The Realm—Maeve’s Apartment
Meanwhile
Emily was running out of songs to sing for Maeve. She’d resorted to commercial jingles and television theme songs so she could keep stalling for time. Her throat felt like someone had run a cheese grater across it, and her mouth felt full of sand and cotton. She would have killed for a sip of water, but she kept rejecting the drinks the fairies offered her.
An attendant entered and whispered something to Maeve. Emily strained to hear as she kept singing, but all she could tell was that it wasn’t good news. “Enough!” Maeve shouted, waving for her to stop singing. Emily was so tired that she sagged with relief even as panic seized her.
She rasped, “But your majesty, I know more songs.”
Maeve ignored her and snapped her fingers for an aide, then said, “Send out a raiding party to find Sophie Drake. You must find her immediately. Both Niall and Fiontan are raising armies, and I must get there before they do. Bring her now! I don’t care what condition she’s in.”
“I just need a little break, and then I’m sure I can find the right song for you,” Emily pleaded. She might be singing bass by then, but she had to keep Maeve occupied.
“I don’t have time for this. And besides, it’s painful to my ears.” She turned away from Emily to give more instructions to her flunkies.
In desperation, Emily tried to think of something, anything, she could do to keep Maeve away from Sophie. She might have joked about how difficult it would be to capture Sophie, but a big enough group of fairies ambushing her in the city might do it. She thought she knew the song Maeve wanted, and maybe if she sang just enough, she could keep Maeve on the hook. She opened her mouth and sang, “I had a love, then she was lost.” All that came out was a faint whisper, and Maeve didn’t even notice that she was singing.
The last beverage she’d been offered still sat on the table next to her. It was a clear, sparkling liquid, and beads of condensation trickled down the outside of the glass, making the drink look cool and refreshing. But it was a fairy beverage, and even one sip might trap her here for good, or else make it impossible for her to adjust to life in the real world again. Even if she did make it out, everything else she drank from this point on, from the sweetest fruit juice to the finest champagne, might be drab and tasteless.
But her sister’s life, the fate of the fairy realm, and maybe even the fate of humanity was at stake. It would be a small sacrifice on her part, and it would save her a lot of money if all drinks tasted like water from now on. Hoping her sister would understand and forgive her, she picked up the glass, then squeezed her eyes shut as she brought it to her lips.
The liquid was the coolest, most refreshing thing she’d ever had. It tasted the way television commercials made bottled water or sodas look. Her sore throat instantly felt better, and a surge of energy rushed through her entire body. It took every ounce of self-control she had to put the glass down after two sips instead of guzzling the whole thing.
Now she felt she could sing. She tried again, raising her voice like she was singing to the back of the upper balcony. “I had a love, then she was lost. I dream she’ll find me once again.” At those words, Maeve’s head snapped around, and all conversation in the room stopped. Emily pretended not to notice as she kept going with the first verse. “It won’t be long ’til she’ll hear my song, and she will know the way to my heart.”
Maeve slowly rose to her feet. “Yes! That is the song. Sing me that song.”
“I’ll have to think about it. I don’t remember it all,” Emily said. That wasn’t a lie. She couldn’t remember much past the first verse.
“Then think!” Maeve demanded. She settled back onto the sofa and called back her flunkies with a gesture.
Emily hummed the melody, inserting the occasional word, and she wondered how long she could keep this going without either giving away too much or frustrating Maeve into taking impulsive action.