Page 12 of The Shattered Kingdom
I eye the square neckline and short butterfly sleeves.
“We look like bridesmaids,” I say.
Lill cracks a smile. “You should’ve seen the faerie fashion twenty years ago. Some dresses were so heavy, I could barely stand in them.” She clears her throat. “Mace used to help me tear off the inner layers so we could play.”
I don’t want to talk about Mason. “Is this place drastically different from when you were a kid?” I ask.
“It’s hard to tell. I haven’t had many opportunities to look around.”
Right. I’ve spent ample time galivanting throughout the faerie lands while Lill has been slowly dying in the human realm.
“You look beautiful, Abbs,” Lill says, changing the subject. “Our clothing looks good on you.”
Our clothing. She’s been here for less than twenty-four hours and already, she’s acclimating. It’s happening much too quickly for my liking.
“We should talk about—”
I fall silent as I take notice of the look Lill is giving me. She shakes her head, the movement subtle but precise. Now isn’t the time to poke holes in her story. Very well.
“Does the magic feel good?” I ask instead.
“You have no idea.”
“How long will it take you to be back to normal?”
Lill shrugs. “A couple of weeks, maybe. I’ve been deficient for most of my life, and I don’t think my body will bounce back as quickly as it does for other faeries.”
A couple of weeks? That’s so long.
“So you intend to stay for a couple of weeks?” I’m fishing.
Lill’s responding frown tells me she picks up on it. “I don’t know. I need magic to survive, and the mate bond makes things tricky. I can’t just up and leave, even if I wanted to. This is all as surprising to me as it is to you.”
Hardly. Lill spent the first several years of her life here, and she knew of her ties to the faerie royals. She’s notnearlyas surprised as I am. I keep that particular thought to myself, though. Now isn’t the time to start an argument, even if I can feel one beginning to brew.
It’s in the early stages, but things are tense between us and I don’t see a world where they improve without some serious communication. I’m not getting the impression that Lill is looking to talk through things, at least not the way I want. We’re going tofight. Probably not today, but soon.
It’s inevitable.
“What exactly is magic?” I wave my arm through the air, gesturing to the tiny flecks floating around us. “I know it’sthis, but what exactly do you do with it? How does it work?”
I’m desperate to know.
Lill teeters her head back and forth. “It’s hard to explain. There’s a lot of complexity, but you can think of it as a second pair of hands. Anything you can do with your hands, faeries can do with magic. It takes more energy to use magic than to just do something yourself, though, so it’s not used that often.”
“That’s the most disappointing thing I’ve ever heard.” I mean it, too. Magic is supposed to be, well, magical—not some useless tool that’s rarely used.
“I can’t open a portal with my hands,” I point out. “But you and Kie did so with magic. I also met a man in Callonton who turned a stone into a giant, three-dimensional map.”
Lill throws her hands out to the sides. “Magic is an impossible concept to explain to somebody who can’t experience it. It’s like describing color or taste. I’m trying my best here.”
I pause, waiting for her to elaborate, but after a few seconds, I realize she’s given up.
I brush my hands down my sides. “I suppose we can’t hide in here forever.”
I’d like to, but Kie and Mason are waiting to give us a tour, and we’ve taken our time dressing. Besides, I’m interested to learn the layout of this place. It will make our eventual escape easier.
I assumed Kie and Mason would be too busy to spend time with us. They should be preoccupied with planning for Mason’s ascension, but it seems they’re choosing to pretend everything is all right and continue their lives as usual. It’s a transparent attempt to lull the faeries into a false sense of security.
