Page 38 of Kiss of Smoke

Robin’s lip curled, and I felt Jack grip the back of my dress to hold me back.

But I wasn’t going to go after her. A large part of me wanted to slap her in the face, if not for Robin, then for the fact that she was selfishly using her own niece’s funeral as a way to corner him.

But she was a queen. I would disappoint Titania, the one I was loyal to, if I attacked her, and besides…I trusted Robin. He wasn’t going to abandon me for someone else, even if she was the highest match he could aspire to.

“Look at you.” Nicnevin frowned up at him. “She’s turned you into a passionless puppet. There’s nothing of the wild Puck I once knew.”

Maybe it was because I was shocked by the entire scene, much less the fact that she’d chosen the royal funeral of all days to do this, but I let out a short, sharp laugh.

Irritation flashed across her lovely face as she glanced at me. “Is something funny, dryad?”

“Your Majesty,” I said, attempting the bare minimum of respect—after all, my family’s house was in Annwyn, and I didn’t want to bring her wrath down on them. “There’s nothing passionless about Robin. You just can’t see it.”

Robin gripped her wrist, and pulled her hand away from his face. Then he leaned in, towering over her.

“I don’t belong to you anymore,” he said, his voice quiet but stern, and he released her.

Nicnevin took a step back, her irritation returning in full force. She quickly masked it once more, looking me over.

“I never thanked you properly for your…effortson Darkest Night.” The Unseelie Queen extended a pale, white hand. “You deserve a place in my court. The Queen’s Spymaster, perhaps? You could work alongside Jack, perhaps have a House of your own.”

I looked at her hand, already seeing the poisoned gift she held out.

Sure, I could become a Lady of the Unseelie Court.

I would have the word Lesser stricken from my citizenship and ID, become a proper member of the House of Thorns, not to mention more power than most Gentry as one of the Queen’s own spies.

But of course she would get Robin in the deal.

She knew this as well as I did, that if he would come for me on Darkest Night, then he would come again.

Maybe she would even be the one to put my life in danger, if she knew Robin would break his promise to himself and come to Annwyn on my behalf.

“Thank you,” I said slowly, thinking through it. “But despite my bloodlines, I am a full-fledged member of the Seelie Court. I can’t leave Avilion.”

A pang of hurt went through me as I declined; if I angered Nicnevin enough now, would I see my father or aunt again? Would I ever visit their house or the White Manor again, or grow a tree that was as peaceful and beautiful as a dryad’s tree was meant to be?

But it was better than putting my family and men in an impossible position, where we’d always be living under Nicnevin’s thumb.

Nicnevin’s fingers curled into a claw-like fist, then she withdrew her hand, smiling as thin as a razor blade. “I will allow you some time to think on it, but the offer will not remain forever. Just remember all the things I can do for you that my sister cannot.”

With that, she turned her back on us, stepping into a shimmering patch of air and vanishing from Avilion.

I released a breath. “Did I do the right thing?”

Robin wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. “Only if you believe you did.” He looked down, his eyes veiled. “I’ve already told you once, don’t give up the things you want on my account.”

“Just because I’m Unseelie doesn’t mean I want to live in Annwyn,” I said. We walked through the gardens, beating a hasty retreat in case Nicnevin decided to reappear with an even more tempting offer, but I had a feeling she was throwing wine glasses at a wall right now. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love it there…but the idea of belonging to Nicnevin sends shivers down my spine.”

“She’s definitely less stable than her sister,” Jack said contemplatively.

“Right. So I’m not going to go work for a crazy woman who thinks people trying to murder her is fun.” I stopped once we were close to the palace destruction, and took Robin’s face in my hands. “Nor am I going to put you in a position where she has power over you. Ever. Got it?”

He gave me a crooked smile as I kissed his cheek. “Got it.”

14

As soon aswe got back to Robin’s house, we found Sisse sitting on a tea kettle in the kitchen, giving an intense stink-eye to the same pixie who’d delivered a message from Carabosse a day ago.

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