The queen leaned slightly to her left to speak to the person there, and I gave a small start when I saw it was Prince Rhys. I shouldn’t be surprised he was there or that she was more interested in talking to him than her consort. The only thing she seemed to care about was the prince.
Ever since my father told me who Rhys was, I’d been trying to think of why the Seelie queen would take a human child to convert and raise as her heir. So far, I hadn’t come up with a reason that made sense. I didn’t think Rhys knew the truth, but I was sure the rest of Seelie didn’t. If the blue bloods at Seelie were anything like the ones here, status and lineage meant everything to them. They would never stand for a half-breed becoming their king someday.
I was so lost in thought it took a few seconds to realize Prince Rhys’s eyes were focused on me. He looked as surprised to see me as I was to be there. He smiled, and I returned it before I averted my gaze. I could feel his eyes on me until King Oseron stood, and everyone’s attention shifted to him.
The king bowed to the Seelie queen. “Queen Anwyn, welcome to Unseelie. We are honored to host you and your council for these important talks. I am confident the cooperation of our two regions will result in a solution to heal the barrier between Faerie and the human realm.”
Queen Anwyn tilted her head forward in acknowledgement and a hint of a smile touched her lips. “Thank you, King Oseron. We are pleased to be here and look forward to working with you to eliminate this threat to our world.”
He smiled, and they began the tedious process of introducing everyone seated on both sides. I barely heard them because I was fuming about the ridiculousness of everyone in the room exchanging pleasantries and pretending that Queen Anwyn hadn’t caused the threat that brought them all here in the first place. It was probably a very good thing that I was a spectator only at this meeting because I could not pretend ignorance, even for the sake of diplomacy.
After all the formalities were done, one of the king’s advisors stood to present the first of their proposals. “Every time a portal is created, it causes magic to leak into the human world. If we prohibit all travel between the two worlds for a period of time, it could help to slow the drain of energy from ours.”
The two sides began to discuss the proposal, weighing the pros and cons and talking about how long a ban on travel to the human world was needed to make a difference. The thought of not being able to go home and see my family for any length of time filled me with anxiety. I could go to them before the ban went into effect, but I had to be in Faerie to do whatever it was Aedhna needed me to do.
Another of the Unseelie advisors stood. “In addition to prohibiting travel to the other world, we think all Court Fae should be summoned home to Faerie. Many of our people have permanent residences in the human realm, only returning home to replenish their magic. Having them all here could help restore the balance of magic.”
His suggestion set off another flurry of discussions and caused my anxiety to grow. If they agreed on this course of action, who knew how long it would be before I was allowed to visit my family? Time meant nothing to faeries, but my parents were mortal. They’d already lost their son. I would not let them lose their daughter, too.
Queen Anwyn’s imperious voice cut through the din. “These proposals have merit, but they are not enough.”
The room fell silent, and all eyes went to her.
“There is only one way to repair the barrier and protect Faerie,” she said to King Oseron. “We must seal the barrier between the worlds permanently.”
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut forcing all the air from my body. For a few seconds, her face blurred before my eyes, and the sound of the room erupting became a buzzing in my head. I wasn’t aware I’d leaned back against the wall until Conlan’s hand squeezed mine. It was enough to ground me and help me focus on what was happening around me.
“There are two sides to the barrier,” Lukas said to the queen. “Sealing us off from the human realm might not repair the damage done to their side.”
No one spoke as we waited for her response. She did not make us wait long.
“That is a possibility but a chance we must take.” She placed a hand over her heart as if it pained her to say the words. “Our first duty is to protect Faerie and all who live here.”
Anger boiled inside me. All of this was her fault. It was she who had stolen the ke’tain and taken it from Faerie. She caused the damage to the barrier, and now she planned to wipe her hands free of it by destroying my world and everyone I loved. And every damn person in this room knew it.
Queen Anwyn’s gaze suddenly shifted away from Lukas and locked with mine. I stared back, not trying to hide my animosity. Recognition flared in her eyes, and they narrowed on me, but I held her stare, refusing to look away first.
I was aware of several people turning in their seats to see what had captured the queen’s attention. I could also feel Conlan’s hand gripping the back of my shirt to keep me from going anywhere.
The queen broke our stare down and returned her cool gaze to Lukas as if nothing had happened. They resumed their discussion, but I was too consumed by anger to pay attention.
Conlan leaned down and whispered, “I think it’s time to go.”
I didn’t resist when he took my arm and quietly guided me out of the room. We crossed the outer room, and he created the portal to take us to the tunnels. It wasn’t until we were back in an area I recognized that he spoke.
“Queen Anwyn has been pushing for years to seal the barrier, and she sees this as an opportunity to press her agenda. But King Oseron won’t agree to that unless it is the last resort.”
I stared straight ahead. “But it’s a possibility if they can’t repair the damage.”
“Yes,” he said honestly. “Don’t worry, Jesse. We will find a solution before that happens.”
I nodded but didn’t say much as we took the lift to my level, and he walked me to my door. When he started to follow me inside, I held up a hand to stop him. “I’d like to be alone for a while.”
He frowned. “Are you sure? I don’t want to leave you when you’re upset.”
“It was a lot to take in, seeing her for the first time and then her saying that.” I dug down deep and summoned a smile for him. “I think I might go to the training room and get in some more practice on the staff. Exercise always helps clear my head.”
He visibly relaxed. “That’s a good idea. I will let Vaerik know you are well.”
“I doubt he even knows we left,” I said as I kicked off one of my shoes.
“He does. He could not come after us, so he signaled me to make sure you were okay.”
I stumbled in the process of removing my other shoe. “He did? I didn’t see that.”
Conlan smiled. “You were not supposed to see it.”
He walked away, leaving me staring after him. I shut the door and bent to pick up my discarded shoes. Even in the midst of such an important meeting, Lukas had been concerned about me. I wished I could see him tonight, but he would be tied up until Queen Anwyn left.
I let out a sigh and turned toward the living area, coming up short at the sight of the woman standing by the balcony door. The shoes slipped from my fingers and clattered to the floor.