Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 109099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
I was up and out of my seat before I could stop myself.
“Oh my God, they’re beautiful,” I exclaimed, coming around behind the lighter Fae to examine his back more closely.
“Thank you, my Lady, but the High Fae of the Midnight Court don’t think so,” Krynn said dryly. “I must keep them hidden under my robes at all times—if I didn’t, I would be thrown out of Court.”
“What? But that’s ridiculous!” I protested.
He shrugged, his wings fanning the air gently.
“It is the way of the Midnight Court. If I hadn’t kept my wings hidden all these years, I would never have risen to the rank of Keeper of the Royal Records and Court Historian.”
“Of course my differences can’t be fucking hidden,” Seldarin remarked, going back to his seat. “But nobody cares since I’m the Captain of the Guard—they like the idea of an ugly Captain, I think. To frighten our enemies,” he added.
“You’re not ugly and neither of you should have to hide anything,” I said indignantly. “Doesn’t it hurt to keep your wings scrunched up under your clothes all the time?” I asked Krynn.
He sighed.
“I’ve grown used to it. Luckily, they lie fairly flat against my back, which makes my deformity easier to hide.”
“I’ve always said we should go to the Seelie Court—the Court of All Seasons,” Seldarin remarked. “They welcome misfits like us there—or they have ever since the Summer and Winter Court joined after King Liath and Queen Alira married and brought them together. But that was only twenty years ago,” he added. “And we were still looking for you.” He nodded at me.
“Now that you’ve finally come home, we wouldn’t even consider abandoning our home Court,” Krynn added, clearly trying to reassure me.
I frowned.
“But…how many Fae courts or kingdoms are there?”
“Many,” Seldarin said. “As many as there are magical planes of existence.”
“Which is to say, nearly infinite,” Krynn added. “None of them exist in the exact same place or time, though they may overlap at certain times and places.” He sighed and flexed his wings once more. “I should fold these away. They get difficult to conceal if I give them too much freedom.”
“I wish you wouldn’t put them away just yet,” I said, bending closer to get a better look. “They’re so beautiful.”
“Well…thank you, my Lady.” Krynn got an odd expression on his face—a mixture of gratitude and uncertainty, I thought—as he turned his head to look over his shoulder and watch me examining his wings.
“But what are those?” I bent even closer, frowning as I did so. There were white marks on his silver skin—they looked almost like… “Are those scars?” I asked, pointing.
Krynn quickly closed his wings, covering the white ridges that marred his otherwise perfect back.
“They are, but they need not concern you, my Lady,” he said quickly. “They are from old wounds, long healed.”
“Krynn has…needs,” Seldarin murmured. “You can thank his old Mistress, Lady Elgiana for that.”
“Who’s Lady Elgiana?” I asked, frowning.
“She was my Mistress. When I first came to Court as a child, it was as her servant,” Krynn explained.
“Alright, but what is Seldarin talking about when he says you have needs?” I asked, not understanding.
“Never mind.” Krynn shook his head. “My needs or wishes don’t enter into it. The fact is, I must fold these away before they become too hard to hide.”
He flexed his muscles and rolled his shoulders again and the big, gorgeous wings began to shrink and shrivel once more until they lay flat against his back, hiding the white scars completely.
I wanted to ask who had hurt him, but he had a closed look on his face. Clearly he wanted to keep the source of his scars private. I wondered if some horrible person had beaten him for being different—the same way Seldarin’s mother had made him wear a mask, just for not looking pretty enough.
It made me glad that I was sure I wasn’t this Lost Princess they were looking for—I didn’t want anything to do with people who could be so cruel to their children just for being different.
I started to go back to my own seat and stumbled.
“Whoa there, Princess!” Seldarin shot out a long arm and caught me from one side just as Krynn was reaching for me from the other. The lighter Fae was somewhat constricted though since he had been in the act of pulling his robe back up.
“Oh…I feel dizzy!” I put a hand to my head as the world started spinning around me. “What’s wrong with me?”
“Yes—what the fuck is wrong with her?” Seldarin growled. Dragging me into his lap, he cradled me against his broad chest and shot a look at Krynn.
“Possibly it’s the Nectar of Lolth working on her,” Krynn said, looking worried. “We knew that feeding her Fae food would help her shed the human dross that’s collected around her true form. We need to get her to bed and let it work on her—it’s apt to be a long night.”