Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 133191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
It shimmered, flashing and winking in the blazing sun. It was a wonder to even walk beneath a sun that could not kill me, but to enjoy the beauty of Samhradh at the same time was a marvel. It was a joy to escort Andraste to the Solas Festival.
That morning, Andraste woke me, frantic. “The palace is abuzz,” she said, hauling me out of bed. “The queen’s seer has had a vision and now the queen has demanded we all attend the Reckoning.”
I groaned, as I had already decided I did not want to attend the Reckoning. It was the fae version of a justice system. Any supernatural, human, or fae caught breaking the laws of Faerie were kept in confinement at a prison near the gate between worlds on the coast of Samhradh. They were brought out of confinement every quarter during a festival to be judged by Aine.
“Hurry, it has already begun.”
“What has the seer prophesied?”
“No one knows. But rumor is rife that the queen found the news disturbing.”
“The queen is never disturbed.”
“Hence my current disquietude.”
So we stood beside Eirik, who had to come to Faerie to enjoy the festival, as prisoner after prisoner was brought into the throne room to be judged by the queen.
As I neared almost unconsciousness with boredom, they brought the final prisoner forth.
She was human.
A beauty at that.
Since discovering Faerie, I’d found little attraction in humans so it was rare that one could catch my eye. The girl was dressed rather vulgar in leather leg coverings, as a man would wear. Leather strips, pieced together, made a vest that molded to her torso in a strangely becoming way. Her dark hair was held back from her face in long braids. There was an appealing boldness to her beauty. I soon noted I was not the only one to think so.
“We just caught this one, Your Highness.” A fae guard threw the girl forward, and she glared at him. He ignored her, holding up a sword. “She came through the gates armed and we caught her stealing from our fruit trees.”
The crowd gasped at the effrontery. It was common law among fae and human: you stole nothing from the fae to take back to our world. Unless it was freely given.
Aine eyed the young woman. “Name?”
The girl lifted her chin in defiance. “Catha.”
A rumble of displeasure moved around the room. I heard Andraste hiss, along with a few other fae females.
The guard pushed Catha. “You will address the queen with the proper respect.”
“She is not my queen,” Catha said recklessly.
The hissing grew in sound, restless feet moving closer to the girl.
Aine lifted a hand to silence the crowd. Her golden eyes peered intently into Catha’s. “Why did you venture into Faerie to steal from us?”
Catha shrugged off the guard’s touch and faced the queen with apparently no fear. “My family is starving. I hunt but the prey is dwindling. I heard the food of the fae lasts longer than mortal food, and I had hoped the fruit would see us through winter.”
“There are no men in your family to hunt?”
Catha shook her head. “My father died three winters ago. I am responsible for my mother and four sisters now.”
“You are the eldest?”
“No. The youngest.”
Aine dragged her gaze up and down the girl. “And a beauty. Are your sisters beautiful like you?”
“More so. But they are too poor to interest men with more wealth than our own.”
The queen scowled at that. “Humans and their lack of fealty to women is tedious. In my world, young Catha, you would be a warrior for you have a warrior’s heart.” She lifted a graceful hand to point toward the girl’s heart. “I sense it.”
The girl lost some of her defiance and she bowed her head slightly in thanks.
Aine lifted her eyes to the room. “I have called you all here for a reason. Before I make my announcement, I grant one last token to a race that often consternates but always amuses.” Her golden eyes drifted back to Catha. “You shall return to your world unharmed, young Catha, and when you do, you will find yourself the keeper of riches beyond your imagining. Your family will never suffer from poverty again. Your sisters shall marry well and you, if you wish it, will be a queen.”
Catha’s eyes darkened with intensity. “I wish it, Your Highness.”
With the queen’s nod, Catha was gone, presumably back to our world, to the astonishing gifts Aine had promised.
“Now,” Aine stood from her throne, “I fear I have unwelcome news for our guests.” A movement to my left drew my attention, and I noted a fae man sidling up to my brother. His face was … it was hazy, as though his features did not want to fall into place. And he seemed hunched. Eirik stiffened at the sight of him and the fae gave him a quick shake of his head to silence him. Whatever passed between them, my brother merely nodded and turned back to the queen.