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)
At the time, I was sure they were cosplayers—they both had pointed ears and I thought there must be a Lord of the Rings convention in town. But there was something special and otherworldly about them—the same feeling I felt now coming from the people assembled in the clearing.
The two who had saved me had been beautiful, but they didn’t have dark platinum skin or glowing eyes like the people I saw in the clearing. These people weren’t like anyone I had ever seen outside of a fairytale—or a dream.
A dream—that was where I had seen them before, I suddenly realized! I used to have dreams about people that looked like these every night when I was little—beautiful, enchanted dreams filled with magic and moonlight and floating lights. But it had been so long ago I had completely forgotten about them. Now, standing in the shadows of the forest, they all came rushing back.
Elves, whispered the voice of memory in my ear. They aren’t humans—they’re Elves!
I knew with absolute certainty that the voice was right—though I didn’t know how I knew it. Even though these people didn’t look like any Elves that Hollywood had ever portrayed, that was definitely what they were. I also knew something else—they wouldn’t call themselves “Elves”—they would refer to their people as “The Fae.” Why and how I knew these things, I couldn’t say—maybe the knowledge came from my forgotten dreams—but I was absolutely certain I was right.
The Fae were standing around the huge clearing and most of the light was coming from a fire in the center of their circle where flames of gold and blue jumped and flickered. There was a kind of throne at the far end of the circle but it was empty. A smaller chair sat in front of it and a male Fae who looked to be somewhere in his forties or fifties with bluish-purple eyes sat on it. He had flowing white hair like most of the others and there was a self-satisfied expression on his perfect face.
Suddenly another male Fae—this one dressed in a flowing green robe and with glowing green eyes—stepped forward towards the fire and began to speak.
“Lords and Ladies of the Midnight Court,” he began, in a warm tenor voice, “Tonight you have all gathered so that we may resolve a dilemma that has troubled us for many seasons. Who shall sit upon the Silver Throne and rule our people, The Dark Fae, now that our beloved King and Queen have both passed beyond The Veil?”
I stared at the Fae as he spoke—he was even more beautiful than most, I thought. Even in the flickering firelight his features were ethereal—he had the face of a fallen angel and his flowing white hair had streaks of gold in it. He also had some unusual tattoos on his pale platinum skin—intricate curving markings of gold on either side of his neck. I couldn’t make out what they were supposed to be, but the side I had a better view of looked almost like a spider web. Strange.
I found myself contrasting the Fae who was speaking to the really big Fae—the one who was wearing a metal breastplate and had greenish skin tones. He also had the same markings on his neck—though his tattoos were done in silver ink, not gold. His features, while strong, were more blunt than the other Fae in the clearing, I thought. No one would call him “pretty” or “ethereal.” He wasn’t ugly—just less androgynously beautiful than the others.
The extremely gorgeous Fae went on talking—he was speaking about how sad they were to have lost both their rulers and how it was time to choose someone else to watch over and guide the Midnight Court.
“But what of the Lost Princess?” the Fae with greenish skin tones asked, stepping forward. “Why should we choose a new ruler now, when one of Royal blood may still be alive?”
The Fae with bluish-purple eyes who was sitting on the chair spoke up.
“The Lost Princess has been gone for nigh on half a century.” He had a drawling voice that dripped with contempt. “Why should we continue searching for a babe whom no one has been able to find for so long? Our people need a ruler now.”
“We need a ruler who has the blood of Lolth in her veins!” the tall Fae argued. “The Dark Fae have never been ruled by a non-Royal.”
The other Fae sat up in his chair, his blue-purple eyes flashing.
“I have Royal blood in my veins, Captain Seldarin, as you well know! My eyes attest to it!”
“The blood in your veins has barely any Royalty, Mordren,” the tall Fae argued. “You used it to become our Regent after King Valerin passed, but that doesn’t mean you may become the next ruler after him! We should be searching for the Lost Princess—not standing here, about to invest a non-Royal as our next King!”