Page 54 of The Vanishing Throne

I almost drop my fork. ‘Thefae?’

Catherine regards me patiently. ‘I like it even less than you do, but we have a truce, and wehonor it – as long as they don’t kill a human.’

So this truce extends beyond letting the fae torture people in a cave as a test to prove they haven’t been faestruck. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. This is a pixie city, after all. It was made by fae, never meant to be a human space. It only makes sense that we would be forced to share it with them.

Derrick belts out a note from inside the closet that sounds like averyinappropriate word for a certain part of the male anatomy. Catherine stares at the door. ‘My god, what’s he doing?’

‘Sewing,’ I say, shoveling another forkful of meat into my mouth in a decidedly unladylike manner. Then I realise what just happened and I gape at her. ‘Wait – you couldhearhim?’

Catherine lifts the sleeve of her shirt. There, wrapped around her wrist, is a thin strand ofseilgflùr, the rare thistle that allows humans to see the fae. ‘Everyone in the city has to wear it.’

‘Where did you find it?’ I’ve never known where Kiaran grew the thistle. He always provided my stock, part of which I used for my weapons. Without it, I would never be able to fight the fae. I wouldn’t even be able to see them.

‘It was a gesture of goodwill. Aithinne told me how to cultivate it before she went to find you,’ Catherine says. ‘So those of us without the Sight would stand some chance of surviving.’

I should have realised it would be Aithinne. Kiaran would never reveal such a thing to a human. ‘So she taught you all how to grow it?’

‘No,’ Catherine says distractedly, still listening to Derrick’s singing. ‘Only a single human. I just happened to be the one she chose.’ Her eyes linger on the closet door for a moment. ‘So you just … lived with one of them like this?’

I try not to be offended by her tone. Derrick brings out the protectiveness in me, I suppose. He was the first faery I came to care for, the one who taught me that not all the fae had to die.

‘He’s my friend,’ I say shortly.

Catherine lowers her lashes, a flush creeping up her cheeks. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. He saved us all by letting us stay here.’ She sighs. ‘I just – I have difficulty trusting them.’

She lets her voice trail off as she looks around the room. She takes in the teak panels along the walls and the worktable beside her– I notice now that it’s empty of the metal pieces I used to make my inventions. Another reminder of how false this place is.

‘I’m glad to see your room again,’ she says softly. ‘It makes me feel …’

‘As if we’re back there,’ I finish for her. ‘Just finishing up elevenhours?’

‘I do miss tea and shortbread.’ A small smile lights her face. ‘Discussing silly dances and our suitors.’

‘Speaking of suitors … you married.’ I say it lightly, taking another tiny bite of the steak.

She nods. ‘Daniel. He saved my life, do you know? Mother and I were just outside of Glasgow when the fae took the city.’

I go still. ‘That must have been terrifying.’ I can’t even imagine. Not being able to see them, watching people die around them. I should have prepared her better. Damnation, I just sent her away—

‘We could hear the screams.’ She traces her fingertips along the edge of my worktable. ‘We weren’t close, but even from the road we could …’

I set the fork down with a sharp clang. Lonnrach’s words from that night are still so clear in my mind.

Destroy everything.

And the fae didjust as he had bid them. They reduced Scotland to nothing more than rubble and ash and Catherine was right in the middle of it. I wasn’t there to protect her.

‘The fae surrounded the coach,’ Catherine continues. ‘We couldn’t see them, but their claws scraped right through the doors. Daniel fought his way inside and made us run.’ She flashes a ghost of a smile, small and sad. ‘He made sure they couldn’t find us.’

‘Lady Cassilis,’ I say. ‘Is she—’

‘She passed last year,’ Catherine interrupts, somewhat stiffly. ‘Couldn’t resist the fae when they called.’

I almost tell her that I’m sorry. Despite what Aithinne told me, I can’t help but blame myself. In my mind I replay those last moments with the seal, and each second becomes ashould have. Ishould havefigured out the device sooner. Ishould havebeen stronger when Sorcha invaded my mind. Ishould havepressed that last symbol into place instead of looking to Kiaran for one last goodbye because I wanted so badly to save him.

In the end, I didn’t save anyone.

‘I miss it here,’ Catherine says, moving closer to the window. ‘No matter how much time has passed, sometimes I still think this is a dream. That it’s not real.’

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