Page 96 of Mortal Queens

And on.

And on.

“It’s been too long!” I shouted at Gaia.

She was now looking at the watch as if keeping track of how much time had gone by. I reached for her, but suddenly she took a shuddering breath. With the next wind that came, her neck snapped, and she fell back on the bed.

With that, everything was silent.

The watch ceased moving.

The wind fell, the room stilled, and the stars outside froze from twinkling.

My hand shook as I picked up the watch. It let out a rhythmic ticking sound.

I eased up to my knees at Gaia’s side.

“Gaia?” I whispered. Her eyes were lifeless pits staring at the ceiling. I gently shook her. “Gaia, it’s over. It’s over.”

She gave no reply.

I’d never been good at checking for a pulse. But right now, I checked a hundred times. My fingers roamed over her wrist and her neck, pushing into her skin to search. I cried her name. I shook her a little harder. I squeezed her hand.

On the hundredth try, or perhaps the thousandth, I gave up and sank to the floor, trembling.

Gaia got us past her fated death day. But she didn’t survive it.

Like all the queens before her, Gaia was dead.

I dropped my head into my hands and wailed.

I was a corpse trailing through the halls with no direction. My feet led me away from the horrors of Gaia’s violently torn room and down the hallway. I paused at the threshold of the grand stairwell to take in the sight of the throne room.

I noticed my three stars first. They were dulled. What light remained was peeking through a curtain of thick cobwebs that clung to both of the thrones in a grey shawl, crawling along the legs of the chair and over the seat and blanketing themselves down the sides. Large black spiders climbed through the webs. It was terrifying.

The cobwebs had made a home throughout the entire room—hanging from the chandelier above, wrapping around the banisters, and coating the bridge over the river that now ran black instead of crystal blue. The fish must have died.

Worst of all, a darkness clouded everything in a heavy fog. It was thick enough that I felt it on my skin and feared if I breathed it would swallow me whole. The haze had taken everything—all the beauty of this realm—and turned it to horror.

How much time did I lose? This room makes it appear as if hundreds of years went by. But if I’m still alive . . . It must have been some point between the end of Gaia’s rule and the end of mine. I kept Gaia’s watch in my pocket, wishing I’d broken it minutes ago. Months ago?

Tears blurred my vision.

I stumbled down the steps to face the two thrones, running a finger along the thick layer of dust. My feet kicked something and I looked down, then jumped back. The basket of oranges still sat there, now decayed with black bugs crawling paths through the rotten mess.

I had to squint to see my paintings on the opposite wall. The colors were faded with another bitter reminder of the time that had passed.

Though it was tricky to see, I saw the realm with clarity for the first time, and it was nothing but death.

I’d been ready to stay here. I was going to trap myself in this realm forever.

Gaia might have lost her mind, but she was right about one thing. Mere mortals weren’t made to withstand the intoxication of the fae realm. I had to get out.

Trumpets called from outside, drawing my attention to the courtyard where an army of fae gathered beyond the doors. I froze, unsure of whether to go to them or run. I didn’t want to see anyone right now.

But over the crowd I spotted the silver hair of one of the ambassadors, and I knew what today was.

It’s Queen’s Day. They are going to the mortal realm.