The Goblin's Crown

Chapter Twenty One: Matilda's Gamble

Everyone was summoned back into the main hall the next morning by the chiming of the bell that had sounded at Mab's arrival. Once again, the elves and goblins were set apart from the faeries like children at a party for adults.

Though his spirits had somewhat improved after he'd spilled his guts to me, Knut still was not quite himself, especially not around the faeries. His body was tense, his mind consumed with horrific memories of pain I couldn't even begin to fathom. He sat quietly next to me, drumming his claws against the table so hard they were leaving marks in the wood. "It'll be fine." I whispered, patting his hand. "All we have to do is get through today. Then we can all go home tomorrow."

He nodded, but his eyes remained skeptical. What was coming was not something easily brushed off. We had come with the singular purpose of challenging Mab's authority. One slip up, one misstep, and we could pay for our insolence dearly. Today, the one day each year that the seed could not create minions to defend us, was the poorest date imaginable for such negotiations. It was a wise strategic move on Mab's part. But two could play that game. The iron pendant weighed heavily against my chest, cold as ice in this dead, but beautiful tundra Mab called her kingdom. During the Solstice, the fae's magic was at its weakest, thus they were vulnerable and would rely solely on brute force in an attack. That I could handle thanks to my training and once their magic returned, the pendant would ensure that they could not harm me afterward with a spell.

Tova, the elf queen, tapped me on the shoulder, gaining my attention. "Did you sleep well?" She asked. She wore a suit, much like the one she'd worn the day before, except that it was the red of autumn leaves, and a stole of fox fur circled her shoulders. A sprig of red berries decorated her hair. Her long brown hair was neatly braided, bringing more attention to the angle of her jaw and the largeness of her eyes.

"I hardly slept at all," I replied, Knut and I exchanging a look, hiding smirks behind our chalices as we both took a long gulp of our water. I wouldn't dare take even a sip of the faerie wine in Mab's palace.

The insinuation in my voice went right over the elf's head. "Me either. I've been so anxious, missing my babies. My sister is caring for them, and I trust her wholeheartedly, yet still I worry. Especially for my boy. This is the longest I've left Rikard since he was born." As pure as newly fallen snow. She nibbled at the sweet, warm porridge we'd been served. "How do you bear it?" She asked, resting her cheek against her knuckles.

"What?"

"Being away from your family."

The food in my mouth, once deliciously sweet, turned so putrid I nearly vomited all over the table. "There's no one to miss. Didn't your animals in the forest tell you that?" I said with all the gentleness of a wolf tearing out a deer's throat.

"I know what happened to you. You've watched most of your kin hang, but Jasper still remains. I know what he did too. I know every disgusting detail about that, but regardless of what he's done, he's still your brother. Surely, you miss him." Those doe's eyes stared straight through me, reached into the blackness that was my soul and embraced the tiny ember of humanity that remained, the last scrap of the little girl that had existed before I learned what a cruel and sad world I'd been born into.

My throat went dry. My lips clamped shut. I picked at my breakfast, suddenly no longer hungry. Did I miss Jasper? I certainly missed the two he'd murdered. I missed being the little sister. I missed those long nights of drinking, playing cards and laughing. God, I missed those deep-bellied laughs. Those awful, crooked, broken smiles. But Jasper? Right now, the only emotion I felt at the thought of him was a blinding rage. All the happy memories I once had were now forever tainted.

"Never mind," Tova said. Her eyes shifted blessedly away from me. "I didn't mean to upset you. I was merely curious about how you feel about all this. How lonely it must feel to be a stranger in a strange land. I know I would miss my forest terribly if I were forced to live under the ground as you are."