Page 55 of Fairies Don't Fall

Lord Vervain came in and then stopped when he saw me, blinking twice before he resumed his walk towards me. He knelt and bowed over my hand, which was a habit I’d thought I’d broken him out of, but then he stood and I wished he was still kneeling with the way he towered over me. I couldn’t move because the fairies were still working on me.

“You requested an elven presence?” he demanded stiffly.

“Musicians, not delegates, or what have you. Did Germania get them?”

“Not exactly, or rather, she got more than she bargained for. Are you actually going to determine who your consort will be at this ball tonight?”

“Tonight?”

“Yes, tonight. It’s already begun. Of course, it could go on for several days. This is Fairyland, after all. You’ve been…frolicking?” He said it in a strange way as he eyed me curiously.

“Yes. I took Ruin to explore for a bit. We must have lost track of time. I should have been here to manage things.”

One of the fairies yanked my hair. “Your court can throw a ball for a few dignitaries, my lady, even without yoursupervision.” She said it like it was a curse. “You should have been here to soak in starlight and have petals massaged into your skin.”

Ah yes. We mustn’t forget the important things a queen must do.

“I need a few moments alone with our lady,” Vervain said in his most official voice.

The fairies started crying out all the reasons that was impossible.

I set a spell to hide our words from them, in spite of them being quite on top of me. It had the added advantage of blocking them out of my ears. “What is it, Vervain? Did you find out something about the traitor’s plan?”

His eyes glittered with rage, but his face was impassive. “Yes. She’s gathering support from the mixed society on earth to help her overthrow you. She has a great deal of sympathy, thanks to your stellar job winning a reputation as an absolutely horrific ruler.”

Ouch. “So glad you don’t waste time with polite nothings,” I muttered.

He raised a brow. “You would like me to speak in more flowery terms? I thought you preferred the more direct approach. I am very capable of leaning into polite rhetoric, if you wish, my Queen.”

I shivered at the thought of him spending more time making up more elaborate methods of insulting me. “Vervain, what support can they gather against our people? Who would want to be involved in that kind of expensive, difficult conflict? I might have a sketchy reputation as a ruler, but not as a warrior.”

“Yes, let’s discuss that. The pixie dust addicts have been a canker on the cities, particularly for those with fairy blood who want to be thought of well. Like the mayor of Singsong City, for example, who is the traitor’s greatest supporter. He’s a snake of the first order, manipulating everyone with that silver tongue of his. From what I’ve heard, he hates the alpha. Something about his eyesore house lessening the mayor’s property value?” Vervain shrugged. “I believe he would like to take over the house and the caverns below both of their houses, and turn it into a fairy-themed amusement park. Tourism was mentioned. He would certainly profit from getting rid of the alpha.”

I stared at him while my blood boiled. Someone was targeting Max? I would rip him limb from limb. “Bring him to Fairyland, and I will help him understand the error of his ways,” I hissed.

He gave me a slight smile. “You’ve only recently gotten all the death out of your system. It would be a pity to stain your hands now. Besides that, he’s beneath you. He only has enough fairy blood to give him wings. No, that would be a political disaster, proving that you’re the death-fairy they whisper about who is mad and slowly poisoning Fairyland. You have to be above them, elegant, refined. At least the way youhealed goblins and werewolves when they were poisoned made a positive impression. The Goblin Authority is here, along with the werewolf alpha, the elven dignitaries, and the fairies you apparently reformed while you were away.”

I stared at him. “Did I reform somebody?” I asked, but the thought of Max being here made everything else unimportant. My heart pounded in my throat and I had the distinct impression that I was about to explode in little sparkly fairy shrapnel all over Vervain. I took a deep breath. The fairies all faded away, and I was left with this throbbing ache for Max, his smile, his wink, his sweetness, warmth, and strength. His very attractive bare chest.

“Grace,” Vervain said, getting my attention with the rare use of my name. “You aren’t only proving yourself to these outsiders, but to your own people. Fairies care about beauty more than almost anything. You have to be an ethereal goddess they can worship. The pride of Fairyland. The figurehead that represents the best of us.”

“No pressure,” I muttered.

He put a hand on my shoulder and peered down at me through the creepily muted fairy groomers. “I have fought beside you. I know that nothing can defeat you once you decide to fight. You have to want to be Queen. You have to take it and make it yours, or your title will be taken away from you forever. Is that what you want? A traitor on the throne? Do you honestly think that she’ll be better for Fairyland than you, someone who gave everything, even her soul, to save her people?” His cool green eyes were piercing, like a dagger stabbing deep into my chest.

I took a deep steady breath and stood, the fairies around me falling back for a moment while I dropped the sound shield. “I am the Queen.” I didn’t say it loudly, but all the fairies dropped to their knees, except Vervain, who knelt more slowly.

His eyes pulsed with a vicious satisfaction at finally seeing me accept my place.

I rolled my eyes. “Vervain, stop looking so smug and go and rile up all the visitors. Be prepared for a goddess of light, wisdom, and beauty. Get out of here. My court has work to do.”

He bowed his head, stood up, and walked out, almost skipping he was in such a good mood. I stood with my arms outstretched, allowing my court to transform me, but I was shaking. Max was here. Why? And the Goblin Authority too? In Fairyland? The better to scout the land to see if it was worth invading. A goblin invasion would be miserable to defeat, but their occupation wouldn’t be as bad as the wolves, burning and devouring everything in their path. And elves. We didn’t fight each other, just held each other in mutual contempt. I had to do much better than that. I had to be humble yet glorious. Kind yet otherworldly.

I was starting to flat-out panic, but then the thought that Max was there made everything else seem insignificant. The panic tripled, but it was all focused on him. I’d tried to forget about him, to distance myself from him, but it hadn’t worked. He’d made a place in my heart and refused to leave. Instead, he was filling more and more of it all the time. It was impossible, and yet… Vervain had suggested that I make a werewolf my consort. If he thought it was reasonable, maybe my people would too. But my mother’s court had hated my father, belittled him, and held him in contempt when he was still a fairy and not one of the loathed werewolves. Max would hate it here. I couldn’t ask him to leave his people to be my consort. He’d done enough for my people, and me.

He was probably just here to see Ruin. Would he be furious with me? He should be. I never should have accepted her presence without double checking with him. No, I wouldn’t ask him to be my consort, but I suddenly had a reason to shine asbrightly as possible. If he were going to see me, I wanted him to think that I was beautiful, maybe even as glorious as the moon.

My attendants started oohing and aahing as my skin took on an otherworldly glow interspersed with specks of diamond rainbows, a galaxy of color and light that truly sparkled. I would sparkle for Max. He would remember me for at least a little while after this ball was finished, and I was safely locked into my duty.

---