Page 24 of The Curse of Golden Blood
Everyone was silent. Then Narietta clasped her hands and let out a small squeal of excitement. She bounded from her place at the end of the table and rushed to the girl's side.
"Mira."
She took the girl's arm and led her to the chair that had remained empty. She sat, her expression wary, her eyes darting between the faces of those seated around her.
"Welcome, welcome," Narietta was practically bouncing with glee. "I am so glad you decided to join us."
"I wasn't given much choice," the girl replied flatly. Her eyes locked on mine, and I offered her a cold, assessing stare.
"Apologies, Mira," Narietta said, although she did not seem very contrite. "I know it's a bit much. I forget that not everyone enjoys theatrics.”
"My name is Miralyte," the girl corrected, allowing herself to be led to the empty chair beside mine. Her gaze swept the assembled court with cool assessment before settling on me.
Miralyte inclined her head towards me, acknowledging my presence. "Would it be a good time to ask why the court desires the joy of my presence tonight?" Miralyte's golden eyes bored into mine. Direct. I appreciated that, even if her tone bordered on insolence.
"That depends entirely on you."
"Me? What could I possibly have to offer you, oh great Warlord?"
My amusement faded a bit. I was not going to stand to be mocked, least of all by a mere mortal. But before I could say anything, my sister giggled and clapped her hands.
"I simply adore her wit," she exclaimed, glancing between the two of us. "It's a breath of fresh air."
I internally groaned. Of course Narie refused to see that the girl was goading me. Narie wouldn't know real humor if it slapped her in her face. She only saw what she wanted to see, which was something glamorous and exotic. A hero to fill the stories. A shameful part of me secretly liked it.
"Well?" She asked, her golden eyes boring into mine.
I clenched my jaw and leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table. Before I could answer, my sister spoke. "We have a task for you."
Both the girl and I turned towards her, and I was not surprised when the girl asked, "What sort of task?"
"Tell me, Miralyte," my sister began, her voice taking on a more serious tone, "what do you know of magical plagues?"
"Nothing. "
"There is a curse afflicting our court," Narietta continued, her usual brightness dimming. "We call it the Shadow Rot. It is... consuming our people." A gasp rippled through the court at her revelation and some of them openly gaped in shock. I cringed and shot a look at Narietta. To share our greatest weakness so openly with a human no less… Narietta, sensing my thoughts, shot me a look and shook her head. Fine. She had a plan.
The girl's expression shifted slightly—not to sympathy, but to wariness. "What does that have to do with me?"
"The rot is magical in nature," Gryven interjected from across the table, his scarred face grave. "It turns our own power against us, eating through flesh and bone until nothing remains but husks."
"Our healers are helpless against it," Narietta added softly. "And it affects mortals even more severely. They typically die within days of exposure."
I watched Miralyte's face carefully. Fear flickered in her eyes—good. She was beginning to understand the stakes.
"But you," Narietta leaned forward, hope bright in her violet eyes, "you appear to be... different."
"Different how?"
This was the moment I had been waiting for. I rose from my seat and moved to stand beside her chair. She tensed as I approached, but didn't flee.
Slowly, deliberately, I lifted the agralt chain from around my neck.
"This pendant would kill any mortal who touched it," I said, dangling the divine metal before her eyes. "Yet yesterday, you handled it without consequence."
Her jaw tightened. "Your point?"
"The point, little dove, is that your body doesn't react to fae magic the way it should. At all."
