Page 13 of A Blaze of Fire
I portaledinto the Seelie Court, knowing there was no other option but to seek the aid of the Seelie Queen. I knew it was a gamble. She’d either command me to kill Violet or abduct her and bring her to the Seelie Court. I was banking on the latter.
The Seelie Queen’s glass castle seemed delicate and fragile from the outside, as if a solidly thrown rock or a hearty gale would tumble it all down. But it was only called the glass castle by name. It was actually constructed of an impenetrable substance that made it practically bullet proof. The castle was considered a safe haven by many.
I strode through the hallways with purpose. As I turned the corner, I ran into my father.
“Where are you going?” He tried to stand in my way and prevent me from going into the throne room, but I easily bypassed him. He was older than I remembered him, his glossy dark hair now graying at the temples. But those green eyes were the same unflinching shade as mine. “Ansel! Don’t go in there!”
I pushed through the frosted double doors of the throne room and stormed inside, my father’s hurried footsteps behind me.
The Queen was casually seated in her glass throne. Long blonde hair that swept the floor and icy blue eyes drilled into me as I approached the dais. Once I reached her, I bowed.
“Your Majesty.”
“Ansel,” she greeted, sounding bored. “This is a surprise. You’re supposed to be in the human realm.”
“I know, but I have something very important to report,” I said urgently. My father tried to tug me backward, but I snatched my arm away from him.
Her glacial eyes piqued with slight curiosity. “Oh? And what is that?”
“The orb,” I swallowed. “It’s in the hands of the Unseelie.”
My father froze. The Queen froze. Everything seemed to have paused. I held my breath and waited for someone to respond.
“How could you let that happen?” my father growled. “You were sent there for the sole purpose of—”
“Enough,” the Queen said calmly. She lifted a pale hand to stop my father from rambling. “I assume you have more to report than just this?” She raised a perfectly arched brow and gave a withering glare that would have wilted a lesser man.
I nodded. “The orb … is not in a human … but in a halfling.”
My father sucked in a shocked breath, and I finally got a response from the Queen. Her blue eyes widened in shock and she shot to her feet.
“What?” she shouted, her normally crystalline voice booming against the walls of the throne room.
“They’ve taken her to the Unseelie Court to train. The Unseelie King wants to use her as a weapon since he can’t access the orb directly,” I said carefully, measuring every word spoken.
The Queen’s eyes were wild, and I knew she was at a loss for words. The weight of failing my mission sank like a stone in my gut.
I hurried to issue my mitigation plan. “Your Majesty, I beg you to send me to the Unseelie Court. I promise to bring her safely here to the Seelie Court.”
“Safely?” the Queen scoffed.
My stomach plummeted. Once the Queen’s ire was raised, there was little one could do to put it at rest. “Don’t you think she’ll be useful to you, Your Majesty? Her magic has been dormant all her life. She’s untrained. You can mold her however you see fit,” I suggested. I hated giving her the idea, but if it got Violet away from the clutches of the Unseelie and away from my brother, I’d do it.
The Queen considered my proposal. “You think you can bring her here?”
I nodded enthusiastically. “Yes.”
“Very well. I’ll send a message to the Unseelie Court. Prepare to depart in a few days’ time.”
7
VIOLET
“So what am I doing today?” I asked as Rosemary put make-up on my face. I’d never really worn make-up. At least not to this extent. My face felt plastic and caked with greasy paint.
Before answering, she placed the finishing touches by swiping ruby lipstick on my lips. “You’re about to meet the heads of each element.”
“Like, the leaders of the water elementals, air, fire, earth, like that?” I asked, trying to understand.
