Pentangle motioned to Titania. “Next, the elixir.”
Titania handed her the vial of oil and Pentangle took it, motioned for me to kneel. I was holding onto the corners of the stone with my hands, my knees firmly against the smooth surface. Pentangle opened the elixir and held up the dropper.
“Open your mouth, Camille, and stick out your tongue.”
Even though I knew this was a solemn rite, I let out a half-crazed giggle. If she was holding a tongue depressor, this couldn’t be any weirder. I felt like I was undergoing one of the most bizarre physical exams ever. But I stifled my laughter and held out my tongue.
Humor is an important attribute for any member of royalty to have. Again, Pentangle’s voice echoed in my head. I think you’ll find it brings you closer to your subjects than Aeval and Titania are with their own Barrow halls.
Now I did stifle my laugh, hoping neither of the Fae Queens had caught that remark. The last thing I needed was to be held up to comparison to them before I had even gotten to wear the crown.
Pentangle held out the dropper and let one single drop of the glowing oil fall on my tongue. It absorbed into my skin quickly, tasting like blackberries and cream. The next moment, my back began to itch and then—sharp pains burrowed deep below my shoulder blades, twisting like a drill bit boring into my body.
“Don’t scream,” Pentangle cautioned.
I bit my lip, drawing blood as the pain increased. What the hell was happening to me? But as I knelt there, squeezing the rock so hard that I cut the skin on my fingers and blood raced down the sides of the stone, I happened to glance over at Titania and Aeval.
They stood there, the same as always, but now I could see a deep sparkle of color around them—their auras stood out as clearly as if they were illuminated by Morio’s Faerie Fire spell. And from their backs, I could see massive wings unfolding, sparkling with color, transparent and yet luminescent. I realized I had never seen anything like this before. And then, I realized what was going on with my back.
“Wings? I’m growing wings?”
Pentangle nodded, a soft smile on her face. “All Fae Queens wear wings. The Guardian of the Keraastar Diamond? She was the spirit of the stone, a Fae Queen who gave her life to protect the gem until the rightful owner came along so many thousands of years later. And now you, too, bear the mark of a Fae Queen.”
“I saw her wings.”
“She allowed you to. You’ll have that choice as well, but guard wisely who you allow to see them. There are reasons we hide them and you will learn as you go along.”
At that moment, the skin felt like it split wide on my back. I groaned, stifling the shriek that came to my lips. The next moment, the pain was gone and I felt the gentle waving of wings behind me. I shifted, and they moved in the wind. As I weakly sat back, they moved along with me, but weren’t impeded by the ground or plants or the stone itself.
“Your wings are visible only to other Fae Queens and various beings of such sort. You will see them in the mirror, but your loved ones won’t. Your wings mark you as royalty in the Fae world such as no other heads of state.”
“Does Tanaquar have them?” I asked. “And Lethesanar?”
“No,” Myrddin said. “They may rule Court and Crown, but they are not Fae Queens such as Aeval or Titania. Or you, now.” He had been standing back, watching all of this unfold, and now he crossed to Aeval’s side. It was then that I saw that he—too—bore wings.
“You, too?”
He nodded. “I may be the Arch Druid, but I am also of the Fae realm and Fae nobility.”
Aeval held out her hand. “Come, stand. Then walk into the lake and rinse off, and then, we have a coronation to attend.” She was smiling kindly. So was Titania.
“I remember getting my wings,” Titania said softly. “So very long ago. I was so afraid.”
“I was too.” Aeval glanced over at me. “I think what marked Morgaine as different…was that she wasn’t afraid. She was cocky and too certain of her entitlement. It was her undoing in the end.”
I didn’t want to talk or think about Morgaine at this point. I was having a hard time even processing what had occurred already, so much had happened. Aeval and Titania led me to the edge of the lake—only a few yards away—and I cautiously walked into the water until I was waist deep. I ducked my head under, immersing myself. My wings felt light and shimmering as I waved them in the current, shaking off what was basically their amniotic fluid. And then, a similar rush of joy to what I had felt when the Keraastar Diamond was placed around my neck hit me and I rose from the water, feeling reborn into a new strength. As I stepped out from the water a glow centered in my heart, and it reverberated through the diamond.