A Little Night Muse(63)

                Not likely. He locked his knees and swung the spear across his                     body, partly to make sure the tip wasn’t pointing at her—no sense angering a                     reigning monarch, after all—and partly to aim the pistol more discreetly.

                But he couldn’t run, not without Adelyn. He wouldn’t let her                     walk away without knowing if he was the only one to feel...

                But the Queen had him in her sights now. The blackness of her                     eyes cracked with fissures of scarlet like the coals in a hot forge. “What have                     we here?”

                Shit. Even the giant cat with its mouth full of blood hadn’t                     wanted to toy with him like this. He wished he hadn’t whispered Adelyn’s name                     aloud as he stepped through the fairy ring, but his heart had been in his                     throat—pushing her name to his lips—as he longed for her.

                Too late. “I am...” Standing in this chamber of beautiful                     horror, he felt less than nothing. But he had let too many he loved walk away                     without a word. This time he would speak. He straightened, locking his elbow so                     the spear filled the space between them. “I am a prince from the land of Oregon,                     and I have come to reclaim my love.”

                With a hushed gasp, the crowd drew back another step, even                     farther than the iron had pushed them.

                The Queen did not flinch though. “How tiresome that your love                     left you behind. Not even your iron could keep her in place.”

                He didn’t flinch either, but he knew she’d seen something of                     the remembered pain in his face because she smiled. He pictured the mountain                     lion’s bloody fangs when it snarled at him.

                He straightened. “In truth, she might not have known how I felt                     when she left.”

                “Ah, truth.” The Queen swept a hand to encompass the room.                     “Then by all means, proclaim yourself now, and let her step forward if she feels                     the same.”

                The way the Queen said feels raised                     his hackles, and Josh shook his head. “And have you kill her where she stands?                     No. I’ll find her myself.”

                He took a step forward and the crowd fell back again. His heart                     thudded hard. Would Adelyn be willing to come through the pain and the exposure                     of having her glamour stripped away by the iron? Should he even ask it of                     her?