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)
After all, no one could expect a beautiful Princess of Royal blood to keep two half-breeds as her consorts. Soon enough she would meet a High Fae male and no doubt fall in love with him. And then she would name him as her Royal Consort—possibly her King Consort, though I hoped not.
Lilliana was the rightful Queen and she deserved to rule by herself. If she allowed a High Fae male to take the title of “King” she would be eclipsed, her authority diluted. That had been the case with her mother, Queen Lorelin. Once she married Valerin and named him her King Consort, he had taken over the ruling of the Midnight Court and much of her power had become his.
Some said that was why she had died in childbirth—which shouldn’t happen to any reasonably healthy Fae female who has magic in her veins. But people said that King Valerin had absorbed so much of his wife’s power that she didn’t have enough even to keep herself alive at the moment of crisis.
It had been a great loss and the Midnight Court wasn’t the same without a ruler with Royal blood—one who was a direct descendant of Lolth, the Spider Queen. Our power and prestige had diminished in the years since Queen Lorelin had died.
But soon we would be well and whole again, I reminded myself. When Princess Lilliana took the throne of the Midnight Court, her beauty and power would shine through the whole Court, making all of us stronger. Having a descendant of the Spider Queen on the Throne for the Dark Fae is much like a colony of bees having a good and powerful Queen bee who is constantly replenishing the hive. We thrive under such circumstances.
I just hoped that Krynn and I could install the Princess safely on the Throne, but we would have to watch her carefully because Mordren wasn’t going to give up the power he sought easily.
24
Lily
It felt strange, wearing a dress that showed my nipples. But apparently they had turned purple because my blood was now purple too—at least, according to Krynn. So they were yet another sign that I was the Lost Princess, returned to claim her rightful place on the Throne of the Midnight Court.
Not that I really wanted to claim the throne, mind you. I’ve never lusted for power—I turned down the position of PTA President when the other moms offered it to me. And obviously, that wasn’t nearly as big a promotion as being made Queen of the Dark Fae. I much preferred to work behind the scenes to be sure everyone got what they needed.
Still, I seemed to have been thrust into a position I couldn’t easily get out of. Krynn and Seldarin were determined to see me crowned and now that the three of us had gotten close, I hated to disappoint them.
Also, everything felt unreal at the moment. I kept putting my fingers up to touch my face and feel the tips of my pointed ears. Maybe this was all a dream and I would wake up, cramped and hungry and shivering, in my minivan at any minute. Since it was much nicer to be dreaming I was somehow now a Fae princess, I decided to just let things ride.
So I let myself be all dressed up and let Krynn do my hair—which he was surprisingly good at. I would have asked for make-up, because I didn’t usually go out without at least a little blush and lipstick (and honestly a lot more than that since I’d been getting older.) But when I looked at myself in the mirror, I realized I no longer needed any kind of make-up. Remember the flawless no-pore skin? And my cheeks and eyelids had a natural tint that made my new Royal Purple eyes sparkle.
I’ll admit I spent a long minute staring at myself. Now that I was all dressed up with my hair done, I looked even more beautiful. And I’m not saying that with any kind of pride or vanity—to be honest, it felt like I was looking at someone else. Or else like I was wearing a really good Halloween costume—one that kind of looked like me but mostly looked like an actress who was about to star in some kind of High Fantasy movie.
My hair looked amazing, pulled back to show the pointed tips of my ears and the tiny spider birthmark on my forehead—which had now turned purple like my eyes, I saw. And the gown I was wearing was long and split up the middle to show my naturally smooth legs. Nice.
The incredibly soft material of the gown—which Krynn had told me was spider silk—clung to my full curves and shimmered from Royal Purple to gold when the light hit it just right. It was mesmerizing and surprisingly comfortable considering that I’d never liked fancy clothes much before. The soft purple shoes that went with it were comfortable too, even though they had a bit of a heel on them to give me some height, which I needed since all the Dark Fae were so tall.