Page 76 of Samhain

“Thank you.” He held his arms out so the queen could look over his tattoos.

Once satisfied, she focused on me and smiled, causing a shiver to race down my spine. I didn’t know the intentions behind that grin, and I didn’t want to guess. It would probably terrify me either way.

“But here is the real gem,” the queen murmured, leaning closer to the child. “What would you do with such a gift?” The child shrugged and shook her head, giggling softly as the queen whispered something I couldn’t hear. Then she sighed and rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed already. “Right. Why have you come?”

“Siobhan gave me—gave us—a gift,” Ivy said. “One we didn’t ask for.”

“Well,” the queen cut in, “you must have asked for it in some way. Fairies are not in the habit of bestowing magic on humans for no reason.”

“I think Siobhan favored me,” Ivy said. “In any case, the gift has taken its toll.”

“How so?” The queen tilted her chin up, hands fisted around the arms of her throne. She seemed defensive as if any gift from a fairy couldn’t possibly be that bad.

Tread lightly, I wanted to scream.

“We have to be together. Or else?—”

“What is wrong with being together?” She raised an eyebrow, her tone bordering on annoyance. “Do you not love each other? Ashley tells me you married in our sacred ruins.”

“Yes, but—” Ivy fisted her hands into tight balls.

“You made the sacred vow. It is etched in your hands.”

A blush crept up Ivy’s neck, into her cheeks, radiating that vibrant X over her pulse. “It is, but?—”

“Then I do not see the problem.” The queen straightened her shoulders. “You wanted to be together, so now you are together. The consequences of your separation are yours to handle.”

“If you could only lift the gift…” Miri started, taking a step forward.

“Just like the English.” The queen scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You have been trying to tell my kind what to do for millennia. What makes you think I will listen to you now?”

“We don’t want any trouble,” I added. “We want our lives to go back to normal.”

“Normal?” The queen shook her head and leaned forward, perhaps trying to get on our level. “What is normal? I have lived long enough to know it is nothing. Even if it was, who would want such a boring existence? Better to be happy with what you have than mourn the loss of something that was never yours in the first place.”

“Please,” Ivy said, putting her hands together while she begged.

The queen waved her fingers at Ashley, flippantly gesturing to take us away.

“They may stay until they are replenished, but then see them home,” the queen said. “Be sure you have the ring before they leave.”

“Yes, my lady,” Ashley said, wrapping an arm around Miri’s shoulders to attempt to lead us away.

“Wait,” Lex cut in, widening his eyes as panic took control. “Tell us the truth.”

A wave of power poured out of him as he said it. Ashley gasped and Ivy froze, looking to the queen to see her reaction.

Why? What is he thinking?

For all the years I’d known Lex, he hadn’t gotten comfortable with authority. We made a plan, but if it didn’t work in his favor, he did what he wanted. Any idiot would know better than to try to use magic on the queen of fairies.

For a moment, she didn’t do anything, just sat there and stared at us. Then she let out a high-pitched, tinny laugh like she thought he was absurd for even attempting it.

“Did you think your fairy gift would work on me, boy?” She shook her head and narrowed her eyes into evil slits, clearly apathetic about us now. “I am older than anything you have ever seen. I am the Great Source. All of it. Everything. It lives within me.” Her features grew serious and deadly, gaze like a laser about to turn him to dust. “If you attempt to enchant me again, I will rip that pretty head off your shoulders and mount it on my wall so I can kiss those lips every day before I break my fast.”

Lex paled as he took a step back.

“Do you understand?”

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