Page 76 of The Mortal Queen

Gilrel’s brow furrowed, turning towards the surrounding forests eavesdropping on their conversation.

“What of her?”

“Who is she? Lir seems to believe she holds the answers to his questions, the outcome of the feuds between our kinds.”

“If anyone does, it would be her. She’s one of the few to bear thesight.”

“So, she can foresee the future like Ina?” Aisling remembered Cathan’s story that night by the fire: a tale of one of the original fair folk sovereigns, one who fell in love and was cursed for it along with her kingdom of themountains. Iod.

“Aye, like Ina,” Gilrel said, seemingly surprised Aisling knew that bit of their history at all. “An axis between the then, the now, and the will-be. One of the most powerful, chaotic Unseelie on this continent and beyond.”

“And the gods forged such a creature?” Aisling asked.

“The gods have created many monsters,” Gilrel said, eyeing the mortal queen knowingly.

“If what the others are saying is true, you cannot deny the gods or the gifts they’ve given you.”

“What are the others saying?” Aisling shifted her attention to the fae knights wrestling or jeering on the side.

“Filverel tells them your blood is steeped in thedraiocht. Many believed him mad at first. But he wasn’t the only one to witness that fomori light up in flames.”

“He believes me to be a weapon.”

“Aye. Fire is powerful, Ash. No Seelie nor Unseelie can wield it. A mere spark can extinguish our kind. It steals what we create, what the Forge has cast in our bones, flesh, and veins. Devours what we breathe.”

“I cannot use it. I don’t know how…”

“But you will,” Gilrel said, her voice becoming hoarse. “And when you do…” Gilrel trailed off, her eyes growing distant.

“I would never hurt you,” Aisling said, the words as much a surprise to herself as they were to the chambermaid. Aisling couldn’t…The thought trailed off.

Before her marriage to Lir, there were many things Aisling didn’t believe herself capable of that now haunted her consciousness. With every passing day, she felt something waking within her. Something the mortal queen had kept catatonic.

“Forge be willing, you keep your word,” Gilrel said, averting her gaze. The marten feared her. And while the mortal queen would’ve thought such fear to be isolating, she found pleasure instead.

Before Aisling could respond, she followed Gilrel’s line of sight. Lir emerged from the forest, through the prickly curtains of pine, catching Aisling’s eyes across the meadow.

Aisling’s heart quickened, standing to her feet as he approached her. The northern wind tossed his dark hair, wrapping around his lean legs with every lithe step forward.

“I want to show you something,” Lir said, extending his gloved hand once he was a mere pace away. The mortal queen stared at his long, elegant fingers.

“What is it?” she asked, internally cursing herself for stepping closer to him.

“A surprise.”

Aisling hesitated, tilting her head to look past the fae lord and into the woods.

“Her death will be requested by the Sidhe. Demanded. Better it be at the hand of hercaerathan another’s.”

Sakaala’s words had accompanied Aisling’s every waking thought since. There wasn’t a moment the mortal queen didn’t anticipate would be her last. For there was little if anything that Lir wouldn’t do for his people. Willing to make sacrifices as great as Aisling would herself. And Aisling knew the potent weight of duty all too well.

How long could Lir protect Aisling, she a symbol of this unity between the mortals, from the Sidhe and Unseelie alike? How long could he temper their rage, their hunger, before it came at the cost of both Aisling’s head and the treaty itself? Lest his alliance with the Unseelie and his dominion over his own kingdom implode.

“You aren’t afraid of surprises, are you?” Lir taunted, the ghost of a smile brightening his fae features.

Aisling straightened. The mortal queen wasn’t afraid. But she was cautious. Afraid to let herself believe, to trust in Lir and the promise he made her. The vows he claimed bound him to protect her. For up until recently, Aisling believed the Aos Sí to be liars. Manipulators. Now? She wasn’t certain what shethought. The fair folk were strange, different than anything she’d anticipated or been taught. And somehow, she found herselfwantingto trust the fae king. When had that changed?

Wordlessly, Aisling placed her hand in Lir’s.

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