Page 40 of Quicksilver
“But how can she be so old if she's human? How has she managed to rein for over a thousand years? And how could she have closed all of the pathways with that sword if she wasn't an Alchemist?”
“We don't know how she did it, but yes, Madra should have died centuries ago. It must be some form of magic, but wehave no clue who performed it for her or why. We don't know how she discovered that the quicksilver could be stilled with an Alchimeran sword, either. That information was closely guarded by our kind for generations. But you don't need to be Fae or possess any special gift in order toclosethe doors between our realms. The sword will do it for you. As far as we know, when one pool of quicksilver is activated, all quicksilver everywhere is activated. It's joined by some kind of...” She frowned, searching for a way to explain. “A ribbon of energy, I suppose. If you take a sword like Solace and plunge it into the quicksilver, it severs that energy in a way that paralyzes it. Until Solace was removed, every entrance to the pathway became frozen. There were members of this court on scouting parties, exploring new pathways that had only recently opened up when Madra cut the cord. Friends. Family members. They became trapped wherever they were. They haven't been seen since.”
“Is it...I mean, is there a chance that any of them are still alive? I know very little about Fae life expectancy. How long do your people even live for? How old areyou?”
Everlayne choked on a huff of laughter, covering her mouth with a hand. Was it me, or did she seem a little embarrassed? “That's...not something we really talk about. You'd know that, but we haven't really covered court etiquette yet.”
“Sorry. Gods, I should mind my own business. I—”
“No, no, no, it's okay.” She shook her head. “I know we've only known each other a few days, but I sat with you for a long time while you were recovering. I'd like to think that we're friends.”
“Me, too.” It was the truth. I was starting to think of her as a friend, and I was glad she thought the same of me. Having a friend in a palace full of enemies could never be a bad thing.
“Right. Well, now that we've established that,” she said, grinning. “Let me start out by asking you how old youthinkI am?”
“If you were a human, I'd say you were a little older than me. Twenty-seven? Twenty-eight, perhaps?”
“Gods.” Her eyes went wide. “This will come as a bit of a shock, then.” She took a deep breath. “I was born at the very beginning of the tenth age. I’ve been alive for one thousand four hundred and eighty-six years.”
“One thou...?” I nearly swallowed my tongue. Everlayne was nearlyfifteen hundredyears old. I couldn't force my mind to make sense of that. She looked so young. Did I dare ask my next question? The one that burned on the tip of my tongue? I shouldn't even want to know, but I couldn't help it. “And Kingfisher? How old ishe?”
Everlayne regarded me, a small smile playing over her lips. She took a long second to answer, during which time I internally berated myself for giving in to my infernal curiosity, but then she said, “I'd say that you needed to ask him. It's not really my place to share information like that. Often, we don't even know how old other members of our court are. But I do know how old Kingfisher is and telling you to ask him directly is just cruel. He'd never tell you, and he'd mock you for asking besides. Kingfisher was born at the end of the ninth age. Does that help you form some sort of a guess?”
“I don't know. I'm not sure. He looks like he's about thirty. So, maybe I'd say he was...” Gods, convincing the words to come out of my mouth was impossible. This was madness.
“Go on,” Everlayne prompted.
“I don't know, eighteen hundred years old?”
“Not bad. He's one thousand seven hundred and thirty years old.”
“One thousand seven hundred and thirty-three,” came a deep voice. Adrenalin exploded through my veins, shocking my system so badly that I nearly toppled sideways out of my seat. I twisted around, and there stood Kingfisher in a recessed reading alcove, bathed in shadows. Half of his body was concealed by a pool of darkness that was very out of place in the well-lit library. He studied his fingernails, that metal wolf-head gorget glinting at his throat. “What's three years between family, though?” he said, shoving away from the wall and out into the light. “I'm sure it's hard to keep track of time when you're so distracted by the comings and goings of court life.” He gave her a tight-lipped smile. “Glad to see you're finally sharing some truths with your new pet, Layne. I have to say, I'm a little scandalized to discover that they'remine,though.”
“You wouldn't have discovered anything if you weren't eavesdropping.”
“Forgive me. I was bored. I decided to come and fetch the human after all, and you two seemed to be havingsuchan interesting conversation.”
Everlayne rolled her eyes. She placed her hand on my forearm. “Never mind him. In answer to your other question, technically the Fae who found themselves trapped when the quicksilver was stilled could still be alive, yes. But the realm they were visiting was a volatile and dangerous place. It's unlikely that old age killed any of them. But the local clans probably did.”
“Next time you're curious about me, feel free to askme,” Kingfisher said as he laid his hand on the forge's brand-newdoor. This was the first time he'd spoken since we left the library, preferring to march through the Winter Palace in stony silence.
The door swung open, and he went inside.
I hovered on the threshold, trying to decide if I wanted to go in after him or if I wanted to run in the opposite direction, back to my room, where he wouldn't be able to give me any grief. The palace was a winding nightmare of hallways, staircases, and corridors, but I thought I could find my way if I really tried.
My legs were as heavy as hewn stone as I followed him into the forge. “If I'd asked you something, you wouldn't have answered me. And if you had, it wouldn't have been the truth.”
“Incorrect. If you asked me something worthy of a reply, then I'd answer. If I answered, then it would be the truth.” Just as he'd done yesterday, he began stripping out of his armor, again starting by removing his sword. This time I was prepared and didn't flinch when he drew the weapon.
“Right.Sure.” Humans and Fae were different in many ways, but sarcasm was universal.
His hands worked deftly on the strap that went around his side, unfastening his chest protector. “Try me, human.”
“All right. Fine.” Thanks to Kingfisher's little clean-up trick last night, the forge was spotless today. The workbench was free of debris, the floor immaculate. All of the tools were good as new, hanging on hooks on the wall opposite the hearth. I maneuvered myself around the other side of the workbench, putting the biggest, heaviest obstacle that I could between us as he continued to remove his armor, just in case he didn't like my questioning and came for me. Because I planned on riling him. Annoying him. Baiting him the same way he baited me, with his constantOshaname calling, and his open derision.
Screw him.
Kingfisher dropped his chest protector to the floor.
