Page 73 of Beyond the Faerie Gate

Rhoswyn

When I wake up this time, there’s no muttering. Just a soft singing I can’t place. The room we’re in is decorated in soft colours and airy fabrics, lit by the warmth of a late morning sun and filled with the gentle fragrance of more nightshade. I turn onto my back and stare at the chair in the corner where Kitarni is poring over a musty old tome. Her lips are barely moving as she sings, and I wonder if she even knows she’s doing it.

When she looks up and meets my eyes, her words cut off. She doesn’t blush—I’m not sure someone with bark for skin can—but her eyes flick down in embarrassment.

“It was a pretty song,” I whisper.

“A lullaby.” She stiffens. “It was sung to me as a child. Being back here brings up old memories.”

“Did you grow up here?”

She tilts her head in soft acknowledgement, but I get the sense she’d rather I didn’t ask any more questions.

“Jaromir and Drystan are very upset with you.”

I start to ask why, only to close my mouth as I remember what I did. “I have… I have no idea what came over me,” I whisper, horrified. “Oh my—I didn’t… did I? Is he… is he okay?” Kitarni’s nod undoes me. I sit up in the bed, hugging my knees to my chest. “Please tell me no one died?”

“Your púca is healed and recovering with Jaro. I think they were getting something to eat. Most of the damage you did was to the building. The only person who didn’t make it out was the madam.”

My relief is muted by the sickening memory of throwing the madam through a wall. Sweet Danu…

“I was just so angry.” I stare at my hands in confusion. “I’ve never felt like that before. And Danu… she was angry too…”

And together we killed a woman.

“You are a conduit for the Goddess,” Kitarni acknowledges. “There is a reason your will is considered an extension of hers. Most fae consider speaking to you the same as speaking directly to Danu herself. That is why we currently have lines of them queuing around the city asking for an audience.”

She pauses. “Try not to be so hard on yourself when things happen which are beyond your control. Danu is a primal being, and her nature is that of a mother. Protective, nurturing, and wild. She’s not typically predisposed to being harsh or cruel unless she’s provoked. With time, you will understand your bond and be able to moderate your reactions to her.”

I bite my lip, hating how guilty I feel. “I gave myself away, huh?”

This time, Kitarni’s face breaks out into a true smile. “Yes. I think it’s safe to say everyone in the Summer Court knows you’ve returned now. If not the entire population of Faerie.” She reaches over onto a side table and picks up a newspaper, throwing it at me. “Can you read the headline?”

I squint at it for a second. “That one is Nicnevin…” She nods. “Fire and the rune for…” I don’t know it, but I know that small line across the top of the rune for fire alters the meaning somehow. I sigh and give up, moving onto the next one. “Siabetha?” I recognise that name from my maps. “I don’t recognise these two…”

“It reads ‘Nicnevin Sets Siabetha Ablaze.’” Kitarni levels me with a look. “The Goddess—and let’s not pretend you weren’t also involved—destroyed the oldest brothel in the entire realm.”

“Good riddance.” Is that my voice layered with so much venom? “They had him chained in iron. He was flayed down to the bone and almost died.” I pause, horrified anew at how little the patrons cared about the suffering going on in that place. “Please tell me sexual slavery is not another part of fae culture.”

Kitarni shakes her head. “No. But people are able to voluntarily offer their bodies to pay back debts. In the case of debts to brothels, they often serve a fixed term to earn back whatever money they owe.”

So my púca was indebted to that place? Was he a patron? One of those sick people who cheered at the screaming?

“Still, locking them in their rooms? Chaining them? You can’t convince me that those fae were able to say no.” My hands fist in the covers. “That’s rape. Pure and simple. I… If I am some all-powerful high queen, I want it banned. The whole practice. They can find some other way to get their money back.” I pause. “Did my mother… did she know about this sort of thing?”

Kitarni shrugs. “I couldn’t say. The Fourth Nicnevin was happily mated for three millennia. She would have had no cause to investigate the brothels, and she avoided the Summer Court when she could.”

I frown. “Why?”

“King Eero is not an easy man to deal with.” She pauses. “He’s invited you to dinner, but I would advise you to decline. Traditionally, the Nicnevin meets the minor royals for the first time after her coronation, when they pledge their allegiance in front of their court. Without that vow, he won’t hold back.”

I swallow back my trepidation. “He won’t get offended?”

Kitarni grins. “You’re the Nicnevin. He has no right to get offended. The other royals, however, might take you accepting the invite as a mark of favour towards his court, which will not go down well.”

“Okay, then I’ll decline.”

Kitarni snaps the book closed and smiles, pushing to her feet. “Perfect. And what would you like to do about audiences?”

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