Page 45 of Crown of Briars
I did know this. Only weapons of iron could truly kill a fae.
Which was why I could not wield an iron blade, as it would harm me just to touch the hilt.
But I also knew that the diamonds infused in this dagger granted me the strength of five fae soldiers. It wouldn’t take much to sever this bastard’s head from his body. Andthatwould certainly kill him.
I drew closer to him, letting the tip of my dagger press against his leather tunic. “Would you like to test my blade, soldier?”
His smile only widened, as if he enjoyed the threat.
I shoved harder, letting the blade slice through his tunic and graze his flesh.
His smile vanished in an instant as I drew blood. A black droplet oozed from the wound, trickling down his tunic. He hissed in pain, jerking away from me, his eyes darting to the dagger.
I only offered a smug grin. With the dagger still poised and ready to strike, I moved forward. He slid out of my path, letting me pass. My steps quickened as I raced across the grass, my heart pounding, until I reached the covered walkway. I glanced over my shoulder to find the soldier standing where I’d left him, watching me with a curious expression on his face.
Stones, I did not like that fae.
I kept a tight grip on my dagger as I hurried down the walkway, anxious to put as much distance between myself and the fae soldier as possible.
The next day,I stood in the hallway, my stomach in knots as Enzira finished moving my things into the queen’s chambers. It was fairly easy; I had only been in the Shadow Court for a few days, so most of my things were still in my trunk. I had quickly extracted my dagger, Wraith Killer, as well as my pouch of gemstones and the vial of birch root, then shoved them in my bodice before anyone noticed. With the chaos of servants moving my things to the queen’s chambers, there hadn’t been a moment for me to visit Azure and use the birch root to remove her splinter.
Now I couldn’t even risk seeing her because the king was suspicious of me. Why else would he insist on putting me in the rooms adjacent to his? It was clear he held no affection for me, and I was only his wife because of some part I had to play to keep the toxic shadows at bay—a part I knew nothing about.
And with Varius’s brutish behavior yesterday, I didn’t expect him to be very forthcoming. He had completely dismissed my accusation that his men had terrorized my people—which I had seen firsthand, regardless of his claims—and instead turned the accusation on me.
But, despite the fire raging in my chest, itdidmake me wonder how much of what he said was true. I had only witnessed unseelie creatures attacking my peopleonce.Everyother time had been a report from my father or someone like Gerard.
Someone who could easily have been lying, or had been fed lies by others.
I thought of Gerard’s blatant hatred for all things fae—seelie or unseelie. I recalled how much he despised the magic in my blood. It didn’t matter that he cared for me or trusted me. He would never trust the power thrumming inside my veins.
Was I as blind as he was? Was I so poisoned against the unseelie that I would immediately assume the worst about them?
That isn’t fair,I told myself.It is natural to trust your own people over these strangers.
But then I thought of the kind face of Enzira, who, regardless of her appearance, seemed like she wouldn’t harm a fly. I thought of all the other servants I had encountered throughout the castle, and how helpful and polite they had been.
Not beastly or monstrous at all. Not like I was taught.
“Are you sure about this?” Ramia whispered, jerking me from my thoughts. We stood in the hall outside the queen’s chambers, overseeing the staff as they readied the rooms for us. “I feel uneasy about your rooms being so close to his.”
“This is what I came here to do, remember?” I whispered. “I’m meant to be the queen here, and this is the first step.”
“We don’t know anything about the king,” Ramia whispered, though I was sure the fae could still hear her words. “For all we know, he’ll wait for you to fall asleep and then feast on your flesh.”
“Ramia,” I hissed in warning, glancing nervously at a smiling Enzira who passed by us. “Even if thisweretrue, which I’m sure it’s not, how exactly do you think you would be able to stop him?”
Ramia glanced at me, her expression falling.
“Like it or not, we are at the mercy of the Shadow King,” I said. “We will need to trust him.”
Even if he seems untrustworthy,I wanted to add.
“Right,” Ramia agreed, nodding as if to reassure herself more than me. “For the good of our people.”
My mouth twisted in a grimace, because I wasn’t surewhatgood this alliance was actually doing. It was meant to keep the shadows at bay, but Varius impliedIhad to do something first. I just didn’t know what.
And either Varius was blind to what his soldiers were doing, or he was telling the truth and my peopleweren’tbeing attacked by the unseelie. Neither scenario was very comforting. If my father was lying about the attacks, what did he hope to gain? What was he covering up? I knew Father was slimy and unpleasant, and he saw me as nothing more than a weapon to wield, but he cared about his people. It didn’t seem like him to craft lies in order to incite terror and panic.
