Chapter 21 In Which We Renovate My Room Again #2
“I cannot speak to whether it is boring, but he is in the throne room because I requested an audience with him,” Sahir said.
We stopped in front of the ornate door to the throne room, where the magical mural of the waterfall down the sheer cliff continued its unabated flow. Sahir knocked on the wall next to the door, and the door swung open. He released my arm and pushed against the small of my back so I entered first.
The Princeling sat on his throne, his entourage arrayed around him. He’d let the Crone sit in a small chair at his right hand, and the Gray Knight stood at his left.
We hadn’t really spoken since our fight in my room—I was still upset with her for the cavalier way she’d suggested I just give up and work for the Princeling. And, if I was honest, for casually spurning me when I asked to slow down whatever had happened between us.
“Sahir,” the Princeling drawled. I’d forgotten how green his eyes were, and how thick his thighs. “I see you have returned from your… camping trip.”
“My liege,” Sahir said, bowing his head. I followed suit. My hair, which I’d left undone, fell over my face. The floor had an inlaid pattern I hadn’t noticed before, a subtle checkerboard of brownish stones.
“Lady of the True Dreams,” the Princeling said. “Stand and face me.”
I rose. Sahir stayed beside me, head bowed. I took a step toward the Princeling on his throne, my eyes on his stern face.
“You left Faerie.” His expression remained unreadable, his eyes like emerald chips in his face. I reached for my phantom ring. It wasn’t there. I fought the urge to twist my hands in front of me and kept them uncurled at my sides.
“I did.” I straightened my back and squared my shoulders.
“And yet you are neither bone shards nor blood mist, let alone both combined.”
“I am not,” I confirmed, though I did discreetly pat my own thigh as I spoke—just to check.
“How was this possible?” He didn’t look angry, exactly. Just baffled. I looked at the Crone, but she had a faraway look on her wrinkled face, her eyes focused somewhere outside the room.
Sahir lifted his head and stepped up next to me. “We bargained with the Builder Roman for information about his father’s magics. Roman shared information that helped us understand the portals better. Miri should be able to pass freely through your portal without fear.”
Sahir proceeded to explain our journey into the Queen’s lands and then through the treacherous halls of the Trenton train station.
Sahir’s version of the story was truncated and lacking the vibrant details I would have included.
He also called my grandmother “a woman of surpassing grace and dignity,” which was a vibrant detail I would not have included.
My attention wandered, so I was surprised when he trailed off. The Princeling opened his mouth to speak, but Sahir cleared his throat. “If you allow it, lord, Miri can come to New York with me during the day, and return here at night.”
The Princeling sat for a moment.
“This changes nothing,” he said.
“Excuse me?” I said. My mind blanked.
The Princeling shook his head, like he was dislodging an errant leaf from his hair.
“It changes nothing. You will remain in my Court and continue to work remotely. It is good for my people to see you here.”
“Wouldn’t it be better for your people to see humans as living beings with agency?” I snapped.
The Princeling tapped his chin with his fingers. “I do not believe this will matter to my people.” His fingernails glinted in the dim lights.
“That’s your problem,” I said. I flung my arms up, too frustrated to stand still. “You’re so focused on how your people will integrate with humans, if they want to leave—but how can they integrate with humans if they don’t see humans as people?”
He frowned at me. “Do you believe I have a problem, Miriam?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous.
To my surprise, the Gray Knight leaned down and whispered something in his ear.
He turned to look at her, his expression dark. She whispered something else, her silver hair brushing his shoulder.
“You may speak,” he said, waving a hand at her.
“The Lady of the True Dreams is correct,” the Gray Knight said.
I looked at the Red Knight, who was staring at his nails with the desperate intensity of a man who doesn’t want to be consulted.
Then the Blue Knight, who was picking his nose and seemed uninvested in this conversation.
I frowned at the Blue Knight; he should be invested in this conversation, since it impacted the people he claimed to represent.
He looked up, like he felt my eyes on him. His finger dropped from his nostril, and he turned his attention to the Gray Knight.
“For an exchange to succeed, our people must be exposed to humans as they are, with their associated privileges and freedoms. Our people need to know that humans are dangerous, in addition to being kind or loving or just or whatever it is we’re calling Miriam now.
” This felt a bit dismissive to me; I looked at the Red Knight, who jerked to attention when the Blue Knight jammed him in the ribs with an elbow.
“If we do not provide full information, we are lying to our people,” the Gray Knight concluded.
She’d been looking at me throughout this surprising speech; I’d felt the force of her gaze.
I couldn’t take it anymore—I met her eyes.
She spoke to me more than to the Princeling.
“If they do not see what it would truly mean to have humans live among us, including their comings and goings and the choices they make for themselves, then we have not represented the truth fairly.”
The molten silver glow of her eyes caught mine, and she gave me the faintest of smiles. My heart fluttered. As apologies went…
The Blue Knight coughed.
“Yes?” the Princeling said, sounding irritated.
“I agree with the Gray Knight,” he said.
“Our people are curious about humans. Many are not interested in leaving our realm and seeing the sun or moon. Even those would like to meet a human, to understand what lies beyond our borders. But they do not need to have constant access to the human. The human can leave and come back, if she chooses. More humans could come, too, and teach our people their ways.”
The Princeling jerked his chin in a nod, then tilted his head toward the Red Knight.
The Red Knight shrugged. “I have no dissent,” he said. “When we agreed to this experiment, we knew the terms would evolve. If the human can leave Faerie by day, and any other humans we accept would also leave Faerie by day, then there is no reason to keep her trapped here.”
Sahir shifted closer to me, like the warmth of his arm against mine would provide comfort. I couldn’t breathe as I stared at the Princeling.
His eyes found mine again.
It seemed the entire room held its breath.
“It would be wise to allow her freedom of movement,” the Crone said, in a voice so low I might have imagined it. The words wisped through the room, echoed against the walls.
“It is decided, then,” the Princeling said, his nostrils flared. “Sahir will bring you to the office tomorrow, and you will return home together after work. You are dismissed.”
Sahir took me by the elbow and pulled me backward. I got the sense that this was a more formal dismissal than I was used to with the Princeling, and I shouldn’t muck it up.
“Thank you,” I said aloud. Sahir hooked an arm around my waist and dragged me out like Little Bo Peep with an armful of sheep before I could ask for anything else.