Beneath Shadows and Secrets

♔ 𝕿𝔴𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔶 - 𝕱𝔬𝔲𝔯 ♔

♔ ℭ𝔞𝔩𝔦𝔵 ♔

I should have let the stubborn girl stay in the Night Court.

It is the only thought in my mind now, as I attempt to come to terms with the calamity of this situation. It had been risky, of course, to bring Daenira. It would have only taken a single individual to recognise her as the human that competed in the Equinox, to have seen her fall at the hand of Zaire, and then our passage would have been no secret at all. That was a risk I was willing to take, for it seemed somehow more dangerous to leave her alone in Vrodora.

A factor I did not consider was that the Crown Prince of the Xandaran Fae would recognise Daenira as a sibling. The hope I have that Daenira will not tell him all is thin and frail, barely held together even with my forced composure. If she tells him everything, she will not just be working to escape the hold of Zaire, but of every Royal Fae across these Realms. The realisation of that, and the eruption of power it is sure to bring out of the girl, is not something I have any desire to witness. Not at this moment.

"Unclench." Libitina hisses beside me. The three of us stand in the centre of Throne Room. It is dreadfully ostentatious, even for my standard. Every surface gleaming gold or crisp white marble. The throne's skeleton is shaped with glinting jewels, the cushion rich velvet. It looks more than uncomfortable, and likely why King Maddox Kyrnon is not lounging in it now, after being told of our arrival. We have been waiting for longer than I am keen to, and I have started to itch with irritability. I want to return to Daenira. I need to be at her side.

"It may not be as serious as we are all thinking." Tynan tries to abate, leaning into his side so we can hear his low whisper clearer, despite the fact it echoes from the walls.

"Of course. A Fae prince claiming the angry little made Fae as his sister is all just a humorous misunderstanding." Libitina drawls.

"If you say anything in such a tone of voice, it is bound to sound ridiculous." He snaps. The pair glare at one another. I roll my eyes. "You said it yourself – he is a Fae prince. They must share different bloodlines."

"That, or the secretive little thing has been hiding more than we thought." Libitina almost sounds offended at that.

"No." I decide. Both look at me. "She was mortified by what she became. If she had even the slightest inclination that the settling was a chance in her lifetime, she would not have been so comfortable to refer to us all with slurs for the past few months." Tynan looks prepared to speak. "Enough. I find being forced to listen to your juvenile squabbling offensive, and I will muzzle you quiet if you so much as breathe too loud."

"You're certainly joyous today." Tynan dares to grunt. Still, he straightens himself and looks onward. "That was sarcasm, if you failed to gather."

"A tragically low form of wit, my friend. Perhaps if you spent more time on presenting yourself as a warrior than a comedian, you'd get more done." When he moves, a thin wisp of shadow smacks the back of his head. Libitina cackles. Silence then settles around us.

I am glad for it. I need time to think, to make sense of this situation.

Daenira and her brother have become an unfortunate development. They mustn't be wholly related. Shared a human mother maybe – their surnames differ from each of their father's lineage – it is why I could never have even predicted this possibility. There is no denying their relation. They share the same face, the same hindrance of years of hardship. The boy must have known of his heritage. It is why he is here, waiting to claim a throne that belongs to him.

A sickeningly cruel thought flitted through my mind at that. Perhaps if Daenira believes he lied to her throughout their lives, she will not trust him enough to share her truth. She doesn't deserve further betrayal, but it would prove helpful now if that was the case.