Page 20 of Queen of Ever

‘What do you mean?’

‘I don’t approve of the way the lessers are treated any more than you do.A child shouldn’t be subjected to that, so I smuggled him out.He’ll be much better where he is now,’ she said.Suddenly, she clapped her hands together.‘Right, what you should be worrying about is getting ready for your date with my brother.’

‘It’s not a date,’ I said, the words rolling automatically off my tongue.Dating was the furthest thing from my mind.How could I even begin to consider it?Despite what Tarian had done—or perhaps because of it—the thought was impossible to me.

‘No?Well, he thinks it is.’

I let her lead me to the mirror as I contemplated those words, once again chewing on the question of what he wanted from me.And maybe even what I wanted from him.He was handsome and charming.A bona fide fae king with a glittering golden palace to boot.And he was never straight with me and he’d used me as bait to catch a traitor.I’d just have to keep some distance between us somehow.

I slumped into the chair to let Marietta coil my hair onto my head.‘How can he expect me to just move on?’

‘I don’t think he expects that… exactly,’ Marietta replied.‘I know this is difficult for you.Life in the palace means walking a fine line, carefully balancing between what you want and what others want for you.’

‘Unless you’re the king and can have whatever you want,’ I said bitterly.

‘There is that,’ she said, a smile stretching her lips.

‘But you seem to have found a way to keep your principles and still live here,’ I said suddenly.How exactly had she managed to smuggle the boy out of the palace?I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth but if she could manipulate the system around here, maybe I could, too.

‘I have the advantage of not being important enough to draw attention,’ she said, an edge of bitterness to her voice.

Because she was basically human to these people.But my only importance here was in the fact that I’d drawn Solas’ interest somehow.It seemed that was enough to keep the eyes of the court on me, which meant I had to tread carefully.

Great.

‘Don’t make that face.You’ll find your way.And in the meantime, you have me to help you,’ she said, flashing me that brilliant smile of hers.‘Now, let’s get you dressed.My brother won’t appreciate being kept waiting.’

‘Maybe Ishouldkeep him waiting.After all, this is supposed to be his way of apologising.’

Marietta looked conflicted then, as if she was being pulled in opposite directions and at any point her body was going to break apart.

‘Alright, fine.I won’t be late,’ I said grudgingly and let her pick my outfit for my not-date with Solas.

Why did I feel like this was going to be a long day?

It turned out that leaving the palace was a lengthy process for the Seelie king, but finally we were bumping along the cobblestone roads in a carriage that was so bedazzled no one would be able to mistake who was inside it.

I stared out the window, admiring the elaborate, well-tended buildings, the cobblestone streets.The city seemed impeccably presented, paint bright and unblemished, sun glinting from spotless windowpanes, greenery potted and pruned.I watched as the Seelie fae went about their lives, some walking with strange creatures trailing after them or sitting happily in their bags.Creatures that sometimes looked like close relatives of dogs or cats, sometimes other beings entirely, ones with furry tentacles or translucent wings or delicate antennae.Not a single one of the fae dressed like a human going to the supermarket; they were all immaculately put together, sometimes clothed in fabrics that shifted and frothed like clouds around them, sometimes that clung tight to their bodies like coloured scales.Their limbs were always adorned with gold jewellery set against glittering skin—pasting skin with some sort of glitter was a trend I’d noticed inside the palace.

But it wasn’t all beauty.

I noticed a lot of these fae also had servants following them, often carrying bags.Their heads were always bowed and their clothes were plain, a clear marker of the difference in class.I knew these were the lesser fae.The Seelie would click at them when they needed something, in a manner that would have seen them punched in the human realm for their rudeness.How could a culture be so beautiful and so backward at the same time?It seemed that the lessers weren’t treated any better outside of Summer Palace.I imagined the Seelie would be lining up to get their hands on the collars Solas was using on his.

‘Something troubling you?’Solas asked, breaking into my thoughts.

‘Oh, uh…’ I didn’t quite know how to answer that.I doubted he would understand my point of view.This was probably the only chance I’d have to bring up those collars.But how to get him to listen?

He looked out the window and his lips pulled down into a frown for a moment.‘You feel sympathy for those creatures, don’t you?’he asked, a hint of disgust in his tone.

‘Yes, I do,’ I said, my irritation at his callousness getting the better of me.

‘Even though one of them tried to kill you?’

‘You can’t blame a whole race of people for the actions of one man.’

‘He wasn’t working alone.’

‘Onegroupthen,’ I snapped.‘A minority did something awful, does that give us the right to enslave and torture the rest of their kind?’

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