Page 54 of Queen of Ever

‘You’re… Ethan’s brother?’I didn’t even know Ethan had a brother.He never spoke about his family, and as someone with a dysfunctional family of my own, I’d never pushed him on the subject.

‘Aren’t I lucky?Related to a traitor.’

‘A traitor to what, exactly?’

‘Blood.’His face was grave, his voice fierce as he said it.‘His own kind.Everything we were raised to believe in.’

‘Ethan isn’t a traitor, he’s my friend,’ I protested angrily.Ethan would never betray anyone.I’d never known a more loyal friend than him.

‘And you are the new Seelie princess, which says it all,’ he scoffed.

‘I was human when he met me—or, I thought I was,’ I said.It never seemed to get easier to think of myself as not human.

‘And now he aligns himself with the Unseelie,’ he said evenly.‘Seems like he likes to kiss up to tyrants.’

I bit my tongue against the argument that was trying to burst out of me.It was better to let that go for now, it wouldn’t help me to argue with him.And I doubted anything I said would change his mind, anyway.

‘I’m sure Ethan isn’t the reason I’m currently tied to a chair,’ I said, leaning back in an attempt to get comfortable.‘Are you this rebel group that’s been causing so much strife?The ones who tried to kill me?’

Ethan’s brother didn’t even deign to reply, merely coming closer, checking the bonds at my wrists as though I hadn’t spoken while the other two looked on.

‘And now you’ve taken me prisoner.What the hell have I done to you to make you target me?’I demanded as he moved behind me.

‘We did try to kill you, yes, but we’re not going to now,’ the scaled woman said, speaking for the first time.Her voice was almost musical, enhancing her beauty.‘You’re more valuable to us alive than you are dead.’

‘For the first time in a long time, perhaps ever, we have leverage that could help us win this war.’This was Ethan’s brother again, coming back into view.

‘You realise your escapades have led to some kind of treaty amendment between the Unseelie and Seelie Courts, don’t you?They’re preparing to wipe you out.You can’t possibly think thatIwould be enough leverage to put a stop to that.’

‘You’re referring to the recent attacks on the High Fae,’ the woman said.‘We weren’t responsible for that.Just convenient scape goats.We wouldn’t be stupid enough to plan something that would only drive them to band together and retaliate.’

I found myself believing her, though it didn’t make much sense.I believed her because they’d freely admitted to trying to kill me.Why admit to that but lie about the attacks?Which left one big and disturbing question left unanswered.‘But if you weren’t behind them, who was?’

‘Someone who wants a war and knows how to start one,’ she replied simply.

A sneaking suspicion crawled over me.Call it an intuition, maybe one that had been tipped off by my time spent in the Summer Palace.The obvious disdain for lesser fae, the collars on servants, the strange calm following the announcement of an attack on a Seelie village, the callous way I’d been used as bait to catch a rebel in the palace.

‘Solas,’ I said quietly.Was I just being paranoid, or could he really be capable of something so despicable?

‘That’s our theory,’ the winged male said in a deep voice.‘After all, attacking the Unseelie Court meant he could have his war with us and strike at his rival in one move.’

‘But we can’t rule out the Unseelie, either,’ the woman said.‘Queen Moriana is a formidable opponent, and she’d be just as likely to want to start a conflict.She could use a treaty amendment as an opportunity to launch an attack across the Sunder as much as Solas could.’

‘Why would she attack her own castle while she was inside it?Surely, she wouldn’t risk her own safety,’ I said as thoughts raced through my mind.It couldn’t be a coincidence that the Unseelie Palace itself had been attacked and the lives of Moriana and Tarian had been in jeopardy, whereas Solas hadn’t been anywhere near the attack on Seelie lands.But surely Solas couldn’t slaughter an entire village of innocents—his own subjects—just to cover his tracks?And where the hell did I fit into it all?Had his push for some kind of romantic relationship with me been about more than just his rivalry with Tarian?

‘Enough of this,’ Ethan’s brother snapped.‘She’s a prisoner, not an ally.’

‘I see your brother got all the charm in your family,’ I sniped, throwing a glare at him for good measure.‘So, what is it that you want from me?’

The door opened again and this time my mouth dropped as a woman walked in, her blonde hair tied back in a way I had never seen her wear it, dressed not at all like Seelie royalty.She had on a pair of calf-high boots, a leather bodice synching her waist over a white shirt, andpants.

‘Marietta?’I asked, not believing my eyes.Questions raced through my mind: how the hell was she here?Whythe hell was she here?She clearly wasn’t a captive like me.Was this all part ofherplan?‘What the hell?’

Chapter 22

Imogen

‘What’sthis?’Mariettaasked,directing her question to Ethan’s brother as if I hadn’t spoken at all.‘She was supposed to be treated as a guest, Cassian!’

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