“It’s time.” Nix urged me with a hand on my back toward the arched doors.
I licked dry lips, rolled my shoulders and nodded. Neve and another guard opened the doors. Nix walked to my right, and a guard with short red hair stayed at my left. Two more came behind me.
The light in the Court hit me first. The alabaster stone of the towering walls lit up like the sun shining on a sparkling crust of snow. White pillars lined the distant walls, green ivy snaked up the length of them and crawled along the glass ceiling in places.
Blinking, I strode into the room, the echoes of my footsteps subdued by the rubber soles of my sneakers. The silence when we entered grew into hushed conversations, a few gasps and even one “who let this riff raff into our Court?” I noted that one—a tall stick of a woman wearing an ice blue satin pantsuit. She stood with her hands on her miniscule hips. She wore trouble like a designer perfume. I’d have to keep my eye on her.
Similar to the Unseelie Court, miniature daises were stacked in a bowl shape around me, and a large raised dais sat at the front with a gold and jewel-encrusted chair. I shook my head at the absurdity of such a ridiculous throne. Behind it, a brilliant stained glass scene stretched the entire length of the wall, amber and cream glass creating the sky and white glass representing the shifters of Dun Bray. A fae who looked like my mother floated in the sky, her arms spread like an angel watching over her people. Her people. They will always be her people. The thoughts snuck in and formed a lump in my throat. They’ll listen to me, or I’ll make them listen. Somehow I have to make this happen.
When I arrived at the front, I hopped up on the dais and sat with my legs dangling off the edge of it. The shocked faces of the fae in the Court stared at me. One look at Nix, and he, along with the rest of the guards, stood in front of the dais on either side of me.
“Please sit down,” I shouted. It echoed into the room much louder than I had imagined. Everyone jumped.
Neve nudged my leg with her elbow. It took me a second to find Neasa staring at us from the far end of the platform. Her mouth gaped open, her hands half extended as if wishing she could throw a curtain down to conceal us from view. I waved at her.
“The Sidhe of the Court do not sit until the queen has been seated,” the stick woman said. “Where is she? We all have lives you know.”
A terrible grin arranged my lips as I climbed to my feet on top of the dais. “My name is Lila Gray. I told you to sit down, so sit down before your ass finds a chair the hard way.” My good will had lasted only thirty seconds—a new record for me.
Gasps and pitiful cries rippled through the crowd of fussily dressed fae. A guy wearing an honest-to-goodness silver sequined jacket and white pants spoke over the noise. “You can’t be the queen’s child, and no commoner would dare speak to Callandra that way. She is more than a thousand years old, a member of this Court for centuries.”
“What’s your name?” I gave him a hard stare.
“Richard.”
“I don’t care who she is, nor do I have time to coddle a bunch of self absorbed fae. We’re at war in case you missed it. It’s going to take all of us to fight, so no more hiding, for any of you.”
They all shouted obscenities and threw fists in my direction. All with their hair perfectly styled, clothes right off some designer’s shelf—one of the few that remained. Their necks and fingers glittered with enough diamonds I needed sunglasses. I wondered where they’d found all of it. Fae glamour, maybe?
“Queen Arianne was supposed to protect us,” one of them shouted.
“She abandoned us,” said another.
“She left us defenseless,” someone from the top shouted.
“If we hadn’t saved ourselves, nobody else would have.” It went on and on.
I stood there, anger boiling through my guts. Nix must have noticed because he jumped up on the platform and put a controlling hand on my shoulder.
“You look like you just crawled out of the woods, Lila Gray,” Callandra in the blue silk shouted. “I can’t believe you are Arianne’s daughter. Did she teach you nothing of being a lady of the Court?” She turned up her nose. “You are not fit to be queen.”
The truth in her words sent me over the edge.
Gallagher appeared from somewhere on my left. He gazed up at me with an expression I couldn’t read. I assumed it was disappointment.
The booming voices and the weight of my promises to my mother sent me sprinting from the room. I didn’t stop running until I made it to the garden in the heart of the city, sucking wind.
I dropped to my knees, stared into the sky. “I can’t do this! I’ll never be you. I don’t know what to do!”
Tears rained onto my cheeks. “Why didn’t you tell me what I was and teach me how to be you if that’s what you wanted of me?” As I gazed into the spirits of my mother’s people, the answer came like a shock through my body. My voice fell to a whisper. “You didn’t want me to be like you.” I stared into my past, learning to survive through hell, its purpose becoming clearer. “You needed a warrior who could stand up to Parthalan, who wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. If I’d grown up here, I’d be like them.”
A moment later, Nix knelt in front of me. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the sky to meet his gaze.
“That’s right. You’re Lila Gray, a survivor, exactly what this nation needs now, even if they don’t realize it. Not someone to indulge their whims or listen to their nonsense and lead them by the hand to see reason. They need everything you have become, everything that your mother intended you to be. Queen Arianne couldn’t have won this fight, but you can.”
I lowered my focus to him. “So what do I do about them? You know they can’t help me with Parthalan. Taking those fae into battle would be like leading a bunch of sparkly sheep into the wolf’s den and ringing the fucking dinner bell.”
He nodded. His chin quivered as if fighting a grin. “I know. They can’t help you defeat Parthalan, but they can help what’s going on outside that portal and defend this city. Most have useful cumhachts. Put them to work to repair the damage he’s done to the humans. Stop them from destroying themselves until we can find a way to rebuild their world. Then you and I will figure out what to do about the Unseelie king. Spell out what you expect of them, and then demand it.” He took my hands in his, settling determined eyes on me. “Use force if necessary.”
My brow crinkled as I extended that thought. “What do you mean by force? I can’t force my will on more than a thousand fae.” Can I?
“You don’t have to. Your reputation as a hard case preceded you.” He chuckled and averted his eyes for a moment. “Though now that I’ve met you, I see it was greatly understated.”
I mocked a laugh. “Yeah, you’re really funny.”
“Just make a threat you’re willing to enforce.” Nix looked skyward. A heartbreaking smile grew on his lips. “Look.”
The swirling gold from the sky descended on us, bathing us in light and warmth. Their presence surrounded me: my mother, Milo, my sisters, Nan. Their essence filled me with echoes of laughter before retreating back to their resting place.
I inhaled the sweet fragrance of the garden and stared in awe. A tremendous weight lifted from my soul. My mother was happy. Her joy passed through my body—a beacon of sunlight through an endless night. She held no regret, no shame, nothing but certainty that I would find my own way. I took a deep, shuddering breath and beamed. I kissed my fingertips and raised them to what remained of a life I’d forgotten, to the contented spirits of my family.
Nix was right. I had to ensure the safety of the city and its people, but I didn’t want to force them all to do it. That would solve nothing in the long run. Maybe I could find a compromise, meet my mother’s methods half way.
My task still lay before me like the foothills of an impassable mountain, but I could finally see the path. I only needed to start walking.
I placed my hand on Nix’s arm, in need of something to ground me again. “Wha
t happens if a fae never returns to the faerie mounds?”
“If they don’t return at least every few decades, their Light will fade, and they’ll age the way normal mortals do.”
Perfect. “How do the portals work? I know Parthalan can control who comes and goes from the Black City.”
“The reigning king or queen can interact with the portal and give it commands.” His eyebrow lifted. “What are you up to, Lila?”
“Just curious. Now shut up, I need to get back to the Court.”
I dashed back to the white tower and sprinted up the steps with Nix on my heels. When we arrived in the main hall, Gallagher stood outside the doors of the Court. Voices still crashed on the other side. A closer look at my royal aid revealed a clenched jaw and deep furrows in his brow.
I stopped in front of him, my arms limp at my sides. “What now?”
Gallagher sighed. “I’ve received another message.”
I held my hand up to stop him from speaking, unwilling to let my wounds go any deeper. “Parthalan has Garret and Liam.”
He nodded.
Liam had blocked me from sensing him, but their capture was inevitable. I had no time to dwell on my aching heart. My decision had already been made, and none of them would approve.
Least of all, Nix.
26
I opened the well of energy, spilling delicious heat through my body.
Nix grabbed my arm. “What are you doing? When I said force, I didn’t mean for you to destroy the Court to make your point.”
A ghost of a smile curled my lips. “What do you feel?” I placed a hand against his cheek, urged him to stand closer to me. “Do you feel anger in me now? Destruction? Do I feel out of control?”
He sighed, leaned into my touch and cupped his hand over mine. Gallagher stepped in behind him, his eyes narrowed with worry.
“I feel purpose in that power.” Nix’s voice sounded breathy. “It’s incredible, like being filled with the rays of the sun.”
Some of the tension went out of Gallagher’s shoulders, and he offered an approving smile.
I placed a kiss on Nix’s forehead. “You wanted me to be queen, so I’ll be queen. Trust me now.” Hold on, Liam. I’m coming. Please be okay.
Nix gasped and stumbled back when I released him. A drunken smile quirked on his lips. “They won’t know what hit them.”
“That’s sort of the point.”
A few of the guards opened the doors to the Court. Raging voices smashed into me. Gallagher and Nix followed me as I entered. My hair whipped out behind me on current of energy.
I raised my hands to the sides, shoving my Light out through my fingertips. Slowly, the noise diminished to hushed whispers.
The guards spread out and mounted the platform as I climbed up after them. When I whirled to face the Court, I found the fae’s mouths hanging open. Most sported a deep scowl, and the air shimmered around them. Some wore grins of pleasure as my Light continued to saturate the room.
“Callandra was right.” My voice echoed into the distant ceiling. “I’m not my mother, nor will I ever be like her. She taught me nothing of the Court. She didn’t even tell me I was fae, or why I could do the things I can do.” I sat on the arm of the ridiculous throne. “But I think she knew none of that would help me, that I needed to find my own way here, to see and experience the cold place the world has become. It hardened and honed me for this task. I didn’t understand that until today.”
I winked at Nix. “She knew kindness, glitter and protocol wouldn’t give me the weapons I needed to go to war.” I launched to my feet. “And this is war. The second fae war if I understand our history correctly. If Parthalan wins, you’ll be under his rule, and the humans will cease to exist as anything but cruel, carnal beasts for his amusement.”
Mouths began to close and some of the fae shifted forward in their seats.
“I also know none of you can help me against Parthalan, so I won’t ask it of you. But that doesn’t mean you can crawl off again until it’s over. If I fail in what I’m about to do, then he’ll come for this city, and whoever doesn’t pledge their fealty to him will die along with Dun Bray.”
Nix shot a wary glance at me.
I edged farther away from him. “Before I leave here, I will alter the portal.”
Both Gallagher and Nix reacted with a rush of power, but with my Light already flooding the air, I thrust my hands out to them and said, “Sleep.” I’d counted on them both having their guard down, and I’d found some luck at last. My will burst through their consciousness, and both fell in a heap at the edge of the platform. “I’m sorry.”
Neve and a few of the other guards shifted beside me.
“You need to trust me now.” I met each of their eyes. “Nix and Gallagher don’t understand yet. This is what I was born to do. Now let me do it.”
They backed off. Neve grinned at me, touching my shoulder.
I turned my attention back to the fae spread before me. “Anyone who flees Dun Bray before Parthalan dies will be permanently barred from entering Seven Gates. Most of you have useful cumhachts, so I hear. So get ready to defend your city, or join the mortals permanently. Choose carefully.”
Callandra rattled in her seat. The air wavered around her.
I stared at her. “I don’t bluff. If by some miracle I return, then be prepared to get your polished manicures dirty with the humans. You’ve all grown lazy, turned your back on the Goddess. This is me reminding you of your pledge to her. Don’t disappoint her again.”
With that, I leapt off the dais and ran down the main aisle with the guards at my heels. Every eye followed me out. The shouting rose to a roar again, but I didn’t give them a second glance.
The redheaded guard opened one of the doors. I nodded to him as I passed through. He closed them behind me.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Neasa spat the words at me as I emerged in the main hall. Brígh stood beside her, rolling her eyes. “You can’t treat your mother’s people this way.”
“I’m trying to save my mother’s people. Don’t you get that?”
Her whole body shook—a cat prepping to pounce. “They will never stand for this. I will not stand for this.”
“Then they’re free to leave, as are you.” I turned toward the outer doors, but she centered herself in front of me.
“I will not let you humiliate us.” Her Light invaded me, draped me in a black veil.
My knees buckled when my mind filled with darkness. I stumbled, lost in my own head. With the darkness came despair thick enough to drown in. A voice screamed in the distance. The sound sent my heart into a frantic gallop.
Where am I?
I couldn’t think past the anguish. If I didn’t find a way to escape it, my sanity would disappear into the frigid night.
Madness.
It waited for me to give in, to embrace it.
I need to do something. Liam. I had to get to Liam.
My sight returned to the hall with a flash. The screaming I’d heard in my head poured freely from my mouth. I stopped, my lungs struggling to feed me air.
“Lila?” Pink hair fell around my shoulder before a youthful face appeared above me. “It’s all right,” she said.
I stared at her for a few seconds before my mind cleared. “Brígh?”
“Yeah.”
“You need to get up.” I searched past Brígh to find Neve standing nearby, shaking her blood-dappled hand. Neasa lay sprawled out on the tile beside Neve.
Fists pounded on the Court doors behind me. A few of the guards stood braced against it.
I clamored to my feet. “What the hell just happened?”
“She attacked you,” Neve said. “I clocked her in the face when I figured out what she was doing. But there’s no time. When she interrupted your Light, Nix and Gallagher broke free of your Will.”
Shit! They could still stop me. Without another thought, I bolted out the main doors, stumbled down a few steps before Neve appeared be
side me and took my arm. Whatever Neasa had done to me lingered, the slightest sound startling me. Brígh took my other arm a moment later, and the two of them pulled me along the street toward the portal door. It appeared as we approached.
“You can control the portal.” Neve drew open the door. “Put a temporary seal on it so nobody can get out until you’re gone.”
I nodded. “Thank you. Both of you.”
“Come back to us, Lila.” Brígh touched my cheek.
“I don’t make promises I can’t keep.” I stepped through the portal without looking back and closed it behind me.
Still a little shaky, I drew up my Light and touched the back of the door. I thought about the new rules and forced my will into the smooth surface. Nobody out for an hour, and after that, any who fled before I’d killed Parthalan’s ass would be forever barred from re-entering.
Instead of the meadow I expected as I passed through, I found the outer entrance of the cave before me. Everything else—the lake, the mile of twisted caverns—had disappeared. I stepped out under midday sun.
“Lila!”
I stumbled back into the stone wall with a hand over my franticly beating heart.
A small group of people stood a few yards away. They wore brown cloaks and fur capes draped around their shoulders. One stepped away from the others and peeled back the hood, pouring sandy blonde hair over her shoulders.
“Willa?” I rushed toward her, letting out the breath I’d held. “What are you doing here?”
“Waitin’ for someone ta come out so we could find yeh.” She smiled. “I know there isn’t time. The selkies heard what happn’d ta Donovan. We tried, but …” Her smile faded, and she cast her eyes down.
The knot in my stomach tugged tighter. “Tell me you didn’t go back there.”
“Doesn’t matter. What’s done is done. We’ve come to offer what help we can.”
“Parthalan has Garret and Liam now too, but you can’t come with me. I won’t let you.” I fidgeted with my T-shirt, forcing the tears away.
Willa wrapped her arms around me. For a moment, I allowed myself the comfort, then stepped away.
The Glass Man Page 22
