Page 69 of A Court of Hearts and Hunger
“I’ll show you the book,” I offer. “I know you can’t touch it, but I’ll hold it open while you read it.”
“That won’t work. The words appear muddled to anyone but the owner.”
“Cut me apart, then!” I glare at him. “Take all the pieces you want, and I will never speak to you, touch you, or look at you again.”
“Maybe that would be a relief,” he snaps.
“Get it over with.”
His hand on my throat tightens. He leans down, the gashes in his cheeks stretched wide, teeth gnashing inside his mouth.
“I wish I’d never seen you,” he hisses against my lips.
“There we can agree.”
“Why did you have to bethis?” His hot breath mingles with mine, and I’m shaking all over, wracked with fear and anticipation, dread and delight, because his mouth, his broad, smooth lips, they are nearly touching mine, and his eyes are stricken with wild hunger.
He’s going to kiss me before he destroys me.
But the door to the room bangs open, and the Cat charges in, panting.
The Rabbit whirls on him, teeth bared.
Caer recoils, but he says, “I have news.”
“Can it wait?”
“No.”
The Rabbit straightens, adjusting his gloves. “What is it?”
“I went out beyond the walls of Mallaithe, because I—I couldn’t be here while you were doing this to her. I used my speed to climb one of the tallest trees on Breaker’s Ridge, near the tower of Gruama. And I saw them coming.”
“Them?” The Rabbit frowns.
“Heartless. A whole crowd of them, moving down from the north.”
“The gate guards will kill them or drive them away,” says the Rabbit impatiently.
But Caer shakes his head. “You don’t understand. There are far more than usual—hundreds, I would guess. Maybe the prey has grown thin in the forests, and they’re being drawn to where they can sense thousands of beating hearts. Either way, this is something new. A larger threat. Once they reach the city, they’ll travel around it, down to the Calamity Gate where the entertainers come into the city. You know how many Unseelie camp there, hoping to get inside the gates and be welcomed at Court. They’ll be massacred. You have to tell the Queen about the incoming forces of the Heartless, so she can send more guards to stop them.”
The Rabbit’s face is rigid, a stony horror in his eyes. “That’s what she meant.”
“What are you talking about?”
“At Court last night, one of the captains reported on the state of the Calamity Gate, and the growing numbers of Fae pressuring the guards to let them into Mallaithe. He recommended more guards to deal with the situation. But the Queen only smiled and said, ‘Leave the Rejected to their impotent defiance. They won’t be a problem for much longer.’”
“Then she knows,” Caer says faintly. “She’s sending the Heartless there on purpose. To kill the Fae outside the Calamity Gate.”
The Rabbit lets out a growl of frustration. “She finished with me earlier than usual this evening. I asked too many questions, and she became irritated. So I can’t appear before her again tonight. But you, Caer—you might be able to do something, to save them. A game, with the lives of the Rejected as the stakes.”
Caer’s pale face turns whiter. “I don’t like appearing at Court. Not anymore.”
“She has commented on your absence lately. You should make an appearance anyway, to please her. And while you’re at it, try to convince her to let the supplicants in, or at least send out more guards to defend them.” The Rabbit unlatches the manacles on my wrists and ankles. “I will go and speak with Ashern. He’s part of the city watch. Maybe he can help.”
“What if he can’t?” asks Caer. “What if I can’t win the Queen’s mercy?”
The Rabbit clamps a gloved hand on his shoulder. “Then the Heartless will overcome the Unseelie outside the gate, and the Queen will have the power of many more hearts at her disposal.”
