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That’s what Ivain had always said, and in this case, it was easy. She needed to speak to the Lady Raine. After that, she would be in a better position to find a way out.

“Okay, Leto,” Taly conceded, knees wobbling as she followed the woman into a small dressingroom decorated in shades of blue and gold and pink. “You win. I guess I’m going to tea with the Time Queen.” It sounded even more absurd coming out of her mouth than it had in her head.

Leto gave her a suspicious glance, as if she didn’t quite believe Taly’s sincerity—then inclined her head. “Very good, Madam,” she said, drifting across the room. Her ethereal hands moved aside several draped panels of sheer blue gossamer, revealing yet another set of doors.

Ones Taly recognized.

That were already standing open.

Shit.

The fairy paused at the threshold, gazing into the ruined mess that used to be the closet. Shredded remains of fabric dusted the carpet, and empty hangers still swayed on the racks. Several drawers had been overturned, their contents spilled across the floor.

Leto turned, and even beneath that smooth, featureless face, Taly knew that the spirit wore a look of shock.

“This,” Leto clucked in a way that sounded strangely like Sarina, “may take longer than I expected.”

Somehow, Taly mustered a sheepish grin, shrugging as the fairy turned and began sorting through the wreckage.

Chapter 2

-An excerpt from When the Bridges Fell: Letters from a Lost Island

They’re calling it the Schism now—the day the world broke apart. Most people, if you ask them, will say they remember the flashes of light, or the explosions, or the way the ground around the gates began to fall away. But me—I was at home that day, far away from any of the gates. All I remember is the ash. I thought it was snowing at first, but then I remembered it was summer.

-Author and recipient unknown. This letter is part of an unclaimed collection discovered after the evacuation of the mountain pass villages.

Taly’s boots clicked on the gold-and-white checkered marble as she followed Leto down thedarkened hallway. The ghostly woman drifted ahead of her, glowing softly. Her light expanded to fill the space, casting everything in shades of pale blue.

Leto had been circumspect in the information she gave. Tea was to be served in the Water Maze, though Taly had no idea what or where that was. And aside from the Queen and the fairies and nowher, the palace was uninhabited. Something that seemed as absurd as it was wasteful for a place so large and grand.

Taly had read once that the Infinity’s Edge complex boasted over 1,500 rooms, and those were only the ones that had been officially mapped. Enchantments were woven into the very stone, spells that made time and space twist and fold in on itself, concealing even more rooms and more treasures. It would be easy to get lost in such a place. Before the Schism, Ivain said that at least one person would go missing inside the palace every week.

Some were never found.

Taly took a long breath—in and then out—but her fingers still shook as she smoothed her hands over the supple velvet that hugged her waist. Growing up as the Marquess Castaro’s ward, she was no stranger to finery. Sarina had always made sure that Taly’s wardrobe was full of the latest mainland styles—pretty, feminine clothes made of rich fabrics that would’ve been better suited on some fey beauty. And yet it all paled in comparison to the ensemble Leto had cobbled together from the tattered remains of her tower closet.

A formal frockcoat spun from shadows and threaded with stars, a silky tunic as blue as the sea—both perfectly layered and draped over a pairof steel-gray leggings that flaunted every curve. Sapphires dotted her ears, and water magic darkened her lashes. A simple diadem painted a streak of silver through the graceful riot of golden curls that spilled over her shoulders.

She looked like a noble, like some proper Highborn lady one might find roaming the halls of the Dawn Court, surrounded by a flock of sycophants and fellow courtiers. After spending so much of her life learning to accept her human imperfections, to stop idealizing the flawless beauty of the fey, seeing that beauty reflected in herself now… she still wasn’t quite sure how that made her feel.

After what seemed like an eternity, they came to a long receiving hall flanked by doorways and columns and little alcoves. Like everything else, it was empty, though it was easy to imagine lords and ladies milling about, each one waiting for an audience with the Queen. A set of massive oak doors stood at the opposite end, opening on silent hinges as they approached.

Taly blinked, raising a hand to shield her eyes as she stepped into the bright light of day. The formal gardens stretched into the distance—a kaleidoscope of color punctuated by gently rolling lawns of green candy-colored grass. The air was warm and fragrant, thick with aether.

So unlike the Tempris she knew, where even on the best days, Highborn fey would still walk around gasping and complaining about the quality of the air.

They continued to walk, down pathways and stairs, through grottos and groves. Taly was sweating by the time they came to a large reflecting pool. Heavy bricks of white moss-covered stone formed a twisting path across the smooth surface, and a raised platform lined with trellises covered in bright-blue ivy floated in the center.

A water maze,Taly thought, almost smiling. And the trellises no doubt formed their own kind of labyrinth, one that occasionally reordered itself so that no one ever memorized the path. The fey loved puzzles, but they bored easily. They would never build something as static and unchangeable as a common garden maze, which is why it came as no surprise when Leto gave a command, and the blocks immediately regrouped, rippling the water as they scraped against each other to form a straight line.

Across the path and through the wide, wooden arch leading into the trellises, the leaves pulled back to let them pass and then closed behind them as they walked further into the maze. It wasn’t long before Leto stopped beside a natural break in the hedges, inclining her head.

“I must leave you here,” she said. “Her Majesty wishes to greet you alone.”

Leto didn’t wait for her reply before turning and drifting back through the hedges.

Taly watched her go, her heart thundering too fast and too loud in her new fey ears. She was tempted to run, even if the still-functioning part of her brain knew that would do her little good.