Chapter 16
The next day, I stood in the hallway, my stomach in knots as Enzira finished moving my things into the queen’s chambers.
It was fairly easy; I had only been in the Shadow Court for a few days, so most of my things were still in my trunk.
I had quickly extracted my dagger, Wraith Killer, as well as my pouch of gemstones and the vial of birch root, then shoved them in my bodice before anyone noticed.
With the chaos of servants moving my things to the queen’s chambers, there hadn’t been a moment for me to visit Azure and use the birch root to remove her splinter.
Now I couldn’t even risk seeing her because the king was suspicious of me.
Why else would he insist on putting me in the rooms adjacent to his?
It was clear he held no affection for me, and I was only his wife because of some part I had to play to keep the toxic shadows at bay—a part I knew nothing about.
And with Varius’s brutish behavior yesterday, I didn’t expect him to be very forthcoming. He had completely dismissed my accusation that his men had terrorized my people—which I had seen firsthand, regardless of his claims—and instead turned the accusation on me.
But, despite the fire raging in my chest, it did make me wonder how much of what he said was true. I had only witnessed unseelie creatures attacking my people once. Every other time had been a report from my father or someone like Gerard.
Someone who could easily have been lying, or had been fed lies by others.
I thought of Gerard’s blatant hatred for all things fae—seelie or unseelie. I recalled how much he despised the magic in my blood. It didn’t matter that he cared for me or trusted me. He would never trust the power thrumming inside my veins.
Was I as blind as he was? Was I so poisoned against the unseelie that I would immediately assume the worst about them?
That isn’t fair, I told myself. It is natural to trust your own people over these strangers.
But then I thought of the kind face of Enzira, who, regardless of her appearance, seemed like she wouldn’t harm a fly. I thought of all the other servants I had encountered throughout the castle, and how helpful and polite they had been.
Not beastly or monstrous at all. Not like I was taught.
“Are you sure about this?” Ramia whispered, jerking me from my thoughts. We stood in the hall outside the queen’s chambers, overseeing the staff as they readied the rooms for us. “I feel uneasy about your rooms being so close to his.”
“This is what I came here to do, remember?” I whispered. “I’m meant to be the queen here, and this is the first step.”
“We don’t know anything about the king,” Ramia whispered, though I was sure the fae could still hear her words. “For all we know, he’ll wait for you to fall asleep and then feast on your flesh.”
“ Ramia ,” I hissed in warning, glancing nervously at a smiling Enzira who passed by us. “Even if this were true, which I’m sure it’s not, how exactly do you think you would be able to stop him?”
Ramia glanced at me, her expression falling .
“Like it or not, we are at the mercy of the Shadow King,” I said. “We will need to trust him.”
Even if he seems untrustworthy, I wanted to add.
“Right,” Ramia agreed, nodding as if to reassure herself more than me. “For the good of our people.”
My mouth twisted in a grimace, because I wasn’t sure what good this alliance was actually doing. It was meant to keep the shadows at bay, but Varius implied I had to do something first. I just didn’t know what.
And either Varius was blind to what his soldiers were doing, or he was telling the truth and my people weren’t being attacked by the unseelie.
Neither scenario was very comforting. If my father was lying about the attacks, what did he hope to gain?
What was he covering up? I knew Father was slimy and unpleasant, and he saw me as nothing more than a weapon to wield, but he cared about his people.
It didn’t seem like him to craft lies in order to incite terror and panic.
None of this made any sense. And I had no idea who to believe. I couldn’t trust anyone—except maybe Azure.
Enzira appeared again and pressed a fist to her chest. “Room ready, my lady.” Her eyes gleamed with pride.
I offered a small smile. She seemed positively thrilled that I had married Varius. Many of the fae—Varius included—looked at me with distrust in their eyes, but Enzira had been nothing but kind and supportive from the moment I arrived.
The thought warmed my chest, loosening some of the tension there, and I drew closer to her, taking her clawed hands in mine. Her eyes widened in alarm, but she didn’t step away from me.
“Thank you, Enzira,” I said quietly. “For everything. Garsha .”
She blinked, then nodded uncertainly.
I sighed, dropping the pretense for a moment. In Agnarrish, I whispered, “You are a kind soul, and I greatly appreciate you.”
Her mouth fell open, revealing her fangs.
In her native tongue, she whispered, “I—thank you, my queen.” She swallowed, her gaze darting around the hall as if looking to see if anyone else had heard me speak Agnarrish so fluently.
After a moment, she withdrew her hands from mine, smoothed them on her skirts, and shuffled away.
Perhaps it was foolish to reveal that secret. But given all the others I was keeping, it seemed the least dangerous.
Besides, Enzira didn’t deserve to suffer because of my duplicity. If she went and told the king I knew their language, then so be it.
I turned and found Ramia scowling at me.
“That was unwise, my lady,” she muttered.
I waved a hand. “It would have come out eventually. Besides, I learned the language for a reason. I’d prefer to use it, instead of acting the ignorant fool.”
Ramia leaned close to me and said in a low voice, “Just be sure to keep certain other things to yourself, will you?”
My eyes narrowed, but she turned away before I could question her further. I suspected she knew about my gemstone magic, and that was what she was referring to. Ramia was very observant.
But right now, with the king asking questions about the birch root, it made me wonder who else might know about Azure. Had I not been as careful as I should have? Was she in danger?
I shook my head to rid myself of this paranoia, then strode into my new chambers.
A gasp burst from me, and I stumbled back a step at the grandeur of the room.
It was twice the size of my guest chamber, which had already been massive.
In one corner of the room was a small nook with several bookshelves and a comfortable-looking armchair.
Next to it was the largest fireplace I had ever seen.
And on the other end was a mahogany writing desk.
The massive bed took up most of the space on the opposite end of the room.
A small armoire was next to the bed, along with a tiny breakfast table, upon which rested a tray of fruits and cheeses.
Floor-to-ceiling windows lined the wall, boasting a sunny view of the Dellona Mountains, which looked like two jagged spears in the distance.
Somewhere between them was my castle. My home.
My father was probably lording over his free time now that he no longer had to train me to be the Shadow Queen.
And Orla, my sister, was likely gloating over my absence and making her plans to become the Earthen Queen.
Gerard had probably found another lover by now. But, to my surprise, this didn’t spark any jealousy in me. He had only been a means for me to escape my trapped world. Nothing more.
A pang of longing filled me as I thought of the home I’d once had. I didn’t necessarily miss Father or Orla, but I missed the caves. I missed exploring them with Azure.
I missed the comfort of a land and a castle that I knew well. I felt safe there.
Wringing my hands together, I turned away from the window and peered into the bathing chamber. I took in the massive black hole built into the center of the floor, just like in my previous room. I frowned. Ramia and I had never figured out what this hole was.
Well, now that Enzira knew I could speak her language, perhaps I could ask her. I was tired of playing games.
I found myself moving toward the desk without realizing it. I still hadn’t written to my friend Eira in the Winter Court. She would be appalled that I’d moved to the Shadow Court and gotten married without informing her.
After a quick search through the drawers, I found an inkwell, a quill, and a few rolls of parchment. I hastily began writing .
I have a new home now. It’s quite dark and misty. And my husband is far worse than a mean old codger.
“I see you’ve gotten settled,” said a voice from behind me.
I yelped and whirled to find King Varius standing at an open door I hadn’t noticed before. It was nestled between the armoire and the bed, and, now that I focused on it, I realized it must lead to his chambers.
His bed. His room . Directly next to mine.
My throat knotted, and I found I couldn’t speak. My shaking hands hastened to stuff the parchment behind me and into one of the drawers.
The last thing I needed was for him to see the words mean old codger .
Varius tilted his head at me. He did that often, I noticed. It made him look more predatory. “Is everything to your liking?” His gaze flicked to the desk behind me.
“What is that?” I asked, desperate to distract him before he discovered my letter. My voice was far too loud, so I cleared my throat and gestured to the bathing chamber. “That hole in there. What is it?”
“You haven’t used it yet?” His eyes roved over me, his brows knitting together. “Do humans not… bathe as often as the fae do?”
My cheeks flushed, and my jaw went slack. “It’s… it’s a bathtub ?”
“A hot spring. There are caves below ground with rivers of heated mineral water. Part of the magic of the castle is that the springs can flow through our pipes, no matter what level our rooms are on.”