Flicker (11 page)

In fact, as long as Umbriel remained unaware of her darker side, she saw no reason to attempt to change herself. She’d come this far, gotten everyt
hing she wanted
. Why change now?

But now Umbriel was looking at her almost as if he could see her,
really
see her, behind the veil of her love, and into the darker place inside.

“The boy,” she muttered finally. “He seemed harmless enough.”

“
I
would have prefer
red to forget the matter entirely,” Umbriel continued, ignoring her comment. “
The girl was pl
easant, but not irreplaceable. I could have a dozen painters brought here tomorrow if I wished. I would offer
my sincerest forgiveness in exchange for a smile.”

For a moment, she had hope. Then she saw the expression in his eyes: They looked as if a layer of frost had settled over them. She felt nothing but their chill.

“But it isn’t a
s simple as that.
Queen Feronia is displeased with you. She thinks you impetuous. She thinks you other thing
s, as well.” He shook his head.

“I know that,” Byrony replied stiffly. “Since you first presented me to the Court, Feronia has wanted nothing more than to
part us
and see you safely married to a noble.”

“
Indeed she has. But
Feronia has
also
continually reminded me that
I must be in harmony w
ith the one
who rules
beside me,” Umbriel
said
.
“
With that, at least, I agree. My consort must be both capable in helping me rule, and mindful of my authority.”

Byrony
colored. That description brought only one person to mind.

“Would you make me into Carri
ck?” she asked, sharper than she’d intended
. “I am not he.”

She
knew Carrick, Umbriel’s beloved friend and fierce protector, all too well.
Since childhood, he had
lived
for Umbriel
, becoming whatever the prince needed
, just as Byrony did. And like Byrony, he was deeply in
love with Umbriel.

At first, they despised
each
another on basic principle. Later, they despised
each other
for the secrets they knew, and the dangers they posed.
Carrick was
highly
percep
tive: He sensed
By
rony was jealous and flawed
, though
he didn’t realize
how much
. In turn,
she
recognized the true natu
re of Carrick’s love
, which could
potentially
complicate their
relationship, should anyone
discover it.

Though Carrick made no attempt to disguise his disdain for Byrony when they were alone, he hid
it from Umbriel. S
everal of the Prince’s
previous
sweethearts had proved less than
faithful
; he would be
hurt
to know his dearest friend couldn’t stand the only one who
was
true.

What Carrick did
n’t know was that
Byrony had orchestrated the exposures of many of those faeries. She had fabricated crimes for those who had committed none, as well as evidence. It had been the only way to remove them from the picture, and to clear her path toward Umbriel.

“Carrick is dear to me,” Umbriel said, interrupting her thoughts. “But he is nothing compared to you.”

“Then why does Carrick accompany you to Court?” she demanded.
Her voice was rough with anger.
“Why does Carrick stan
d beside you before
the Queens? Why am I left to wait for your return to this realm?”

“You kno
w Feronia does not approve,” Umbriel sighed.
“
She doesn’t understand
. The Daoine Sidhe have always ruled the Summer Court, and Feronia loathes the idea of—of—”

Byrony’s voice lowered to a growl. “One of the
lesser fey
joining your ranks,” she finished. “And she makes no secret of her feelings to the Court. The nobles
sneer at me, Umbriel. They laugh behind their hands at the dirty dryad, and Feronia laughs loudest of all.”

“Just as they whisper about me,” he contested. “
Never to my face, but I hear them all the same.
Feronia thinks me mad for loving y
ou. She
prefers the daughters of the noble clans, and the Court follows her lead. She hopes to shame me into
choosing another, but
I love only you.”

She let him stroke
her cheek and run one hand through her hair, reveling in his touch
. “I know that
,
”
she said.

“Then you understand
that
Feronia makes
this
decree, not I.”

“W
hat more says Feronia?”
Byrony’s
voice
wavered, not so much with fe
ar as with fury
.

“She demands that you prove yourself worthy to sit beside me,
” Umbriel said,
“
and rule as Queen of Springtime.” He sounded as if he were flinching at his own words, stung by them.

“And what task has she set?”

“You shall go to the human world and fetch the girl. Bring her to the site of the Ceremony when the Court has assembled, and Queens Feronia and
Cressida
shall grant you absolution. If you fail, you will be
…
” Umb
riel let the sentence hang
.

Banished.
It was a common enough punishment. But Feronia was a fierce Queen, and given her dislike of Byrony, even execution wasn’t entirely out of the question. Byrony felt a brief, stabbing pain in her gut. Banishment or execution. She couldn’t decide which was worse.

If only there had been a way to remove Feronia from play before now. Byrony could think of a dozen ways it could be done. Her favorite fantasy involved enchanting a serving maid into slipping a few poisonous spores into Feronia’s wine. Then Byrony would watch—from a
safe
distance, of course—as the spores took root in Feronia’s throat, and see dark flowers and corpse-pale mus
hrooms crowd the Queen’s
mouth, choking her.

But setting up a few of Umbriel’s sweethearts was one thing; killing a queen was another. To arrange the deed, Byrony would have to ferret out nobles and servants with motive—faeries to which she almost never had access—then plant enough evidence and alter enough memories
through enchantment
to throw suspicion in many directions, none of them near her.

This sort of work was detailed, difficult, and relied too much on chance. She had no way of anticipating the perfect opportunity, and no way to ensure she would go undetected. Byrony couldn’t afford to make such a move if there were even a chance of discovery.

Now she regretted never taking a chance.

“I would not be parted from you,”
Byrony
choked.

“Nor I from you. But Feronia has spoken.”

She fu
mbled for words, but none came.

“You will leave on Samhain
,” Umbriel continued softly, “and return by the
coronation
. We are not to see
each
another other until the
coronation
. If
you return without the girl
…
Well, perhaps it would be better if
you did not return
. Do you understand?”

She nodded, feeling very far away from herself. The human world was a vast, poisonous place
, with few trees
; the mortals were
too numerous to find just one
. She would be weak there, vulnerable. How could s
he find the girl
?

But i
t was useless. Now that Feronia had spoken, there was nothing to do but her will.

Feronia played at politics the way she played chess
—shrewdly, always thinking about her next move
. In this game
, Feronia was the queen, and Byrony a p
awn. Normally,
there was no comparing their strengths. But if a pawn was clever and evaded the ire of stronger pieces, if it moved strategically,
if it refused to yield,
there were ways it might advance. Way
s it might become a queen
.

Byrony held onto that thought as she nodded, though her whole body shivered with anger and with dread. “I understand.”

* * *

Growing up, Lee always had something to read
. She never had to go far in her mom’s used book store to
find another
lovely
old book of folklore and fairy tales
, filled with illustrations of gods, demons and other creatures that weren’t so easily identified
, all described in tight, black academic type
.
She
would immerse herself in the same stories over and over again
—tales of changelings and brownies, elves and banshees
.

All things considered, Lee kne
w a thing or two about faeries.

At least, she thou
ght she did.

“Faeries?” Lee
echoed
. “
Is that
seriously
the best you
guys
can do
?”

Filo sighed wearily. He was sitting on the far end of the bed, opposite her. “For the
last time
,” he insisted.
“
We didn’t kidnap you. If we h
ad,
I’m sure
we would’ve given you b
ack by now.
”

She scowled at him. “You just told me a story about faeries
that
live in the woods and kidnap
people.
Do you really expect me to buy that?”

“We’re not making this up,” Nasser insisted. He was leaning against the wall by the window, his hands in his pockets.
“Sometimes
humans are
kidnapped
and kept in faerie revels
, for entertainment
.
Sometimes humans just wander in
. Either one could have happened to you.”

“You’re out of your mind,” Lee said, though a small, annoying voice in the back of her mind told her that, if nothing else, these boys knew their folklore. “
Both of you.
Just let me go.”

Nasser sighed. “There’s a lot of stuff to work out before you go anywhere. I’m
really
sorry.”

Something in his voice made Lee half-believe him. At the very least, she got the sense that he re
ally was sorry about whatever
was happening.

Near the door,
Neman
was seated quietly, watching them. She wasn’t quite as beautiful as Lee first thought—her features were too sharp and avian to be called that. But she was an interesting subject. Inte
resting, and frightening: Instead of fingers,
Neman
had long, cruel talons, as dark and shiny as her oil-black eyes.
Lee told herself that they were prosthetic
s, something from a costume shop
, but the sight of them was unnerving. Not to mention her wings.

Neman
’s huge black wings were folded across her back now, but they moved naturally with every shift of her body, like they really were extra appendages.

Animatronics,
Lee thought fervently.
Some kind of gadget
. They must be.

“She doesn’t believe me, Nasser,” Filo complained. “She
’s not even listening.
”

“Please be quiet, Filo,” Nasser requested
, rubbing his eyes
.

“Shouldn’t you be out looking for your brother?”
Filo said darkly.

“I’ve been all over Bridgestone already. No one has any idea where he is. And he took his guitar with him. He could be
anywhere
.”

“Maybe he skipped town.”

Nasser gave Filo a look t
hat chilled even Lee.

“I was just throwing out ideas,” Filo muttered.
“It’s not like—”