Sterling woke to find herself in a bed with a tangle of sheets around her. Her wool dress was gone, replaced by a light cotton shift. She tried not to think about some stranger undressing her.

She pushed herself up on her elbows to look around the room. The light was dim and murky, making her surroundings appear in shades of gray. A wash basin stood on the far wall, but otherwise, there was nothing else in the room.

Hunger clawed at her stomach—an angry beast demanding to be sated. Sterling tried her best to ignore it as she sat up all the way, propping herself against the wall behind her. Her body was weak, but besides the hunger, Sterling realized, she could no longer feel any of the other aches and pains she had acquired.

She touched her nose with a single finger. There was no sharp stab of pain as she had expected. In fact, her nose felt normal, no longer swollen—slightly crooked, perhaps—but normal.

A door creaked open, startling her, to reveal a woman holding a tray. The delightful aroma of soup reached Sterling's nose. "Oh," the woman exclaimed when she saw Sterling sitting up. "You're finally awake."

Sterling noticed she was wearing a dark robe like the one Ren wore. She had the brief thought that perhaps she had been taken by a cult.

"If you are feeling up to it, I brought soup for you," the woman said, stepping closer to the bed with her tray.

"That would be nice." Sterling's voice came out rough from disuse. Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth.

"Careful," the woman said, setting the tray down on Sterling's legs. "It's hot."

As Sterling thanked the woman, she caught a movement behind her. Ren was leaning against the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest—watching them. When he noticed Sterling looking at him, his mouth curled up in that infuriating smirk.

She glared back, and the woman turned to see what Sterling was staring at.

"Shoo," she said when she spied Ren. "She is still recovering. You can bother her later."

Ren winked at her before pushing himself off the door frame. "I'll see you later then, Silver."

Sterling couldn't tell if that was a promise or a threat. 

After the meeting, Kai excused himself to attend to other matters, leaving Seraiah with Kestrel.

“What happens now?” Seraiah asked, following behind Kestrel as she left the meeting room.

“Now, you go back to your rooms and practice those visions, and I go to prepare to leave again.”

“You’re going to the Seelie Court then?”

“Of course. It’s not ideal, but it’s our current best option unless you manage to have another vision.”

“I’m going with you.”

Kestrel stopped so abruptly that Seraiah almost crashed into her. She turned and placed her hands on Seraiah’s shoulders. “Listen to me. You are not coming. This may be dangerous, and I will be going alone.”

“But—”

“No. Stay here where you are safe. Understood?”

Seraiah shook her head. “I don’t think I’m safe here,” she said.

Kestrel dropped her hands and took a step back. “What? Why do you say that? Did something happen?”

Seraiah looked down. “Nothing has happened. Yet. You’ve seen how I am not welcome here.”

Kestrel waved her worry away. “Everything will be fine. Kai is here. He can protect you.” She started walking again toward the stairs. Seraiah followed closely on her heels.

“That’s just it, though. I don’t think he can. I don’t pretend I know everything about ruling, but my impression is that Kai is not the one who holds all the power here. If he did, I don’t think he would have entertained the meeting we just attended. He wouldn’t have been concerned about telling them about where he has been. Kai is not the true ruler of this kingdom.”

Kestrel shushed her and looked around like she was checking to see who could be listening. “Look. Come with me to my rooms. We’ll talk about this there.”

Kestrel’s rooms were the opposite of what Seraiah expected. They were cozy and comfortable, but appeared as if a whirlwind had gone through them. A blanket was draped over the back of an overstuffed chair and empty cups and plates littered the surfaces.

“Make yourself at home,” Kestrel said. “I’ll be right back.” Then she disappeared into another adjoining room.

Seraiah stepped over a pile of discarded clothes and took a seat on a second overstuffed chair. She supposed Kestrel simply didn’t have the time to clean, and maybe she didn’t like having someone like Wisteria do it for her.

Kestrel returned a few moments later and settled in the opposite chair. “Now,” she said. “Let’s discuss Kai.”

“What about him?” Seraiah asked, afraid Kestrel was going to bring up last night again.

“What you said about him not being the true ruler of this kingdom is true. As you know, Sterling is our queen. She is our well of magic, so to speak. Without her, our magic will fade, possibly disappearing entirely. We don’t know for sure what will happen as there are no accounts of this. In the meantime, Kai is our temporary ruler, but a ruler is nothing without the backing of their people. If Kai was the holder of all our magic, things might be different because magic is power here.”

“But he’s not.”

“No, so Kai must gather power through the normal means. He needs to play the court games and win favors. He must build loyalty. Such a task is difficult to do with our lengthy absences. The council members have, meanwhile, had plenty of time to garner favor.”

“I see. Then my point about not being safe here stands,” Seraiah said. “If Gavaran has more power than Kai . . .”

“The Seelie Court is far more dangerous than Gavaran. You know nothing about its customs.”

“I know nothing about yours either, and yet here I am,” Seraiah countered.

Kestrel sighed. “If you can convince Kai it would be a good idea for you to go, I’ll take you with me.”

Seraiah arched a brow. Kestrel seemed to think she had already won, but Seraiah had the perfect argument to use against Kai. “Done.”

Kestrel went back to preparing to leave for the Seelie Court, which to Seraiah seemed to consist of pulling out every article of clothing she owned and scattering them around the room. Next came the weapons.

“Do you have an entire armory in there?” Seraiah asked.

“I would not be surprised,” Kai said from the doorway.

“No one asked you,” Kestrel said, poking her head out from the other room. She held some kind of curved sword. “Also, who said you could come in?”

“I knocked, but you must not have heard me.” Kai crossed the room, taking the chair Kestrel had used earlier.

“That doesn’t mean you can barge in.”

Kai smirked. “It’s my castle.”

“Not for long,” Kestrel grumbled before disappearing again. “What do you want, anyway? Am I in trouble again? I had nothing to do with whatever it is,” she called from the other room.

“I came to speak with you about the Seelie Court.”

This was her chance.

“I’m going with her,” Seraiah announced.

Kai’s eyes narrowed. “Was this Kestrel’s idea?”

“No, it was mine.” She paused, looked him dead in the eye and said, “You won’t take my choices away from me, will you?”

Kai stared back. “I suppose you have me there.”

Kestrel swore, and Seraiah grinned. “Did you hear that?” she called. “I do believe it means you’re taking me with you.”

Kestrel stomped into the room. “Why can’t you do the prince thing and have her locked in a tower?”

“I believe you have me confused with the villain,” Kai said.

“And it’s always the princess who is locked in the tower. Last I checked, I’m not a princess,” Seraiah added.

Kestrel grinned. “I know a way we can change that.”

“Kes, you don’t have time to plan my wedding,” Kai said. “You have other assignments.”

Seraiah’s face warmed.

“Well, your assignment was to talk some sense into her.” Kestrel jabbed a finger at her. “She has no business at the Seelie Court. It’s dangerous. Do you want to lose her to the fae?”

“Never,” he said. The look he gave her set off a riot of butterflies in her stomach. “But I’m also not going to stop her from doing something she wants to do. You understand the risks?”

Seraiah nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

“Then it’s settled. You’ll go with Kestrel to seek help from the fae.”