Page 103

The words echo through the orchard as swathes of the court pledge themselves to Ruskin’s rule. But as the chorus of support comes to an end, it leaves the handful of fae who have so far remained silent: Hadeus’s and Galaphina’s bloodline, the Swallowtails, and Vanis, Cressweir, and Lady Petra, among others. They glare back at us with defiance, looking as if they’re preparing themselves for whatever punishment Ruskin might dish out for their refusal.

Ruskin stares back, making them shift uncomfortably under his gaze.

“For those who will not stand with me, you’ll forgive me if, for practical reasons, I can’t have you walking free. Find them some secure cells now, won’t you, Captain?”

I won’t lie, I enjoy seeing Vanis and his friends getting shackled, and seeing the way the rest of the High Fae avert their gazes, turning away from their peers’ shouted protests, as those who wouldn’t accept Ruskin are removed from the room.

Lady Petra is the last to go, and she spits at my feet when they drag her past me.

Before Petra is out of sight, a streak of black feathers swoops into the orchard. The raven drops down, circling Ruskin, until he reaches out his arm so the bird can land. I recognize the behavior of the messenger ravens the fae use. An unexpected pit forms in my stomach before it opens its mouth.

“Nephew, I have news from the border.”

Ruskin meets my gaze and then he ducks swiftly into one of the orchard’s private side rooms, beckoning for me, Destan, and General Sunshard to follow.

The raven continues its message, its harsh caws shaping themselves into Lisinder’s words.

“Our spies have been keeping an eye on the borderlands as our forces approach. They have spotted a great army, led by Evanthe and a human man, heading east towards us.”

Albrecht must’ve given her more than a couple of hundred men, then. It seems he’s gifted her a whole army.

“They have passed Amethyn Valley and seem to be approaching the mountains via Irnua. We fear they seek to invade the Unseelie Kingdom once more.”

I shake my head as the message concludes with Lisinder requesting an update from us in Seelie.

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” I argue. “She doesn’t want to invade Unseelie, she only cares about punishing this kingdom.”

“Wherever she’s going with the human king,” General Sunshard says, “it must be the next step needed to destroy Seelie the way Ephor Jorna saw. I doubt the army is there to help her conquer land, regardless of what King Lisinder fears. It’s there to protect her. To hold the forces of Faerie at bay while she completes her plan.”

I think General Sunshard’s right, but it still doesn’t tell us exactly what Evanthe is planning.

“Let’s look at this another way,” I say, watching out the window as the raven takes off for the towering heights of the aviary. “What do we already know? Why did Evanthe wait until she was High Queen to bring Albrecht's army in?”

“Because becoming High Queen isn’t the end goal.” Destan offers. “There’s still something else she needs.”

“Exactly. Becoming High Queen gave her a connection to the land and made her stronger. And thanks to my failure yesterday, she still has her command of iron. But…”

I search my mind, trying to understand what else she could still be missing.

“But she’s still not strong enough,” Ruskin says, a look of dawning realization on his face. “Her iron does an excellent job of destroying things—look at what it did to this court. But even with the High Monarch’s connection to the land, she wouldn’t be strong enough to poison the entire kingdom with iron. Think about it—it took two centuries for Cebba’s curse to start showing up in the land through my High King connection.”

“So she’s looking for a way to get even more power? How?”

Ruskin’s expression is dark. “The same way she suddenly powered up last time. My uncle was saying she was traveling via Irnua, but I think that’s her final destination. Portals leave marks on a realm. The more you open one on a specific spot, the thinner the fabric between realms become. It’s part of how permanent gates are made between here and the human realm.”

“And Irnua was where you went through a portal,” I say, putting his thought process together. The space between realms is a strange, mysterious place, but one thing’s for certain: Interra is home to plenty of powerful magic. Evanthe only brought a fraction of it back with her last time.

“I think she’s going to reopen the portal to Interra,” Ruskin confirms. “And she’s going to use its power to spread her iron across the whole kingdom.”

Chapter 31

Ithrow down the last of the helmets in front of the fire with a thunk, removing my mask to wipe the sweat from my brow and push my damp hair back.

“Did I ever mention how good you look when you’re working?” Ruskin asks me. I hadn’t heard him come in, I’d been so absorbed in re-stocking the Seelie’s supply of lead armor. We sent our reply to Lisinder, sharing our theory about Evanthe’s plans. In a few hours we will join the Unseelie at Irnua, to face Albrecht’s army, and whatever else Evanthe has in store for us.

“I thought it was the military get-up that did it for you?” I say teasingly, turning to count up how many sets of greaves I’ve made. I feel him come up behind me, pressing himself against me suggestively. My body grows warm in a way that has nothing to do with the fire burning in the grate.

“No,” he says, his voice rough and enticing. “I think it’s anything where you look like you might get dirty.” His hands encircle my hips, tugging me closer so my ass nestles against his groin, and when I look up, his eyes are flashing playfully.