85

She smiled gently. “Well, I’m grateful to you for keeping them to yourself. Some shifters are not so keen to be reminded of our continued existence.”

I nodded, glancing toward the back room.

Aerika caught it. “They have even closer lineage than I do. It’s safer for them to stay there. I do the guest-facing work when I can.” She finished pinning the hem and moved up to check the fit of the waistband. “There’s no word going around. It’s more like…a feeling.”

“A feeling?”

She nodded. “There was a feeling when the queen was taken captive—though we didn’t know that was what happened. I felt like a hole had been struck inside of me, somehow, and my power was beginning to slowly drain out. So slowly I hardly noticed it happening. And then, a few weeks ago, suddenly the hole was plugged. I felt stronger. More awake. More like myself again.” She smiled again, softly. “Like I’d been living in a fog, and didn’t even realize it until it cleared. I knew something had changed. I had my suspicions, but didn’t want to investigate closely.”

“Why not?” I asked. I moved carefully, making way for her small adjustments and pins. I’d expected Aerika to be rejoicing at the news that Corinne was back. This slight discomfort was unexpected.

“Just because there is an inherent reaction to the queen’s return,” Aerika said carefully, “does not mean all Fae are exclusively pleased to see her back.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. I was dying to jump down her throat with dozens of questions. I’d thought the Fae in Frasia would be rushing to Shianga to join her when they found out.

“Leadership is complicated,” Aerika said, “as I’m sure you know. Corinne’s rise to the throne was…” She trailed off and pressed her lips together as she searched for the right word. “Rocky. Not all Fae were pleased with her rule, especially those of us who built our lives in this realm.”

“Is her rule the reason you came to this realm?” I asked. “Would you go if she called the Fae back?”

Aerika’s expression closed off. I cursed myself internally—my curiosity had gotten the better of me.

“My apologies,” I said. “I’m only hoping to understand what this means for Frasia.”

“I don’t know what it means,” Aerika said, “but my life is here. In Efra.” She stood up, then peered judiciously at the small adjustments she’d made. “I believe I’m all done here. We’ll make the final changes and have it sent to the manor.”

Aerika pulled the dressing screen back up, and then helped me out of the pants, careful not to disturb the pins she’d placed.

“Can I ask you one more thing?” I asked.

“I suppose,” she said, sounding much less willing than earlier before.

“In the manor,” I asked, “there’s a small room of Fae artifacts. Have any of the remaining Fae heard of it? Or know about why it might exist?”

“I’ve heard of it,” she said. She fastened the back of my dress deftly. “Again, I wasn’t sure if it was real. Just a rumor that had traveled around, mostly after Drogo’s death.”

“It was Drogo’s room?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she said. “But as a king, he was curious about what had happened to the Fae around Efra. I think he thought it was an illness at first. But then neighborhoods started just…fading away. Fae, too. Some Fae had particular items, things that helped them move between Faerie and this realm, or to channel some of their power here. If someone disappeared and left their channel behind, sometimes it would end up in the manor for safekeeping. I think some Fae were afraid they’d disappear too, and then these treasured items would be lost forever.”

My heart clenched. Those items below the manor—they weren’t stolen. They were kept there for safekeeping. I’d thought someone in that manor had been trying to kill the Fae, either Daybreak or Nightfall. But it was Drogo, trying to bring them back.

“Thank you,” I said, “for trusting me with this knowledge. It will help at the summit—to figure out what to do next.”

Aerika smiled thinly. I stepped off the platform and she walked me to the door. She looked a little pale, nervous, like she wasn’t sure if sharing all of this with me had been a good idea. “I trust your judgment, Your Highness,” she said. “And your discretion.”

I looked at her. “It will remain between us.”

That seemed to ease Aerika’s nerves, and she nodded briskly as she led me out the door.

29

T

he next evening was the first night of the summit. Elias and I stood outside the throne room, side by side, both in the dark silks of Nightfall.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Elias asked. “We can still demand he leave.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “Really. It’s strange, I’m almost… I’m almost looking forward to it.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “Sometimes I think I’ll never really understand what makes you tick.”

I smiled, then took his hand in mine and kissed his knuckles. I understood his hesitation. Daybreak had sent word they would be attending the summit, if the King and Queen of Nightfall would allow it. They would attend with just a single convoy.

Barion.

I’d expected a message like that to hurt. It was supposed to hurt, to have to face a figure from my past after so much loss, and yet part of me was excited. I wanted him to see who I had become. I still wanted him to be proud of me. He was more of a father to me than Rodthar ever was.

Elias nodded at the guards, and they opened the ornate doors.Inside, a round table had been set for dinner. Wolves from each pack were already seated.