Page 28 of Queen of Ever

That echoed what Solas had said to me the day before a little too closely.I felt like I had distressed her enough for one morning, so I let that topic drop.Even if I thought it was dumb to move straight to war, Marietta wasn’t exactly in a position to do anything about it.‘How long will the conclave take?’I asked.

She was quiet for a moment as she twisted strands of my hair and pinned them in place.‘Hopefully no longer than a few days,’ she finally said.

‘Hopefully?’I repeated, her hesitation making me nervous.Was I going to have to be there for the entire thing?I didn’t even understand why I was going in the first place.I was no one, just a ward of the king, here only at his whim.There were so many things I didn’t understand about being part of this court, like all these bizarre ceremonies and rituals that every courtier seemed to be required to participate in.It made me miss the simplicity of home, the Human Realm where I was free to stay locked away in my apartment with a good book and not have to speak to anyone if I so chose.

‘The longest on record took six months.’

‘Six months?!’That was madness.Surely, I wouldn’t have to stay the entire time, would I?I was only just starting to feel settled here and now I was going to have to leave again.

‘Don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t come to that this time,’ she said, but I couldn’t help but think that was just wishful thinking.

‘Right.So, where do we have to go exactly?’

‘To King Oberon’s castle, of course.’

‘Of course,’ I muttered.I supposed I should have paid more attention to my history lessons.What I remembered was that King Oberon was once the king of all fae, but when he grew tired of ruling, he split the kingdom between his two sons, creating the Seelie and Unseelie Kingdoms.‘It’s on neutral ground,’ Marietta continued.‘The Sunder flows around several islands that belong to neither kingdom.They used to be the seat of power in the united realm.’

And suddenly, it hit me that if we were going, and if Solas was going, then it wasn’t just going to be some ragtag collection of Seelie and Unseelie advisors and diplomats.Surely the Unseelie royal family would be there too.My heart felt light and fluttery at the thought, seeming to float into the vicinity of somewhere in my throat.Tarian might be there.And if he wasn’t...

‘Quickly now, we’d better get to the portal before my brother comes looking for us.’Marietta interrupted my thoughts before they could twist me up into tears again.

‘A portal.Great.’I had only travelled by portal once, when Tarian had dragged me through a fishbowl in my apartment and into the Fae Realm in the first place.I wasn’t eager to repeat the experience.Though it was probably preferable to winging about on Melaie, or to the dizzying, stomach-turning ordeal that had been light-speed travel with Solas when he’d brought me to the Summer Palace.Thathad taken a whole day to recover from.

When we were ready, Marietta led me to the lower levels of the palace, to a circular room with high, vaulted ceilings and walls of a pale, pinkish stone.At its centre lay a perfectly round pool of water, so still it looked like glass.Not quite the dank cave I’d found myself in with Tarian.Would he be on the other side?Even if nothing had changed between us, I needed to know he was alive.And yet, entering that portal might just prove the opposite.Because if hewasn’tthere...I wasn’t sure how I would react.

Please let him be alive.

There was a collection of courtiers and Solas’ retinue in the room, waiting to come with us, it seemed.It wasn’t anywhere near the numbers that had been in the ballroom the other night, so I was grateful for that.

‘Good, you’re here,’ Solas said, holding his arm out towards us.But Marietta only pushed me forward and I was very aware that all eyes were on me.It was definitely too late to run now, so I forced myself to put one foot in front of the other, making my way to him with tentative steps.Something was going on and it was clear that I was the only one who didn’t know what that was.

‘You’re to enter with me,’ Solas explained as he threaded my arm through his.I wanted to protest, to ask why, but with everyone watching, I knew better.Embarrassing the king in front of his court would be stupid.Really stupid.This wasn’t a battle I needed to fight, as uncomfortable as it made me feel.

Solas stood facing that still, round pool.A brilliant sun mosaic shimmered at the bottom of the crystal-clear water.On the opposite side of the pool, a tall, willowy Seelie woman bent and drew her fingers through the water, swirling them deliberately, like she was writing something on the surface.A light began to glow, spreading in eddies and swirls from the ripples of her fingertips until it was so bright that I had to shield my eyes.

‘They’re ready for us,’ Solas said.He stepped into the water, pulling me along with him, and I held my breath, bracing for the awful feeling I knew was coming.When we reached the centre of the pool, we were sucked in, further than the depths of the pool allowed, dragging us below the surface.I squeezed my eyes shut and my grip on Solas tightened as I felt myself being ripped away from my body, spinning into oblivion.

When the world finally began to still, I forced myself to open my eyes, though my vision still spun for a few seconds as I let Solas lead me out of the portal.Our clothes remained dry, as if the water had never existed at all, which I supposed I should be grateful for because at least I wasn’t also cold and wet as my stomach lurched and churned, threatening to return the breakfast it had received that morning.I was sure my face was an unattractive shade of green, but it would have been far more embarrassing if I had also been hunched over, trying not to get vomit on my dress.Portal travel might have been convenient, but I really couldn’t understand why the fae were so fond of it when the experience was so unpleasant.I’d prefer to drive, even if it took longer.Maybe I could introduce them to the idea of cars.

That was probably just another thing about me that was entirely too human for a fae.

An old man with wild silver hair curling around his pointed ears and a long velvet robe stood waiting for us, smiling.His face was wrinkled, so I felt sure he must be ancient, perhaps even old enough to have known King Oberon personally.

‘Welcome,’ he said warmly, holding his arms wide as if the sight of us overjoyed him.Perhaps he didn’t get many visitors.Or perhaps he just really liked political negotiations.

But I’d lost interest in the priest completely, my breath catching in my throat as a feeling began to overwhelm me, like someone was pulling on my soul.Hewas here.I could feel him before I saw him, and my eyes scanned the crowd of fae that had assembled until I finally found him.And then I was trapped, lost in the dark eyes that had consumed my thoughts for the past few days.

Tarian.

Chapter 12

Imogen

Heheldmygaze,expression indecipherable, as if he was carefully concealing his emotions.It shouldn’t have surprised me, really.He had long since proven himself far better at keeping his thoughts hidden than I was.This moment was no different.I didn’t seem to have the strength to keep my own feelings concealed as relief flooded me, crashing through my body like a tidal wave, washing away everything else around me.Suddenly it didn’t matter where we were or who was watching because there he was, standing right in front of me.

He was alive!

Tears stung at my eyes, as if a dam was breaking in me because I hadn’t realised just how scared I’d been at the thought that he might not have survived, at the thought that I might never be able to see him again.My feet began to move towards him of their own volition, the need to go to him, to touch him and make sure he was real and not just a figment of my own imagination consuming my entire body.

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