Page 46 of Heir of Autumn
My stomach lurched. Why did that seem so threatening, all of a sudden? The air felt different. Darker. Thicker. When I dared to look into Yvette’s eyes, they were harder, boring intently into mine.
“I really do hope you aren’t lying, Lochlann. Especially not to my baby brother.”
My hands went up. I backed away, just a single step. “Whoa, now. What’s all this about lying? I thought we were just having a good time here.”
“We are,” she said, her expression still as cold and stony as anything. “I am only making sure that my brother’s heart remains untarnished. Unharmed.”
Oh. There it was, the sinister sister. Gods above and below. I licked my lips, hardly believing I could still muster the courage to answer her.
“I would never hurt him,” I said, steeling myself, refusing to back up, to back down.
“That is most reassuring. I think you’ll find that I am very protective of Sylvain. I don’t know what he’s told you about me, but I can be a very prickly customer. Very prickly indeed.”
Little spikes began to push their way out of her skin. On her face, her chest, her bared arms, leaving no blood as they emerged, despite being so barbed and sharp. I’d wondered whether her talents would match Sylvain’s, and here was my answer.
Yvette was growing thorns right out of her skin, turning it into a deadly armored surface. Could she fire them from her body as well, like horrible, wicked darts? I wasn’t planning to find out. I opened my mouth to say something to settle her temper — anything — when a jovial voice called out from behind her.
“Now, now, Yvette. Play nice with my beloved little human.”
The barbs instantly shrank back into her body, retracting under cover of her skin. Sylvain approached us with a huge grin on his face, his statement only sarcastic, apparently so happy to see that Yvette and I were getting along. If only he knew.
Yvette’s darkness dropped away from her like a discarded garment. She gave me a sparkling smile — more like a warning with bared teeth — before she turned to address her beloved brother.
“Come now, Sylvain. Of course we’re playing nice. Lochlann is such a sweet sort. I even showed him how to fire an arrow. Didn’t I, Lochlann?”
She tilted her head at me, so casual and carefree I could have believed that our intimidating exchange had never happened. I pointed at the last arrow she fired, the one that had destroyed mine.
“That’s the one I shot,” I said. “She’s a good teacher.”
Yvette smiled so hard I thought her skin would split. “Oh, you flatterer.”
“Excellent aim. Especially for a first timer.” Sylvain sidled up to me, wrapping an arm around my waist, pressing a kiss against my hair. “Though I shouldn’t be surprised. Lochlann has shown an aptitude for excelling at his first time with everything, including playing with my — ”
“Wow, Sylvain, okay, yes.” He grunted when I thumped him in the chest. “Yvette doesn’t need to hear about how much I like to play with your hair. Your perfectly lovely hair.”
Yvette crossed her arms and shook her head fondly. “The two of you are so adorable.”
That settled it. These people were crazy. Just moments ago she was ready to shank me in multiple places all over my body, and now this?
“I did come out here for a reason, though.” Sylvain squeezed my waist. “Locke? Mother would like to see you. She says she’d like to get to know you.”
Well, fuck. I wasn’t expecting to be granted a private audience with an actual high fae queen. What if I committed some fae faux pas? And if Queen Aurelia was anything like Yvette — well, shit.
I gave Sylvain my best smile, disguising every last trace of fear or hesitation. “That sounds wonderful. Where should I meet her?”
He gestured at the nearest tree, plucking a single leaf with his power. It drifted toward us, metallic and gold, an impossible specimen.
“This will lead the way.”
“Right, right, except, um,” I said, hesitating, trying to buy time before my imaginary execution. “Satchel! That’s right. Have you seen Satchel around? Where is that little rascal?”
“Oh, frolicking with the palace pixies, I imagine. I wouldn’t worry about him, Locke. No harm will come to you, my guests. I swear it.”
Somehow I wasn’t so sure of that anymore.
I bid the siblings goodbye and followed the golden leaf back into the Amber Pavilion, down the hallway. It twirled and tumbled through the air in a lazy flight pattern that reminded me more of a fly, or a bee. Not quite like a pixie.
Man, I missed Satchel and his sass all of a sudden. He’d have my back at least, and be braver, too, threaten Yvette right back to her face. And where would that leave us? Probably on a chopping block waiting to get our empty heads lopped off. But at least we’d be together.
