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“That is not a suitable answer,” the woman in the center suit replied.

“Then I guess it’s not a request.” The words were out before Taly could think better of them.

The woman hesitated, then said, “Forgive me, Madam. The Queen respectfullydemandsyour presence at tea.”

“And if I still don’t go?” Taly argued mulishly.

“Then I suppose I will be forced to carry you.”

The Mechanica reached for her then, its metal body stiff and unyielding, but Taly flinched away, stabbing at it with her scissors.

It paused. “Do we make you uncomfortable, Madam?”

“Yes.” Taly eyed the two cannons embedded in its metal gauntlets. “You could kill me in an instant. Of course, you make me uncomfortable.”

The suit bobbed its head, the movement graceless and uncoordinated. “I apologize, Madam. We will make adjustments.”

All around her, metal began to shiver and clank. The helmets were the first thing to fall, hitting the floor with sharp cracks. The arms came next as their whirring joints slowly spun to a stop and slipped out of socket. The legs shuddered, and the plating on the torsos began to cave as Taly watched the five hulking Mechanica abruptly collapse in on themselves, crashing to the floor in a tangled heap.

Tendrils of blue energy floated in the newly empty space, swirling chaotically as they began to take shape, forming themselves into the shape of a woman. Her face was smooth and featureless, and her dress looked like smoke as it clung to her nearly transparent form.

Behind her, four perfectly round orbs, each one as large as a child’s head, hovered expectantly.

Fairy fire.

Spirits. Just like the ones she’d seen at the gates of the palace, the ghosts her mother had summoned to fend off Vaughn.

“Is this more to your liking, Madam?” the woman asked.

Taly blew out a slow breath, willing her heart to settle. “Strangely… yes. I still feel like you could kill me if you wanted to, but this is better than a giant suit of weaponized armor being powered by a ghost.” Sensing that these things weren’t going to hurt her—at least not yet—she took a tentative step forward.

“What are you exactly?” Taly asked as she began to circle the woman. “You don’t look like the fairies that brought me here. Or like them.” She nodded at the four orbs that still hovered nearby, silent.

The woman’s head followed her, twisting at an unnatural angle. “I am the same as my brothers and sisters. I am a spirit, a manifestation of anima. However, unlike many of the fairies you will encounter here, I have chosennotto pass through the mists that separate our two realms. Your world degrades us, whereas this place preserves what is left of our generative force. Because of this, I still have my mind. I am nearly the same now as I was when I died, simply lacking a physical body.”

“Who were you when you were alive?” It seemed like a reasonable question to ask a ghost.

“That is not important,” the woman replied. “For now, you may call me Leto. I have been assigned to be your attendant during your stay. If there is anything you require, you need only ask.”

Taly finally lowered the scissors. “I would like to leave. Can you show me the way home?”

“That is not possible.”

“Why not? Am I a prisoner?”

“No,” Leto answered matter-of-factly, her head still held at that impossible angle. “You are a guest of the Queen, and you will be given the freedom to roam the palace after you have spoken with Lady Raine. I apologize for any unease youmay be feeling at present. That is my fault. I had hoped to be there when you awoke so that all this might be explained, but I was called away.”

Taly shuddered at the thought of waking up to that hulking suit of armor looming over her bedside. “What about my weapons?” she asked, even if she already knew the answer. Her dagger, her pistols—each one a gift, a reminder of Skye. “A friend made those for me. I’d like them back.”

“You will be allowed to arm yourself after you have spoken—”

“With Lady Raine.” Taly scowled, shoving her scissors back in her boot.

“I’m so glad you understand,” Leto said. Taly jumped when the fairy’s body abruptly snapped back into its proper configuration. Smoke curled around her phantom form, slowly dissipating. “If that is all, Madam, I must start preparing you for tea. Your current garb is insufficient.”

Taly kept a wary eye on the fairy as she was gently herded back up the stairs and through the apartment, ticking off the facts in her head. She still didn’t know where she was, and she didn’t know if there was a way out. She was unarmed and trapped inside this tower with the ghost of a woman she didn’t fully trust. She was defenseless, and her magic—the one thing she might be able to use to protect herself—had gone quiet inside her. Not a spark, not an ember, not a single vision.

What’s the next step?