Wisteria’s mouth fell open when she saw her room at the Seelie Court for the first time. It was almost an exact copy of Virelai’s. She’d thought, for some reason, that the faeries would know she was a servant, and therefore, deserved less than someone like Virelai.

  She stood in the center of the room, spinning around to take it all in. It felt like a palace to her when she compared it to the tiny bedroom she’d known for most of her life. Even before she’d become a servant in the castle, her family’s apartment had been small and crowded with all her siblings. This space was entirely her own.

  But only for as long as they were in the Seelie Court, which, as far as Wisteria knew, could be as little as only a few more minutes.

  She had better follow Virelai’s example and take a bath immediately because who knows when she would next have a chance? Then again, maybe her bathing chamber was the part of her room that differed from Virelai’s, and it wouldn’t have a tub.

  Wisteria held her breath and ducked through the doorway.

  It was the exact same as Virelai’s, down to the stand next to the tub with its little bottles. Wisteria couldn’t help the squeal of excitement as she rushed to turn on the water and sniff the offerings.

  After her bath, Wisteria re-dressed in her old clothes—the dress she’d taken from Virelai’s house and modified to fit herself. She would have liked something new, or at least something cleaner, but it wasn’t like she could go begging the faeries for clothes after they’d already given her this nice room.

  She’d only just finished tying her laces when someone knocked on her door.

  “Coming,” she called. She expected it must be Virelai or Seraiah, come to tell her they were leaving.

  Wisteria took one last look around her room. Well, it was nice while it had lasted. It was a shame she hadn’t gotten to use the bed because it looked much more comfortable than the ground she’d spent the last few days sleeping on.

  But when Wisteria opened the door, she was startled to find the faery girl from the woods.

  “For you,” the girl said, shoving a mass of purple fabric at her.

  “I—what?”

  Between one blink and the next, the faery girl was gone without another word. Wisteria stuck her head into the hall, but it was empty.

  “Odd,” she said, stepping back into the room and shutting the door behind her. “What could this be?”

  She held up the purple bundle and gasped when she realized it was a dress and a pair of matching slippers

  “There must be some mistake,” she said to no one. “How did they know?” She spun back to the door, which was still shut. Could they see her? Had someone watched her take a bath?

  She was still staring at the door, wondering how they had done it, when there was another knock.

  Wisteria ripped it open. “How did you—oh, Prince Kaimana!”

  “Hello, Wisteria. Were you expecting someone else? Is there a problem?” He looked from her to the purple dress she was holding up in the air behind her.

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  Wisteria slowly lowered it, being careful to bundle it up again, so it didn’t drag on the floor. “Oh, um, no. There’s no problem. It’s just a faery came and dropped this off, and I had been taking a bath and thinking how nice it would be to have a new dress to wear.” She knew she was babbling again, but she couldn’t stop it. “So when they gave me this, I thought maybe they’d somehow been watching me or read my mind, and—”

  Kai cut her off, putting her out of her misery. “There was no mind reading. Seraiah has made a deal with the Summer King, and he has invited us to a feast in our honor. I was coming to tell you you have about an hour to prepare.”

  Wisteria’s cheeks grew warm. She couldn’t believe she’d told the Prince how she’d thought the faeries were reading her mind and watching her take a bath. It was no wonder he hadn’t wanted her to come. “I see. Does this mean things went well? Do we know how to fix the shadows and go back home?”

  “Unfortunately not. We’ve learned very little at this point, but there is the potential we could know more soon. For now, see that you are ready for the feast.”

  “Yes, Your Highness,” Wisteria said, and curtsied. It may have been her imagination, but she thought Kai had looked pained as she shut the door and hurried to get ready.

  It didn’t take long for Wisteria to discard her old dress and slip into the one the faery had provided. It felt so light, she couldn’t help doing a twirl and making the skirt fly out around her. It was also the prettiest light purple color, with tiny slivers of gemstone sewn on it. She thought they must look like little fireflies in the right lighting.

  Wisteria stopped spinning and smoothed her hands down the skirt. This was the finest thing she’d ever worn, and she was never taking it off. Unfortunately, her hair was still wet from her bath, and it wouldn’t dry in time for the feast. If Kestrel had been there, Wisteria might have asked her to use her magic to dry it. Now, her only option was to ask the Prince to use his water magic to pull the water from her strands, but after their last conversation, she didn’t think she was ready for that.

  Oh, but pretty princess Virelai had air magic, didn’t she?

  Wisteria decided she’d rather ask her than Kai. Virelai hadn’t been too terrible lately, so maybe she’d even do it without asking for anything in return. The worst she could do was say no, and then Wisteria would have to go to the feast with wet hair.

  Virelai answered her door dressed in a similar gown to the one Wisteria wore except hers was in a shade of sky blue.

  “Can I help you?”

  Wisteria noted Virelai’s own hair was dry and fell perfectly in deep red waves over her shoulders.

  “Do you think you could dry my hair for me?”

  Virelai stared at her for a long moment, so long Wisteria was about to turn around and go back to her room, when Virelai stepped out of the doorway. “I suppose.”

  “Thank you, thank you. Should I sit or is it better if I stand or—”

  “Just hold still.” Virelai lifted her hands, and Wisteria felt a breeze whisper over her skin. “This would have been faster if you had asked Kaimana instead.”

  “Did you ask him?”

  “Of course not. I could take care of it myself.”

  Wisteria turned to look at Virelai over her shoulder. “Did he tell you about what happened with the Summer King?”

  Virelai turned Wisteria’s head back to facing forward. “Yes, he did.”

  “Do you think it means the Summer King is hiding something? It can’t be that he knows nothing.”

  “I’m sure he is hiding many things, but he is almost certainly hiding information about his sister. Not that it is any of my business.”

  Wisteria turned again. “Of course it’s your business. It’s all of our business. That’s why we’re here.”

  “Hold still.” Virelai ordered, and Wisteria faced front again.

  Several moments passed in silence before Virelai spoke again. “Hypothetically, if I wanted information, I would look to the servants because they always know the most.”

  Wisteria stood straighter. She knew lots of things about the inner workings of Nyrene because she was a servant. Most had a tendency to ignore the servants and think of them as part of the decor, but they had eyes and ears, just like anyone else.

  “Now if I were trying to learn something, I think I would start with that creepy faery girl.”

  “Maescia.”

  “What?” Virelai asked.

  “Maescia. The girl from the woods. Her name was Maescia.”

  “Sure. Maescia, then. She is the one who took us directly to the Summer King and seems to have some kind of relationship with him. If anyone would know something, I think it would be her.”

  The wind tugging at Wisteria’s hair cut off.

  “It’s done,” Virelai announced.

  Wisteria spun around and clapped her hands. “Excellent. Now I know exactly what we will do at the feast tonight.”

  “We?” Virelai echoed, lifting a brow.

  “Yes. You and me. Together, we will find the information we need to get back home.”