She flicks a hand and the doors at the end of the hall open. Two of her redcap guards enter warily.

“Ensure his safe passage back to the Seelie Court,” my mother orders. Her tone brooks no argument. They bow so low their hats leave bloody smears on the floor, and march Sláine out.

I stand there, aching and burning. Sláine’s arrow wounded me far better than he knows. How is it possible to want something so treasonous? Shouldn’t this kind of longing kill you?

“Roark—”

I turn woodenly. My mother’s face is angles and edges and shadows and cruel, cruel beauty. “It is to be war. Declare it through our host.”

An order. A death senten

ce.

I nod, and the noose tightens around my neck.

“I will inform Lugh and the Hunt. The sealing will begin at dawn. Deliver your announcements before then.” Her eyes soften. “Save your university for last.”

Goddess bless her, she’s giving me a chance to say goodbye. Again, I nod.

That passing moment of kindness is gone, swept away by the oncoming storm. “Return swiftly. Do not tarry. Now go.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Phineas

“Just text him,” Herman tells me. “It’s not that hard.”

I look up from my sandwich. “You are full of shit.”

He grins and takes another bite of his salad. “What’s so difficult to type, Finny? I was a dick so let me make up for it by sucking yours. Call me.”

Sue looks up from her book long enough to make a face. “You didn’t just say that.”

“What, too blunt? Fine. Roses are red, violets are blue, I owe you big time, will a BJ now do?”

He laughs and dodges the silverware Sue and I throw at him. The sounds of the spoon and fork clattering against the floor are too loud for the dining hall. Despite the fact that it’s lunchtime, there are no fae in sight, and the other students are keeping to themselves. Even without the ley line, I sense the unease in the air.

“Have you guys seen Sebastian or Gumba today?” I ask.

Utensils retrieved, Sue returns to her seat with a frown. “I haven’t. Haven’t really seen anyone, though. That seems odd to you, too, right?”

I nod. The pall of the dining hall extends over the rest of campus, too. When I went to class this morning, the normal crowds of people were thinned. There was none of the usual lighthearted banter or last-minute magickal practice.

“Are we missing something?” I ask.

Sue starts to answer, but is interrupted when Herman points toward the entrance. “Hey, there they are.”

Sebastian and Gumba come in. They notice our waving and come to join us, forgoing food for some reason. Gumba’s craggy face is emotionless. Sebastian, normally the brightest of us, looks like someone’s snuffed out that light.

“Where were you?” Herman asks.

I look between them when they sit on either side of me. “Are you guys okay?”

“Emergency meeting of the Unseelie,” Gumba says. The gravel of his voice is rougher than normal and I wonder if he’s slept yet.

I set down my sandwich. The vague sense of foreboding has become abruptly specific. “For what?”

Sebastian gives a brittle laugh. “For the beginning of the end.”

Tags: M.A. Grant Fantasy
Source: readsnovelonline.net