Jenna Black - Sirensong

“So you think Elizabeth is Prince Henry’s daughter,” I said.

“Likely. Assuming she is the Faeriewalker.”

Damn. I thought I had it bad with my parental issues, but I couldn’t imagine having Henry as a father. He treated her badly even for a servant, much less for a daughter. And here I was, turning her over to save my own hide.

I shoved the guilt aside as best I could. I wasn’t doing this just for myself. I was doing it for my dad, and Ethan, and Kimber, and Keane, and Finn. I still hated it, still wished I could have thought of another way to prove my innocence, but there didn’t seem to be one.

Titania came back into the room, bringing with her the arctic chill of her displeasure. I wished she’d put some clothes on, but perhaps the Fae didn’t have the same modesty issues as humans. She seemed quite unconscious of her state of undress. The Erlking, I noticed from his occasional appreciative glances, was much more aware of it than she was.

Soon, there was a commotion out in the hall, and I tensed up, my imagination telling me it was the Queen’s guards coming to seize me. I stared at the door with what I felt sure were scared eyes, and when someone knocked, I was so tense I jumped.

“Enter,” the Queen beckoned. I hadn’t seen her move, but somehow she had changed out of the gauzy wrap and into an elaborate white and gold kimono-like gown, and her hair was gathered in a loose but elegant chignon at the back of her head.

The door opened, and Henry burst in, dressed in his usual flashy doublet and leggings. Behind him, a Knight entered, dragging Elizabeth by the arm. She had obviously been in bed when the Knights had come for her. Her hair was disheveled from sleep, and it looked like she’d dressed in a frantic rush, her skirts dragging on the floor behind her because she’d skipped the bustle. I supposed she was lucky the Knights had allowed her time to dress at all. Tears streaked her face, and guilt hammered at me harder than ever.

Henry came to an abrupt halt when he saw me standing there beside the Erlking. I thought I saw a hint of fear in his eyes, but maybe that was just what I wanted to see.

“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded of his mother. “Why have my quarters been raided and my servant dragged from her bed?”

If Henry had nothing to hide, I doubted he would have been able to muster much outrage over the seizure of one of his servants. It wasn’t like he had a warm and caring relationship with them.

“Forgive the intrusion, my son,” Titania said in a voice that clearly conveyed she didn’t like his tone. “I had no intention of disrupting your evening and want only to question this child.”

She gestured at Elizabeth, who looked like she was about to faint from terror. The girl gave me a pleading look, but though I’d helped her against the Green Lady, I couldn’t help her against this. I prayed that Titania would take pity on her and realize that her son was the one to blame.

Henry dialed down the outrage. I guess he saw that Titania didn’t appreciate it. When he spoke again, he managed to sound calm and only mildly curious.

“Why should you need to question a servant girl? She is no one.”

My dad had told me that Henry lacked the wit and subtlety he needed to be a star player in Court politics, and it seemed he was right. His protests, even when so toned down, were as good as him screaming, “I have something to hide!” Of course, he did have something to hide, so he probably felt pretty trapped.

Titania arched one brow. “If she is, as you say, no one, then this will take but a moment.” She turned to me. “Put your mortal item in its place.”

I unzipped my backpack, looking for something that definitely didn’t belong in Faerie. The first thing I came upon was my camera, but I was reluctant to part with it.

“How about this?” the Erlking suggested, holding up my gun. “I have no plans to give it back to you, and as soon as I leave your presence it will be gone anyway.”

I nodded. The gun had outlived its usefulness. The Erlking walked to the other end of the room, putting the gun on the floor approximately where my watch had been.

“Bring her closer,” Titania ordered her Knight, who yanked Elizabeth forward, practically pulling her off her feet.

Henry was still trying to play it calm, but he wasn’t doing a very good job of it. His facial expression might have been bland, but every muscle in his body looked coiled and tight. I didn’t need to see the gun disappear to be sure that I was right, but Titania would need the concrete proof.

The Knight shoved Elizabeth down to her knees while still keeping hold of her arm. She gave a little cry of pain, quickly stifled.

“There is no reason to be brutal with the poor child,” Arawn said, stepping forward and getting up into the Knight’s face. “She isn’t going anywhere.”

The Knight paled and let go of Elizabeth’s arm, taking a hasty step back. Even one of the Queen’s Knights knew better than to mess with the Erlking.

My stomach twisted as I realized the Erlking was already beginning his campaign to seduce Elizabeth, coming to her rescue, showing her kindness when no one else would. She was a miserable, broken creature, and even younger than me. What were the chances she could resist Arawn’s charms? He certainly had them, when he wanted to. Somehow, I was going to have to find a way to warn her of her danger.

But I was getting ahead of myself. I still had to prove she was a Faeriewalker. And once I did, Titania might turn her over to the Erlking anyway.

“This is a trick,” Henry said. “That is not truly a mortal weapon. It is merely an illusion, and Seamus has arranged this.”

I might have blurted an outraged response, except Titania’s laugh surprised me into silence. Henry’s cheeks reddened, and his eyes flashed with anger. And a hint of fear, I was sure of it.

“Seamus is a clever and subtle man,” Titania said, “but I’m sure he could have found a simpler way than this to strike at you if he wished.” She stalked closer to him, the coldness of her gaze now directed at him rather than me. “You seem strangely reluctant to see this test carried out, my son. Almost as though you already know this child is a Faeriewalker. Perhaps I begin to understand why you were so opposed to my decision to invite Seamus’s daughter to Court.”

Henry shook his head. “You cannot possibly think that of me! I am merely concerned that this is a trick.”

Titania’s smile was almost wry. “And that I am too weak-minded to see through such a trick?”

That shut him up, at least momentarily. His hand rubbed nervously over his hip, and I wondered if he had a weapon concealed somewhere in his doublet.

Titania turned to me and nodded. I took that as my cue to leave the room, so I made my way hastily to the door. I had to go around Henry to get there, and I didn’t like that one bit. He’d stopped rubbing his hip, and I saw no sign of a weapon in his hand, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t one.

The only thing that kept me moving forward was the conviction that Henry didn’t dare kill me in front of all these people, especially when that would make him look guiltier than ever. I let out a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding when I made it past him without incident and walked through the door out into the hall. I made a point of walking past where I’d stood when the watch disappeared, just to make it doubly obvious that the gun was still there.

“Now the child,” Titania said.

The Knight who’d dragged Elizabeth into the room cast a brief, worried look at Arawn before reaching for her again. Arawn stopped him with a forbidding glare.

“I will escort her,” Arawn said, and when Titania didn’t object, the Knight backed off.