by K. M. Shea
“Of course.” He bowed slightly still on horseback, and his eyes lingered on Eclipse. “You know, Queen Leila, there will be one upside to next week’s ride.”
“Oh? What’s that?” I took another sip of my iced latte and almost shut my eyes in pleasure.
Chase offered me a very slight but thoroughly mischievous smile. “You’ll be riding the night mares—which most of the Court fear greatly.”
Chapter Fourteen
Leila
“I feel betrayed,” I said.
Today’s social event was a Court-wide ride held in the nature preserve in my backyard—which was fun. For the occasion, Indigo had stuffed me into a pair of white breeches, knee-high black boots, a floral pattern dress shirt that suspiciously reminded me of a teacup pattern, and a navy blue dress coat.
I didn’t mind the breeches and boots, but I very much minded the coat—which was unbearably hot in the summer sun—and the neck of the dress shirt was closed with a golden moon pin that was jabbing me in the throat.
Skye gathered up the reins of her calm, chestnut colored mare. “You were the one who insisted on wearing a helmet.”
“Because I have good self-preservation instincts!” I complained. “It’s not my fault the rest of my Court are more concerned with their aesthetic and like to thunder around on horses without proper protective headgear!”
I scowled as a few nobles cantered past.
They were wearing more traditional fae garb—tunics and flowing dresses, neither of which were very practical to ride in—and laughed as they held onto their bows and crossbows and had quivers of arrows strapped to their backs.
Skye gave the night mare I was riding—I’d chosen Solstice today—the side eye. “I’m not saying your helmet is a bad thing—just that your wardrobe had to be adjusted to match it.”
“I think it’s a smart idea to wear a helmet,” Indigo said from the back of a shaggy pony that faintly reminded me of her with its thick forelock and hair. “Since you had to choose the biggest brute of the herd to ride.”
“I trust Solstice—which I need when I’m around my Court.” I sniffed as I threaded the reins through my fingers. “And he’s excellent for intimidation purposes.”
“I won’t argue that,” Indigo muttered.
Sweat trickled down my back, and the afternoon sun beat down on me with not a cloud in sight.
“This is going to be such a fantastic afternoon,” I said. “I can just tell.”
“This is good practice for the annual hunt all the monarchs attend in the fall.” Skye peered out over the nature preserve. There were all kinds of dirt trails that wound around the lake, a few marshy spots, and an open field, while other paths dove off into the forest and a bunch of tree-lined lanes.
“I’d much rather be practicing magic,” I sighed. I hadn’t had much time to myself ever since I went to King’s Court, so I hadn’t gotten to practice my magic much more, and that made me nervous.
I wanted to practice because I wanted to dust off all those warding skills and dispel charms I’d learned because now I finally needed them! And yet here I was, riding in a coat in the heat of summer with the very people I needed protection from.
I frowned. “Considering I’m supposedly a queen, it seems like I rarely get to do what I want.”
Indigo’s pony snorted, and birds chirped and sang with enough enthusiasm to be heard over the thundering of horse hooves. “Quite so,” Indigo agreed—she also wore a helmet like me, but Skye was letting her get away with wearing a hunter green sweater with tan breeches and black boots.
Why does she wear all these sweaters in the middle of summer?
“You’ll get to choose your royal artifact in the next few weeks,” Skye said. “We just have to wait because there are preparations to be made—and an official ceremony to hold.”
“Really?” I perked up in the saddle. “I would have thought they’d make me wait until I was crowned!”
Skye shook her head. “No, you need your artifact in order to be officially crowned.”
More fae thundered past—giving us a wide berth when Solstice pawed a hoof on the grassy ground.
“Huh, well that’s something.”
The sound of high-pitched laughter rounded a bend in one of the tree-lined trails, then Indigo screamed.
I turned just in time to see an arrow pierce the ground so close to Indigo’s pony that it scraped the poor thing’s leg.
Her pony shied, and Indigo nearly slid off its back. It pranced a few steps, its nostrils quivering as she tried to calm it.
The laughter grew louder still, and I turned Solstice in time to see Lady Chrysanthe lower her crossbow.
Her minions surrounding her giggled, their gauzy dresses floating around them as their beautiful, delicate horses showily tossed their heads.
“Indigo, are you hurt?” I asked.
Indigo hopped off her pony and inspected his leg. “I’m fine,” she said in a voice that was shaky with fear. “I don’t think my pony is hurt too badly, but I should take him back.”
Using my legs, I swiveled Solstice around to face the snake-ish fae ladies. “Skye,” I said in a lowered voice.
“Yes, Queen Leila?”
“Send for Chase—tell him Indigo needs an escort back to the stables.” I didn’t take my eyes off Lady Chrysanthe as she leaned over the side of her horse to say something to Lord Myron.
Meandering behind them rode Lady Demetria, another elderly fae lady, and two lords. They were smirking openly, as if Indigo’s fright was amusing to them.
“Yes, Queen Leila.” Skye slipped off her horse and made a call on her cellphone, speaking in a quiet murmur.
I glanced down at Solstice.
Just how much can I trust him?
Solstice chewed angrily on his bridle bit, then curved his head around so I could see the eerie yellow of his eyes.
I felt a spark of my fae magic, and I knew from deep in my blood that he’d stand as long as I asked him.
I nodded to him, and he swung his massive head back around to the front.
“Lady Chrysanthe,” I called out to her in the strongest voice I could muster. “You shot at my companion.”
“I would apologize, except she’s just so dowdy looking, one could mistake her for an animal.” Lady Chrysanthe smirked as she tossed the braid of her hair—today she’d tinted it a light purple that matched her loose, sleeveless dress—over her shoulder. “You can hardly blame me.” She adjusted the white chrysanthemum tied around the tail of her braid and glanced at Indigo, her unearthly beauty making her almost ugly combined with her words.
I clenched my jaw. “You frightened her and hurt her mount.”
Lady Chrysanthe picked at the purple flower chain that served as the belt to her dress. “She’s not injured, and the pony can walk just fine. But wasn’t it deliciously hilarious?” she asked her groupies.
Yep. Now is a good time to reveal my ace in the hole—and teach them to never harm my people again.
I dropped my reins and started unbuttoning my coat.
They all twittered in laughter.
“She nearly fell off her mount—if it could be called that,” Lord Myron laughed. He’d gone full-blown Jane Austen fashion for the day with high waisted white breeches, a blue hunting jacket, and a black top hat that almost covered the low ponytail he’d pulled his long hair back into.
“You must forgive these youngsters, Queen Leila.” Lady Demetria wore an enormous bonnet-like hat that was covered in flowers and bobbed with every word she spoke. “They get restless in their excitement—such is the spirit of the hunt.”
“Indeed,” Lady Demetria’s female companion said.
“Hear, hear,” one of the lords said.
I pulled my pistol from my shoulder holster. I already had a magazine in it, but the safety was on and the chamber was empty.
My movements were hidden by Solstice’s massive neck as I very carefully pointed the gun over his side, aiming it at the ground.
Jus
t as Josh Drake had endlessly drilled me in the week before I came to the mansion, I calmly pulled back on the top of the handgun, wracking it and filling the chamber with a bullet.
I switched off the safety and looked up just as the fae ladies stopped the worst of their laughter.
Lady Chrysanthe had stupidly drawn near enough that Solstice might have been able to kick her mount if he really tried.
That’s why I didn’t waver as I raised my gun and shot at Lady Chrysanthe.
I’d purposely aimed to miss her, but the bullet may have passed a wee bit closer to her than I planned—so close, in fact, that it stirred the fabric of her dress on her shoulder.
Lady Chrysanthe screamed.
Like, hysterically.
I’m pretty sure they heard her screams all the way back in the apartment buildings near the neighborhood entrance.
Her horse understandably freaked. It reared, and her groupies and minions scattered as they also struggled to control their horses.
In fact, all the horses in the area—except Solstice and Indigo’s pony—spooked.
“Lady Chrysanthe,” I shouted over her screams and the worried neighs of the horses. “I would advise you in the future not to target one of my people. You’ll find it will have a poor effect on your health.”
“Are you insane? She’s just a companion!” Lady Chrysanthe screamed. Her eye makeup was just a tiny bit smeared, creating a crack in the image of her perfection.
I batted my eyelashes. “What do you mean? It was just a mistake—and your reaction was…how would you say it? Deliciously hilarious.” I held her gaze, letting my fury escape so my voice grew dark with an unspoken promise.
Solstice did his part to add to the image. He snorted, and puffs of smoke drifted from his nostrils before he broke off in that piercing cry that could make your blood freeze in your veins.
Lady Chrysanthe went quiet, but she mashed her lips together so tightly they were white with strain.
“Never harm one of my people,” I repeated—I wanted to make sure I drove the point home as I raised my gun again. “Understood?”
Lady Chrysanthe scoffed, but I saw the fear in her eyes.
She’d keep bullying me, but at least she had learned her lesson.
“Queen Leila!” Lady Demetria’s cheeks shook like an angry bulldog’s, and her hat had come off in the scuffle. “That was extremely inappropriate!”
“You shot at a noble—with a gun!” Lord Myron’s face was tight with anger as his horse wildly rolled its eyes and pranced—frightened, this time, by Solstice.
“Yes.” I held up my gun, looking at it with mock contemplation—I’d already switched the safety back on, but they didn’t have to know that. “I decided it would be smart to bring a gun to a bow and arrow fight.” I smiled widely at him. “Call it a side effect of my fae blood, but I’ve never been overly fond of fair fights.”
“Y-you!” Lady Demetria was too angry to talk.
The lords and ladies bristled with anger, but as I watched them with half lidded eyes, they could do nothing more than turn their horses in tight circles and shout at me.
I had won this round—they couldn’t outright hurt me, after all. I’m sure that’s why Chrysanthe targeted Indigo.
I’d pay the price eventually. They just needed time to plan ahead and get around the magic that kept them from harming me by making it seem accidental.
But it was worth it. I wasn’t going to let anyone hurt my people.
“Queen Leila!”
I twisted around in the saddle just as Chase and two guards—riding in a golf cart that the werewolf was flooring—and, surprisingly, Lord Linus riding a black horse, came careening down one of the trails.
Chase skidded the golf cart to a stop, spraying dirt and making the horses spook all over again. “I got Skye’s texts, but we heard a shot.” His yellow eyes flicked from the nobles to me, and he narrowed in on the gun in my hands.
“What kind of crazy person is wielding a gun out here?” Lord Linus demanded, his eyes flashing.
“That would be me.” I secured my gun in my shoulder holster.
“Oh.” Lord Linus relaxed, losing the slight edge I’d seen briefly in the set of his shoulders. “In that case—good shot!” He gave me a loose smile and a thumbs up.
“Lord Linus—how could you encourage her?” Lady Demetria shrieked.
“She is my daughter and, importantly, the queen,” Lord Linus said. “And some debts are too big to get rid of on one’s own will…”
I rolled my eyes with disgust, then turned around. Indigo and Skye were both staring at me, their eyes wide and faces smooth with shock.
“What?” I asked.
“You just shot at Lady Chrysanthe,” Indigo said.
“Yeah,” I said. “I was there, you know.”
“But…you—” She shook her head, and her cat eye glasses skidded down her slightly upturned nose.
I shifted back to Chase—who was sending out a text message. Probably to his people to update them on the gunshot. “Chase, can you help Indigo and her pony get back to the stables? The pony was injured in an accident.”
“Yes, Queen Leila.” Chase gave me a bow before he took over, packing Indigo in the golf cart and tying the pony to a complaining Lord Linus. With his brisk efficiency, he managed to get Lord Linus moving, and he followed behind with the golf cart.
By this time, Lady Chrysanthe had moved on with her people, so Skye and I were alone.
“Shall we get moving?” I asked.
Looking a little windblown—and maybe even a little ill—Skye nodded. “Yes, Queen Leila.”
I pointed Solstice in the direction I thought we’d be least likely to meet someone, and nudged him forward.
“Where did you learn to shoot like that?” Skye asked.
“The Drakes.”
She briefly held her stomach, but she said nothing more as she reined her reluctant horse closer, and we walked off.
I uncomfortably shifted in the saddle. “Remind me to give you, Chase, and Indigo an increase in your salary,” I said.
Skye rubbed her stomach one last time, then straightened up. “Whatever for?”
“Call it hazard pay,” I said.
Skye knitted her eyebrows together and still managed to look elegant and professional in her confusion. “We were aware of the risk when we accepted our positions.”
I answered with a shrug.
I liked Skye and Indigo, but I didn’t want to spell out my actions to her.
With fae it’s important to make sure you aren’t indebted—you never want to owe them a favor, because it can get pricy fast.
Increasing their pay was the easiest way I had to make sure we were balanced—but I couldn’t even tell them that because there was a possibility they might be able to use that knowledge to claim I owed them somehow.
I hate the way I have to second guess everyone just to survive in this cesspool. Fae culture is the worst.
Chapter Fifteen
Rigel
“She shot at Lady Chrysanthe! With a gun!” Dion pulled on his hair, then draped himself over his horse’s neck to complete his dramatics. “The Paragon wants me to marry the equivalent of a wild animal.”
I loosened my reins—since Dion seemed mostly interested in dramatics at the moment, there was no point in riding off. He was annoyingly persistent enough that he’d just ride after me, wailing at the top of his lungs.
“Are you opposed to the Paragon’s plan?” I asked.
Dion peeled himself off his horse. “Not really. She doesn’t seem unpleasant—and I’d be marrying her for the sake of securing the Night Court’s future. It’s just when she does stuff like shooting at people, I don’t know that I can handle it.”
“I suspect you should be more worried about surviving our Court than your potential wife turning on you,” I said.
“Probably. It’s just…she’s wild.” Dion sighed, then peered in my direction. “What do you think of her?”
I thought for a moment of our previous meetings.
In the never-ending struggle we fae engaged in for power, Queen Leila upset the status quo by ignoring traditions, speaking bluntly, and reacting openly rather than veiling her actions like a real fae would.
She was sending ripples through the whole game—something I hadn’t seen before, and something I wasn’t sure was good.
The fae’s thirst for power was unavoidable. Given her conduct, Queen Leila would never win it. The question was, how many would she take down with her when she fell?
“She’s unpredictable,” I finally said. “Which can make her dangerous.”
“That is the understatement of the century.” Dion smoothed his hair, already returning to his façade of handsome, smiling courtier. “I’ll just have to teach her. She seems reasonable.”
“On the one occasion you spoke to her.”
“What, and you’ve seen her so many more times than me?” Dion shot me a look.
I kept my silence—Dion didn’t know I’d tried my hand at killing our mad queen before I knew she was bound to the Court. And if Queen Leila wasn’t going to reveal that, I saw no reason to tip the game of power one way or another.
Of course, I’d seen her several additional times since then, but then I’d have to explain why she had the tendency to hiss at me like a cat.
“Although, now that I think about it, she did say when we met at the party that it was nice to finally be introduced. What do you think she meant by that?” Dion, in his irritating wit, raised both of his eyebrows at me, waiting for a response.
I heard a voice around a bend in the trail, and I held up a hand to silence my longtime friend.
“—good neighbors—the best, really. I miss Hazel, she’s hilarious, and—oh.” Queen Leila and her steward rounded the corner, stopping when they saw me.
The steward bowed graciously. “Lord Dion, Lord Rigel, good afternoon.”
Queen Leila, perched on top of the biggest night mare I’d seen—who looked like he was slashed through with glowing lines of red dotting his body—seemed to be warring between a look of politeness and open distaste.
