Shadow (Touched by the Fae 2)

“Don’t touch me,” I snap. I shoot warning glances at five of the six guards. I can’t bring myself to even meet Rys’s golden stare when, first, I’d have to look at the ugly scar. “I don’t want any of you to touch me.”

“No need for that if you come with me indoors. Agree now and you’ll walk on your own.”

At another royal wave, all six guards draw their swords. They’re not metal because, well, obviously, but the blades look like they’ve been made of diamond, the way they glitter as they threaten.

She says I’ll walk on my own? She’s freaking right. When you’re staring at six points coming at you from all directions, you move.

The queen leads the way. Because I need something to focus on that, you know, isn’t the six sword-wielding guards surrounding me, I stare at the back of her dress. The gown fans out like a train, sliding over the weirdo grass, following her every sway. It doesn’t get stuck on anything. Doesn’t snag, even when we walk through the crystalline trees.

There’s something about it that’s familiar. If it wasn’t for the pale blue color, I would think it’s the same material as Nine’s coat.

I would think it’s shadows.

But that’s impossible. Melisandre is the Fae Queen, and she lords over the Seelie Court. So she’s a Light Fae, right? Blonde hair, pale eyes… all signs point to Seelie. What would a Light Fae be doing wearing a gown made of shadows?

That thought keeps me distracted through my march through the gardens. The second we pass under a marble arch and I’m facing a massive castle, it’s got all my attention.

Sucker’s huge.

I’ve never been to Disneyland. The Everetts tried to plan a trip once when they discovered I hadn’t, but I was a broody teen and I turned their gracious offer down. Still, I watch TV. I’ve seen pictures.

This looks like Sleeping Beauty’s castle. From the towers and the turrets, the stone facade, and the large glass windows, I feel like I’ve been thrown into a fairy tale. Faerie tale. Whatever.

This is the Fae Queen’s palace?

And here comes Riley Thorne, fresh off of sleeping in the sewer and squatting in an abandoned, empty house.

Yeah. Magical, powerful ruler of the fae versus a half-human, half-fae whose claim to fame is that she can turn the shadows into a blanket and hop through them from one mess to another. What a fair fight.

Did I say I was screwed?

I’m totally fucked.

I recognize this room.

I’ve lost track of where she’s brought me. After she’s marched me under an arch, over a bridge, through an open doorway, then past room after room, I understand that she’s doing this on purpose. Melisandre is being careful to keep me disoriented; even if I managed to slip away from her armed guards, I’d never find my way out. Plus, she’s proving that she’s the one in control. Like a puppy, I’ll follow her wherever she leads, not because I want to, but because I prefer not to become a Riley-kebab.

But this room?

I recognize it right away.

The stairs that lead to nowhere. The ornately carved banister that looks like its made from glass. Blindingly white walls, and the door with its crystal knob.

This is the room I saw in my dream.

As she leads the way into the last room, taking her seat on a throne that looks like it’s made of—what else?—crystal, I finally find the balls to say something.

This suspicion isn’t new. A couple of times before now, I wondered if maybe… but I always found a reason to say no. That it couldn’t be. That, despite the trouble I’ve been in, even my luck’s not that shitty.

I can’t deny it any longer, though. Moving through that familiar room, reliving the vision I had where I overheard Carolina plotting to betray me, I finally have to accept the truth.

“You… you’re Carolina’s mistress.”

“I’ve answered to so many names over my life. Oberon’s consort. Queen of the Seelie. The Fae Queen. Melisandre. Yet the mistress of a human… it’s interesting that that’s the one you chose to use.”

Interesting nothing.

As soon as she confirms it, I can’t help but think of how often Carolina bitterly cursed the fae in control of her life. And how she kept pushing me to follow the prophecy, to do whatever I had to to end the Fae Queen. She made it seem like her mistress would free her once the queen was dead.