Page 22 of Kiss of Smoke

It was like she had never been here at all.

8

It washours later when we retraced our steps back to the Thornwood tunnel. I was sweaty, tired, covered in dust, and the earring in my pocket felt like a burning brand.

We’d found no other trace of Tanaquill or the Unstained Souls. It was impossible not to feel demoralized as I climbed the rickety ladder back to the surface world.

Climbing out of the well felt like pushing through a thin, invisible membrane, as though the Undercity wanted to hold me down there in its endless warrens forever.

Gwyn had gone first, and he waited up top to grip my arms and pull me over the side.

I waited patiently as my father and Jack reappeared, followed by Oriande and Oak, who was panting heavily.

Nobody spoke as we headed back to Robin’s house. The disappointment had seeped into everyone.

A stone dropped into the bottom of my stomach when I pushed open the back door and found Titania sitting at the table, still wearing sweatpants. I didn’t want to be the one to tell her we found nothing.

There was another empty brandy bottle in front of her, and from the smell of things, she’d given up on mixing coffee in a while ago.

Despite how much booze she’d run through, those sea green eyes were sharp and somehow hopeful when they landed on me.

That hope drained away as everyone else came in, and she saw that Tanaquill was not among us.

"Did you find anything?” she asked, raising the mug to her lips, her shoulders slumped. “Anything at all?”

I didn’t bother with formalities as I crossed to the table and sat down next to her. She took a healthy gulp, and I noticed that her other hand clutched her loose sweatpants, balling the fabric in her fist.

“We found traces,” I said reluctantly, pulling out the bit of cloth and unfolding it to reveal the earring. Titania stared down at it, her face frozen in an unreadable expression. “The trail went completely cold. We’ll go back down with Robin and keep looking.”

The queen reached out and picked up the earring, turning it over in her long fingers. The aquamarines glinted in the light, and several flakes of dried blood scattered across her fingers.

“Do you know what it feels like?” she asked softly, still staring at the earring. “To be trapped in this house, knowing the only child I have left is out there in the hands of those savages, and I can do nothing but sit here.”

I said nothing. Truthfully…no. I had no idea what it felt like. I couldn’t begin to really comprehend what was going on inside her head.

“I gave these to Tanaquill for her sixteenth birthday. I never imagined to see her blood on them.” Titania gently smoothed out the scrap of fabric, then laid the earring on it carefully.

She closed her eyes, took another deep swallow from the mug, and tipped the bottle over it once more, filling it nearly to the brim.

The silence was deafening. I tried not to fidget uncomfortably in my seat.

What could I do but offer hollow hopes and false platitudes? What could I possibly tell her?

Fortunately, Thistletop broke the growing silence as he began shifting pots and pans out of cabinets. From the looks of it, a massive meal was in the works.

I relaxed a little as Titania unfroze, taking another drink, but it was short-lived.

“Fetch me a royal Herald,” she demanded, the tiniest slur in her words. “I don’t care which one. And some parchment and ink.”

I got up, scrambling to obey the decree and search Robin’s desk, and Jack followed me to the office.

“Gwyn is getting Robin,” he said quietly. “This news is…not going well.”

“Her only daughter is lost,” I told him, just as quietly. “Unless we brought her back alive and well, none of this was going to go well.”

I yanked open the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet and found stacks of parchment paper, and even an inkwell.

“We need to hope she doesn’t overreact. We can still find her.” Jack plucked a quill from the top shelf, then an ink pen for good measure. “Who uses quills anymore?”

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