Seraiah leaned around Kai and spotted the faery girl in the middle of the path, blocking Wisteria’s and Ren’s horses.

  Kai was the first to dismount and helped Seraiah down. “Leave this to me,” she whispered to him, before stepping between the horses.

  “Hello, Maescia,” Seraiah greeted the faery girl. “It’s good to see you again.”

  Maescia smiled wide, a dimple forming in her left cheek as she revealed her pointed teeth. “Hello, seer. I see you have brought some new friends for me to play with.” Her cat-like eyes shifted over the group. She didn’t ask for introductions.

  “We seek an audience with the Summer King,” Kai said, coming up beside Seraiah.

  She shot him a look. She’d told him she would take care of this. Behind them, the others were dismounting and handing over their horses to the other faeries that had melted out of the trees.

  “Yes, yes, Prince.” Maescia flapped a hand at him. “There will be plenty of time for that soon enough. First, we must play a game.”

  “Not this again.” Seraiah heard Ren mumble.

  “You could at least thank me, necromancer,” Maescia said. “I helped you, remember?”

  “I love games,” Wisteria declared, once again finding her voice and cutting off whatever Ren had been about to say.

  Seraiah sighed inwardly. This was already spiraling out of her control. The only one of their group who seemed able to follow directions was Virelai, who stood on Ren’s other side, with her arms folded over her chest, staring down at the faery.

  “Excellent.” Maescia clapped her hands. “Then I have a game for you. Right this way.”

  “I thought you warned her,” Seraiah hissed to Kai as they followed Maescia through the trees.

  “I did, and I specifically warned her about the games. This is why I didn’t want her to come. Kestrel, at least, has been here before.”

  “If they hadn’t already taken the horses, I’d tell everyone to turn around and go back to Ren’s cabin,” Seraiah said.

  “Even me?” Kai nudged her playfully with his elbow.

  She scowled at him. “Yes, even you. I told you I would take care of it, and then you announced we were seeking an audience with the Summer King. You’re just as bad as everyone else.”

  “I’m sorry,” Kai said. “I wasn’t sure what you had said. I thought you’d asked for assistance.”

  Seraiah huffed and waved him off. “It’s fine. You were the least of the offenders. Now we should be concerned about what game they’re going to make us play.”

  Wisteria’s chatter covered their whispers. She was walking beside Maescia and naming off all of her favorite games.

  Maescia’s initial excitement at finding someone who wanted to play a game appeared to be waning. She wore a pained expression now that Wisteria wouldn’t stop talking.

  “Perhaps there is no time for a game, after all,” Maescia said when Wisteria paused to take a breath. “I’ll need to take you right to the Summer King.”

  “Oh, that is great news,” Wisteria chirped, “but might there be time to play a game later? Perhaps after our audience?”

  As fast as Seraiah’s hopes rose, they came crashing down again. Oh, Wisteria. What are you doing?

  If Seraiah tried to intervene, she risked making it worse.

  “We shall see. Come, come.” Maescia beckoned to the rest of them before taking off at a much faster pace, likely trying to get away from Wisteria before she said anything else.

  Relief coursed through Seraiah as Wisteria gave them a “you’re welcome” look over her shoulder, making it clear this had been her plan all along.

  Virelai smiled and gave Wisteria a nod of approval.

  Maybe Virelai wasn’t as good at following directions as Seraiah had thought if she was encouraging this behavior.

  “Remember,” Kai said, keeping his voice low so only their group could hear, “when we meet with the Summer King, none of you will be doing the talking.” He gave Wisteria a pointed look.

  “Don’t worry. I know the rules. Don’t say anything to the Summer King unless spoken to. I can handle it,” Wisteria promised.

  “Who will be doing the speaking for us, then?” Virelai asked. “You?”

  “No, I will,” Seraiah said. “I have the most experience dealing with the Summer King. As such, I think I am the best equipped to handle this.”

  “Hmm,” Virelai said, flicking her eyes up and down Seraiah as though judging her and finding her lacking.

  “What I can’t do,” Seraiah went on, ignoring Virelai, “is fix the situation if one of you says something you’re not supposed to.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “You have nothing to worry about from me,” Virelai said. “I am merely an observer here.”

  “Ren?” Seraiah called. He’d strode off ahead of them. “Did you hear what I said?”

  He held up a black gloved hand without turning around.

  She took that to mean he understood and would keep quiet like she’d asked.

  “It will be all right,” Kai murmured, only loud enough for her to hear. “We’ll ask our questions and be away from this place. Nothing to worry about.”

  Seraiah didn’t say anything. She had a feeling this was not going to go quite the way Kai expected. The Summer King had a habit of turning the best-laid plans inside out with a few words.

  While they’d been talking, Maescia had disappeared from sight, but having been here twice before, Seraiah wasn’t worried about being lost. All they needed to do was follow the music weaving through the air.

  After a few minutes of walking, they emerged from the trees to find Maescia waiting for them. She beckoned to them again and disappeared into the ruins the Seelie Court called home. Now that Seraiah had paid a visit to the Unseelie Court, the contrast was startling. The Unseelie Court was a quiet, icy perfection of a city, while the Seelie Court seemed to live in squalor by comparison. The majority of the buildings appeared to be falling apart and left to rot, while the few occupied buildings were one storm away from joining them.

  Maescia led them to the Summer King’s dais at the very center of the city and, after a quick bow to her king, she retreated into the crowd of dancing fae.

  “My, my, little seer. You certainly do keep some interesting company,” the Summer King said, looking them over. The golden crown that sat atop his copper curls was pushed so far to the side, Seraiah was surprised it didn’t fall off when he moved.

  The Summer King’s gaze paused on Ren. “I see you found some of the answers you were seeking.”

  Ren dipped his chin in acknowledgment but thankfully, didn’t speak.

  “Now, before we get down to the business of why you are here this time, I’m going to have to ask some of our companions to leave us.”

  Beside her, Kai tensed.

  She touched his wrist, reminding him not to speak.

  “I don’t care for speaking in front of a large audience, you know. Makes me nervous.”

  Seraiah smiled and nodded, unsure if she was meant to laugh at his joke.

  “Let’s see then. You, you, and you can go for now.” He pointed to Virelai, Ren, and Wisteria.

  Good. This would go better for all of them if those three could be elsewhere.

  Wisteria opened her mouth like she was going to protest, but shut it quickly when Virelai took her arm and followed Ren off the dais. The crowd of cavorting faeries swallowed them up.

  “That’s much better,” the Summer King said, settling back in his chair. “I don’t know about you, but the smell of corpse was much too strong for my taste, and you should keep an eye on the one with red hair.”

  “Why is that?” Seraiah asked before remembering she might have to pay for the answer.

  The Summer King grinned. “You shouldn’t ask me questions you already know the answers to. It would be a waste now, wouldn’t it?”

  Seraiah pressed her lips together. The only reason she could think of to keep an eye on Virelai was that she was Gavaran’s daughter, but even she knew there was no love lost between the two, if the way he’d treated her outside of Nyrene was any sign.

  “Tell me, elf prince. What brings you to my Court? I assume you are here because of my sister and yours.”

  “We—” Seraiah started, but cut off when the Summer King waved a hand at her. “The elf prince, please. I’ll get to you next.”

  Kai offered her a reassuring smile before turning to the Summer King. “I am seeking answers to several questions,” he said. “First, I seek a way to remove the shadow creature living inside my sister.”

  Seraiah watched the Summer King’s expression, but he didn’t so much as twitch.

  “Next, I seek answers about what your sister has done to mine and why.”

  The Summer King raised a brow. “Is that all?”

  “No, I have one more. I seek a way to return my kingdom to the way it was before.”

  The Summer King tapped a finger against his lips like he was thinking. “Your sister has been crowned, hasn’t she? Do you mean to take it from her?”

  Seraiah glanced at Kai out of the corner of her eye. She’d never asked him if he would take over ruling the kingdom again or allow Sterling to keep the crown if they managed to find a way to remove the shadows. She’d always thought he hated ruling and wanted to wash his hands of it, but maybe after meeting Sterling, he’d changed his mind.

  “I will do whatever is necessary to preserve the kingdom,” Kai said.

  “How judicious of you. Well, normally, I would charge a hefty fee for my answers, but since you are the prince of Nyrene, I’ll give them to you for free.”

  Seraiah couldn’t keep her eyes from widening. It was almost too good to be true.

  “To the first, I could not say. I know a bit of the shadow creature, but I do not know any better than you how to extricate it. You’ll have to seek counsel elsewhere.”

  Seraiah frowned. It was disappointing to be sure, but she couldn’t say she was surprised.

  “To the second, who says my sister has done anything to yours?”

  “But she was the one who made the potions Gavaran fed to Sterling,” Seraiah burst out.

  The Summer King held up a finger, and Seraiah bit her tongue. “You have your answer already. She did not give it to the elf queen. Therefore, she has done nothing.” He paused and his golden eyes flashed at her. “Yet. You will have to wait to see what she has planned.”

  “I do not need to wait,” Seraiah said. “I already know. She intends to harness the shadow creature for her own purposes.”

  Seraiah felt Kai brush his fingers against hers, a warning like she’d given him earlier.

  She was no better at this than any of the others if she couldn’t keep her head.

  “And how will she do this?”

  “Well, I—I’m not—”

  The Summer King studied his nails, looking throughly unimpressed. “You have not truly seen if you do not know.” He dropped his hand and leaned toward them. “I will give you your last answer, elf prince, and then you will go. The seer and I have a bargain to make.”

  Kai looked at her, and Seraiah nodded. Yes, she could make a bargain on her own. She would do whatever it took.

  “Good. Then to your last question, may I assume you mean you want assistance in returning your kingdom to your possession?”

  Kai nodded. “An army would be best, but anything you might give would help.”

  “Hmm, yes, an army would be lovely, wouldn’t it? But no, you won’t get one from me because what was it you said? I will do whatever is necessary to preserve my kingdom,” the Summer King parroted Kai’s own words back to him. “Now, go. I will take no further questions from you.”

  Kai bowed to the Summer King and retreated from the dais. Seraiah could tell by the set of his shoulders that he was frustrated with the outcome. Now it would be up to her to make this visit worthwhile.

  “Seer, seer. Tell me, did you find the answer to your question of madness?”

  “I did,” she said carefully.

  “Good. Then what is it you seek from me? No, don’t tell me. I will guess.”

  Seraiah waited.

  “You want more visions.”

  “Yes,” she said, forcing herself to not elaborate further. If they didn’t have a way to remove the shadows from Sterling, at least she could keep an eye on her sister.

  “Of course you do. What luck, because I am in need of some visions as well.”

  Dread shivered down her spine. It was as she and Kestrel had feared. The Summer King wanted to use her as the Winter Queen had used her mother.

  “I would also like to know what my sister is planning. I will provide you with the means to see and in exchange, you will become a guest of my Court, and share what you learn. Let us help each other. To preserve the kingdoms. What do you say?”

  Seraiah met the Summer King’s eyes. “Deal.”

  here.