Page 36 of Queen of Ever (Curse of Fate and Fae #2)

Chapter 36

Imogen

I felt like I hadn’t stopped since the battle. Becoming queen was never something I wanted, but here I was, standing where Oberon once stood, preparing to take up his mantle. How the hell did that happen?

The castle was abuzz with fae scurrying this way and that, busy restoring the building to its former glory. A process that was taking quite some time, given the state of decay it was in with only Eochaid to look after it.

The throne room was the first to get a facelift, since that was where the coronation was to be held. My coronation. As I looked around the huge room with its brilliant white stone, windows that stretched from floor to ridiculously high ceiling, the thick blue carpet running from the door all the way to the elaborate throne in the centre of a raised platform, I felt like running. Maybe I could still slip out the side door and leave the running of the realm to someone more qualified than me.

But I couldn’t do that. Marietta had given her life for this. I owed it to her to at least try . Didn’t I?

And there was so much more to fix than this old castle.

‘You’ve got that face on again,’ Ethan’s voice broke into my thoughts, a welcome reprieve from the anxieties that swirled there.

I turned to see him striding up the carpet, wearing clothes fit for royalty; an emerald-green jacket embroidered with gold leaves, and brown pants. But whatever shirt had been provided with that outfit was nowhere to be seen, instead he’d covered his chest in glitter.

‘You look almost official,’ I teased.

He rolled his eyes at that. ‘Can you believe the way they expect me to dress? Honestly, haven’t these people heard of fashion?’ He examined the room, nodding his approval. Then he headed to the smaller chair next to the throne. ‘This must be mine,’ he said, dropping into it.

‘How are you so comfortable with this?’ I asked. Making Ethan an advisor had been one of my first decisions. Not that he would have accepted anything else. If I hadn’t made it official, he would still be sitting in that chair right now, only wearing different clothes. But I hadn’t expected him to adapt quite so quickly to his new role, not when my head was still spinning.

He shrugged. ‘What’s not to like? I can have whatever I want, whenever I want, get to advise on big important things without copping any of the blame if things go tits up, and I get to live in a giant castle—which will be better once the holes are all plugged up and I don’t need twelve buckets to catch the rain in.’

I snorted a laugh. ‘No, I get all the blame instead.’

‘See? I’m not really seeing a downside,’ he said, flashing me a mischievous grin.

‘Do you ever miss the Human Realm?’ I asked. It wasn’t so very long ago that we’d both planned to get back there. But now? I wasn’t sure I’d get back there any time soon.

‘There are some things I miss about it. Like doughnuts. Maybe your first order of business could be to have a doughnut shop set up in the new capital?’

‘Oh yes, that seems like a great idea. We’ll set up a doughnut shop in the city that isn’t even built yet,’ I said, but I couldn’t help laughing. Ethan had never failed to cheer me up.

The foundations for a city were still there to some extent, but when Oberon died, his sons had demolished the original city, leaving only the castle intact in the middle of the Sunder River. Since I was to live in Oberon’s castle, there had been talk of rebuilding the city. We couldn’t exactly evict people from their homes in the Seelie and Unseelie Kingdoms, so those cities would remain intact, but anyone who wanted to move to the new capital—whether High fae or Low—would have that choice.

Queen Sylara had suggested we put trusted members of each court in the cities as ambassadors to ensure my new laws were adhered to. I wasn’t sure how well the High Fae would take to having their slaves removed and given rights. I doubted this was going to be an easy transition. And I doubted many of the aristocrats of the former courts were going to be happy living in the capital city where lesser fae and humans were their equals, entitled to the same housing and the same work. We certainly had a long road ahead of us.

But there was somewhere I wanted to start.

The huge double doors opened with the groan of heavy wood. I spun around in time to see Sarah peaking her head in uncertainly.

‘Sarah! I’m so glad you’re here,’ I said, a smile stretching my lips.

Her approach was timid as she walked the carpet, her head bowed. When she reached me, she dropped into a curtsey. ‘Your Majesty.’

‘Oh, please don’t do that,’ I said, taking her arm and lifting her from her stooped position. ‘Besides, it’s not technically official yet.’

‘I mean, it kind of is,’ Ethan chimed in. I shot him a glare and he raised his hands in surrender.

It had been so long since I’d seen Sarah, I wasn’t entirely sure where to start. But she was an important part of what I planned for the human changelings. I wanted to start with her because she had been stolen from her family so I could be placed in the Human Realm. I wanted to make amends for that.

‘I need your help with something,’ I said, turning my attention back to Sarah. ‘I want to give you and all the other human changelings a choice.’

‘What choice?’ she asked, finally lifting her head to look at me as curiosity took hold of her.

‘I will set you up here in the capital—or somewhere else of your choosing. A house of your own, and a change of employment, if you wish it. Or I can help you set up in the Human Realm.’

‘You’d send the changelings home?’ she asked. ‘All of them?’

‘If that’s what they want, then yes. It’s an abominable practice and it’s been going on for far too long. It’s time to set things right.’

‘But what about the fae young that need to be in the Human Realm to survive?’ she asked, reminding me of what had drawn me to her when I’d first arrived in this realm. She was kind, she always thought about others before she thought about herself.

‘They’ll still go to the Human Realm, but they won’t be replacing human children. They’ll be raised by fae. Ones appointed to the role or their parents, if they wish to relocate with their child.’

Sarah only stared at me in stunned silence.

‘What? You don’t think it’s a good idea?’ I asked, running it through my mind again, trying to find a flaw in my plan.

‘No, it’s a great idea. It’s just… I never thought anything like this could happen. May I have some time to think about it?’

‘Yes, of course. I hope you’ll stay in the castle in the meantime. I’m afraid construction is yet to begin on the city.’

She smiled at me. ‘Who would have thought the stubborn woman Prince Tarian locked in a tower would end up changing the world?’

A blush warmed my cheeks. ‘Yes, well, let’s hope the world is ready for change or this is going to be really difficult,’ I said. And I suspected it was going to be the latter. There was still a lot of hatred between the Seelie and Unseelie, a lot of resistance to change. And I was asking for a heck of a lot of change.

A side door suddenly burst open and Eochaid hurried into the room, his face twisted with anxiety as he held a box in front of him that looked ancient. ‘I found it!’ he said triumphantly as he bustled over, almost tripping over his robes in his haste.

He opened the box and inside was a crown. It was white gold, solid, with spikes of sorts that pointed upwards. Looking at it closely, they looked like leaves in their shape. Shallow swirls and lines patterned its surface, but other than that, the only decoration was a stone in the centre that seemed to change its colour the longer you stared at it, moving from clear to purple, to blue, to white. I could feel the slight hum of magic on it.

‘ This was the very crown Oberon himself wore,’ Eochaid said proudly. ‘It seems only fitting that you should wear it now.’

‘Oooh, let’s see, then,’ Ethan said, leaning forward in his chair. I wasn’t sure he was ever going to get out of it.

Eochaid nodded as if he was just as excited as Ethan. He placed the box on the ground as I tried to stop him.

‘That’s really not necessary,’ I said. I wasn’t sure I was ready to wear a crown just yet, especially Oberon’s crown.

‘It’s not a problem at all,’ Eochaid said, clearly not picking up on what I was feeling. He looked at me so happily as he held the crown in his hands and I didn’t see a way of getting out of it. I waited patiently as he put the crown on my head. When he stepped back to admire his handiwork, it slipped down over my forehead, hitting the bridge of my nose.

‘Uh… it’s a little big,’ I said.

Eochaid looked horrified, panic setting into his features again. ‘We can get it resized!’ he said. ‘Yes, I’ll take it to the silver smith right away!’

Before I could stop him, he snatched it off my head, tucked it back in the box and scurried out of the room muttering to himself.

‘Uh…’

‘He’s a bit weird, that one,’ Ethan said. ‘I think he’s been alone for too long.’

‘This is really happening, isn’t it?’ I asked as it finally started to hit home. This was real. This was going to be my life from now on.

‘Lighten up, Immy, it’s good to be the king,’ Ethan said, a grin on his face. ‘Speaking of lightening up,’ he added, looking around the empty room. ‘Where’s Mr Misery?’

I narrowed my eyes at him. ‘You could use his name.’

‘Nah, this suits him better.’

I rolled my eyes. But actually, I had to admit I didn’t know where Tarian was. He’d been gone when I woke up that morning. It was unusual for him to disappear without telling me. Having him there would have helped to ease my anxieties a little.

As if Ethan had summoned him with his question, Tarian entered the room, dark shirt ruffled, hair windswept, holding a brown paper bag in one hand, of all things.

‘Speak of the devil and he shall appear,’ Ethan said. At Tarian’s quizzical look, he shrugged. ‘Well, I’m going to pass the baton over to you. Try to keep her from spiralling.’ He hopped off his chair and headed for the door.

‘Where are you going?’ I asked.

‘I’d love to stay and hang around like a third wheel, but I’ve got a hotty of my own waiting for me,’ he said with a wink.

‘I will never understand him,’ Tarian said, frowning after Ethan as he trounced off, all sway-hipped swagger.

‘I think he likes it that way. Where have you been all morning?’ I asked.

‘Finding you a coronation present.’ He held out the bag.

I took it, eyeing him quizzically as I opened it. Inside, there was a single, glossy tube. Pulling it out, I stared at it, before arching a brow at him. ‘Sunblock?’

‘SPF fifty,’ he said triumphantly.

‘Do you even know what that means?’

‘No, but the human woman I bought it from assured me it was important.’

‘Uh huh,’ I said, turning the tube upside down, looking for some kind of hint as to why he thought it would make a good gift. It looked like regular, chemist brand sunblock. ‘And you went all the way to the Human Realm to get this for me because...?’

‘Because we don’t have it here, and I thought you might want it before we get where we’re going. It sounded important.’

I blinked, nonplussed. ‘Where are we going?’

His smile widened. ‘Fiji.’

‘Don’t tease me, we are not.’

In a flash, he’d captured my hand and pulled me against him, an arm looping around my waist. ‘Why? Don’t you want to go? I’ll even rub the sunblock on for you.’

‘You’re serious?’

‘I’m always serious.’ He leaned in, pressing his lips to mine in that delicious way that promised more was to come.

When I broke away from him, I read his expression, trying to make sure he wasn’t just stirring me up. His dark eyes held mine, and in their depths I could see a gleam of anticipation, maybe even a little uncertainty, like he wanted me to be pleased but was secretly unsure how I’d react.

A slow grin spilled across my mouth. ‘When? After the coronation?’

‘There won’t be time after.’

‘Before the coronation?’

He brushed fingers across my cheek, hooking my hair behind my ear. ‘I want you all to myself a little longer before I have to share you with a whole realm.’

Well, I couldn’t say he didn’t listen to me. Time on a sandy island as just the two of us sounded heavenly. I clutched that tube of sunblock in my hand as I looped my arms around his neck and kissed him.

And kept kissing him.