The Shadowed Path

20. Reine

20

Reine

Sir Raleigh brought us off the path, and I made notice of how the intersection of branch and path felt so that I would be able to find it back if needed. I'm not sure what happened at the fiery gate, only that something had shifted within me, and I had access to more Fae power than I ever had previously.

Rhys might have noticed the differences well. He kept looking at me strangely, and finally I asked, "What? Do I have something on my face?"

He shook his head. "No, what you said back there… I'm not sure what to make of it. It sounded like you were saying a spell, but it's not one I'm familiar with."

I lowered my voice, hoping Troubadour wouldn't hear me. "I don't know either. The words just seemed to come out."

Troubadour might or might not have heard me, and his words made me wonder. "I have heard legend of when a Fae queen is dying, her heir may start showing signs before the queen even knows herself."

"I'm not the heir, my mother is."

Troubadour only smiled. I sensed he knew more than he was letting on, but then, that's what we Fae did.

Sir Raleigh led us into a clearing, in which a gray-green gnome sat on a throne. A fire illuminated the center of the area, leaving the edges in shadow. The eyes of other gnomes sparkled in the reflection of the firelight, like a sea of fallen stars. I couldn't even begin to count them because my attention was immediately drawn to the two humans and gargoyle who stood to the left of the throne.

"Kestrel, John, Lawrence, I'm so glad to see you." The two humans smiled, and Lawrence looked surprised. But I had spoken the truth, I was happy to see him. Even though we had a lot of history between us, I hoped we could work something out. Even if it was only him forgiving me.

I gave the Winter Goblin King—for this is who I surmised sat on the throne—my most brilliant Fae princess smile.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Your Majesty." I felt silly curtseying while wearing pants, so I bowed, and Rhys and Troubadour did as well. When I straightened, I met the king's eyes, hoping he would return the expression, but he sat and drummed his fingers on the arm of his throne.

"You do realize your presence here could cause grave trouble for us, Princess."

"I'm afraid I have been away for quite some time, so I am not familiar with the current state of Fae politics. Is there a reason why you are now housed in the Gray Zone rather than in the lands of the dark Fae?"

I wished Ellerin were there. He would have probably given us the scoop before arriving in the court of the Winter Goblin King. Anxiety and grief unfurled in my chest. Was he okay? If he had managed to defeat the lake creature, wouldn't he have joined us by now? I suspected that he knew what had been going on in my absence, and I regretted not taking the opportunity to sit down with him and really get a good sense of the state of Faerie.

Since he wasn't there, I would have to keep my wits about me. I suspected that the humans and Lawrence hadn't ended up in the clearing by accident. That meant the Winter Goblin King had captured them, and he wanted something from me.

"I have been trying to speak with somebody from either of your courts for some time." He nodded to me, then to Rhys, then to Troubadour. "Having all three of you here is a true blessing from the goddesses. However, I was not expecting to have representatives from both courts in my humble home. Please, rest yourselves, eat, drink, and we will speak of this matter in the morning."

I knew not to accept anything from him without knowing what he would want in return. That was Fae 101. "I thank you for your generous offer, and I would not dare impose on you unless I knew what I could do for you in return."

He nodded, like he was hoping I would know how to play by the rules. "Very well, Princess. I offer you the hospitality of my people for the night in exchange for you remembering me and my petition, which I will give you in the morning, when you reach your throne."

"I feel compelled to be honest with you, Your Highness. I am not here to take the throne. I am here in order to petition for my and my brother's return."

"I am aware of your exile. However, as you said, you are not entirely aware of the situation here in Faerie. I would offer to enlighten you, but that is not my place. The cost would be too high."

I noticed he didn't specify whether the cost would be to him or to me, but I respected his caution and his consideration. "I hope you'll forgive me for asking one more question of you this evening, but I do want to make sure that our bargain encompasses hospitality for we three Fae as well as the two humans, the gargoyle, and the grimalkin."

This time he smiled, showing a full range of yellow, pointed teeth. He really did belong in the dark Fae lands, and he had definitely piqued my curiosity as to why he and his court had taken up in the Gray Zone. "Yes, Princess. You and your entire party are welcome to our hospitality." He looked at each of us, and his gaze lingered longest on Kestrel. Then he winked at me.

Heat flooded to my cheeks. I had just made a rookie mistake—letting on that I didn't actually know what Kestrel was, and he had let me off by mentioning my entire party rather than limiting it to just me and what I had specified, specifically the two humans. Did I appear weak? Hades, I was tired. I didn't resist when one of the gnomes came over carrying a lei of autumn leaves and motioned putting it around my neck. I bent over and allowed her to do so, except I found it wasn't a lei, it was a crown.

"Thank you, but in my lands, only queens can wear crowns."

She winked—the gnomes liked doing that—and bowed, and I noticed her belt with several pouches on it.

"I am many centuries older than you are," she said, her voice cracking as one would expect for someone over a millennium old. "As the humans would say, I call them as I see them."

She led me to a side of the clearing, where my companions had all taken seats on the ground, sitting cross-legged or kneeling, and other gnomes brought plates of food. For a while, we all ate, because we were so hungry.

The first one to fall asleep was Kestrel, whose eyes drooped while she leaned against her father's shoulder. He sat with his back against the tree, and soon his head dropped forward. Rhys and Troubadour followed suit, Rhys with his head on his pack, and the dark Fae Prince curled up under his cloak. I suspected he had spent many a night under the stars, although how many nights had he spent surrounded by them? The gnomes might look ugly to some, but I found their craggy faces to be beautiful, especially their dark, sparkling eyes.

"What are you thinking?" Lawrence's voice poured like warm chocolate into my ears. Had it only been a few days since we had connected on a fundamental level, and then I had broken his heart?

I dared not move lest I broke the spell and cause him to disappear, or, more likely, to turn away, his eyes and expression hardened. "Their circumstances are humble, but look at how they take care of each other. Even the king is considerate of the lowliest of his subjects."

Indeed, the Winter Goblin King smiled fondly down at a gnome child, with whom he shared a piece of bread. A relative? Who knew? Most kings—and, in my experience, queens—would foist the child off on its mother, even if it belonged to him.

"That's how things are in the Aerie, at least from what I've heard."

I turned to him, and for a moment, I searched for his human features before I remembered he was in gargoyle form. Ellerin had told me that in Faerie, at least at the asylum, we would be revealed for who we truly were. Was it not the case for him? Or was it part of the fairy curse on gargoyles?

He smiled awkwardly. "Do you find me repulsive?"

"No, I find you fascinating." I turned my head away. That was a bit more honest than I had meant to be. I had to ask, "And do you find me repulsive?"

He paused for a while, and with each second that passed, my heart sank lower toward my stomach. "I suppose that, as a doomed man, I shouldn't hold anything back."

Tears stung the corners of my eyes, and I braced myself. The memory of his last rejection still played vividly in my mind. Even if it had helped me to defeat the creature that had been trying to take me over, it still hurt. A lot. "You're not doomed. We'll figure out a way to get you through this." But the question still hung in the air between us—would he trust me to?

He didn't answer it. "Fascinating is a good word. You're strong and powerful, but you value truth and beauty, and you are very loyal to your kind."

I wanted to confront him on his non-answer, or maybe it was not the answer I wanted him to give. I didn't trust myself to say anything, though. It seemed like the more strength and power I gained, the more confusion came along with it.

Sir Raleigh came and plopped beside me, forcing me closer to Lawrence.

Lawrence peeked around me and grinned at Sir Raleigh. "It's funny how he's so cat-like."

"I know. Does he have a sense of how big he is?"

Sir Raleigh yawned, showing his intimidating set of teeth, then looked at us as if to say, “I'm right here.”

Lawrence and I exchanged a smile. Sitting there with him, our arms touching, our knees pressed together, everything feeling comfortable and familiar in spite of our weird circumstances… I shook my head to dispel the fog of desire, both physical and emotional. Even if he was willing, it wouldn't be a good idea or possible. No, I reminded myself, I wanted to stay here, and he would have to leave. In fact, his being here put him in danger, both of becoming stuck and turning to stone, and of dying outright. And of being hurt by me again. That I couldn't forget, and he knew it, too. Why else would he have pointed out how loyal I was to the Fae?

So, what did I want? The memories of our kisses, our romantic encounters edged out the rejection recollection. Would he be willing to have a Fae with benefits?

I ran my hand over the strong muscles in his forearm. "You might be a very stony earth elemental, but you're surprisingly warm."

He chuckled, and the sound rumbled through me. "Gargoyles don't get cold. We store up the warmth of the sun, even if we don't see it for most of the day."

I leaned against him, then. He put an arm around me, and we sat there in silence. I had so much I wanted to say, so much I was afraid to say. The words tangled in each other and blocked each other from coming out. A Fae princess didn't say she was sorry, and I already had once. And he had rejected me.

He gave me a quick squeeze, then moved away, leaving me cold where we had been touching. "You should get some sleep, Reine. You need to be at your best tomorrow. It sounds like you're going to have a lot of bargaining to do."

I nodded. Sir Raleigh shifted so he could curl up around, instead of against, me, and I snuggled up to him. He covered me with one of his wings, and the last thing I was aware of before I drifted into sleep was the ache in my heart and a chime in my ears like the one from the bell my grandmother had used to summon her servants—and her daughters and granddaughters—in the castle.