Chapter 1
I SAT ON my throne, staring at the man in front of me. He fidgeted as he told his side of the story, which was such a snow job that it made the golden September day seem like winter. After about ten minutes of going nowhere fast, I finally put on the brakes.
“Enough. You really expect me to believe that bunch of bullshit?” I leaned forward, glaring at him. I found it the best way to intimidate someone who was too cocksure for his own good. After all, I was the Queen and he was supposed to be a loyal subject in my Barrow.
Flustered, he tried to backpedal, but after a moment or two of gibberish, he came to a complete stop. Looking embarrassed and a little angry, he met my gaze and waited, silent at last.
“Look, just admit what you did and we can be done with it. You stole three of my dresses—though how you ever got through to the laundry to do so, I have no idea. You sold them on Fae-Bay, and you made out like a bandit.” I motioned to the guard standing to my left. “Bring the head of laundry up here, pronto.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” He bowed, then dashed out of the throne room, pressing his fingers to his lips where I could see the beginning of a smile. As he rounded the corner, I heard a distinct snort. Yeah, he was getting a laugh out of this, all right.
The thief—his name was Jacq—hesitated, then let out a long sigh. “Yes, Your Majesty. I stole your dresses and sold them. What can I say? I’m an opportunist. Your laundress didn’t do anything wrong. She didn’t even know I was in there.” He flashed me a roguish smile. “You have to admit, I’m nothing if not resourceful.”
“You’re nothing if not a thief.” I sat back, shaking my head. Part of me just wanted to dismiss the case. After all I had seen over the past few years, stealing a few dresses was on the lowest level of my grievances. But I couldn’t establish a precedent of allowing scoundrels and bandits to thrive in my Barrow.
“Jacq ob Frer, I hereby exile you from my court. You are to immediately return to Otherworld, on a permanent basis. The guards will help you pack, just to make certain you don’t try to sneak out with anything else that you’ve managed to pilfer. You are hereby banished from Talamh Lonrach Oll and I don’t ever want to see your face around here again. In addition, all the money you have in your possession will be donated to the Seattle Shelter for Homeless Women.”
The guard returned at that moment, the laundress in tow. After I verified that she had nothing to do with the theft, I turned back to Jacq.
“At least you didn’t lie about her. All right. You’ve received your sentence. Guards, I want him out of the Barrow and through a portal to Otherworld within two hours. Inform Tavah down at the Wayfarer so she’ll know that he’s on the list of those barred from re-entering Earthside. Court dismissed.”
As they took Jacq away, I let out a sigh of relief. He was the only case I had to deal with today, and I could take off my royal cloak and… I paused. I had almost thought, “Get back to my real life,” but this was my real life now and for the foreseeable future.
As I stepped down from the throne and left the room to enter the preparation chamber, my personal maid—whose name was Lexi—lifted the heavy cloak off my shoulders and carried it away to wherever it was stored. Finally, I was free for the rest of the morning. I hustled out of the throne room, followed by the pack of guards perpetually glued to my side.
“CAMILLE? CAMILLE—WAIT up!”
I turned to see Morio dashing toward me. As he darted by people milling in the hallway, they bowed and curtsied, trying to do so before he slipped by.
The Barrow was still getting used to us. I wasn’t sure what formalities Morgaine had instituted in her time as the queen, but from the way people acted, they had been strict. She always was one for pomp and circumstance, but I was the opposite. It still annoyed me that people fussed over me so much, and that I couldn’t go anywhere without the ever-present retinue that seemed to gather behind me. Aeval assured me that I’d get used to it but until then, life as a queen wasn’t proving to be all it was cracked up to be.
I skirted around the guards who were at my back and held out my hands. “Thank gods. Get me out of here. I’m going stir-crazy.”
“Let’s go walk in the gardens.” He lowered his voice. “There’s news, and I don’t trust any place within these walls to be secure.”
Morio took my hand and, followed by the guards who frantically tried to keep up, we jogged out to my private garden. The garden was one big positive in a world with a lot of negatives. It put my old garden back home to shame. At least, at what had been my home, I thought with a wistful sigh. I had insisted on a private place in which to walk, and less than two weeks after I had taken the throne of Dusk and Twilight, the garden-witches had it ready for me.
A full acre in size, the plot was walled off by a row of hedges on all sides. Two archways offered access, one to the north and one to the south. Somehow, in the space of two weeks, the gardeners had managed to create a wonderland of flowers and trees.
Lilac and rowan trees offered shade along with cedar and fir, and an oak and a bushy holly. Hydrangeas and spicy mums filled the air with their fragrant scents. The roses were done for the season, and the hydrangeas didn’t have long left, but they were still blooming, their stems drooping with the weight of their huge blue heads. A patch of wildflowers added a feral touch. In one corner, raised beds held the magical herbs I had brought with me, and an enclosed gazebo offered shelter from sun and rain. All-weather benches were scattered around the stone walkway that wended through the garden.
Morio led me over to a group of benches beneath a tall cedar tree, where Smoky and Trillian were waiting. My three husbands, I thought, each of whom I loved deeply, and each bound to me in a ritual that connected us on a soul-level.
I was surprised to see Derisa standing beside them. The High Priestess of the Coterie of the Moon Mother back in Otherworld, she had taken my oath as I pledged my life to the Moon Mother so many years before. She had stood witness as I became the Earthside High Priestess of the goddess. And most recently, Derisa had been there for my coronation. She was one of the few people I fully trusted.
“Camille, well met.” She curtseyed as I approached.
I still felt weird about that—that she would kneel to me—but it was protocol and she was a stickler for proper behavior. I nodded to her, then quickly kissed each of my men. Finally, I settled on the bench next to them, and let out a long breath.
My personal guards waited by the entrance to the garden. I had worked out an arrangement with them. Jal, Whistle, Roan, and Lars promised to stop at the entrance to my garden after a quick scan to make certain it was free of anyone lurking in the shadows. They also stayed out of my bedroom.
I leaned against Smoky’s arm, grimacing. “I’m not cut out for this.”
“You’d better learn, and learn quickly,” Derisa said. “You’ll adapt. It’s just a different way of life, and you’ve managed change before.”
I wanted to whine about the fact that it seemed ridiculous I had so much less freedom as a queen than I had before, but stopped. I had given my oath. I straightened. I was first and foremost a soldier’s daughter, always prepared to carry out my duties, even when I didn’t want to.
With a soft laugh, I shrugged. “Yeah, I know. It just takes time. I’ll get the hang of it.”
“You need to make the office yours. Make the crown your crown. It can’t be done abruptly. Thousands of years of tradition go into your role as a Fae Queen. There are some aspects you’ll just have to accept, but you can alter things slowly. Make the changes that you need to make, and eventually people won’t remember the way things were. They’ll come to accept the way things are.” Derisa winked at me.
I sighed once more. “Yeah, I need to be patient. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
“Actually, that’s what I came to talk to you about. You are taking a trip. But we’re waiting on Aeval and Titania. They need to be here before we talk about it.” She gave Smoky a glance that told me he, Trillian, and Morio already knew what she was going to say.
“As usual, I’m the last to know.” I felt grumpy and out of sorts.
“There are reasons for that,” she said.
I forced a smile. “That sounds ominous.”
“It’s not going to be a walk in the park, I’ll tell you that,” Smoky said.
Just then, my guards announced the arrival of Titania and Aeval. The two Fae queens entered the garden.
Aeval, the Queen of Shadow and Night, had jet black hair like mine. While my eyes were violet, hers were the color of glittering ice. She was tall, as was Titania—both were over six feet—and wore a flowing charcoal-colored gown. Stars dappled the sheer fabric. Titania, the Queen of Light and Morning, was as golden-haired as Aeval was dark, and her dress was as green as the leaves at high summer. Her eyes were warm brown, with silver flecks in them. They joined us on the quartet of benches that surrounded a small fire pit.
I shifted, uneasy. Everytime we gathered together like this, it usually meant I was headed into danger. I decided to skip the pleasantries.
“I know something’s up. You aren’t here just to ask me how Court went—which, I will tell you, was three hours I’m never getting back. Why can’t we just appoint judges to take care of petty matters like dress thieves and drunken louts?”
“Because you are the final authority. All major decisions must come from you. Someone steals a dress—a minor infraction and the guards will take care of it. But a thief who dares to steal from the queen? He steals from the kingdom itself and must be punished appropriately.” Aeval grinned. “Wait till the Hunter’s moon in November, or rather, the morning after. The day after, the court will be filled with all sorts of weird cases. It never fails.”
“Oh, joy. I’m looking forward to it ever so much. Not only will I have an energy hangover from running with the Hunt, I’ll have to deal with all sorts of loonies.” I frowned, giving her a long look. “Okay, so tell me. What’s going on?”
Titania let out a slow breath. “The stars have aligned in the right position. It’s time for you to bind your Keraastar Knights.”
I stared at her, wondering if I had heard her correctly. I had eight of my knights, but so far, the ninth had eluded me. “But I haven’t found the last one. I can’t very well unite a troop that isn’t complete.”
“That’s part of the final component of the ritual. The Merlin has been studying the Maharata-Verdi and Maharata-Vashi since the day you took the crown. Last night, he broke the last of the code. The ritual must be performed in Otherworld. Up in the Golden Wood near the Silver Falls, there is a set of ruins called Erastel’s End. They only appear one night a year, and that night is coming up. You are to go there with your Keraastar Knights, and the ritual will uncover the last knight, who is frozen in time. When he is freed, you will be able to bind the Keraastar Knights into the force they’re meant to be.”
I sat very still, my heart beating a million miles a second. “Then it’s really time?”
Aeval nodded. “Yes.”
Destiny had led me down a path to where I was in charge of a group of warriors, each wearing one of the nine spirit seals that kept the worlds apart. If unified into one piece—as they were before they were broken apart—the seals would implode and all three worlds, Otherworld, Earthside, and the Subterranean Realms, would all come crashing back together in a natural disaster the likes of which had not been seen since they were first ripped apart.
The Keraastar Knights were an integral force in both keeping the portals between the worlds balanced, but also in our war against Shadow Wing, the Demon Lord. Somehow, the care of the knights had fallen on my shoulders. I wore the Keraastar diamond, and I was their queen and leader in the final push to destroy Shadow Wing.
I had, over the past couple months, found all my knights save one. Apparently, it was time to discover the last one.
“When is the ritual supposed to take place?”
“On the night of the new moon, before the equinox.” Aeval paused.
A chill ran down my spine. That was in two nights’ time. Suddenly, I felt like a very small force in a very big world. “I have no clue of what I’m supposed to do. I’m afraid, to be honest. What if I botch it up? What if I’m not strong enough to manage this?”
Titania reached over and patted my hand. “Take heart. You will be strong enough, and you will do everything you are meant to be and do. And more beyond that. Destiny chooses her subjects carefully. If you weren’t capable of handling this, you wouldn’t be here now. Take heart, Camille, and marshal your courage. You’re going to need it.”
And with that, we headed into the Barrow to find the Merlin and discuss the journey.