Dead Man's Deal The Asylum Tales - By Jocelynn Drake Page 0,62

She was partially hidden in shadows thrown down by a nearby bank of trees.

As Trixie lifted her foot to the first of two steps leading up to the gazebo, I placed my free hand against her stomach, halting her. “Wait,” I said under my breath as I sent a small spell swirling about the gazebo, checking for other spells the elves might have used while unraveling any glamour cast on the area. To my surprise, there was none.

“You don’t trust us?” asked a melodious feminine voice.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s that life has taught me to be cautious, Your Majesty,” I said with a bow of my head toward her.

“That is fair,” she said in an even voice. “Please, enter so that we may talk.”

I dropped my hand from Trixie’s stomach and allowed her to enter first. The guard moved back to the entrance behind me as I stepped before the queen. Seated on a bench with white and pale yellow cushions, she appeared to be quite young, with soft blond hair piled high on her head with jeweled clips. She had the same green eyes as Trixie, but the queen’s were cold as they looked us over, while Trixie’s seemed to twinkle with laughter. Her wispy dress was an ice blue, lending her a cold air. Was she as cold as she seemed? Had she been like this before her husband had started chasing after Trixie? It would explain a few things.

Trixie deeply curtsied before the queen while I dipped into an awkward bow that caused her to give a little giggle as she picked up a delicate cup and saucer from a little table near her knee. “How refreshing! A warlock paying me court,” she said before taking a sip of her tea. “I’d almost be willing to brush this all aside to have you wait on me every day for the rest of your life.”

I clamped my mouth shut, tapping down a dozen different comments, ranging from informative to snide. None of them would help and Trixie didn’t need more problems heaped onto her.

The queen took another sip of tea before placing the cup and saucer on the table again. She turned her gaze on Trixie, her eyes narrowing as she examined her from head to toe. Trixie had chosen to wear an ankle-length floral skirt and long-sleeved blouse that made her look extremely delicate and feminine. It was the most conservative outfit I had ever seen her in and she looked beautiful. Unfortunately, I didn’t know if that would help or hurt her.

“You’ve gotten lovelier,” the queen announced, folding her hands in her lap. “I think I shall take some pleasure in seeing my dear husband’s face when I tell him that I not only saw you but that you’ve gotten even more beautiful since you were last with the court.”

“Please, Your Majesty,” Trixie said, tightly grasping her hands before her. “You must believe me. I don’t want him.”

“Oh, I believe you,” she said with a cold little smile. “It’s the only reason I haven’t sent my own guards to kill you. Allowing you to live out of my husband’s grasp is a far more exquisite torture for him than him believing you dead.”

“Don’t you think enough lives have been disrupted and destroyed by this little game?” I demanded before I could stop myself.

The queen looked up at me, her smile growing even frostier. “I bow to your wisdom on that point. Only a warlock would know what is enough when it comes to destroying lives.”

I inwardly cursed myself, the Towers, and the elves. I should have kept my mouth shut, but it had become apparent that I was going to have to answer for the crimes the Towers had committed on the elves.

As the queen turned her attention back to Trixie, her smile dimmed. “You realize I did not have to agree to this meeting. I could have killed your brother when he requested it. When you arrived, I could have had you killed, and that would have ended my headache after too many long years. I still might.”

“Ah . . . but you have agreed to the meeting,” said a man as he leisurely strolled past the guards and into the gazebo. “And at such a horribly early time of day.” I twisted to watch him walk behind Trixie and me before stopping next to the queen’s little bench. His dark blue eyes drifted over me for only a second before