“Of course, allow me.” Michas glided us off the dance floor, and I caught sight of Nuwin on the opposite side of the room, worry rolling across his features as he began making his way toward us, but the throne room was large, and other fae kept stopping him to engage him in conversation.
I couldn’t help but wonder if Michas had intentionally chosen an exit as far from Nuwin as possible. The young Crimsonale led me through the throng of onlookers. One female’s gaze was piercing when I passed. She was tall, reed-thin, and had a pointy chin. Her eyes narrowed when she beheld me.
Shuddering, I nearly jumped when Michas whispered into my ear, “And that would be Lady Taberitha Wormiful, the archon of Kroravee Territory.”
“She looks like she wants to eat me.”
“She might. She’s been known to devour young ladies of the court.”
He chuckled as I hurried on, but despite the distance I put between me and Lady Wormiful, I still felt her eyes digging into my back as though an ice pick severed my spine.
Once through the crowd, the Osaravee noble didn’t stop. Michas led me to another set of doors, behind the throne that led to a balcony. The queen watched us when we passed. She still sat alone, speaking to no one.
“Does the queen often sit by herself without socializing?” I asked.
Michas shrugged. “Usually. She’s never been loquacious.”
My brows pinched. Loquacious or not, her expression said there was more to it than that. A sadness clung to her, almost like a veil of desperation, and I was reminded of how she looked in that brief glimpse I’d gotten of her when the prince had flown me past her tower, when he’d uttered the peculiar words, She lives in peace.
She didn’t look peaceful, though. She looked anxious and lonely.
Mulling that over, I followed the Osaravee noble outside. Crisp, cold air greeted me when we stepped onto the balcony. Goosebumps immediately broke out across my skin, and I shivered, rubbing my arms.
“How ridiculous of me. You’re freezing.” Michas slipped his coat off and placed it around my shoulders before I could protest. Heat from the clothing soaked into my chilled skin as his scent flooded me. He smelled of juniper and a hint of cinnamon—not bad but not overly interesting either.
I pulled his coat closer, thankful for the warmth.
He offered a crooked smile. “I figured the fresh air would do you good, and the cold out here will keep some of the pestering nobles away.”
I inhaled the cool breeze. “Thank you.”
Michas leaned his forearms against the railing, which overlooked the edge of the maze peeking out from around the castle’s corner. Since he wasn’t crowding me and truly seemed interested in my well-being, I faced him more.
“Can I ask you something?” I quirked an eyebrow.
“Anything.”
“What’s happening in the court right now? Why have fae gone missing?”
Michas cleared his throat. “Where did you hear that?”
“Is it true?”
He interlocked his fingers and looked down. After a long moment, he finally said, “The continent is starving. Did you know that too?”
My heart beat harder. “Yes.”
His eyebrows rose. “I’m surprised. The prince seems intent on keeping it hushed. Fae have died for voicing their concerns.”
“Don’t you mean they’ve been murdered?” My insides clenched. I knew all too well what he spoke of.
“I suppose that’s the less dignified way of saying it.”
“Or just the truth.”
He inclined his head. “True. In that case, if we’re to speak freely, I suppose it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you when I say that some are whispering that we shouldn’t live on this continent at all, that it was never a natural place for us to inhabit despite our realm’s magic, and if we’re going to survive, we’ll need to move. Perhaps that’s the reason fae are disappearing, because commoners are starting to say that too, and the prince doesn’t want those beliefs to spread.”
“You’re saying that the crown prince is the reason several commoners have disappeared during the past weeks? But he was gone. He wasn’t even in the castle.”
“But was he?” Michas raised his eyebrows. “The prince can mistphase easily and frequently. His immense magic allows him to do so. He’s one of the few fae who could mistphase multiple times per day and not need to recharge his magic with rest and nutrition.”
My lips parted. For one, to think of the Solis fae not living on the northern continent was absurd, and two, at what Michas was implying—that the prince had been sneaking in and out of the castle all of the time that I’d been locked in the Exorbiant Chamber, unbeknownst to me and his staff, and that during those returns, he’d been murdering more fae to prevent increased dissent from growing . . .
“He wouldn’t do that,” I whispered.
Michas laughed. “Wouldn’t he? How well do you know our prince, Ilara?”
Shaking, I wrapped my arms around myself. Granted, I hadn’t liked how the king and Prince Norivun had been speaking of me when Norivun introduced me to his father, but the sides I’d seen of the crown prince during the past week . . . They weren’t that of a cold, heartless murderer.
But isn’t that exactly what he did to Mother, Father, and Tormesh? Murder them in cold blood?
That small voice of reason broke through my thoughts. My shivers increased.
“Why would anyone think that we could move?” I finally said. “The Solis fae have resided on the northern continent for thousands of winters. If we didn’t live here, where would we go?” I pictured the Glassen Barrier Islands and the Lochen fae who lived there and on the thousands of islands south of it. But our kind couldn’t live in the water, and those islands weren’t big enough to accommodate all of us, not unless we invaded their small continent thousands of millees away.
Michas straightened and leaned a hip against the railing. “Some say we should reside on the Nolus continent.” He crossed his arms and watched me carefully, and for the first time, I really looked at him.
He wasn’t overly tall, but he was broad and heavily muscled. Thick, wide wings were tucked into his back. They weren’t tall like the prince’s were, but they appeared heavy. Like all Solis fae, he had silver hair and blue eyes, but the curls in his hair were less common. His face was pleasant enough. Straight nose. Firm lips. Round eyes. He was rather attractive, actually.
Shaking myself from my trivial thoughts, I realigned myself to our conversation. “The Nolus continent, are you serious?”
“I am. Some are saying we should go south, over the Elixias Mountains to live on the Nolus continent where the climate is warm, and magic isn’t needed to sustain our food sources. My father has been pushing for support in the council.”
“But that’s not our land.”
“It may not be, but who’s to say it shouldn’t be?” Again, that carefully assessing expression overtook his face.
An icy feeling slid through my veins at what he was implying. “But the Nolus fae live there.”
“They do.”
“They wouldn’t welcome us.”
“No, they probably would not.”