Page 81 of The Realm That Falls to Her

“Naturally,” Halima’s mother continues, “we suspected Queen Evanthe was hiding some kind of crime of her own, though we did not know for certain the iron was her doing.”

“And the rest of the court?” I ask. “Do they really believe her story?”

“Queen Evanthe is an uncompromising ruler,” General Sunshard responds, giving her choice of adjective a telling emphasis. “The High Fae of the court seems in turns impressed and intimidated by her power, and are willing to accept her leadership in lieu of her son.”

“That is not surprising,” Ruskin says, but he sounds bitter. “Certainly a contributing factor must be their belief that she is still High Queen.”

Both Halima’s parents start.

“She isn’t, my Lord?”

“No. I have been High King of the Seelie Court since she was attacked two centuries ago. It is one of my biggest regrets that I did not make this known sooner. Halima urged me to, in her wisdom, but I was stubborn, still believing my mother the superior leader. If I had listened, perhaps it would not have been so easy for my mother to seize the court from me.”

Just as the Sunshards offer deeper bows and murmured ‘Your Majestys’ a smaller figure rushes into the chamber.

“My High King, I sensed this, but to have it confirmed now…” says the woman, all but throwing herself on the ground before Ruskin.

“Ephor Jorna,” Ruskin says, sounding more unhappy than surprised. I gape down at the soothsayer, who I last saw at the Seelie palace as a cowardly wretch defending all her troublemaking while sitting beside Hadeus, Evanthe’s number two.

“We met her on the road,” General Sunshard says, her voice betraying that she, too, isn’t exactly thrilled with the soothsayer’s presence. “She claimed she’d foreseen that her prince needed her, and so was traveling to Unseelie accordingly. We thought it safer we escort her.”

Of course it was. Jorna wouldn’t have lasted two minutes alone in Unseelie without the two warriors.

“It’s true, Your Majesty,” Jorna says, righting herself from her deep curtsey. “You cannot know the depths of my regret when I realized I had encouraged false ideas about the source of the iron curse.”

“You couldn’t have realized that before you helped hand over the court to a maniac?” I snap.

To her credit, Jorna looks genuinely embarrassed. “The interpretation of the signs is not exact, but I always remained loyal to Your Majesty. I believed that I was charged with bringing the truth to light for the sake of the court.”

“And what made you change your mind?” Ruskin asks coldly.

“I had a vision,” she says, her hand going to a pendant around her neck. “Like my kind traveling companions say, it came to me after you left the court, my Lord. It showed me that the source of the iron was neither the presence of Eleanor Thorn, nor the kingdom’s deep magic, triggered by your leadership.”

I roll my eyes. “What a relief we’ve finally figured that out.”

I see Ruskin’s mouth twitch at my sarcasm, but he maintains his glare for Jorna’s sake.

“And did this vision tell you the true source of the iron attacks?”

Jorna nods erratically, but her eyes fill with fear.

“I saw it.” Her hand has dropped, but she gestures to the necklace again. “I saw what the Seelie Kingdom will become if Queen Evanthe continues to reign. It was terrible. Words can’t possibly do it justice.”

It surprises me, but I believe her. She’s looking right past us, as if reliving it, and the terror in her face is real.

“That necklace,” I say, following a gut instinct. “Is it special?”

She nods. “I use it in my divination. Quartz is very powerful for visualization.”

“Quartz and silver?” I ask, eyeing the metal setting and chain.

“Yes,” she says, this time giving me a questioning look. In fact, everyone is looking at me with confusion, no doubt wondering why I’d care about jewelry when we’ve just been told Evanthe plans to ruin the kingdom.

“May I?” I ask, holding out my hand towards Jorna.

Hesitating for just a moment, she goes to unclasp it.

“When I was training with Halima,” I say, taking the necklace from the seer, “I touched her sword for a moment, and managed to tap into the past through the object. More specifically, your memories, General Sunshard.”

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