Page 122 of Boundless

“There’s no throne,” he said.

I was tempted to smile because somehowIknew more about fae thrones than this guy who was born and raised here and was actually a royal by blood.

“Because there’s no true king or queen here. Go ahead, Hil. Go closer.” He turned to look at me, eyes wide still. Glossy. “It’s fine, I promise. Just go closer.”

And the fact that I knew this with absolute certainty was hilarious to me, too, but my smile didn’t falter. And Hil believed me, because taking in a deep breath, he walked up the three stairs and went closer to that monstrous helmet and the dais that looked almost like a tongue stretching out of the invisible head wearing it. His hands burned with orange light just slightly—Hil was afraid. I didn’t blame him, but he still walked with his head up and his shoulders back, his every step precise.

Until he stepped onto the top stair and was right in front of the large helmet. It looked even bigger now in comparison to Hil.

I felt the energy shifting when Maera stopped at my side, looking up curiously. I felt it in the way the air changed, like it became heavier all of a sudden, like time itself suspended, forgot to count a second or two.

I felt it exactly as I had in the Ice Palace, and my eyes closed as I breathed deeply, prepared mentally for what I knew was coming.

“What now?”

Hil’s voice echoed in the tall ceiling. I said nothing, only smiled.

Then the wall decorated with vines at the back of the large helmet moved.

I’d seen this happen before, twice. I’d seen throne chairs spring out from under the ground, both in the Ice Palace—for me—and in the Midnight Palace for Rune. This one was a bit different, though. Because the wall moved, pushed itself back and slid to the side, and the throne chair made of the same metal, with a deep orange, velvet cushion, simplyslidout from behind and moved onto the dark wooden surface of the dais as if it had wheels underneath. It stopped right at the mouth of the helmet, with the large crown right over it a few feet in the air.

“Hil,” I whispered, but he didn’t even turn to look at me or Maera as he slowly walked toward the throne chair. I couldn’t see his face, but his hands were burning even brighter than before, and my heart was about to break right out of my ribcage becauseit worked-it worked-it worked!The throne was right there, had opened up for him, and Hil was close, so close.

Hil turned, put his shaking hands on the armrests.

Hil sat on the velvet cushion—and the whole world held its breath.

Our eyes locked. He looked terrified and at peace at the same time, something I’d never seen on anyone before. The corners of my lips turned up, and his did the same.

He was sitting on the Unseelie throne because he really,trulywas of royal bloodline.

Then the walls began to move.

thirty-eight

By the timeMaera had jumped off the stairs of the dais, growling and showing her teeth at the sudden movement, the footsteps echoed in my head, and they were coming frombehind.

Everything happened so fast that I had trouble keeping up at first. People were coming from everywhere, through the two doors that had opened in the walls on the sides of the dais, as well as the main doors through which we’d come.

I turned as my magic came over me, spreading down every inch of my body, and my legs wobbled at the sight of that face.

Hisface.

Lyall was here.

Maera growled as she stood in front of me, head lowered, tail tucked. My mind spun with images of faces, of soldiers wearing rust-colored armor, of five morvekai that were standing in front of the room, behind Lyall who’d come through those same doors.

A few more soldiers came through from the walls, too—but not only them. A man and a woman led them, each coming from either side of the dais, smiling, wearing crowns on their headsand smug smiles on their faces. They didn’t stop until they were close to Lyall.

All of their eyes were on Hil, still sitting on the throne.

“Would you look at that.”

Lyall’s whisper, his smile, sent my thoughts spiraling out of control—because I knew what this was. I knew what it meant that he was here, and that these two people were King Lox and Queen Codessa, the usurpers, the fakeroyals of the Unseelie Court. Their crowns and their clothes and the look on their faces said so loud and clearly.

Which begged the question,“Where is he?”

My voice didn’t shake. It was crystal clear, loud, very unlike me, but the thought of these people hurting Rune made something snap inside me, something old and something monstrous that I didn’t even want to contain. Because Rune was supposed to be with these two as we spoke—a distraction. That had been his plan since the beginning, and like a fool, I’d agreed to separate from him.