Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Deirdre
“My, my, you make a magnificent bride.” Gideon moved toward Liora, a scheming smile on his face. “I need to speak to the future queen in private. Royal matters.”
Liora stood straight and I nodded at her to go. “I’ll be fine.”
I think.
Was Gideon a friend or foe? I still wasn’t sure.
Once we were alone, Gideon came closer. “I know what you want and it’s the same as me. Freedom, but that will never happen with Kane as king. Once you are wed, you will have access to royal areas of the castle—ones only allowed in with the royal rune.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“I know what he did, Deirdre. Whispers have spread through court about how he murdered your husband. He never wanted a bride, nor a human one, and once he and his pixies have had their fun, no fae will care if you disappear, but I would.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“No, but I don’t need to. All I need to know is if you’ll work with me. I know how we can free my kingdom, you, and save the world.”
“That is a very big statement.”
“It is, and one I stand by, if you agree.”
Could I trust him? It was obvious he and Kane were not close, but I didn’t know Gideon.
“Kane already said I’d have my magic back after the wedding. If there will even be a wedding.”
I should be grateful the wedding was delayed, but the fact Kane wasn't even here after everything that had happened confused me. “I don’t understand why he went through so much trouble to get me and he isn’t even here.”
“I might.” Gideon’s face softened, and he brushed a gloved hand across the top of the nearby settee. “It was late, another night of long revelry, and the moon was full and for us that can be a mischievous thing.”
Hanging on his every word, I waited for him to continue.
“Things had been calm in our kingdom and I may have challenged His Majesty to fulfill the prophecy.”
“You did what?” My voice rose and he shushed me.
“Keep your voice down,” he said in a low tone. “It was more of a dare, actually.”
No. This was ridiculous. “You can’t be serious. He only came because you dared him to?”
Gideon stepped back, holding his hands up in defense. “It’s not what you think. I was joking. If you haven’t noticed, my cousin and I aren’t exactly close and I was trying to goad him, knowing he would never agree, but then the pixies.”
Shaking my head, I could not believe what I was hearing. “This is a joke. You’re lying.”
“The pixies loved the idea. Olivia thought it would be fun, but Anna and Ella truly believed in the prophecy just like many of our kind do. None of that matters now. The moment the unicorn blessed you, you became the rightful queen. Even Kane has to admit there is some truth to the prophecy.”
“But you don’t want me as queen. You’re all using me for something.”
The pity in Gideon’s gaze made me want to crawl back to the spire and never face anyone ever again. “Yes, but I know what your heart desires. Freedom, and I can help you get it, but you must trust me.”
“I need more than a promise. I’ll have my freedom once I’m queen.”
“No, the fae will never accept you. They will plot to destroy you, and Kane will do nothing to stop it.”
Gideon held out his palm, and a blurry image filled the room.
“What is that?” I asked as the image cleared.
“A memory,” he replied. “I am a moon mage. Not only can we create powerful illusions, but some of us, like me, can recall memories.”
Kane sat at the head of the table, his court surrounding him.
“If she does become queen? What will happen to your decree?” The Master of Coin sat near Kane, pouring wine as he spoke. “The humans will expect an alliance.”
“Never!” Olivia shouted, landing on the table, tiny hands on her hips.
Kane smirked, trailing a shadow across the rim of the goblet he held. “My decree will not change. We will never align with the humans, and once I control their darling child of prophecy, they will do as I say.”
A knock came to the door, and Gideon stepped back, extinguishing the image. He smiled as if we had been having a very cordial conversation.
I stared at the empty space where Kane’s image had been.
Was that before the grove? Or after?
Was that moment of kindness he showed all a farce? Was I a pawn in some master strategy to control all humans?
How could I know if that was an actual memory or an illusion?
The door opened and this time the redheaded pixie flew in. “Oh, you look beautiful!”
The smile I gave felt hollow, practiced, something I would have to feign for the rest of today.
No matter how much I wanted to run, I wouldn’t. Kane might have wanted to control me, but I refused to let him.
I would take the power back, even if I wasn’t sure how.
The pixie with the lighter brown hair trailed after her. Their normally short dresses had been replaced with flowing gowns, the redheaded pixie in a ruby dress and the brown one in a sunflower-yellow one.
Gideon gave me a slight bow before slipping out of the room.
“We haven't been properly introduced,” the redheaded pixie said. “I'm Anna and this is my sister, Ella.”
The pixies hadn't come to see me again since that first initial day and I had wondered if Kane had forbidden it.
“How are you feeling?” Anna asked as she fluttered close. The two winged beauties flew around me, examining my hair and dress.
“Where's Kane?” They didn't correct me for calling him by his name and not adding “Your Majesty” or any other flourishing title.
The two pixies looked at each other and I wondered if either of them would tell me the truth.
“Has he changed his mind? Am I free to go?”
“No,” Anna said. “But don't be frightened.”
She flew very close to me. “You're going to be queen and you'll be wonderful. We've come to bring you out.”
“But I thought he…”
“He's returned.” Ella flew near the bottom of my dress and lifted the train with her tiny hands. How was she able to hold all that material and still fly?
Liora stood in the doorway, a proud smile on her face.
Anna helped her sister carry my train and all four of us left the castle.
The air was balmy, the sky splattered with stars. I followed Liora out through the eastern side of the castle down a stony path through the eastern gardens that dripped with pink and purple hyacinth.
Rustling echoed around me as creatures both seen and unseen came out of the shadows. Sometimes it was just a pair of eyes, others tall spindly-looking creatures that reminded me too much of the bogey in the pond.
I didn't know what to expect at a fae wedding. Would there be a priest guiding us on how to commit ourselves for the rest of our lives? Would we have to dance together? Would I be the only human in attendance?
Gideon’s words haunted me. I was a game to them. Liora was the only one who truly cared, or at least she pretended very well, too. How could I ignore what I learned?
Freedom.
That single word gave me the strength to hold my head high and keep walking.
Candlelight highlighted an archway leading into a massive white-domed gazebo.
My breath caught.
This was the moonlit gazebo I’d read about in the tomes.
The stone floor spiraled into a labyrinth. Massive candelabras and firelit braziers threw dancing shadows across the surrounding fae. Moonlight beamed through the open center of the dome, illuminating the runes etched into the pillars that pulsed an otherworldly blue.
I’d studied the passage under the illustration so many times that I’d memorized the words: Under the moonlight, where magic and life dance, two will be one, an infusion of power, a destiny of souls, a tethering to break the realm.
Be seen as you are, truth or lie, and the moon will bless you accordingly.
I’d dreamed of this place, and now that I was here, my stomach churned.
Right place.
Wrong fae.
The immortal fae king I had fantasized about had turned out to be a broken dream.
Needing to settle my anxious thoughts, I focused on the court, who had dressed for revelry in fine, dazzling colors.
Gitz, dressed in a navy-blue doublet with gold buttons, held a rope tied to Boots. Just seeing my donkey filled me with a sense of ease, and a bit of mirth—the goblin butler scrunched his nose at Boots as if accompanying a donkey was completely beneath him.
I spotted Gideon surrounded by his sisters. He nodded at me as I passed.
A strange-looking fae stood under the arch, tall and hunched, skin the color of brown with a hooked nose resembling more of a beak, wearing a strange vine-like headdress covered in flowers. White hair hung past the creature’s pointed ears. It wore a green robe covered in white stitching.
Kane stood in the front, his back facing me as if he had no desire to see who he was marrying. He was fully clothed, dressed in a similar glittering silvery fabric; the sleeves hung just past his wrists. His dark-black hair was down, the braids I was used to seeing completely undone.
I stood beside him, my spine straight, my gaze fixed ahead. In this moment, I would not show fear. No matter how much a scream wanted to claw up my throat and choke me.
“Face one another,” the old fae said, holding up a bony finger.
I faced Kane, keeping my head down, the veil giving me some sort of security. He pulled a key ring out of his pocket and nodded at the pixies, who released my train and moved to grab the sides of my veil.
The pixies lifted the veil that covered both my front and back of my head just enough to reveal the collar, keeping my face hidden.
He reached around my neck and inserted the key. There was a slight pressure against my neck and then the unmistakable clicking of a lock. Power surged through me and it gave me a comfort that could not be described with any words. A familiar blanket wrapping me in its warm embrace.
The pixies dropped the veil, my magic giving me a slight reprieve.
Kane moved closer to my face. “Don’t do anything foolish.”