Page 54 of Wrath of the Fae Queen
Acool breeze whips my cloak around my legs as I sneak out of the palace the following night. The secret passageways lead all the way out to the base of the palace, which is built into the apex of the city.
We move in a quiet team, sneaking through the shadows. Jasper keeps his grip on his sheathed sword as he scans the streets, and both Sasha and Juniper hover close to Rainier for protection. Drake leads our party with a hand wrapped around my arm, like he is afraid of losing me again.
The entire city sprawls out from our vantage point in a vista below. Clusters of buildings reach impossibly high from the depths of the valley into the clouds. Each megastructure seems as tall as a mountain, as the majority of the city occupies vertical space. There are spires, domes and towers rising from every level, with bridges connecting them and external staircases scaling the surfaces.
Immense balconies wrap around the layers. The broadest of them create spaces for public gatherings, dotted with shops and restaurants. Wide boulevards are highways for foot traffic. Thecity is crafted from stone and wood, with much of the latter still alive, as they have incorporated many forests and trees into their urban planning. Streams gush alongside the wide walkways and cascade down buildings in dainty waterfalls, feeding all that life and washing everything clean.
I fell in love with the City of Vertical Gardens the first time I visited here. I was taken by the beauty and culture infused in every inch of it. Walking these streets again not only solidifies that affection, but makes me want to give my all in fighting to release it from the clutches of that monster. To give its people the peace and safety they deserve.
I don’t know where the intensity of my devotion comes from. If it bleeds across my mate bond from Aldrin, or if I was born to rule here. It already feels like my home. More than Appleshield did in the last decade.
We step straight from the palace into an upmarket neighborhood, illuminated by fire orbs in pretty lanterns that cast leadlight colors across the walls and ground. The air is full of laughter and music. Well-dressed high fae tip their heads at us as they pass by in groups, leaving restaurants or strolling toward bars. None look at us too closely. To them, we are another group of nobles looking for entertainment.
It isn’t until we reach the sectors of the middle and lower classes that the streets become deserted. Deep shadows hover over every corner and even the taverns are shut, their doors barred and metal shutters over the windows.
“Is there a curfew?” I whisper to Rainier.
His thick, dark eyebrows pinch in the middle. “No. The Truth Templars come out at night. Sometimes they beat a fae walking down the street just for the sport of it. Any excuse or type of minority will do for them.”
As though on cue, the marching of boots and catcalling of voices echoes through the platformed street we travel down.There are so many staircases and bridges arching off it that I cannot immediately tell which direction the gang approaches from. Jasper pulls his sword halfway out of its sheath and I bring forth my raw magic, letting it dance at the tips of my fingers.
I will not have a party of spoiled, hateful brats get the better of me.
We quicken our pace, darting down a narrow flight of stairs and across a rickety balcony in ill repair. Stale smoke irritates my nose as we pass a shop that has been burned to a skeleton and over dark grime marks on the road that could be old blood. Eyes peer at us from between bars on windows and dart away just as quickly.
“We don’t want to get caught,” Jasper grunts. “The last thing we need is to reveal our identities and nighttime activities to those thugs.”
“It would be hard to explain why we have the Spring Queen and Winter Princess with us, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t itching to kill some Templar bastards,” Rainier spits.
My nerves flare as crashing boots and clanking chainmail grow louder. Closer. On the platform two stories up, the broad forms of armored men become visible as they march in a loose column and jostle each other like children. There is no discipline to their line at all.
“Is there somewhere we can hide?” I whisper.
Behind us, the metal panels of the barricading door of a shop roll open, and two silver-haired high fae gesture to us frantically. “Lord Rainier. We thought we heard your voice,” one says. “Princess Sasha, quick, hide in here until they pass.”
My heart races as we duck inside a toy shop. It is filled with colorfully painted items with many moving parts, the likes of which I have never seen before. A long vehicle running on tracks and blowing out steam, large wheels turning, has many buckets along its front face and tiny wooden fae inside each one. Eachminiature is incredibly complex. This must be the Winter Court technology I have heard so much about.
We hover in the darkness of the storefront, hidden by the thick barricade. The shopkeepers bow and fuss over Sasha while she murmurs reassuring words to them. The gang of Truth Templars stomps past, enough feet striking the wooden balcony for the ground to vibrate. There must be fifty of them, yelling to each other about the Winter invaders they are going to thrash tonight and how the homes of traitors are going to burn. The stink of sweat and ale follows them. Did this disgrace of a guard stop by at a tavern first? Does alcohol fuel their base actions?
Torin’s voice rings out, barking orders that aren’t quite discernable, as they march away to find their next victims. My blood turns to ice. These thugs and their horrendous acts are backed by the throne. No wonder fae choose to hide, rather than meet them on the streets. Their word is law, no matter how unjustified or prejudiced.
“You should leave here, Gavriil, Alyona. It is not safe for our kind,” Rainier hisses at the shop owners. “Take my offer this time. Relocate. It is not worth risking your lives over.”
“And where are we to go?” Gavriil shrugs. “We would be cast out just as much in Winter as outsiders now. Our life and business are here.Why should we throw all that away? Better to make a standhere.”
Rainier grinds his teeth audibly, but the woman, Alyona, cuts in before he can speak. “The true queen is here now. She will save this court. I am sure of it.”
I step forward, removing my hood to reveal my face, my hair and the golden tiara I have glamoured into it. I place a hand on her shoulder as she stares at me with wide eyes. “Stay safe and be vigilant. Prepare yourself for what is coming. I will reunite the people of Spring to toss that tyrant off her throne.Allthepeople of Spring, regardless of where they were born or what their status is. All will be equal under my reign.”
Tears spring to both shopkeepers’ eyes, and they cannot stop touching my hands and arms, murmuring words of thanks, until we are out on the street again.
We descend through the vertical city, rushing down staircases and through back allies, avoiding the wide boulevards. In the distance, the racket of two gangs of Truth Templars rings out in the night from different directions.
Each time the bargain pulls at me, tugging my essence back toward the palace, I firmly reinstate in my mind that I have no intention to escape Titania. That I am out for merely a night, and I will return to my captivity. Without failure, the sensation disappears.
We stop before a large establishment in pale brick with many upper-level wooden balconies and arching window frames with colorful leadlight panes. Vines cover much of the surface, flowers overflowing from them, and luscious moss grows in large patches across the vibrant blue tiled roof. There is a sign hanging over the door, with the name painted in ornate script:The Merchants’ Guild Hall.
I turn to Jasper with a question on my lips and he nods. “This is where you will be speaking tonight. I apologize, I will not be able to join you.” His eyes slide away from mine, to Sasha.
