The Traitor Queen

Chapter Twenty-Three

I spent the rest of the day searching through the castle in an attempt to find my mother. Although there were only a few regular places she visited, the High Fae Queen was proving as elusive to find as a ghost that could phase through walls. It was frustrating yet worrying at the same time. I needed to find her to question her about what Mace had mentioned at the ball.

The sigh that left my chest was shaky, my shoulders tense. Whenever I usually got too stressed, I would ask Sabre and Auron if they wanted to head over to The Lost and Found to have some drinks together, but now that wasn't exactly possible. There was a rift between all of our friendships and now that I knew Mace knew about the hidden village and tavern, I didn't feel like I could relax there.

After wandering around for a few hours buried in my thoughts and questioning servants about her location, I found my mother sitting in the council room. She wore a tight-fitted lilac gown with only a few layers of skirts. Made out of a gold material were mimicked tree branches. They curled around her bare shoulders, as if they were alive and clinging to her for dear life. Hanging from her pointed ears were clear jewels shaped like raindrops. They reflected in the sunlight, casting miniature rainbows across the walls.

"Ah, Kay!" The queen smiled sweetly. "What a lovely surprise."

I had to resist rolling my eyes. Even though other important matters had arisen, I still hadn't forgotten about how she had pushed me into a new engagement with Lady Lorella without warning.

"I need to ask you something." Just as I was about to question her about Mace, something else crept into my mind. "How was your talk with Lorella's father? How is the lord doing?"

"He's doing quite wonderfully for the current situation with Racaea. Lord Crowe seems to be excited that his soldiers are finally getting used for something." She wasn't angry at the fact, just somewhat bewildered. "I managed to convince him to lend us his soldiers and money if need be, so we have additional reinforcements if things take a turn for the worse."

"That's a relief." I couldn't help but wonder how she had persuaded him. "Though, I spoke to Lorella the other day after you made me-"

"Yes?" My mother beamed like a child about to receive a new toy. "How did it go? Did you two get along well? You're going to need to if you'll be ruling Racaea together."

This time, I did roll my eyes. "That's not what I was going to get at, though I suppose the tour went well enough." Of course she never truly cared for Sabre, for who I had claimed to be in love with over breakfast. It was all only a show to see if she was worthy enough to marry me and rule our kingdom by my side. "Lorella mentioned that her father wants to attack Icrodeia at the slightest inconvenience. This isn't what I originally came here to talk to you about, but did Lord Crowe mention anything about that to you?"

The High Fae Queen paused to think. "He didn't say anything specific about that, but he more or less implied he would like to attack them. Why? Do you think that's a bad thing?"