“My father believed this war will be worth the price,” she said, as she raised a hand to the side of my face. “You look so worried, Milla. You are getting circles around your eyes. I feel so very bad for dragging you into this. You could be safe and sound at the Castle by now already, knowing nothing of this, living a good life, as it always was, simply, a different…situation. Why should you worry about the doings of the courtiers, the kings and queens, you wanted your happy, peaceful, cozy life that offered all the small joys and enjoyments you needed.”
“I wouldn’t be happy there right now, with Taramon’s people ordering people around. Knowing Taramon made you flee from your own castles! I would have miserable…and most of all, not know a thing about this journey” I said, and dared a glance at her. “I’m happy here, with you. It’s all I want.”
She crossed her right hand fingers with mine on my left, smiling up at me. Then unexpectedly, she lifted her free hand to my face and traced my jaw and lower lip with her soft fingertips. Her index finger stopped across my lips, gently. I didn’t pull away, I didn’t do anything. Her eyes intense, she leaned in and pressed her lips to mine. Of course I answered it. I was hungrier than her, even, since she’d surprised me like that and I didn’t have time to think. I’d wanted to do the same, I only hadn’t wanted to think about it or admit to it, because I’d worried it would have sent all we had crashing down, the beauty of this thing we’d found, feeling so alive, feeling so excited over tomorrow…
I worried I would break, if I let the whole thing even cross my mind and made a move. Lyria was still the queen.
It was so easy to forget the entire world out here. I wasn’t sure either of us knew what we even wanted to do.
The kiss was rushed, but then she didn’t seem able to decide what then any more than I did. I dared run my fingers through her hair and pushed a lock behind her ear, and when I pulled away, her expression made me smile. She returned the smile like I’d returned the kiss: as if she’d been waiting for this, hungry. So I took her face in my hands and kissed her again, better this time, trying to ignore the butterflies storming in my stomach.
The cart’s wheels rolling in the background noise turned to a smoothing hum in my mind, as I could focus on nothing else in existence right then but only her, only her, only her.
Chapter 26
Lyria gripped my wrist as we watched Cantillion stalking toward our cart. Someone yanked the door open. Fae guards appeared at the door, dressed in battle silver and crimson fabrics from head to toe — and Cantillion leaned in.
Looking pleased, he smiled wryly and stood aside, prompting us to get out. Lyria swiftly began to do so. I was still trying to come to terms with the masses of fae soldiers that we’d seen from the window, but woke up from my thoughts and stepped forward to hurry after her.
“Not you,” Cantillion said harshly as I tried to follow, so I halted on my feet, but Lyria reached out to me and pulled me along. We didn’t get far before Cantillion’s steel grip stopped me. He basically threw me back into the cart and tore Lyria to the side. Then he slammed the door shut, closing me in the shade again. I rushed to the window to see, the side of the cart where we couldn’t open the window panels, so I watched them through the slit between the panels.
“The fae Queen has been challenged to a duel,” I heard Cantillion’s voice. “And you have been chosen to honor us with this fight.”
Lyria to fight the queen? I heard her answer, in fae, and all the emotion in her voice made me coil inside. I didn’t even understand the words, but the sheer tone of her voice was enough.
“You still have your Quickening, as far as I know,” Cantillion said, and chuckled to himself.
I’d heard of it. It was something that fae experienced, when they grew up and their magic reached maturity with all its potential. The Quickening could be called up by a dangerous situation or strong emotions. After maybe years of commanding smaller amounts of magic, finally their magic reached full potential, and flashed out. Only after that, the fae person commanded their full-blown powers — though never again quite as strong as that one flash.
“The queen won’t see that coming,” Cantillion boasted. “You’ll surprise her. In fact you may be the only person here who could take her out for certain. How convenient, don’t you think? I think this worked out nicely, in the end, don’t you agree? Patience is a virtue, indeed.”
“My Quickening? Is that why you watched me so close all those summers, making sure you knew everything about my training? But how can you be so sure I haven’t had my Quickening, when I’ve been out of sight? I knew you were a risk-taker, Cantillion, but I never took you for a fool.”
“I can tell…I haven’t told you all about the Quickening, have I, or fae magic all in all. Ever wonder why?”
Lyria cursed under her voice.
My stomach fell. How could she possibly fight the Fae Queen? Even if she had that card up her sleeve and would be able to awake her Quickening in the arena, this was still madness. By the stars, quickening or not, it would be suicide.
“There is another option,” Cantillion said.
Lyria was fuming, but kept her eyes on his. “Tell me.”
“You convince your men and the rest of the human kings’ men to follow me…and attack the Fae Queen’s houses and the Fae Kingdom on the pretense of this duel.” Cantillion pressed his giant hands against each other in a triangle under his chin, as he seemed to ponder his own options. “See, as everyone will be gathered around the arena, out in the Sun Square, the Fae Queen, her guards, her soldiers, everyone…That’s when we attack the houses.”
Lyria was quiet for a long while. The two eyed each other just short of murderously.
“And you’d became the king of fae,” Lyria said slowly. “Would you promise on your honor to stop the raiding of human villages and the other attacks on innocent humans by those fae groups…? You know what I’m talking about.”
Cantillion huffed and his broad face showed a multitude of emotions. “I can easily promise that. We would have no need for such primitive entertainment any longer, anyway, if I had the Fae Kingdom.”
“Then you have a deal.”
Chapter 27
We watched the remains of an odd fae feast fall to the ochre red sand, as fae hands occasionally appeared to the window of Cantillion’s cart to fling out these odd assortments. It was not a pretty sight. Desert crows, lizards, and who knew what had met their fate to be the supper of these boasting brutes. The carts had stood still for a while. We didn’t know when we would be moving. Hours stretched, and we found ourselves mostly looking out the window.
Someone tossed a half-eaten apple out of Cantillion’s cart.
“Isn’t he obnoxious, even for a fae?” Lyria said. “Growing meaner by the day and more boisterous.”
Someone knocked on the window on the other side of our cart, the one with the window panes we couldn’t open, and I rushed to press my ear to the pane. Lyria came to join me. We shared tense glances.
Lyria asked, “Who’s this?”