Page 5 of Queen of Ever

‘Your High Fae history likes to harp on about Oberon, but he wasn’t the one who brought the lesser fae into the fold when the realm was united,’ Ethan began, kicking his legs, still strung out over the armrest.‘Ruisin is the one who managed that.But he was written out of your history when he was exiled to the Whisper Wastes.’

‘That sounds a bit far-fetched.’

‘Why?Because you’ve never heard of him?Wouldn’t be the first time High Fae have scorned the stories of the lessers.’

‘Arun, do you know of this?’

Arun drew closer to us, standing with his arms folded, expression pensive.‘There are… rumours.Stories that support it.’

‘Alright, say itistrue that there was some lesser fae from Oberon’s time living in the Whisper Wastes.How does this help me?’

‘Well, Ruisin is a dragon.’

‘Adragon?I thought they were long gone.’Dragons had died out long before my time.From what I understood of them, they had vast, complex magical abilities, but when they’d begun breeding with other species, they’d wound up with difficulties bearing viable young.So, they died out.Or so I’d thought.

‘All but one.’Ethan swung his legs back to the floor.‘Rumour has it he was given a portal when he was exiled, one that can reach anywhere in the realm, just to torment him since he can never set foot in either Seelie or Unseelie kingdom again.’

It was an interesting idea.There were no portals between the Seelie and Unseelie Kingdoms.Those lines had been severed long ago.‘But why was he exiled?’

Ethan shrugged.‘Don’t know.Doesn’t really matter though, does it?The important part is that you might not be able to cross the border, but you could pop in and out through an unmonitored portal without anyone being the wiser.’

‘Assuming he wouldn’t kill you on sight,’ Arun muttered.‘Or once he realises who you are.’

I ignored Arun’s comment, tapping my fingers against the arm of the chair as I thought.Dragon treasure hoards had been legendary.Perhaps I could buy my way into the creature’s tolerance.

‘Tarian, you need to think this through,’ Arun continued, his voice growing in force as he seemed to realise I was considering my options.‘Please don’t go charging off into the Whisper Wastes to visit a dragon.It isn’t safe for you, and even if you get out of it alive and he shows you a way into the Seelie lands, it won’t be what’s best for her.You do want what’s best for her, don’t you?’

I clenched my jaw against the throb of guilt and shame that surfaced.It was something I always carried now, so ready to reignite and remind me that it was my fault Imogen was in the Seelie Court in the first place.‘Yes.’

‘Then you won’t go.Going after her would be about you, not her.’

‘Fine,’ I said, rising to my feet again.

‘Then where are you going?’

‘Out.I can’t breathe in here.’

Arun didn’t try to stop me this time and he stepped out of my way.Perhaps he realised he’d done enough arguing for the day.In the end, I had to make my own decisions.

I didn’t find it any easier to breathe from the North Tower, where I sat with my feet slung over the edge, tempting the wind to dislodge me and send me plunging down.The gloom of an overcast afternoon was giving way to dusk, and beyond the walls of Dreadhold the fires of the nearby town were being lit and the Shadowmire was waking.In the distance, I could spot Melaie diving through the sky, probably having spotted something to hunt.I’d never felt so caged here before, never so restless.

When the queen had first consented to my taking up residence at Dreadhold, the place had seemed like an implausible haven, an escape.She’d always wanted to keep me close so she could keep a tight grip on my strings.But as I’d matured and the reality of the terrible magic running through me became clearer, she must have realised her days of tormenting me without consequence were numbered.

And that number was rapidly growing smaller.I was going to make her pay for taking Imogen’s name from me.

Chapter 3

Imogen

I’dstartedtothinkthis equinox thing was meant to keep me so preoccupied I couldn’t eventhinkabout anything else.My tutors were more stressed than usual, as if the party was a test for them to pass rather than one for me.My head was jammed so full of new things that I felt like my brain had melted and I wasn’t going to remember any of it.

‘No, no, no!Out with the left foot and lean into it, then together and—no!’My dancing instructor began to flap his arms about, his face growing red with frustration.Dancing was not my forte.And I had no intention of changing that.I sighed before I could stop myself, exhaustion creeping up on me.

He crowded me, his mouth moving at record speed as he scolded and instructed me, dipping and waving his hands around as he attempted to show me again what I was supposed to do.I wondered how he could dip like that without his strange wig falling off, or how he could move in those bedazzled shoes, which were so heavily set with jewels that you couldn’t see the fabric beneath them.

‘Are you listening to me?’he snapped, finally bringing his attention to my face, a crease in his brow.

‘No,’ I said, too tired to care about offending him.

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