“...This cannot continue, my phae,” the Queen was saying. Under the white marble chandelier, her blackness was even more fearsomely stark. “Since the Iron Age, the phaedrealii has kept its distance from the sunlit world, withholding our presence from the humans, except for our treasured few.” She ran her hand over William’s head where he sat on the step beside her chair. He stiffened, but his eyes were full of floating wisp light.
The Queen cast her dark gaze around the room. Adelyn quickly lowered her face, letting the shadow of her veil fall forward.
“My phae.” The Queen’s whisper swirled through the room on a chill breath though Adelyn tucked her shoulders up around her ears. “If you run, I will find you. And when I find you, I will tear you apart.”
In the stricken silence, the infinitesimal hum of the wisps’ wings sounded menacing.
And even more faintly yet, came a whisper all around them: “Adelyn...”
Her head snapped up. “Oh no. Josh, no.”
EveStar shuddered. “You gave him your name?”
“I didn’t believe he would follow me. Or even remember me.” Adelyn took a step forward, unbuckling the belt as she went. “The spores are behind the stones in the belt. There aren’t many. Use them well, and maybe someday we’ll meet in the sunlit world.” She tossed the belt to the other phae.
EveStar thrust it back. “Open a gate. Run while the Queen is distracted.”
Once she’d been too afraid to run, and now, when she most wanted to...”I can’t. Not without him.”
In the space by the throne where she had been standing only moments ago, a ring of mushrooms sprouted with unnatural speed. And then Josh was there. In the court. Standing tall beside the deadly phae Queen.
Chapter 11
His head spun, like a middle-of-the-whisky-bottle moment, but Josh blinked hard to clear his wavering vision. No, not wavering. The vision in his scarred eye was eerily intense.