Page 121 of Crown of Darkness
There are three moons in front of me. One in the night sky; one reflected in the water of the lake; and the last shimmering in the distance, just above the lake’s surface.
I don’t know whether it’s a trick of the light or—
“It’s what remains of the crystal keep,” the grimalkin muses.
“The what?”
“It was built by the otherkin who worshipped the Daughter of the Three Moons. It stood here for centuries until the fae arrived and destroyed it, as they destroyed everything.”
I shoot him a look.
“What?” He tilts his head. “Do your history books not speak of the invasion? The fae came and conquered all who walked these lands. They chained them, and broke them, and shattered their Hallows. Your great goddess herself is responsible for the one you stand beside.”
There’s a dirty taste in my mouth. “Maia was trying to overthrow Queen Sylvian. She’d gone mad.”
“Ah, yes,” the grimalkin purrs. “But have you ever wondered precisely how Maia conquered her fellow queen? They were much of a muchness, were they not? And little Queen Sylvian had her own personal army of fused warriors. An army that could not be defeated, they said, and yet your precious Maia broke them with her power alone.”
I’m not imagining it.
The bastard’s staring at me with beady little eyes as it slowly licks its paw.
“What is the answer going to cost me?”
I swear it laughs. “You’re learning, little fae queen.” And then it blinks at me. “The time is not yet right for you to know. Ask me again when the moon is full, your heart is torn in two, and you have no more hope remaining.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s not as though we have anything else to do to pass the time. Unless the Mother of Night instructed you to keep such secrets?”
“You think the Mother of Night sent me to you?”
I still. “You were sitting on my chest when I woke, and she’d promised to protect me.”
“Yes. You were warm. My feet were cold.”
A strange thought occurs. “Whatbrought you to these woods?”
“I was waiting for you to arrive.”
My hand curls around my dagger. “How did you know I was coming here?”
The creature rolls its eyes. “I’m a grimalkin. I walk the shadows—the same way the Heartless do—but sometimes, in walking that world, I can catch a glimpse of a future unmapped. I needed help, and when I requested such from the world, your face kept appearing, as uninspiring as it is. And so I am here.”
My feet feel weighted to the ground.
“Put the knife away,” the grimalkin continues. “You’re only going to embarrass yourself.”
I glare at it, but suddenly it’s no longer there.
I spin around.
Nothing.
And then there’s a mocking purr in the tree above me, and something swipes at my hair.
Lambent yellow eyes appear, and then the fucking cat lolls on its back in the branches above me as a piece of my hair sifts to the ground.
“I could have gone for the tendon in your right heel,” it points out. “And you would never have seen me coming.”
Fuck.
