Page 105 of The Kingdom Cursed By Iron

“I’m not blind to the harshness of my actions, Miss Thorn, but sacrifices must be made. My becoming High Queen is the only way to save this court.”

“What do you mean?” I ask incredulously. “You’re the one who’s been attacking it with iron this whole time.”

“And where did that iron come from? It might have been the humans who used it on me, but a pair of Seelie High Fae, my own husband and daughter, decided to share the secret with them simply for a chance at power.”

“I don’t understand,” Ruskin says. His voice is weaker than before, I notice. The iron is taking its toll on him.

“Of course you don’t, my son. Your father’s Unseelie side has always balanced you well. You never had a great hunger for the things the Seelie value—shallow beauty, power for power’s sake. My court is a rotten, poisonous thing. I couldn’t see it before, back when I was soft and idealistic, and thought that peace would fall at my feet if I just showed people it was the better way.”

Ruskin’s head droops, and I can see that his strength is failing. As Evanthe talks, I slowly reach out with my power, beginning to work on his bindings.

“Cebba and Ilberon were the ones who tried to have you murdered,” I point out, trying to keep her focus on me, rather than what Ruskin’s bindings are doing. “Not the Seelie Court.”

“But they were products of their environment, Miss Thorn. Why did my court urge me to take another husband when my beloved Lucan died? Why did they rejoice so intensely when I produced a full Seelie child? And why did Cebba and Ilberon thirst so much for my throne? I am not blameless—I let the worst side of my people flourish, allowed their petty prejudices, their vanity, and greed to fester until the entire place was diseased, because I wouldn’t deliver punishment where it was needed.”

“And now you will?” I ask.

She looks pleased that I’m understanding her.

“Of course. Such is my duty. A duty I have waited centuries to fulfill. I was weak before. I didn’t see they needed a firm hand. Cebba showed me that. That girl was brainwashed by her father, but once she was free of him, she would visit me.”

Ruskin’s head jerks up.

“Cebba came to see you in the garden?”

“She would whisper to me about the court in my sleep, sending me dreams of what could be. She pointed out my weaknesses as a leader and showed me how to be strong.”

The well of dark magic beneath the rose garden suddenly makes sense to me. Cebba was feeding her cursed power to Evanthe all those years she was hiding in the court as a servant. Perhaps she had plans to wake Evanthe eventually herself, but whatever her intentions, even beyond the grave, her evil is haunting us.

I’m trying to focus on too many things at once, distracted by Evanthe’s bizarre revelations. I shake my head and return to Ruskin’s bindings.

“But when I’m High Queen, I will change that,” Evanthe continues. “I will ensure that the vices of my people are stamped out for good.”

Ruskin blinks sleepily, looking like he’s barely holding on to consciousness, and he sways where he stands. I tug at the last threads of iron still holding his bindings together.

“But why spread the iron? What will that teach them?” Ruskin slurs.

She looks surprised that he even had to ask. “Pain,” she says. “It will teach them pain—which is a lesson they all need to learn. The Seelie’s punishment requires the destruction of all they love: the court they fight for control over, the beauty of the kingdom, and the abundance that makes them lazy and self-indulgent. I will purge this land with iron so that a better court can rise from the ashes.”

Ruskin’s bindings are broken, but I don’t remove them from his hands yet. When I look at him swaying there, it’s clear that the fight has gone out of him. If I freed him now, I doubt he’d be able to get in a single spell before Evanthe bound him again, not with iron still contaminating his veins.

I wish I could give him my power like he did for me in the Unseelie trial—use it to drive all trace of the poison out of him. But I can’t, not when he doesn’t know my true name. All my fears about sharing it with him seem trivial at this point. Was I really worried that he was too fierce or violent or secretive? When I look at him now, I just see the man who did everything to save his mother, who moved heaven and earth to keep her alive, only to have her wish death upon him in the end. And yet even now, there’s no rage there, no hunger for revenge despite this most awful of betrayals. His face is filled with pure sorrow. I’d trust him with my power, I realize. I know he’d do the right thing.

Out of nowhere, someone steps into the circle of columns, startling us all.

Despite her size, Halima has always been good at moving around unnoticed. I thank the heavens for that skill now and for the sharp intuition that made her follow the silver thread I unspooled for her on the way here.

The swordswoman advances further into the circle, holding her weapon cautiously in front of her. She takes in the scene, looking from Ruskin to Evanthe.

“Halima,” I blurt out. “She’s going to kill Ruskin.”

Halima’s eyes fall on me and a spear of doubt pierces my relief. I’d assumed she would immediately charge at Evanthe, allowing me to help Ruskin, but she holds still, looking between us all like she’s waiting for something.

“Lady Sunshard,” Evanthe addresses her formally. “I know you’ve taken a vow to protect this court. It needs you now to help its rightful ruler regain her power.”

“You can’t trust her!” I shout, growing increasingly desperate at Halima’s lack of reaction. “She’s behind the iron, Halima. She’s the one cursing the court.”

But Evanthe doesn’t play the villain, she doesn’t lash out or try to silence me. She simply shakes her head at my outburst and continues speaking.

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