose, and drifted down the dais steps.

  Shaking his head at being left behind yet again, Michael hauled himself to his feet and went after her. He caught up with her when she stopped dead still in front of the massive front doors. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

  “You know, if someone wanted me to get this crown so they could snatch it, would they wait for me to get it back to the fake palace?” she asked.

  “Probably not. You’re thinking there’s an ambush on the other side of those doors?”

  “Very likely.”

  “So we head back to the kitchens?”

  “Don’t you agree?”

  “Yeah. But I think it would help if we could arrange a diversion, too.”

  “Good thinking. Come on.” He wasn’t sure what she meant by agreeing with him only to abruptly turn around and walk away, but then she bellowed, “Maeve!” Her voice had the ring of magical authority to it, and the person being ordered would have no choice but to obey. Sure enough, it was only a matter of seconds before the beautiful, golden-haired fairy came running into the throne room.

  She didn’t look at all happy about it. “You summoned me, your majesty?” she snarled, sarcasm heavy in her tone.

  “I need you to do something for me,” Sophie said, a funny little smile flickering across her lips. “First, we need to fix you up.” She gestured at the fairy, whose hair turned a slightly more reddish color. Her servant’s uniform transformed into a dress like Sophie’s. Sophie surveyed her handiwork. “Hmm, you’re too tall, but I don’t think anyone’s paying that much attention to me, so I think you’ll do. Now, wait for my signal, then open the front doors and walk out.”

  “You’re giving me permission to leave the palace?”

  “Not the grounds. Walk until you can go no more and are drawn back into the palace. Do whatever you want or need to do if anything happens while you’re out there.”

  Maeve looked truly baffled, which Sophie seemed to find amusing. “That is all? Just walk out?”

  “And do what you need to do while you’re out. Yes, that is all I require of you.” Michael got the impression it took all of Sophie’s willpower not to laugh out loud at this.

  “How will I know your signal?”

  “Trust me, honey, you’ll know it when you see it.”

  Sophie was still snickering under her breath as she and Michael headed down the stairs to the kitchen. “You’re using her as a decoy?” he asked.

  “I know!” she said with an uncharacteristic giggle. “It’s so deliciously ironic. She got us into all this because of her bid to be queen, and now I’m making her play queen as a diversion.” With a soft sigh, she added, “At least I’m getting to have some fun.”

  The little creatures in the kitchen burst into a flurry of activity when Michael and Sophie emerged from the stairwell, but Sophie waved them aside. “Sorry, just passing through. Keep up the good work.” Once she and Michael were outside, she said, “I suppose when I’m here on a permanent basis, I can make them deliriously happy by eating all the things they offer me. It’s not like it will matter if I can ever leave the Realm again.” Her voice sounded bravely resigned, like she was bracing herself for a suicide mission.

  “Would it work that way for you?” he asked.

  “I imagine so. I’m mostly human, and I doubt the crown makes that much difference.” They reached the wall of the kitchen yard, and Sophie raised one hand to eye level. A glowing ball of light formed in her palm. She moved her hand, batting the light away, and it flew up and into a window of the palace. After about thirty seconds, she said, “Okay, that should do it. Let’s go.”

  He opened the gate in the wall, then they joined hands and ran through it. He wasn’t sure when the transition happened, but he soon realized they were no longer near the palace but rather were moving at great speed through a forest. He had the strangest sense that they were being chased. Sophie gave his hand a hard squeeze and stopped abruptly, pulling him back. Whoever was chasing them flew past, and as soon as they were gone, she steppe
d off in a different direction. Michael experienced the increasingly familiar sensation of traveling great distances in a single step.

  But they didn’t arrive at the fake palace or at any other place that looked familiar.

  “Where are we?” Sophie asked, saying out loud what Michael was thinking.

  “Where were you trying to go?”

  “The fake palace. I must have been too distracted and blew past it. Well, here we go again, and be ready for a trap.”

  They took another great step, but the palace was still nowhere in sight. The only thing that resembled their intended destination was the mass of uniformed members of the queen’s guard, who were quite taken aback by the sight of two humans arriving suddenly in their camp.

  “Drat! I must have pictured the wrong thing,” Sophie muttered.

  “Well, you were expecting a trap,” Michael replied.

  Before Sophie had a chance to whisk them away, the guards surrounded them. “Halt in the name of the queen,” their leader said. “All humans must be ejected from the Realm, lest they pollute it with their impurity.”

  Twenty-seven

  Outside the Impostor’s Palace

  A Moment Later

  While Emily was still too shocked to speak, Eamon replied without missing a beat, “We’re here to greet our new sovereign, of course.”

  The guard looked at them for a moment, blinking in confusion. “The Hunt sensed humans among us, and her majesty does not tolerate that.”

  “Of course not,” Eamon agreed earnestly. “If I see a human, I will be sure to report it. We wouldn’t want to sully the queen’s triumphant day.”

  “You do that,” the guard said with a snarl before turning and stalking away. Emily didn’t release the breath she’d been holding until she could no longer spot him in the crowd.

  She turned to Eamon. “Good save. But I swear, I could see your nose growing with every word.”

  He frowned and reached up to feel his nose. “It appears to be the same size as always, and I am not using a glamour that extends my nose.”