Here were the faeries. Tents of shimmering silk provided shade for the fay who lounged on plush cushions and jeweled chairs. Others sat on the grass under flowering trees or played near a crystal waterfall that ran down one side of the tree, winding into a small pond. Many of the fay looked similar to Pel and Lorella, tall and willowy with luminous skin and dragonfly wings. But there were other fay as well; fat, blue imps with webbed feet by the pond; tiny pixies, like Drusia and Corine, with skin ranging from purple to green to pale pink. Wrinkled brown creatures with bark for skin. Bright orange fay that appeared to be made of fire and smoke.
But it was the center of the courtyard that drew my eye. An enormous willow tree, its branches dotted with cerulean blooms, formed an enclosure, under which more faeries reclined, all of them now turned to stare at us as we crossed the meadow. Two massive thrones sat in front of the trunk of the tree. No, I realized as we approached it, they weren’t in front of the tree, they are part of the tree. Glossy white wood twisted and grew into the seats of power. One was empty, but in the other sat Marasina. Though she was not garbed in chain mail, her presence was none the less imposing for it. She wore an elegant white silk tunic and trousers. The fabric was so like the tree, she almost seemed part of it. A crown of crystals adorned her braided hair, and the glowing golden amulet rested around her neck on a thick silver chain, her only ornamentations.
Her sapphire eyes fixed on me as we slowly made our way toward her. The courtyard was uneven underfoot, and I had to be extra careful. Twice, Lorella had to hold my arm to prevent me from falling when my legs nearly gave out. I silently cursed Elrik and the sitano still in my veins. But I kept striding forward, determined to meet the queen with my head held high. We passed the strange creatures of the court, and they stared at me with their catlike eyes and too-sharp teeth. I knew I was not truly safer in my room, but still felt painfully exposed to the dangerous creatures out here in the open. Even if I was now one such creature.
Stools, chairs, and tables made of stumps, vines, and branches provided ample seating for the rest of the court. The fay spread out around the queen, adorned in a variety of fine leathers, earthy silks, and cobweb laces. As we drew close to the queen, I noted the faeries that were likely her other children, stunning creatures with silver-white hair and sky-blue eyes. Seated to Marasina’s immediate left was a faerie with snow-white curls that fell around a handsome, cold face. His eyes glowed with hatred as he watched me approach. Something about him struck me as familiar, but it was no comfort.
When we were right in front of the queen, Lorella gave a small bow. I had no idea what to do in front of the queen, so I opted for a curtsey. It was a shallow thing, as I wasn’t sure I could dip any lower without the risk of losing my balance. The queen’s stare was unreadable, but many of the faeries snickered and giggled behind long-fingered hands and fans made of leaves.
“You wished to see Elenora Molnár, my queen,” Lorella said, breaking the silence.
“I did, indeed,” Marasina said, her sharp gaze still examining me. “Is this truly the same creature that took the sitano?”
“Yes, my queen.” Lorella gave me an encouraging smile. “She is one of us now.”
“It appears your theory was correct, Elrik,” Marasina said, turning to where Elrik was lounging on a cushion.
“I am only too delighted to assist in returning a child of Soren’s.” He smiled, a predatory twist of his lips.
Marasina stiffened, a tightness to the commanding queen. “We shall see if she is truly his.” She directed her attention back to me. “Come here.”
Lorella gave me a reassuring squeeze on the arm before releasing me and joining the white-haired faeries I assumed were her half siblings. Seeing no alternative, I advanced the last few steps to the Faerie Queen. The whole time, she focused all her attention on me, as if the truth would be clear to her if she only looked hard enough.
“Did you know you had a faerie for a father?” Marasina asked.
“No.” I saw no advantage to lie, but neither did I offer any additional information about my parents.
“Then you know nothing of your family’s history. We shall test you to see if you are a Magia Viveralis.” Marasina plucked a silver pear from a crystal tray. “Give me your hands.”
For a moment I stood frozen in place. I had no desire to be tested by her, remembering the cruelty she inflicted on Casper. But I was surrounded by her fay and had no escape. I forced myself to comply.
She thrust the pear into my hands, clamping her hands over mine and squeezing. I had assumed it was a silver statue of a pear, the way it gleamed in the sunlight, but I realized it was an actual fruit, the soft silver flesh smashed into my fingers. Sticky juice ran down my arms. She tightened her grip, the pear core digging into my palms.
“Vive swindle,” she said, force infusing her words. Her hands grew hot against mine, and then something in my palms tingled. It reminded me of the prickling I felt right before the vines snapped the last night I had been with Casper. Marasina repeated the strange words again and again; each time heat rushed from her hands into mine, and the pins and needles feeling increased. I tried in vain to struggle against her fay magic, tried to pull away, but my strength was nothing compared to her grip.
The prickling sensation became a throbbing force, stronger than I thought possible. It shot through my hands, and I could sense the pear seeds. Their promise of future life called to this new feeling in my hands, begging the sensation to flow into them. And I let it, the full force of the strange power shooting into the small seeds.
As soon as I did, the feeling stopped. Marasina released me, and I stumbled back, gasping for air. I put my sticky hands on my chest, desperate to catch my breath.
“What did you do?” I asked when I could muster sound. Marasina wasn’t looking at me. Instead, she was carefully cradling something in her palms, staring at it with wonder.
“You do have it.” I couldn’t tell if she was speaking to me or the object in her hands. Faeries began to buzz with excitement, craning necks and flying above us to see what treasure the queen held.
“Have what?” I asked, frustrated with the lack of answers.
“I had to be certain,” she said as she opened her hands. In her palm was the crushed pear. As I looked closer, I saw that the seeds of the pear had sprouted. Long, thin stalks shot out of the core, already tiny leaves budding from the young stems. But unlike the natural green of new growth, these stems were white as the moon.
“What did you do?” I repeated dumbly.
Marasina looked up at me. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. I had never seen the Faerie Queen as anything other than a warrior and a monster, but the emotion she wore now was a deep crack in her hard veneer. “I didn’t do this,” she said, a twisted smile pulling at her face. “I merely ignited your powers. You did this.”
“What? No. I didn’t do anything. You did that through my hands,” I insisted, my mind refusing to believe the queen’s accusations.
“Elenora, you have life magic in your veins. This proved it. You truly are Soren’s child.” She held the baby pear tree as though it were a priceless jewel. “My Soren.”
“Mother, you can’t be serious!” The faerie with the white curls jumped to his feet and yelled, silencing the court. His face took on a bright, burnished hue that I associated with a faerie flushing with anger. Upon hearing his voice, I was able to place him. He had slashed my arm during the battle at the Rose Palace.
“Valente, my son, I am indeed serious,” Marasina said. Her voice still sounded delicate, yet it carried across the court, easily heard by all. Though she didn’t rage like her son, the command in her tone was unmistakable.
“You cannot possibly believe this half-human thing is Soren’s child,” Valente protested. He stared at me with angry eyes. I tensed as I noticed his hand slipping down to the dagger sheaved on his belt. “Only days ago you had her in vines. She is an ally to our enemy.”
“Enough!” Marasina said, effectively silencing Valente. “Her imprisonment was a mistake that I would be hard put to make again,” she said, but her voice had gone cold. “And how she was raised is unfortunate, but nothing can be done about that. What is important is that the child of my beloved eldest son has been returned to me.”
“I will not be supplanted by half-human filth!” Valente lunged toward me, his blade now in his hand. On instinct, I leapt to the side. Valente missed my heart, his intended target, but he managed to slash my arm as I jumped out of his way.
Desperate for any sort of weapon, I reached for the crystal platter where the pear had rested. The rest of the fruit on it fell to the ground as I swung the heavy platter at Valente’s head. I heard a satisfying thud as the crystal connected with its target. My aim had been off and my timing a hair too late, so I only managed to connect with the side of his cheek, but it had the faerie staggering backward. I readied for another attack, though my legs were already shaking from the effort combined with the familiar and terrible burn of the sitano.
“Stop!” the queen yelled. Guards immediately materialized beside us. Valente and I were forcefully separated, a guard taking hold of each of his arms and two taking mine. I cried as one clamped his hand on the fresh cut on my arm. Noticing the blood, the guard quickly dropped my arm, though his companion kept hold of the other.
“I will kill you,” Valente swore at me, even as the guards pulled him away from me.
“Not if I kill you first,” I said, though I knew my threat was hollow. I felt ready to collapse. The cut wasn’t so bad, but the brief fight had sapped my meager strength.
I didn’t have the energy to struggle against the guard, too focused on standing. I felt the blood on my arm, soaking into the sleeve of my dress. I glanced down, the sight so shocking, I lost my breath. My blood was a golden liquid instead of the normal red. If my cut didn’t sting so badly, I would have had a hard time believing it was truly mine. My golden blood was darker than fay blood, with a russet hue. I hoped that meant my blood was more human than the other faeries’.
The guard loosened his grip but didn’t release me. Valente’s guards had let go of him. They were standing close by, but I didn’t find it reassuring.
“Valente, by all the sacred magics, must you always act so rash? She is your kin.” All Marasina’s wrath was directed at her son.
“That thing is no kin of mine,” Valente said. He spat on the ground, and I was gratified to see some blood leave a golden trace around his mouth as he wiped his face.
“Valente, you will keep a civil tongue in my court,” Marasina said, her voice brooking no argument. I could sense the power behind her words. The whole court stared at us expectantly. “And if you cannot control yourself, I will command you.” At that, there were gasps and murmurs.
I remembered when she commanded Pel, used his true name of Rumpelstiltskin to force him to take me prisoner. Pel once told me that Queen Marasina knew every faerie’s true name. I wondered if even I had a true name now that I was fay. But I pushed aside my musings as Valente strode toward the queen.
“Mother, would you truly disgrace the court by making some half-human thing heir?” Valente made no move toward me, but there was murder in his eyes.
“What is he talking about?” I asked Marasina.
Marasina studied both of us for a long time before speaking. “Our laws pass the crown of Magnomel to the oldest child of the monarch, and from them to their oldest. That is how it has always been done.”
My face crinkled in disbelief. There was no way my father had been a faerie prince. No possible way he had been heir to Magnomel. I still could not connect my father, the warm man with strong, calloused hands and laughter in his eyes, as a member of the faeries of Magnomel. One glance down at my own shimmering skin, that of a faerie and not a human, was enough of a reminder that I had not truly known my father. Though he had been dead for almost seven years, I felt betrayed by him.
“But that would . . .” I started, but clamped my mouth shut. I had almost said that would make my older brother heir, but if Marasina and her court did not know about Devon, I would do everything to keep him from harm’s way. Fortunately, no one noticed my slip.
“If you claim her as heir, then I shall demand a challenge at the next revel,” Valente said. I wanted to ask what this challenge meant, but the courtyard was alive with excitement as faeries chatted enthusiastically amongst themselves.
Marasina raised one slender hand, and quiet descended back on the crowd, everyone eager to hear her response. “There has never been a succession dispute within the Magia Viveralis line, but perhaps that would be the best way to sort out this unusual situation.” Marasina’s sharp blue eyes appraised me, but I couldn’t tell if she found the sight of me wanting. “Very well. I claim Elenora as heir, as daughter of Soren. Valente, it is only two weeks until the next revel, and you may challenge for the title then. Thus, the strongest fay shall be my heir.”
“As you command, Mother,” Valente said through clenched teeth. Before Marasina could respond, Valente turned from her and stormed back into the palace. The guards looked questioningly at Marasina.
“What if I don’t want to be heir?” I asked. I didn’t need this target on my back. Marasina turned to face me, along with every other fay in the courtyard. She looked less like the formidable warrior from the attack and more like a tired monarch.
“Even if my father was your son, I can’t imagine you want me to someday rule Magnomel.” My instincts told me to lay low until I could figure out an escape plan. Marked as the future queen of the faeries was not laying low.
Marasina pursed her lips, as if this was a conversation she would rather avoid. Finally, she spoke. “It is because you are Soren’s child, of course. It matters not that you grew up in the human lands, nor that your mother was human, though I’ll admit that I would have been far happier if those conditions had not been true. Had you remained in your human form, even half-human, it would have been easy to deny you your birthright. But the sitano has burned away your human side, leaving you fay enough for this court. You are his child, and as he was my eldest, you now bear the responsibility of his inheritance since he no longer can.” She said the words smoothly, though I saw pain flash in her blue eyes as she spoke of my father. While the court murmured in low whispers, she added, “It also matters not whether you or I or even Valente wish for succession; it is the law and tradition of our people. So long as you live in Magnomel, you are heir.”
“As long as I live in Magnomel,” I repeated.
Marasina nodded. “You are fay. You are my kin. You are no longer my prisoner.” Her keen eyes studied me. “You are free to leave if you wish. If you know of another land friendly to a faerie.” Her lips twitched slightly, the only indication that she knew she had won. She was right. All the human lands considered fay their enemies. I no longer had a home in Reynallis. And even if I found a way to disguise myself, I could never leave Magnomel until I rescued Casper from the Aqueno Prison.
“If I had not taken the sitano, I would not be the heir?” I asked, my thoughts sticking on that.
“Yes. You were too human.”
My brothers are safe from the fay court, I thought, silently tucking away that knowledge. It was a relief to know that at least Valente would have no reason to seek them out, should anyone at this court discover that I was not an only child. Nonetheless, I sent a quick prayer to the Holy Mother that none of the faeries learn of my brothers.
“You need time to accustom yourself to your new life, but it shall come,” Marasina said, misunderstanding my silence. “And you shall need to train well if you are to defeat Valente at the challenge. He is a strong Magia Viveralis,” she paused, her eyes glassy for a moment, “though Soren was much stronger.” Her eyes readjusted, and her lips tugged down to see me, perhaps instead of Soren, in front of her. “You look tired. Sitano is an effective, but cruel drug. Perhaps you would like to retire for the time being. There is much you will need to accomplish. Best to take rest when you can.”
“Yes,” I agreed, giving a small curtsey before leaving the faerie courtyard. Lorella offered to escort me back to my room, but I shook her off. The walk on my own would be longer, my legs already shaking, the burn in my bones flaring up after the exertion from my short fight with Valente. But I needed space to think. My mind was brimming with too many new, strange changes to my circumstances. I was so focused on the morning’s events, that I nearly ran into a faerie as I rounded the final bend in the path to my room.