To Catch a Queen (26 page)

But she knew that when you’re riding into a palace at the head of an army, you’ve got to make the right impression, so she’d had Eamon give her the full treatment. She wondered if the camera on her phone would capture the reality or the glamour. It would be fun to have a picture of this.

The reaction of the gathered population of the Realm as she rode down the hill was everything she’d hoped it would be. They didn’t know that the queen was inside the palace already, so the richly attired woman surrounded by armored knights arriving at the palace must have made total sense to them.

She raised a regal hand to quiet the cheers that rose as she entered the grounds. “Thank you, my people!” she called out. “It does my heart great good to see you all here. But you should know that I didn’t call you to this place. The so-called queen within the palace is an impostor. Will you support me in claiming my throne from her?”

Their roar was very satisfying. Emily couldn’t help but smile. Then she remembered that her sister, the true queen, was also inside the palace, and she had no idea what Sophie might be up to. As she kicked her horse into motion to head toward the palace doors, she decided that adding confusion to the situation should help in the short term, since Sophie could definitively prove her right to the throne.

Two of her soldiers went ahead to open the great palace doors, and she rode straight into the throne room.
I have
got
to do a fantasy movie,
she thought to herself as she forced herself not to grin like an idiot about living out this scenario. She wasn’t sure if it was happy accident or more of Eamon’s handiwork when a beam of light hit her just so, right as she dramatically declared, “This queen is an impostor!”

She kept riding forward, the stunned attendees clearing the way, and she had to fight not to wince when she saw Sophie standing at the foot of the dais in full queen mode, with Jen on the dais and still in her regalia. And not too far away was Nana, looking like a redheaded Queen Elizabeth II in her suit and hat. Oops. Now everyone was going to wonder which queen she meant was the impostor.

Michael, who looked utterly exhausted, stood with his arm around Jen, which meant at least something had gone well—for Michael. Emily glanced at her sister. No one else would have noticed anything was wrong, but Emily knew Sophie well enough to know that her heart was breaking in two. Emily shook her head fondly. Only Sophie would be so noble as to put herself at risk to help the man she loved get back together with his long-lost wife. No wonder she was still single.

Jen’s eyes clouded again and she pulled away from Michael. “She is the impostor!” She pointed straight at Emily.

“Am I?” Emily asked. “What about her?” She pointed at her grandmother. “Or her?” She turned to indicate her sister.

Jen looked from Nana to Sophie, and she looked confused. She shook her head and blinked, like she was trying to clear the cobwebs. “I’m not really the queen, either,” Jen called out, raising her voice so it would be heard throughout the throne room. “She’s the real queen.” She pointed at Sophie. “The crown belongs to her.”

Niall lost all his suave cool at that. “What did I tell you?” he snarled as he rushed toward Jen and Michael. A blade appeared in his hand, and he brought it down on Jen. Or where Jen would have been if Michael hadn’t gotten in the way.

Emily, Jen, and Sophie all cried out at once, and Emily thought she heard other voices. Jen caught Michael as he fell, and Emily saw a flash of metal as Sophie picked up a sword from the ground and ran it through Niall in one fluid movement. Orla lunged toward her husband, but was tackled by the other fairy rulers.

Emily wasn’t sure what it looked like when a fairy died. They were essentially immortal, so they didn’t age or get sick, but supposedly they could be killed. Niall just vanished, along with the sword sticking through his body. Was that a fairy death, or had something else happened?

But that wasn’t Emily’s main concern at the moment. She jumped off her horse and ran toward where Jen cradled Michael on the steps of the dais. Sophie was already sitting beside them, and Eamon, Amelia, Athena, Nana, and Beau weren’t far behind.

Jen searched her husband for wounds. “I don’t understand. There should be blood, shouldn’t there? But he’s unconscious, and so pale.” She stroked his face. “Michael, please, wake up. I’m sorry, so, so sorry. This is all my fault.”

“No, it’s not,” Sophie told her, a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “You got caught up in something far bigger than you know.”

Emily knelt by her sister and squeezed her hand in silent support. Sophie was holding it together pretty well, but Emily could tell she was on the verge of snapping. “What is it, Soph? Is there something you need me to do?” Emily asked.

“I think it was a magical weapon,” Sophie said, freeing her hand from Emily’s after a quick squeeze so she could examine Michael. “No blood, but maybe a curse. He was hit earlier with something similar, so maybe this triggered that spell to make it worse.”

“Can you break it?” Jen asked tearfully.

“I don’t know. But you may be able to,” Sophie replied.

“How?”

“We’re in a fairy tale, and he just won your freedom. Kiss him.”

In spite of the magnitude of the situation, Jen raised a skeptical eyebrow, like she thought Sophie had to be joking. “Kiss him?”

“You’re in the fairy world and your husband is under a curse,” Sophie shot back. “Haven’t you ever seen a Disney movie? If it doesn’t work, I’ll think of something else.”

“We’re working on it,” Amelia called out from where she and Athena were digging through their bags and arguing softly with each other. Beau waddled over and plopped down against Michael’s legs, nudging him with his nose. Emily figured he’d make a good plan B. She was sure the dog was awfully fond of Michael. His wife was probably a better candidate for a loving kiss, though. Emily had to admit that it would also be interesting to see if Sophie could save him. She certainly loved him enough, but that would open up a whole can of worms and maybe inspire a soap opera or two.

“Okay, if you think it’ll work,” Jen said. She bent to kiss Michael on the lips.

Emily realized she was holding her breath as they all waited to see what would happen. Sophie might have looked more anxious than Jen did. She’d gone absolutely ashen, tears trickled down her cheeks, and her lips moved in a silent prayer. Emily took her sister’s hand again, and Sophie clutched it hard enough to crack her knuckles.

It felt like hours later, but it really was probably only a few seconds before the color started returning to Michael’s face. His breathing became audible, and then his eyes opened to meet Jen’s. “Hey there,” he whispered, and she broke into sobs as she collapsed onto him. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her.

Sophie’s shoulders shook ever so slightly, and she took a few long, deep, shuddering breaths, willing herself back under control. Emily squeezed her hand again and vowed to find someone more available to set Sophie up with, as soon as possible. Pining over a married man—even if his wife was a captive in fairyland—wasn’t healthy, especially not for someone with no relationship track record.

“I believe we came here for a coronation,” a nearby voice said. Emily looked up to see the tall, red-haired fairy who’d kicked all this off by demanding that Jen put on the crown before she’d kneel to her as ruler. “And we seem to have a candidate as queen.”

Moving as though in a dream, Sophie released Emily’s hand and stood. “Yes, I claim the throne,” she said, sounding amazingly steady for someone who’d been so shaken a moment ago.

“Then you must put on the crown.”

Sophie practically floated up the dais steps and sat in the throne Jen had vacated. The fairy gestured toward the handmaidens, who brought over the flowery pillow with the crown resting on it. Sophie took the crown and placed it on her own head.

If there’d been any doubt who the true queen was, it would have been erased by what happened next. When Sophie took the crown in the real palace, it had come to life. Here, the fake palace disappeared, leaving Sophie sitting on a large stone on a grassy mound in the middle of a field. There was no longer a distinction between the fairies inside the palace and those gathered outside, so the entire Realm was there to see their queen.

Although the setting was simpler, it seemed to Emily more authentic, more like the fae really should be. There was something wild about it, under the sky—or what passed for a sky in the Realm—and surrounded by nature. Sophie had dropped the illusion of royal robes and instead wore a simple knit dress with a full skirt that draped over the rock where she sat. Even without the jewels and rich fabric, she radiated regal power.

Every fairy in the valley fell to his or her knees. Jen raised herself to her knees, and Michael joined her after glancing around. Nana raised an eyebrow before gracefully lowering herself. Amelia and Athena were already on the ground, but they adjusted their postures to look more respectful. Beau got up with a deep, snorting sigh, climbed the mound, and settled down against Sophie’s ankles. Emily normally would have ground her teeth at the idea of kneeling before her big sister, but this one time it felt right. After all, she’d presented herself as a candidate for queen, and that meant she had to acknowledge the real one or risk looking like a traitor. She knew Sophie wouldn’t string her up, but she didn’t want to make any bets on what Sophie’s more ardent followers might do.

And it did seem like she might have a few fans. The free fae must have been somewhat appeased by the disappearance of the palace, like Sophie was getting rid of the symbols of oppression, or something, because they were kneeling just like everyone else.

Sophie gestured for them all to rise. “I don’t ask anyone to kneel to me. I ask only that you keep the peace with each other and with the world above.”

She frowned then, or maybe she was squinting in an effort to see in the distance. Emily turned to follow her gaze and saw what looked like a forest fire on the edge of the valley. Even as Emily watched, it grew larger.

“What is that?” Michael asked, speaking for everyone.

From where she lay pinned by the other rulers, Orla cackled. “The Hunt, it rides!”

“Oh dear,” Sophie said with a soft sigh.

The Mound

Next

How could she have forgotten the Hunt? Sophie wanted to kick herself. Then again, it wasn’t as though she hadn’t had other things begging for her attention. She’d managed to help Michael free his wife from fairy thrall, had taken out the person trying to usurp her throne, and had reclaimed her rightful place in the Realm. It would be perfectly understandable if she let a few little details slip her mind. Unfortunately, the Hunt didn’t count as a little detail, and it was heading straight for her. If it kept on this course, it would trample the assembled masses and her, probably on its way out of the Realm to menace the human world. She couldn’t let that happen.

But she wasn’t sure what to do about it. She didn’t recall anything in the folklore about fighting or stopping the Hunt, only that looking directly at them might leave one vulnerable to being taken by them to the fairy realm. They were already in the Realm, so that was a moot point, and none of the folklore said anything about what danger the Hunt posed to the fae.

She tried accessing the fairy queen’s information to find how they must have been bound in the past, but nothing useful came to mind. Turning to her grandmother, she said, “Nana, do you have any ideas? I know you told me stories about the Hunt.”

“Theoretically, they should answer to the true queen of the Realm.”

“I guess that’s a starting point.” Sitting still on her rock, Sophie let her senses extend until she was tapped into the Realm itself, a part of its fabric. Then, with all her might, she thought
STOP!

The flashing whirlwind didn’t stop its advance. “Rats,” she muttered to herself. One thing she could do, though, was seal the Realm to keep them out of the human world. She tightened the barriers. Now they’d
have
to stop the Hunt, or else she, Michael, Jen, Emily, Nana, Amelia, and Athena would be trapped here forever, the Realm entirely cut off from the human world, with both sides left the poorer for it.

As the Hunt rode toward them, Sophie began to understand all the legends about it, the reasons people heard it in storms and hid their faces until the tempest passed. The fae gathered in the valley scattered ahead of the thundering hooves and fiery eyes, but the Hunt no longer rode on the ground. They were rising into the sky, looking ever more like a raging thunderhead as light flashed through the dark, roiling clouds. Everyone around her screamed and ducked as the Hunt passed overhead, and Beau whimpered as he burrowed under Sophie’s skirts, but she refused to be cowed. She glared defiantly upward, seeking and holding the gaze of the horned leader’s fathomless eyes.

Then they were gone, vanished into the distance. Emily rose from her duck-and-cover posture and said, “You’ve got to stop them! They’ll be riding to our world.”

“I’ve closed off the Realm,” Sophie said. “I still need to stop them so you can get out, but it’s not quite as urgent.”

“What about the Borderlands?” Michael asked. “They may not be able to open or use a portal, but could they squeeze through the passages?”

Sophie felt sick to her stomach. “Oh. You’re right. They won’t be able to ride through as a herd, and the openings will be limited, but they could get through.”

“Or they could just blast wider openings,” Amelia said, her eyes grim.

“Yeah, we don’t want that,” Sophie said absently, even as her mind was frantically spinning to come up with a plan. “We need to head them off.” Raising her voice, she called out to the army of free fae that had followed Emily into the palace. “Can you track them?”

“Yes, my queen!” a fierce-looking female fairy called out. She was already swinging herself back into her saddle.

“Then go, and leave a trail.” The woman nodded, and she kicked her horse into a gallop, disappearing into the distance, leaving a line of shimmering gold behind her. Sophie turned to her friends. “I think I have an idea for how to neutralize the Hunt, but for that I’ll need humans with me. I hate to ask all of you to go into battle, but I don’t think this will be a physical fight.”