Page 44 of Beltane

“It’s been so long, sister,” Siobhan said as I passed her.

“Don’t leave me again.” Ashley gave the banshee one last hug before Siobhan came back to our procession, falling in line behind us again.

When we reached the enormous platform in the center, Diana climbed the stairs and crossed in front of her giant canvas tent to the two thrones on the far end. Her eyes met ours, and she nodded, indicating we should join her on stage.

Heart pounding and hands shaking, I followed Ivy up the stairs, Lex and Carter behind me. We walked to her right, Finn, Siobhan, and Donnelly arriving on the other side. The valley extended as far as I could see, all the attention focused on us. Murmurs drifted up from the crowd, whispers of confusion or disgust mingling with anticipation and joy.

The queen took a step forward and raised her hands, quieting the thousands…no,hundreds ofthousands that had gathered in support of her…in support of us.

“I know,” Diana said. “I know.”

The crowd waited for her to continue, every single fairy hanging on to the edge of their sanity while Diana paused for their attention.

“It has been a rough journey,” she continued. “The last time I was on this stage, my beloved husband tricked us.”

I clutched the plastic bag containing the ruby dust in my pocket, inhaling deeply to clear the trepidation in my lungs. Instinct had told me to collect it, to keep it safe in case we needed it. But I didn’t know when or how to use it. I prayed I didn’t need to.

“He has become needlessly violent,” she continued. “And he will descend upon us by tomorrow morn.”

Gasps echoed all around me, followed by hushed murmurs. The populace couldn’t believe he would show his face again after all he’d done.

“To my battle maidens, I owe you my appreciation. You tried to protect me then, and you stand to protect me now.” The queen smiled in the direction of a group of female fairies, tattoos stretching down their left arms in twisting ivy patterns that matched the ones on Siobhan. “To theFianna…”She said something in a language I didn’t understand, but it sounded like old Faero-Gaelic, like the language she had been uttering only a few days ago.

Finn walked forward, holding his hands up as half of the crowd shouted in unison, nearly deafening the entire valley. Metal swords beat on shields as screams of allegiance echoed from all around us. Siobhan had undersold the strength of theFianna.Judging by the number of bodies praising Finn’s presence, I’d say he controlled a military larger than some first-world countries combined.

“To my human friends,” Diana turned to us, a soft smile on her face as she eyed each of us individually, her gaze ultimately landing and staying on Lex. “You kept me safe when I was at my lowest. For that, I will never be able to repay you. I owe you my thanks.” Then she muttered something in Faero-Gaelic that none of us understood.

A hush fell on the crowd again, and when I ventured a glance in that direction, I noticed they had all placed their hands on their hearts. Every last fairy, human, changeling, and halfling in the crowd looked at us with affection and adoration. Evidently, it meant a great deal for the queen to personally offer a debt of gratitude.

I widened my eyes, glancing to Ivy next to me. She twisted her fingers in between mine, her palm trembling as she squeezed my hand tighter.

“Ivette Washington, Alexei Fairfax, Carter Scott, and Miriam Stuart will be treated like most honored guests while they remain on our lands. And if they should not, you will answer to me.” With that, Diana turned back to her followers and raised her hands again. “We will show my beloved husband how strong we are when we are united, and we will make him see reason.”

She smiled when Poppy emerged from the tent behind us, nearly a foot taller than when I’d seen her a few hours ago. How long had passed in Faerie while we were entranced in the woods? The changeling wrapped her arms around Diana’s waist and hugged her close, and the queen reciprocated by tucking her under her arm like a mother protecting her child.

“Make no mistake,” Diana continued. “He will try to gain your allegiance. He will play his mind games and make you believe things have happened when they have not.” The queen’s eyes cut to me when she said it, not long enough for anyone else to notice, but it still sent a chill through my veins. “Our noble king has always been mercurial.” Diana twisted her lips into a rare smile, the glimmer in her eyes hinting at both a sadness and a desperation that only she could know. “But the time has come to put this argument to rest. Stay strong. Do not let him win.”

Cheers and shouts of encouragement rose up from all around us, the battle maidens and theFiannaboth in agreement. They were done fighting each other. They were done being two separate entities. Finn had once explained that the two had lived as one unit for centuries before this split. Regardless of whether their tattoos marked them as belonging to the king or the queen, they were members of Faerie first. Like the royals, they needed each other to survive.

“I beg of you, stand by me tomorrow,” Diana said. “Stand by me. Lend me your energy, your reverence, and we shall know peace once more.”

The crowd’s cries grew even louder, more pronounced in their acceptance. They wanted it to end. They wanted to go back to the way things were before the king grew too radical, before he threw their entire existence into peril because of his outdated ideas about humans.

“Be with your loved ones tonight,” the queen said, eyeing the four of us again. “Revel in what it means to be alive. We will need that reminder come tomorrow.”

With that, she gave the crowd a nod, turned to us with one final smile, and retreated inside her tent. In the valley below, everyone dispersed, their sneers no longer furious or contemptuous. Now, they smiled when they passed us, making eye contact with congeniality. Siobhan walked closer, putting one hand on Ivy’s shoulder and the other on mine.

“Come with me,” she said. “I’ll show you where you can rest tonight.”

I hated the waiting. If we knew where the king was and when he would attack, would it not make more sense to go after him before he could get to us? Perhaps we could blindside him and detain him before he hurt us. But whatever we proposed would get no support from anyone else. The queen had already announced her plan, and now it was time to pause. We would deal with the king tomorrow.

As we walked through the camp, I smiled at anyone who met my eyes, but most were focused on their levity. I thought I spotted Smythe and Victor in one tent, hugging each other while they drank from chalices, but I couldn’t be sure, and I didn’t want to interrupt. I remembered when Victor had helped us earlier this year, we had asked him if he would support us when the time came. He said he’d like to think he would, and it pleased me to see him here, back at home, back where they started. Smythe had been exiled for falling in love with one of the queen’s ladies, but now, bygones had been put to rest.

By the size of the crowd, it appeared she had welcomed all the fairies and fairy sympathizers back into her fold. Siobhan and her lovers had spent a lot of time corralling everyone to support the queen, but now that we were here, something seemed off about it. Whyhadthe queen openly welcomed everyone home? Had she gotten over Smythe’s prior indiscretions?

I ignored my skepticism and followed Siobhan under the canvas folds of a tent much like the one we’d stayed in last time we were here, much like the one in Diana’s mind. It looked small on the outside, but it opened up into a grand space. Off to our right sat a large dining table with a feast on top. The smell of fresh fruit and garlic-roasted turkey hit my nose, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten since the plane ride here. A grumble echoed from my stomach next, making Carter turn to me and snicker.

“I’m starving, too, Juliet.”

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