The Shadowed Path

7. Reine

7

Reine

Although my anger at Ellerin simmered under the surface, I had no choice but to furl my wings and follow him through the long, brick alley and the maze of streets that had led us to the "asylum." I shook my head. The word had quickly lost its meaning in the Earth realm, where such places of refuge had turned into their own prisons and, for some, another form of slavery. At least now I knew what had happened to Olred. My mother's explanation had never sat right with me. Or was my mind trying to cast its own obfuscation spell, one woven of false memory that would buffer me against self-recrimination? I should have questioned, but I had only been a child accustomed to listening to and obeying—and believing—the adults around me.

We emerged from the warren of narrow lanes to the boulevard that led through the center of Cruaidh. Perhaps our visit to the asylum had put me in a Victorian mood to notice the Gothic architecture, or perhaps the dark Fae queen, Lilith, had a thing for it. Ellerin led me to a teahouse, where lettering on the sign outside read, "The Purple Karma."

My grumpiness emerged in a muttered question. "What does that even mean?"

Ellerin, apparently unfazed by my mood, chuckled. "You'll see."

We followed a young male Fae dressed as a human goth through a courtyard and into the building itself, a narrow blood-red brick structure with painted cream-colored windows, the sills of which had been textured to look like the paint had been applied, partially scraped off, and applied again. Black petunias waved at us from Fae iron window-boxes. By the time we reached our table in an alcove off the main dining room half-hidden by thick—what else?—velvet curtains, I found myself hiding my laughter and delight. Whereas I'd seen plenty of humans pretending to be Fae and imitating what they thought we were and how we decorate, this was the first time I'd seen Fae interpret human culture.

"Interesting choice of period." I opened the menu booklet, but the pages showed nothing. "Wait, mine is blank."

"'Tis the concept, fair maiden." Another goth Fae, this one in a tuxedo with a half-mask over one side of his face, flicked the curtains back and snapped his fingers. The dark purple wax candles in the seven-pointed candelabra in the center of the table lighted.

"A restaurant where we can't eat?" I became aware of the gnawing in my stomach that the apple I'd consumed earlier had only delayed, not satisfied.

"No, of course not. The chef will fix the meal he feels you deserve." He whisked the not-menus away, and Ellerin sat back against the black faux-leather banquette with a grin.

"You're enjoying this way too much. What in the world is this? Since when do Fae have restaurants with kooky concepts? Hades, since when do Fae have restaurants?"

"Since they've been going back and forth to the Earth realm more often. They're curious and interested and tired of hiding."

"But if the humans were to find out about us, what we can do…" I dared not speak aloud the fears that had been drilled into me since I could understand them.

"They're going to learn eventually."

The curtains parted to reveal the masked Fae with a tray, upon which sat two drinks in tall glasses. He grinned and set down one that was ruby-red and fizzy in front of me. Ellerin got what looked like a glass of iced tea.

I sniffed mine, and the bubbles tickled my nose. "What is it?"

"A concoction our mixologist calls Vampire's Kiss." He winked and disappeared before I could ask… What? How could they know I'd allowed a vampire to feed from me? No, I wouldn't give away that kind of information.

I arched an eyebrow at Ellerin.

"Sometimes secrets aren't so secret, Reine."

I sipped the drink through the straw. It had just the right mix of sweet, sour, and fizz. And definitely the bite of something intoxicating. I placed it on the table far enough away that I'd have to make an effort to reach for it.

"What did you get?"

He held up his. "I believe it's called Wanderer's Punch."

The server set a trio of plates on the table. "Right you are, Wanderer. And these are Traveler's Tapas. Roast beef with Roquefort on toast with balsamic-roasted Vidalia onions, which Chef refers to as a Gargoyle Slider." He paused for us to laugh. Ellerin did. I managed a faint smile, but I couldn't do more around the stab in my heart. And knowing that my pain could only be a faint echo of what I knew I’d put Lawrence through made my cheeks redden.

"Ahem." The server didn't look nearly as jovial now. "That's a Broken Heart Salad, or endive with beet, goat cheese, and sherry vinaigrette. It tastes bittersweet and a little funky." Now he frowned directly at me. "And the third is a Royal Honey Trap, or Brie baked in phyllo with honey, thyme, lavender, and some sort of fruit. You'll have to guess what got trapped this evening."

After he left, I pressed my hands between my knees to make them stop trembling. "Purple Karma, indeed. Why do people, er, Fae come here?" I felt like I'd gotten a lecture along with my food. Who was the chef?

"Some see it as a sort of confession, where they can get absolution for their mistakes. Others bring their partners hoping that something will be revealed." Ellerin picked up one of the Gargoyle Sliders and took a bite. "Regret never tasted so good. You should have some."

My stomach flipped at the thought of eating, but I picked up the other one and took a bite. Ellerin was right—sharpness, smoothness, and a sweet crunch took some of the edge off my shame. I guessed that was part of the magic of the place. The other dishes proved to be equally as delicious, if guilt-inducing. Good gods, what would dessert be? I'd never been one to turn down sweets, but I might have to make an exception here.

As soon as we were finished and our drinks refilled, Pomegranate Punch for me and Traveler's Tea for Ellerin, the next course came out. The plate the server set in front of me had a puff pastry filled with a creamy chicken-mushroom combination. It smelled heavenly, but I frowned at the young goth Fae.

"Chicken a la Reine? Really? That's a bit on the nose, don't you think?"

He shrugged, but the corner of his mouth twitched as he set down a steak and crisped vegetables in front of Ellerin. "I only bring the food, lady. This is Unsettled Venison with Toasted Roots."

This time it was Ellerin's turn to raise an eyebrow at the server's back.

Relief that I wasn't the only target made me giggle—goodness, what was in those drinks? "Toasted roots, huh? I guess the chef couldn't come up with anything else that referenced burned bridges." Then the recollection of our time in the asylum sent a shiver through me. "Is that what Olred meant?"

He cut and stuck a piece of venison in his mouth instead of answering me, so I turned to my food as well. Even if the dish called me cowardly, the chicken and mushrooms had been cooked perfectly, and the salty, crispy pastry balanced the creamy sauce. I could see why Fae came here. While we technically couldn't lie to others, we did very well with deceiving ourselves. If we were going to look in the figurative mirror and uncover uncomfortable truths about ourselves, we might as well have a good meal while doing it. That still didn't explain why Ellerin had chosen this place for us, so I asked him.

"Because I need you to see who you truly are, what you've become, for your progress on your journey."

"How so?" Perhaps I should have been offended or concerned, but the food and cocktails had settled into my stomach and radiated through my body in a happy, full glow.

"You're not the same Fae you were when you left, and your realm needs you."

I snorted, and then cringed away from the curious looks the sound had brought from other diners. When they returned to their food—and perhaps their own troubles—I said, "Really, Ellerin, you're hilarious with the fantasy movie talk, but I'm tired. It's been a hellish day, and you need to be straight with me."

"I'm trying to. You asked why we visited the asylum. That was the condition of the gatekeeper letting us into the city, to show you that your memories about Faerie aren't accurate, and indeed, what you'd been taught never had been true."

"Great." I put my face in my hands. "I need chocolate to deal with this. Go ahead and tell whatshisname to bring the Bitter Memories Mousse out."

"How did you know?" The server put a beautiful cut glass dish that turned the candlelight into rainbows along its crystalline sides. Inside, strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla mousse swirled under a small mountain of whipped cream, topped with chocolate shavings. He also placed a small silver pot on the table, from which came a wonderful, earthy aroma.

"What's that?" I asked.

He gave me a strange look. "Coffee, of course."

"No clever name?"

He poured some in each of our cups and winked. "We had a small revolt over that. Coffee, being the elixir that fuels us all, did not deserve to be made light of."

"That makes sense."

Ellerin didn't have dessert. Instead, he poured a clear, amber liquid into his coffee before fixing it. "I told them you're the one with the sweet tooth."

"Thanks." The flavor and texture of the mousse had the same satisfying and magical characteristics of the rest of the meal, and the coffee woke my brain up from the fog that had tried to settle over it. "So why is it important for my memories to have been ruined?"

"Because you're the one the rest of the Fae have pinned their hopes on."

"To do what? I'm just trying to be let in, not rule the realm." I brandished my spoon like a scepter and giggled. Okay, maybe the alcohol hadn't worked out of my system yet.

He rubbed his right hand over his face, and for the first time, he looked old and tired. "That was another reason I brought you here. In the past century, the human realm has exploded with technology. At first, the Fae ignored it, thinking the humans would destroy themselves with nuclear bombs."

"I did, too." I had to put the spoon down in spite of only being half-finished with my dessert at the recollection of the panic I'd felt any time the human governments seemed to be moving in that direction.

"That must have been terrifying."

Something small in my chest, a piece of the wall I tended to put up between my heart and others, loosened at his sympathetic remark. "While other supernatural creatures could retreat to other realms or their prepared bunkers, I knew Rhys and I would be left out to fend for ourselves, and I had no idea what would happen to our powers. Or if we'd be captured and exploited in our weakened state."

"I'm sorry." He sounded like he meant it, too.

"It's not your fault."

But he didn't argue. "Anyway, once technology got to be more useful than destructive—and yes, I know that point could be argued—Fae took more notice. It's not like they're completely isolated here. We still get the occasional human visitor who comes through a circle or portal that hasn't been closed properly. And once a young Fae got to play with a smartphone…"

"I can only imagine. We can't resist addictive things." I resumed the consumption of my dessert. Sugar had always been my weakness. Thank goodness for high Fae metabolisms.

"And as it turns out, Fae are very good at playing Angry Birds. But the queens are stuck in the old days and have been moving from tradition to tyranny."

I looked up. "Watch what you're saying. That's treason."

"We're safe here, at least to a point. You'd be surprised how many Fae feel this way."

"And my mother?" I had to ask.

"She's been struggling to maintain a balance, as has Princess Desdemona here in the dark Fae lands."

"Did she ever have a daughter?" I had wondered since I left if I had a counterpart. Faerie liked its symmetry, and it had been highly unusual for the dark Fae crown princess to have only produced sons until my exile.

"Yes, but she's been missing for many years."

"Interesting… But you still haven't gotten to what you want me to do."

"That's going to require more time."

"What do you— Oh!"

I looked to where Ellerin's gaze had tracked and saw someone in the uniform of the hotel we were staying at whispering to the host, who inclined his head toward us. The young male Fae, whom I recognized from the front desk, came over to us, followed by our server.

The hotel Fae bowed. "I'm sorry to interrupt your dinner, Wanderer, Princess, but there's a problem with the human girl you brought with you. Please come with me."

Our server waved his hand, and the rest of my dessert boxed itself up. "Here you go. Wanderer, the bill is on your tab."

Before I could ask why Ellerin had a tab at the place, we rushed into the purple Faerie twilight.