Page 29 of Queen of Thorns
I force a smile, but my limbs still feel weak.I believe in you. His words echo in my mind. Very few souls have ever truly believed in me, my own included. Even my own parents didn’t really believe in me. Or maybe they did, I don’t know.
“She is beneath us now,” the book whispers.
I suck in a breath. “Stop the ship.”
Rev blinks, and Rai spins to face me. “What?”
“Here, this is where we need to stop.”
Rai marches toward the back of the small vessel, shouting orders to the crew. The sails are lowered, an anchor dropped. A fae in a blue cloak leans over the edge of the ship and waves his hands at the water. A water fae, I realize. Hired by the crew to aid in sailing. A convenience that is more luxury than necessity.
We may be with the Crackling Court, but the Glistening Court is nearby, on the other edge of Black Lake, the Whirling Court above them, and the Shadow Court below.
The ship quickly comes to a halt in the middle of the lake; smooth unmoving water surrounds us on every side.
Rai marches back to Rev and me. “What now?”
“Have him use his magic. But no touching the surface of the water.”
I pause, unsure what that would do. We’re not trying to wake the ancient yet, not unless Rai is comfortable doing so. And I also don’t want to ask the book for more details because that would look rather strange to a fae who doesn’t know the powerful spell book is sentient. A fact I still don’t want him to know.
“You don’t know?”
“No, I do,” I say slowly. “I’m just trying to figure out how best to move forward.”
“She feels the magic when used near her. We’ll get a small reaction if you use your magic near the surface. It won’t wake her but will recreate what happens during a storm.”
“She isn’t entirely asleep,” I tell King Raijin. “She feels the magic near her. Which is why you see that phenomenon during storms. We’ll get a small reaction if you use your magic near the surface in the same way.”
Rai takes in a long breath. “I don’t know how I feel about this.”
“I know.”
“If it was your court at risk... how would you feel?”
I blink, surprised he’d ask such a question. I glance to Rev, whose soft gaze and smile is reassuring. “I would be nervous, but it is necessary.”
“Is it?”
“Yes,” I whisper. “You understand the threat at large, correct?”
Rai nods.
“Then, you know we can’t donothing. And we do not have the power to defeat them. Not without help.”
He nods again.
“We did not complete the spell to rouse the ancient beneath the High Court,” Rev adds, speaking slowly. “Someone else did. So, what happens if it’s not us that rouses this one? What if someone beats us to it?”
Rai frowns at that. “I hadn’t considered that.”
“This is quickly becoming a war surrounding ancients,” I say, frowning at the still waters beneath the ship. “We need allies. These powers will either choose us or our enemies.”
“What happens then, if the response we get today is unfavorable?”
“Then, we increase security on the lake, keep a close eye on Drake, and plan according to the increased risk,” Rev says.
“If we deem it an unworthy risk,” I add, “to use the Lady of Black Lake for our cause, then we’ll know we only have one recourse.”
