Page 57 of Boundless

But I wasn’t.

Wasn’t that what I always said, what Ijustsaid to these people? I was not a fae queen—I wasme.Nilah Dune of Earth. Just me. And I would never in a billion years choose the death of someone, especially a baby, to keep my life. Not ever.

“Why?” I choked, the question haunting me, even though I thought I knew the answer. “Why would she…why wouldanyone?!”

“Because of Verenthia,” said one or two of them at the same time. “Because the four fae thrones are the foundation of our realm. Without legitimate rulers, they collapse, and when theycollapse, so does magic. Verenthia without magic cannot stop the Curse of Rot from spreading.”

“But there is more that gives strength to the curse—empty thrones,” said the man named Balor. “Empty thrones spread the rot onto their kingdoms, and eventually onto the rest of the realm. When the Seelie Queen disrupted the balance, she herself was not heir, but she had one in her womb. The Ice Queen did not have one at all. That is why her deal with the Midnight King gave so much strength to the curse.”

“Andhehimself, more than most, spread it onto half the lands with his own hands each time he took the life of his male children, and each time he made sure his daughters would never have the means nor the knowledge to threaten his rule in any way,” said a woman.

Meanwhile my eyes were stuck on the light on the floor as my thoughts raced.The truth. The truth—here is the fucking truth—you’re happy now, aren't you—there is your precious truth!

The truth was that these people were fucking monsters, and somehow, I was tangled with half the soul of one.

“The biggest impact was made by the slaughter of the Unseelie king and queen, together with all their heirs. They left the throne naked.” I looked up at the woman who’d spoken. The first one, who’d stood up once again. “Twothrones remain empty today. Our realm is split in half.”

“And collapsing,” said a woman who hadn’t spoken before.

When I turned to look at her, I was almost surprised to find that Maera was still there with me, and she most definitely had not knownanyof this. The look in her wide eyes and her pale cheeks said so. She was just as shocked as me.

“The stars be our witness, we only have little time before the damage becomes irreversible.”

And Maera finally spoke. “We’ve barely begun to notice the changes here in Thornevale, Mistress Udah. Does that not mean it’s only the beginning?”

“The Vale is the closest to the ley lines. We haven’t even started to feel the disruption of the balance the way the rest of our realm has,” said the woman—Udah. “The unraveling of the curse is slow but unstoppable once it gains too much momentum—and make no mistake, it has. Time has been distorted in relation to the other realms the gates connect us to. Seasons no longer obey their courts.”

It’s never hot in the Midnight Court,Vair had once said—and not just that. The Frozen Court as well. The garden—onegarden with frozen flowers and snow at the corners, only to thrive in the next few feet—or die completely.

“Magic has become corrupted. Weak at its rawest,” Udah whispered, and again my mind was occupied by the face of Rune, this time not just because, but from a memory I remembered exactly.

The lights are dimmer. I remember how bright they used to be,he’d once said about the fae lights in the Midnight Court.

“The people begin to forget.”

My eyes blinked and suddenly I was in the chamber again, in The Vale surrounded by these strangers who had answers I felt like I’d spent a lifetime trying to find.

“The people no longer remember. Their memories fade with the magic,” said one of the men. “And that is what happens when the fae thrones are empty and the courts are ruled by those who are not worthy.”

Yet another image came in front of me—morvekai,Vair had called them. Thegrave-bound,the soldiers who looked to have been made out of plastic that guarded the ruined wall of the Unseelie Court.

Or rather, that kept the faein.

Because the court changed rulers every few years, Rune said. Someone new came and took over—someone who wasnotthe legitimate heir. Those were slaughtered a long time ago, apparently. The thrones empty. Naked.

Just like that of the Frozen Court.

My eyes closed. The magic inside me raged—nowall of the sudden, now when I thought of that throne, how it had come out, how it hadsproutedout of that crystal dais. Right in front of me.

“Then…we are doomed,” Maera whispered from beside me, and I had no choice but to open my eyes. “The Seelie throne, the Midnight throne—they have their heirs.” Which meant Lyall had already been crowned king. I hadn’t asked, but I didn’t need to—that had been his plan all along. His mother was to step down—that washerplan all along. Since she killed her new husband.

I wondered if she knew what she would do when she killed him?

I wondered if it mattered now?

“But the Frozen Court remains crown-less.” Maera’s eyes were on me. I felt them clearly, felt the heat of her attention coming at me like waves.

“Not for long,” said Udah, and her voicefellover my shoulder like it was trying to anchor me in place. Like the ground had done to the Chronicler in the Quiet.