What I assumed would be a room, wasn’t. We were in a small clearing. Pale trees, their bare branches weighted with snow, ringed the clearing, including behind me. Which meant the door I’d passed through had vanished. Great.
The Winter Queen paced several feet in front of me. She was a vision of Sleagh Maith beauty. Tall and lithe, her snow-white gown clung to her, accentuating her understated but feminine curves. Her dark hair hung around her heart-shaped face in perfect ringlets, glistening ice crystals kissing the curls. She was entrancing, either her magic or her presence making those around her wish to please her, to admire her. I’d had to fight the pull of those enchantments the first time I’d met her. Today it was simpler as she was making no attempt to dazzle me. In fact, I wasn’t sure she’d noticed we’d entered the room. Her full red lips were tugged downward in a scowl and her movements were jerky, her fingers clutching the skirt of her gown as she paced.
Behind her, a long mahogany table was out of place in the snow-covered clearing. Four fae sat around the table. One I recognized on sight: Ryese, the queen’s nephew. Saying he smiled at me when he caught my gaze would be an overstatement. It was more a smug glower. He lifted a crystal flute filled with golden liquid in a silent toast, and my stomach made a painful twist.
Ryese had spent the last couple of months trying to seduce me, and while he was handsome enough—most Sleagh Maith were unearthly gorgeous—arrogant entitlement didn’t appeal to me. My continual rejection irritated him, and more than once I’d glimpsed a very nasty cloud of anger behind his pretty features. His eyes, with irises so light they almost looked white except for a pale blue outer ring, gleamed in the fae light, and the mocking greeting made me fear the worst about why I may have been summoned to court.
Beside him sat a female Sleagh Maith. Her chestnut-colored hair was piled high on her head and woven through with mistletoe, the white berries hanging down like gems around her face. Her gown was the color of an evergreen dusted with snow and decorated with more mistletoe accents. She studied me with inquisitive eyes as green as my own, but her features were carefully placid, controlled.
Across from her was a blond-haired fae. At first glance I assumed he was just another Sleagh Maith, but something about the arrangement of his features made me second-guess that assessment. It was nothing I could point to and say that one thing made him different. It was the height of his forehead, the width between his eyes, the shape of his ears, the angle of his jaw—nearly every feature—was just a little off, a little more other, than the other Sleagh Maith I’d met.
The last fae at the table was another male Sleagh Maith. He had dove-white hair pulled back in a stern knot at the base of his skull. His brown frock coat was austere and unadorned aside from holly leaf buttons and cuff links. He gave me only a cursory glance before his attention returned to his queen.
My gaze also slid back to the queen, who still paced the length of the clearing. She whispered something under her breath in that chimelike language I’d heard other fae use in the past, but while the language might sound pretty, by her tone I guessed it was a curse.
“My queen?” Falin said, his head still bowed.
She whirled around. Her ice blue gaze landed on us with the weight of a glacier. She radiated power, anger, and . . . distress.
The last caught me off guard. I let my eyes wander to the fae at the table again, but none betrayed anything.
“You took your time, Knight.” The queen shoved the skirt from her hands and turned to me. “Lexi, I require your abilities.”
I cringed inwardly at the nickname, but it was the request that made my spine stiffen. My abilities? She couldn’t think I’d merge realities for her, could she? Hell, even if I could fully control the ability, I wouldn’t use it for the queen.
I cut my gaze to Falin, trying to read his take on the situation. He still hadn’t moved and I couldn’t tell anything from his posture. My legs shook from curtsying so long, my knees locking. Shrugging Falin’s hand off my arm, I straightened. The queen lifted one perfectly sculpted eyebrow as I moved, but she didn’t comment on the break in protocol.
“Your majesty, I think there has been some mistake.”
“Oh, there have been mistakes. I’m confident that you will ensure this is not one of them,” she said as her eyes bored into me, sending ice down my spine. “And it is not something you can refuse. You may dismiss my offer of kinship, but as long as you reside within my borders you may not refuse my summons.”
“And I am here, as requested.” I tried to keep my voice light, but the ache in my jaw betrayed the fact I’d been clenching my teeth. I focused on pasting my best professional smile on my face. “But, I have no training in my planeweaving ability. I doubt I can accomplish whatever task you desire.”