Chapter Eleven #3
Things are far worse than I thought, and I cannot understand how.
Of course it was difficult for Mother to wear the crown alone, but she has only been gone a few months.
Our realm was torn into being with a frightful amount of magic, which stabilises through the crowns.
Even if the crowns were not in balance, our realm should not have started falling apart so quickly.
“I-I did not…” I trail off.
Dante leans a little closer as we walk. Our hands bump together. I do not know if he is intentionally touching me or not, but the tightness in my chest eases much faster than it would otherwise.
“Someone’s coming,” Grant says, and we all look around. I see nothing but the flowers, but then I feel what he felt—the pulse of another fae’s magic. Not nearly as powerful as mine, and that makes it even more impressive that Grant noticed them first.
“Remember what I said,” I murmur.
They both nod and as we take a few more paces forward, a small, white hare comes into view. It is sitting on its haunches in a circle of snowdrops, and its dark eyes fix on Grant and then Dante and then me.
I reach for the fae’s magic and bite back a sigh when I realise—I know her. One of the fae from the court. If she has not been here waiting for us, I will be genuinely surprised.
“Zomo,” I say, “how nice of you to welcome me home.”
The hare’s nose twitches, and from one moment to the next, a beautiful fae stands where it was sitting. She is as tall as I am, dark skin offset by the light, airy dress she is wearing. She has not crushed the snowdrops underfoot; she steps gracefully away from them on bare feet.
“Your Highness,” she says, with the faintest inclination of her head. “We expected you sooner.”
“We?” I already know there is no one else here. I might not have sensed her before Grant did, but there is no one else in this field but us.
“The court. We had word of your return. We did not expect you to bring… companions.”
Grant’s magic is still and silent, and I can only hope Zomo will not delve too deep. She might not have as much power as I do, but she is still high fae.
“The note did not say I was to come alone.”
“The note?” Zomo wriggles her nose, then apparently discards the thought. She shows pointed teeth when she smiles, then turns her flat, dark gaze on Grant. “You. What are you?”
Grant smiles at her. It is utterly disarming and even makes her hesitate. “A selkie, of course.”
Zomo frowns, and her magic probes, but she must feel what I do—that is precisely what Grant’s magic is telling me. If he were in a room with a dozen other selkies right now and I closed my eyes, I do not believe I would be able to pick him out from among them.
“Where is your sealskin then?” Zomo’s frown is a scowl when she turns it on me. “Do not tell me you expect to sit him on the throne.”
Grant snorts, and Zomo’s expression shifts to something close to incredulous. “My husband has it,” he says.
I watch Zomo take that in. I do not know much of selkies myself, outside of the things we would consider common knowledge, and I do not know that married—or bonded—selkies would ever leave their sealskins behind at all.
She accepts it as the truth because of course she must. She believes he is fae. She believes he cannot lie.
And then she turns her attention to Dante.
He shrinks back under her gaze, and I hope it is only because she is a stranger.
Despite everything, I am still wearing my glamour.
Dante has seen me without it before, briefly, and I do not believe he was scared or disliked the way I looked, but if he does…
“You?”
Dante hesitates. “I-I…”
“You brought another human, Your Highness? When your soulbond is already here?”
I clench my jaw. Judgement is the last thing I care about from these fae, but I despise that they believe they are in a position to pass it all the same.
“I want him to see our realm,” I say. It is not a lie, even if it does not answer her question.
“You would choose your pet over your soulbond?” Zomo scoffs, and a growl builds in my chest when Dante huddles slightly away, eyes downcast.
“The pet and the soulbond are friends,” Grant says, swooping in before I can lash out, which I know I should be grateful for. He raises his eyebrows. “You know…”
Zomo’s eyes widen, and a smirk curves the corner of her mouth. “Well. I suppose the human realm is more interesting than I thought. Come, let me accompany you to the castle.”
There is no refusing her; this is what she has been sent to do. Grant hurries after her, throwing Dante an apologetic look on his way past. Dante holds himself distant as we walk again, not looking at any of us.
“I am sorry,” I murmur once I am sure Zomo and Grant are far enough ahead—and deep enough in conversation—that they will not be eavesdropping. “That should not—We should have—”
“It’s okay,” Dante says. His gaze meets mine, eyes big and dark, but I am glad for it. “I just… I wasn’t expecting it.”
“We will find her. You will be back home with her tonight.”
“Yeah,” Dante replies. The word sounds hollow. “Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.”