Chapter 9

When we made it back to the Barrow, the healers had swept Kaylin away and he was being worked on. Seeing that he was not one of the Fae, but instead one of the magic-born with a night-veil demon attached to his soul, they were having to feel their way around, but they’d bound up his wounds and prevented them from getting infected. Luna sat beside him, holding his hand, but he was still unconscious. I sat down beside her and took her other hand.

“How are you holding up?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Everything has been so topsy-turvy the past few weeks that I’m not sure whether I’m coming or going. I never expected…” She gazed down at Kaylin’s sleeping form. “I never expected to walk into this.”

“You and Kaylin…are you…” I wasn’t sure how to ask it—I knew he had it bad for her, and I knew she cared about him, but I wasn’t sure how far it had gone between the two of them.

She quietly replaced his hand, making sure the blankets were tucked around him. The healer—who was standing in the corner—nodded to her.

“Can we talk outside the room?”

I slipped my arm around her waist and we strolled out. She was tense; I could feel the stiffness in her shoulders. Once we were in the hall, we found a bench and sat down. I kept my mouth shut, sensing that she was gathering her thoughts. After a moment, she sat back, leaning her head against the wall.

“I could love him. I really could. Maybe I’m on my way to doing so. But…life…so much is up in the air. Where are we going to be tomorrow? Next week? You and Rhiannon have your lives mapped out for you now, but we don’t. Peyton and I want to get our businesses started, but now it seems we can’t, not until Geoffrey and Leo are caught.” She grimaced.

I hung my head. “And they’re on the prowl because of Rhia and me. We’re the cause of this.”

She shrugged. “True. You are. But if you weren’t here, if all this hadn’t happened, I’d probably be dead or in the hands of Myst, if what you read for me in the cards that first day is correct. In fact, the whole town would still be in her grasp. So a little uncertainty? Not a bad price to pay.”

“What about Kaylin?”

“We’ll take things slow. One day at a time. See where it goes.”

Her practicality startled me. I’d pegged Luna for a very talented, sensitive woman, and here she was thinking logically. I smiled softly, realizing my own preconceptions were showing.

“But you need to go. You have your coronation tonight.”

“Will you be there? You and Peyton? I doubt if Kaylin will be in any shape to make it.”

Luna laughed then. “He’ll live, but no, he won’t be there. I will, though. And Peyton, too—at both your ceremonies.” She stood, then leaned down and planted a quick kiss on my cheek. “Thank you, truly. For everything. New Forest would be lost without you.”

“Without you, too,” I whispered back, hugging her tightly.

It was nearly four in the afternoon and I was starving. I hurried back to the common area, where I found Druise, frantic, looking for me.

“Oh, Your Highness. We have to begin preparing you for tonight. Where were you? I looked everywhere.” She seemed to be at loose ends.

“I was checking on Kaylin. The ceremony doesn’t start until eleven P.M.—do we really need all this time?” I glanced through the cupboards. “I’m hungry.”

“Then, please, my Lady, get something and let us retire. We have to bathe you and dress you and then you have to meet privately with Lainule.” And with that she pressed a jar of peanut butter into one of my hands, and two pieces of bread into the other.

“Don’t forget the jelly,” I said as she hustled me toward my room. She ran back and grabbed a jar of grape jelly and a knife. I grinned. The Fae were getting used to our odd eating habits. When I’d asked for peanut butter just a week ago, they acted like I was insane. And they knew that they should never offer me fish of any kind. I was EpiPen allergic to the stuff and not long ago had accidentally ingested some. That had been a laugh and a half—not.

While Druise checked the temperature of the steaming bathtub filled with water, I hurriedly slapped together a sandwich as I shrugged out of my clothes. She untied my lacing and I shimmied out of my skirt, then my panties.

Next step: I handed Druise my sandwich as I stepped into the bathtub and sank into the steaming bubbles. The fragrance of cool mint and bayberry overwhelmed me, and I leaned my head back. She handed me a towel to wipe my hands on, then my sandwich, and I sat in the tub, letting the heat soak into my muscles, as I swallowed the food in eight bites.

“So,” I said, licking my fingers clean, then plunging them into the water, “what am I wearing tonight?”

I expected there to be a fancy dress—after all, this was my coronation, but I hadn’t been expecting anything like what Druise carried in from the other room. I sat there in the tub, slack-jawed at the sight of the garment she bundled into the bedroom. Unable to speak for a moment, I scrubbed myself with the washcloth, then reluctantly stood as she motioned for me to hurry.

“That’s my dress?” I stood up, cautiously stepping out of the tub, and pulled the towel around me.

She nodded, a soft smile playing on her lips. “It’s ever so beautiful, Your Highness.”

And beautiful it was. The strapless gown was long, with a corset bodice that had a sweetheart neckline, and it billowed out at the waist into princess style. In shades of silver and ice blue, the bodice was embellished with dozens of tiny shimmering black snowflakes that glistened in the soft light of the room. The skirt draped into long folds, iridescent, hovering someplace between silver and twilight. The dress had no arms, but a pale gray fur cloak with a silver brooch would keep me warm. Druise laid it out on the bed, then added a pair of silver ankle boots, with a delicate heel and buckles that jingled softly as she set them on the floor.

I slowly crossed the room and stopped, running my hand over the material. It was incredibly soft and light, but warm. My stomach flipped, ever so softly, and I wasn’t sure just what I felt. Pride? Not exactly. But anticipation, yes. And hope—oddly enough, a flicker of hope for the future was beginning to build in my heart.

As I stood there, I realized this was really it. I’d been running all my life, running from the nightmares that had chased my mother. I’d spent twenty years on the move, struggling to keep us alive and, after she died, trying to find my own way. And now, at twenty-six years old, I was about to enter a new world. Instead of running from things, I’d be running them. That thought scared the hell out of me, but I pushed the fear away.

I dropped the towel. “I guess…should I dress now? What time is it?”

She glanced at the clock. We kept them around because, even though time in the realms of Fae ran odd, we had to keep tabs on the outside world as well. “Four thirty. First, let me prepare you.”

That sounded odd.

“I’m clean. Apparently that’s not enough?” But I didn’t want her to think I was grumpy, so I grinned as I said it.

She motioned for me to lie down on what amounted to a massage table. Druise wasn’t all that skilled as a masseuse, so I wondered how this would go. But she waited till I lay down, then covered me with a light blanket. After that, she opened the door and whispered to someone.

In came a member of Lainule’s court whom I had seen several times but never been introduced to. I had the feeling she was high in rank, and when she glided over to me, I felt all too nervous and vulnerable, lying there naked.

But Druise clapped her hands. “Your Majesty, please allow me to introduce Gera. She is Her Majesty Lainule’s healing therapist. She’s here to give you a massage.”

Gera wasn’t wasting any time, either. She pulled down the blanket, oiled up her hands, and dug in. I grimaced as she began to work her way into the knots in my back. As she adroitly manipulated my muscles, the immediate discomfort lessened and I began to relax. As I closed my eyes, I began to feel something beyond the massage—there was magic in her fingers. Magic permeated my skin, seeping from her fingers, loosening the strain in my body, eating away at the stress. As she worked along my spine, I began to breathe deeper, my lungs opened up, and I sank into the warmth of the blanket.

Within minutes, I was dozing, drifting in a sea of comfort. I’m not sure how long the massage lasted, but at some point I felt her oiling my legs with a lotion that smelled like freshly fallen snow and cinnamon, and I opened my eyes. She finished, then helped me slowly sit up.

I yawned and stretched. My muscles were loose and I felt like I’d had a week’s sleep. My skin was also smooth and silky from the oils, and I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with the fragrance.

“Thank you.”

Gera dipped into a curtsey, then silently exited the room. I glanced over at the clock. It was almost seven. My stomach flipped a little and I wished I could jump ahead in time and get it over with. I was looking forward to the coronation, yes, but waiting for things always set me on edge.

“What next?” I looked over at Druise. She seemed to have the schedule down.

She motioned for me to sit at the table near the bed. “I bring you dinner, Your Highness. And if you’re wondering, you are to see no one but me and those who attend you before the coronation. You will see His Lordship there.”

Assuming she was talking about Grieve, I followed her orders and sat down at the table, while she brought in my meal. Hot bread, venison, a round of cheese, and a goblet of deep red wine, which went straight to my head. As I stabbed at the meat with my fork, I glanced over at Druise, who stood at attention near the table.

“Are you hungry?”

She shook her head, dipping into a quick curtsey. “No, Your Ladyship. Thank you for asking, though.”

“Why can’t I see anybody before the coronation?” I wasn’t complaining, but it did seem odd.

“They…it’s…there are always fears of assassination.”

That got my attention.

I put down my fork. “Have there been threats? Tell me the truth now.”

She blushed. “I’m not privy to that information. But there are always dangers for royalty, Your Highness. And there are some who might think since you weren’t born in the Barrow, perhaps…”

“Perhaps I don’t deserve to wear the crown.” I finished the thought for her. She blushed again but nodded. “So Lainule wants to make certain Rhiannon and I actually make it to the throne.”

Druise nodded. “And they only trust those of us who’ve undergone loyalty tests.”

“Loyalty tests? What does that entail?” I was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, this would be a rough gig for the next few years while I tried to immerse myself in the culture and learn everything there was to learn. I also was beginning to see how vast the culture gap was.

She bowed her head, just enough to tell me it hadn’t been pleasant. “They search your mind. They search your heart. I’m not certain what they’re looking for, but they found me true to the throne, and that’s when I became your lady’s maid.”

Having had Kaylin thrust himself into my mind once before, I knew how invasive that was. I gave Druise a faint smile. “I think I understand. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

She cocked her head and shrugged. “I was glad to. This position…as I’ve mentioned before, it means a great deal to me and my family. It…the testing hurt, and it felt like they were inside my mind, able to see everything in my thoughts, but then I don’t have much to hide, Your Highness. I’m not very complicated.” Lowering her gaze, she fiddled with her skirt.

“That’s not a bad thing, Druise. Not at all.” I went back to my dinner, mulling over the thought that not only were there those out there not entirely happy about me taking the throne, but it was perhaps to the extent that Lainule was worried about someone trying to off me. And Rhiannon, too.

After I’d eaten, Druise removed the dishes, and I brushed my teeth and washed my face. I decided to put on my makeup, but when she returned to see me sitting down at the vanity, she stopped me.

“Please, let me. I’ve been given instructions.”

I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that, but I allowed her to work her magic on my face and hair. When I finally looked in the mirror, I scarcely recognized myself. She had made my face up in an intricate pattern of scrollwork, in shades of shimmering blue and silver, that wrapped around my eyes like a tribal tattoo, coiling down to my cheeks. My lips were the palest pink I’d ever seen, barely more than a hint of color in the gloss—almost white.

She had pulled my hair back from my face into a pattern of braids and curls that hung down my back. For the first time in my life, I felt absolutely stunning, exotic. Perhaps…even beautiful.

“Oh, Druise, this is so beautiful. Thank you.” I was afraid to touch my face, afraid I’d mar the makeup. “But what if I start crying?”

“You won’t hurt it. It’s waterproof.” When she smiled, her eyes crinkled, giving her a cheerful, fresh look that made me want to take her in hand and polish her up a little and marry her off to some good-natured man who would treat her right and give her a lovely home.

“Now we dress you, Your Highness. It’s past nine, and the ceremony goes on for a long time before the coronation.” She motioned for me to join her by the bed, where the dress was spread out. I dropped my towel that I was still wrapped in from after the massage and crossed the room.

As I stepped into my underwear, she fastened the hooks of my strapless bra. I saw that the dress was two pieces—the skirt and the corset bodice—which made it much easier to get into.