I had a sense of Déjà vu as I threw open the doors to the throne room, interrupting my father as he sat around a table with his advisors. He was reading and picking at a croissant and looked up at me with barely concealed irritation but did not speak.

The rule among the fae was that no one could speak until the king had acknowledged them. The advisors watched me, knowing just as surely as I did that I was being tested. Jaw clenched so tight my teeth hurt, I sat next to my father and watched him eat his croissant and sip his coffee, amazed at the sight.

“Why do you gape at me, daughter? If you are hungry, eat.”

“I’m not hungry, Father,” I stammered. “I’m just surprised at how…pedestrian your breakfast is. I should’ve been eating with you these last weeks, instead of forcing down all those overly sweet pastries and ambrosia.”

Duncan, one of the counselors who had initially spoken out against me, chuckled and pushed the tray of croissants closer to me, motioning to a waiting servant for another coffee mug. “Pedestrian… I like that,” he chortled to himself. “You’ve made quite a name for yourself among the young fae, winning duels left and right.”

“I’d rather not be fighting at all, sir.” I tore the flaky pastry in pieces with my fingers and dropped them on the plate, any appetite I had mustered vanishing. “I came here to learn what I am and where I come from, and I haven’t made any demands. So why am I once again fighting for my life?”

“Duels aren’t to the death, dear girl. You haven’t killed anyone, have you?” He glanced at my father, who shook his head.

“But attempts have been made on my life. My cousin not only encourages the duels, but he’s cheated, trying to cause my death in the ring. I gave notice at my last fight. From now on, I will fight to the death, and I will win.”

I felt my father’s glare, but I avoided looking at him, meeting Duncan’s eyes instead. He pursed his lips and nodded, the corners of his mouth turning upward. “I think I misjudged you, girl. I thought you were too human, too soft to survive among the fae.”

"Oh, I have a lifetime of practice, surviving against the odds, my lord." I turned my eyes to my father. "And I know Fortunato is behind the ward that Penelope accidentally tripped. The crone confirmed it was one of his guards, and that I will be able to determine which one as soon as I examine my friend, which is why I'm asking…" I paused and chose my words more carefully, "humbly requesting to be taken to her, and my examination witnessed by someone who can verify my findings."

“I shall accompany the princess and ensure that no glamor or dark magic is used to falsify evidence,” Duncan added. I glanced at him then back at my father. The king’s eyebrows raised, but he didn’t argue, simply shrugging one shoulder and dismissing us with a wave.

Duncan was impossibly tall and thin, and I was forced to jog to keep up with his long strides. He didn't speak to me or look at me as we moved through the corridors, him walking like water with a slow, easy pace, me jogging and doing my best not to pant as we traveled deeper into Fairy.

The chandeliers and golden sconces gave way to overhead hanging lamps and wisps that flitted about a clean, bright hallway. “It looks like a hospital down here,” I said as we passed a door with a glass window I wasn’t quite tall enough to look through.

“It is, after a fashion,” he said, pointing ahead of us. “We have healers just like humans do. Lady Ravenna studied human medicine and tried to bring some of that back to Arcadia.”

“Arcadia. I didn’t know the fae still called it that.” I glanced t the wisps that had gathered above my head like a halo.”

“Well, this is not Arcadia, not as we knew it. Arcadia is still off the coast of Gaul, hidden from humans and all fae who chose to live in the colonies when they were established.” He sighed, “but to me, any land of Fairy is Arcadia, even on American soil.”

It was the most any fae had told me about their exodus from the original lands of Arcadia to the Fairy of the North American continent. He told me to wait for him and went to find a healer to show us where Penelope was being treated.

"Duncan, princess, the king told me to expect you." I turned to see a woman in white robes with green embroidery down the bodice and sleeves. "I'm Ravenna."

“Does the king have need of me?” Duncan seemed only too happy to return to breakfast with the king, but I refused to be turned away.

“I need to see Penelope. Now please.” I kept my voice even, but firm enough to be a command.

"I must go, Morgan." Duncan turned to leave, and I caught him by the arm.

“Please. Don’t leave until I know who hurt Penelope.” My heart raced in my chest and the air crackled between us with the promise of violence, and at least half of that was coming from me.

Ravenna cleared her throat, and I jumped back from Duncan so I could watch them both at the same time. "The woman responsible for setting the ward has turned herself in, Princess Morgana. The king has given me permission to release her to you so you can take her to a hospital." She bit her lip and twisted her fingers together in front of her. "I can speak with my friends in Helena if you want to take her there."

I shook my head, “no, I’ll take her to the pack. She needs magical intervention. You know human medicine can’t treat this.”

“I don’t believe anything can, Princess. I’m so sorry, but I’m at a loss. Her body is completely healed, but she won’t wake.”

"Then I'll take her to water and see if the Naiads can help her since she's part mermaid."

Ravenna's eyes widened, and color flooded her face. "When she was brought to me, I was told she was part brownie." She huffed and motioned for me to follow her. "Does she even have any house-elf in her?"

“Not even a little, sorry. I’d have told you if they let me down here.”

“Mmhmm. They were afraid you would figure out who set the ward and kill them before they had a chance to calm you down.”

“Funny. It seems to me like the only one who isn’t out for blood around here is me." She opened the door to a room, cheerily painted in greens and decorated with bookshelves and knick-knacks, just like a brownie might find comforting. "I'm glad she's not waking up to this, it would give her hives."

Ravenna giggled and clapped her hands, and instantly the walls turned a light aqua and windows appeared that looked out on water scenes. On one wall was an ocean shore, on another, reeds and a glassy pond, and a rollicking stream over the bed. The room cooled, and I could have sworn I smelled fish and salt in the air.

“That should be better. Now, why don’t you see if you can wake her.” I sat on the edge of the bed and took my friend’s hand, reaching out with my innate magic, the magic of nature and wild things. I could feel her inside her head, trapped and afraid, and started to talk to her. I leaned in close and let her feel my breath on her forehead as I spoke, smell my perfume and shampoo, so she’d know it was me and not someone malevolent using glamor.

I felt her stir, the fear decreasing only a little as she swam up through her unconscious. “Hey, she’s coming up for air. What do I do to help her?”

Ravenna sat opposite me, a shining mass of threads between her hands, she spread her them apart, and the threads fell into her lap in a net, the silver glinting in the light hanging over the bed. "Now that I know she's part water sprite, I can lift her the rest of the way out." She shook out more of the thin strands and smiled at me. "Keep holding her hand but step away, so the net doesn't touch enough of you to pull you in, instead."

I stood by the side of the bed, clammy hand clenched tightly around Penelope, and prayed to the Goddess that the siren still locked away inside Penelope’s head wouldn’t shy away from what looked to me to be a fishing net.

The healer didn't say a word, just hummed a soft tune as she cast her net over my friend and dragged it from her head to her toes, then repeated the action. It was exactly as if she was fishing for Pen's consciousness, and with each swipe of the lustrous net, I felt our patient get stronger and surer of who and where she was.

“It’s working, Lady Ravenna. Thank you for this.”

The corners of her mouth twitched upward, but she didn't look my way. "Well, it certainly is less of a challenge when I know who I'm healing."

I watched her for a moment more, then Pen's fist twitched in my hand, making me jump. I loosened my death grip on her and threaded my fingers through hers, waiting for another movement. The gossamer net disappeared somewhere inside Ravenna's expansive sleeves, and she sat down with a sigh.

“We could have had her up and about in minutes.’

"The fae certainly do like to complicate simple things with their machinations." Ravenna just huffed again in reply and bustled about the room, keeping her hands busy while we waited for Penelope to show an outward sign of change.

"You should go to your father, Princess. We also have a way of expediting sentences once we have a confession." I started to stammer out an argument, but she waved me off. "I will have Penelope moved to her quarters, and my helpers will be there to return her to the human world."

“Your helpers?”

She motioned to the wisps flickering around my head. "Follow them back to the mansion, and they'll return on their own."

I’d never realized the wisps were fae. The tiny sparkling lights that flitted around were ignored by the high fae even in their most secret meetings, so I’d assumed they were pure magic, with no will or bodes. If they ever rose up against the fae, they’d overthrow the light court before they could even take up arms.

I nodded to the tiny bright lights, wondering if they could understand instructions in modern English, or even in human speech at all. But without any prompting on my part, they shot off ahead of me. I ran after them, full speed, without feeling the slightest bit of pressure on my lungs. Maybe that was the secret to keeping up with all the seven-foot tall fae, just run, don't bother pretending to walk. It's easier that way. That could be said about a lot of pretending I'd been doing among my fae family.

Luckily for me, frank and even disturbing honesty was my forte.

I had to muscle my way through the crowd that packed the massive throne room and spilled out into the hallway to reach my father, who was standing on the dais with Duncan, and Tellis, a female I’d seen with Fortunato.

Now, she was dressed in a simple linen sheath, her ankle length hair shaved off and lying in a pile at her feet. No high fae cut their hair of their own free will. Only the high fae were permitted to wear it that long in the king's presence, just one of the many things that had added to my intense discomfort while staying with them. My own hair was long for a human but disgracefully short for a member of the royal family. Millie had even offered to help me with my glamor because she thought my magic was too weak to hide my shame.

“What’s going on?” I asked Duncan in a low voice. “You know she was commanded to cause me harm, where’s her master?”

“She claims the fault is hers and hers alone.”

The girl turned wild eyes on me and sneered. “The usurper will fall, drowning in her own blood,” she cackled, looking for all the world like a Salem witch about to be burned.

“Shit. She’s not earning my compassion talking like that, but I don’t like knowing she’s taking the fall for my cousin, either.”

The guards grabbed her arms and shackled her wrists behind her back, the iron scorching her skin where it touched. She whimpered in pain but held her head high as she was led away, the crowd following her in a somber procession.

“Father, why are you letting this happen?” I hissed at him as they led her away. “Where are they taking her?”

“She confessed freely of her sins and will be lowered into the pit for the duration of her sentence. It is the one place in Fairy that is devoid of magic, so she cannot escape and try to harm you again.”

“You know that Unseelie opportunist, Fortunato, is behind this Father. He won’t stop trying to kill me until he succeeds. Name him your successor or, better, name someone who might actually lead your people well and swear nothing he does will put him on the throne.”

“Do you know how the fae chooses their king?” he asked, his eyes on the now empty doorway the prisoner had disappeared through.

"Lineage, or duel, I know. But I'm not asking for the throne, and he shouldn't have it. Sometimes, you have to change the rules to better the kingdom. So choose Duncan or another of your advisors. One with children who aren't cruel to their underlings."

“Is that what you would do, daughter?”

I laughed aloud, then at his serious face, cleared my throat. “No. I’d institute a senate and make elections a fae tradition. But I know better than to tell an absolute power to give up their authority.”

“The witches have a council. You think the fae should be like them?”

"Goddess no. But I recognize the value of democracy, Father. The fae would be unstoppable if they valued all their people equally." I chuckled softly. "Imagine a brownie as president of the fae. Every home would be welcoming to visitors, and every lesser fae would be free to choose their livelihood."

He frowned at me, and I lifted my shoulders in response. "Maybe you don't know enough brownies to see how awesome it would be."

“You may be right, but the noble class has spent eons diverting magic to their own family lines and away from the lesser fae. It would be better to have a benevolent leader who can lift the lesser fae than to try to make those changes overnight.”

“I guess you can’t do it now without a mutiny, huh.” I saw the regret in his eyes and for a moment, wondered if it was for me, instead of because of me. “Now your detractors would say you’re paving the way for a half-blood queen.”

“Only because they’ve forgotten that you wouldn’t be the first.” He smiled and motioned down the hall as Lady Ravenna approached, gesturing to him. “Never forget that the first in your line was the Banshee Queen, Morrisant. She ruled the Seelie and Unseelie thrones and unified the high fae for the first time after hundreds of years of war between our people.”

“She said someone would do it again, is that what Fortunato is trying to accomplish? Win the Seelie so he can take the Unseelie throne?”

“I do not know, but I am not his king, Morgan,” he said softly, using my preferred name for the first time. “There is a limit to what I can do to stop him, and I am loathe to harm our own kin.”

My mouth turned up in a vicious smile. “As am I, Father. But if it does come down to him or me, I guarantee I won’t let it be me.”