Page 7 of The Lost Fae
"Well, you won't find any of those here." Johanna bustles. "We've been trying to get around this place for years with little success."
A breeze filled with the salty scent of seafoam blows my hair over my face. Captain Beatrice tries to push her own curls away. The sun moves toward the horizon painting it in hues of orange and pink. It's reminiscent of the wings of their attackers.
What a world the Shadow Fae could have lived in if Cordelia hadn't ripped the wings off their backs. Just seeing this small group of Fae come together now gave me a sense of how it should be, how the Shadow Fae should live. I mean, minus the whole raiding and pillaging thing and all.
"Gather yourselves," Beatrice says to us, then she looks to the crew. "Keep your eyes peeled, I don't doubt that they won't return so quickly!"
The captain turns on her heels walking toward her office once more. Johanna walks with her, but backwards, her eyes on us the entire time. Our steps only move forward slightly under her attention.
"What sort of place is this? Humans and Fae co-existing," I say softly, knowing full and well they won't catch the words falling from my lips. "Citizens of myth and legend lost to history but still alive and young within this realm?"
"Fuckingfuck!" Lincoln growls, urging me forward.
"What?"
"I think we are in The Lost Court."
Three
Bait and Hook
"They don't takethings like our gold. No, our treasure troves remain mostly untouched, useless in this damn world." Captain Beatrice drinks directly from the glass bottle now, chugging down the contents.
"Some things are more precious than gold." Lincoln steps aside to allow me to enter the room. "Right, my queen?"
Glass shatters into a million little pieces in the corner of the office. I stiffen in surprise. Shards sparkle as they scatter across the floorboards.
"Clean that up," Beatrice rasps to Johanna, looking at the mess she made in her anger. Slowly, she turns back to me. "Queen?"
"I, uh, yeah. Yes," I repeat thinking back to my friendship with Kai and the hurt that still stings inside my chest at the word 'yeah'. It's silly of me to still be clinging to such meaningless memories now. They clearly didn't mean anything to him.
"We have a queen," she practically sings.
"You do...?" Lincoln stays between the captain and I as we shuffle toward the table.
Beatrice takes a few steps kicking the glass toward Johanna who sweeps with a scraggly broom. The captain pushes the door closed, leaning heavily against it.
"We've met her a few times. She'll likely be looking for you two soon if she doesn't hear from you first. If you, as you say you have, just arrived."
"If you have a queen how come she allows all this feuding between you and the Fae?"
"She doesn't like to get...involvedwith such meaningless squabbles." Beatrice spits. "Those Fae... this wasn't the first time they attacked, and it won't be the last. They'll strip us of our every resource if we let them."
"Where is this queen?" Lincoln pushes.
"Around."
Lincoln and I sink back into the chairs surrounding the round table. Crossing her legs with every heavy step, Beatrice closes the space between us. She walks her fingers across the table and runs them up my arms and over my cheek. I turn away, but her touch follows.
"You don't look like a queen." She points out the dirt, sand, and green grass stains that cover my clothing and my body.
"I'd look a lot more regal with a shower."
"The ocean's right over there!" She points to the small window with a triumphant smile.
"Can you... take us to this queen?" Lincoln tries.
Her empty chair across from us scrapes against the floor before she lowers herself into it. She drags her hands over her features, making her wrinkles sag that much more. I imagine she would be lovely in her youth. Her skin is dotted with freckles. Her eyes are full of mischief. Not to mention all that thick black hair that has yet to start to grey as many of the others have.
