Page 118 of Faerie Fate
Was Laina about to pop out of the wall too?
Tywin looked kinder than I remembered, which made no sense. He reached out for his son only to let his hand drop before making contact.
He sighed. “Michael. What are you talking about?” he asked haltingly. “I’m not in a coma. As you can plainly see.”
His tone suggested he suspected his son was addled by the journey.
Bronwen and I sagged together.
“But you were. I mean, when we left, you were confined to your bed. I visited you a few days ago…” Mike trailed off.
Tywin pursed his lips, his eyes narrowed. “I’ve never been in a coma. Do I need the physicians to look at you?”
“But what about the witch? What about Barbara?” I made a mistake in blurting out the name because it brought the king’s attention to me.
His confusion escalated. “Who’s Barbara?”
“You know, the witch in the dungeons,” Mike clarified.
Confused, he refused to take his attention away from his father, away from the miraculous picture the king painted in the midst of this nondescript basement. Tywin didn’t leave his castle. After ruling for almost three hundred years, he had to be tired. Too tired to make the rounds and visit the Elite Academy just because.
“Do you mean the witchPoppy? The one who broke into the castle?” Tywin supplied. He bristled. “She’s imprisoned, safe in her cell and awaiting trial for her foolishness. The Elders will convene at the end of the week.”
The longer we stared at the king, the more insistent the pinching sensation in my brain. Not a side effect from the curse, or the time travel. At least not yet. Those things would come, I was sure of it.
But something else, something important I’d skipped over.
“At this point, the witch hasn’t admitted why she broke into the castle. I’m sure we will get an answer out of her shortly.” Tywin’s chin jutted out at the mention as though I’d reminded him of some minor annoyance.
“So no one was hurt?” I pressed.
This time, Tywin openly stared at me, but the expression made me much less uncomfortable. I was used to him staring at me with thinly veiled disgust. Bronwen, on the other hand, seemed to shrink in on herself, hiding behind me and Noren.
“No,” Tywin answered carefully. “No one was hurt.”
“What about theAugundae Imperium?” Mike asked.
Tywin glanced at his son, more confused than ever. “That artifact has been missing for nearly two centuries. Why wouldyou ask me about it? Did your travel through time addle your brains? I’ll have to call the healers to examine you immediately. Captain Hezarwick, will you send a message to the hospital?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose to somehow help order my rampant thoughts.
Tywin was never in a coma.
Barbara was still imprisoned, but her name was Poppy now.
There was never anAugundae Imperiuminvolved, so the sham of a trial and execution where Barbara had been put to death for nearly killing the king never happened.
I never had to run into the forest with Onyx.
What else had changed?
I felt Mike looking at me but he wasn’t the only one. Bronwen, too, stared at the cluster of people in the basement, our expressions mirrors of horror.
This wasn’t a minor blip in the future, not a minor change. We’dsignificantlychanged things.
Tywin cleared his throat, impatient. “Get the barrier down, Miss Alderidge. That was your entire purpose for using my son’s magic this way, wasn’t it? Bring it down and let’s rescue my students. They’ve waited long enough.”
I’d never heard him speak about the halflings at the mortal academy with such conviction before. I always thought Tywin hated them for not being pure blood. Our halfling status made us lesser citizens to him.
