Page 46 of Queen of Thorns

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Caelynn

The breath catchesin my throat when I realize the gates are opening. The crowd lining the streets stills, eyes wide.

These gates only open once per year, and even then, only a small group are allowed in. We’re months away from Yareakh, when the queen welcomes citizens in.

Steps echo until a form appears on the platform above. I see her crown first, shining black spikes. Harsh and beautiful. Then, her wrinkled face and black gown.

The Queen of the Whisperwood.

I met her at the Trials. She treated me like a daughter, but I’d been so cold with my court then. They were so proud of my deeds that it sickened me. Even while I loved the Shadow Court, I couldn’t accept their praise.

And I haven’t yet had the chance the meet the queen here. Where I should have the first time. She would have welcomed me into the court and offered me a drink from the shade fountain. That would have completed my rites and made me an official member of this court.

That was one of my dreams, that I never accomplished.

I never got the chance. I was banished to the human world before I could fulfill it.

I don’t know why the queen would publicly greet me like this now. Yes, I’m well known here, well liked. Most consider me a hero. I expected to be welcomed, to be allowed in. But the main gates don’t need to be opened to allow me access. The queen herself does not have to be here.

They didn’t have to make it a spectacle.

The sprites continue their swirling and dancing, their joyous whispers leaping through the crowds.

I take another deep breath and then continue my walk to the palace. In only a few moments, I reach the steps. Slabs of uneven black stone, with shades of purple and blue twisted in. Like the feathers of a raven.

The moment my boot hits the first step, the murmuring of the crowds stops. There’s a stillness everywhere. Or maybe, it’s just that my mind has blocked everything out.

There is only me, this moment, and the waiting queen.

A soft breeze eases the nervous heat creeping up my neck and face. My chest rises and falls rapidly, but I keep my mind focused and calm. This walk feels like an eternity of in-between.

At the top is my destiny. A fate I’d didn’t dare believe was possible.

After several minutes of slow walking, my thighs burning, I reach the platform before the massive stone gates and I face the queen.

I don’t know what to expect. I don’t know what she sees in me now. A predecessor? Her court’s hope? Or a threat?

I stop. My expression is not at all the poised female I am meant to be, ready to take control of an entire kingdom. Instead, I feel like a child, internally begging this queen to accept me.

I am desperately hopeful. Pathetically so.

The queen approaches with slow deliberate steps. Then, her lips curl into a kind smile as she stops before me.