Page 27 of Queen of Ever

Ves pranced into the stillness, making a beeline for a decanter and set of glasses on trolly by the window.‘Thank the stars.I wasn’t sure if that old stiff was too strait-laced to keep liquor in his office.’He poured himself a drink, looked around the room as he sipped it.‘Where is Arun, anyway?Wouldn’t he usually be stuck to you like glue after what just happened?’

‘He died,’ I said bluntly, feeling the way the words scorched my throat on the way out.Died.‘In the explosion.’

Vesryn lowered his glass, expression suddenly sombre.‘Oh.Sorry.’

I nodded.Bit down on the grief.Began emptying out his desk.

Chapter 11

Imogen

Mariettacametomyroom early that morning lacking her usual warm smile.She was strangely quiet, hardly looking at me as she set about helping me prepare for the day, her movements more careful than I’d ever seen them.Something was clearly troubling her and I couldn’t help but feel sad that she wasn’t willing to confide in me.Maybe she didn’t want to add to my burdens.Lord knew my emotions were weighing heavily on me, and my body didn’t seem to be interested in hiding that fact.My eyes were ringed with dark circles from a restless night of worrying, my skin pale from lack of sleep.

‘Marietta, what’s wrong?’I finally asked, unable to take the silence any longer.

‘Huh?’she asked as if breaking out of a stupor.‘Oh, I’m sorry.I didn’t mean to make you worry.’

‘You’re my friend, Marietta, of course I worry about you.’

She looked at me in the mirror, our reflections staring back at each other.She seemed so surprised that I felt a twinge of guilt.Maybe I’d been a bad friend.I had been so wrapped up in myself since I’d arrived at the Summer Palace, thoughts of Tarian seeming to consume every spare moment that I had.

Finally, she smiled at me.‘I don’t really have any friends here,’ she admitted bashfully.

‘How can that be true?’I asked before my brain engaged properly.But I already knew the answer to that question; it was because she didn’t have magic, because the snobs at the court saw her as less-than.‘Oh,’ I said, feeling ashamed of myself.As if she needed reminding of that fact.

She blushed a little, the shade utterly alluring on her.‘Well, I suppose I should tell you what’s going on,’ she said, as if I hadn’t just stuck my foot in my mouth.‘Since you’re to attend.’

‘Attend what?’

‘Because of the attacks on both sides of the border, my brother has called a conclave.It’s all very political, but the aim is to form an amendment to the treaty between the Seelie and Unseelie Kingdoms while we deal with the imminent threat of—,’ she paused, catching my eyes again.She looked as if she was weighing up whether or not to continue, ‘—war.’

The word hung heavily in the air as my brain scrambled to comprehend what I’d just heard.‘War?’I asked in shock.War wasn’t something I had much experience with.It was a word applied to some abstract thing that happened in places far away.‘With the lesser fae?’

She nodded.‘With those that have formed a rebel cell.They are becoming very bold and very dangerous.There were a number of casualties among the Unseelie Court.We still don’t know exactly who—our spies haven’t been able to confirm yet.’

They didn’t know?My blood ran cold.Could Tarian be among the fallen?Would I feel it if he died, through our bond?I tried to remember the last thing I’d said to him, but I couldn’t.I knew it hadn’t been good.Had I lost him forever?Hadn’t I already lost him?There was a part of me that just assumed we’d see each other again, even if he’d defied Ethan’s assurances that he’d come and find me.I had hoped that I’d one day get some closure on what had happened between us, that I’d get the chance to look him in the face and demand he acknowledge that he’d used me, that I’d never meant anything to him, and that our bond was all just instinct and fate and had never been anything more than that.

‘Oh no!Please don’t cry,’ Marietta said quickly.She began dabbing away tears I hadn’t realised I was crying.

‘I’m sorry,’ I said, not sure what else I was supposed to say.

‘I should have thought before I spoke,’ she said.‘I’m sure Prince Tarian is fine.I’m sure we’d have heard if a royal had died.’

I tried to cling to that thought as I took a slow breath.I felt sick.I tried to will my churning stomach to settle, my tightened muscles to calm, my racing heart to slow.He’s not dead.You’dknowif he was.They’dknow if he was.

When I finally felt like I had some semblance of control, I decided to change the subject in an attempt to keep my mind from drifting back to the worst case scenario.‘So, what’s this conclave then?’I asked.As I caught sight of my reflection, I realised it would take a lot more to hide the emotions warring inside me.

Marietta looked relieved to be speaking of something else and launched right into an answer.‘There’ll be ceremonies and a whole lot of political discussions—don’t worry, we won’t have to attend those.And when both parties come to an agreement, we can go home.’

‘And the war will begin.’

‘Most likely, yes,’ Marietta said sombrely.‘Though, it’ll probably be over in a matter of days.Lesser fae rebellions… they don’t last long once both kingdoms join together to put them down.’

I didn’t know how I felt about that and it didn’t help that sense of calm I was trying to cultivate.And from the look on her face, she didn’t think much of it either.For all her measured tone, her eyes were tight with worry.

‘Couldn’t they take another approach?Surely the lesser fae would be open to negotiation?’

Her eyes went wide, and she looked around quickly as if she was worried someone had heard me.‘You mustn’t speak like that.It’s not safe.High Fae have a particular way of doing things, and questioning it isn’t a good idea.’

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