Shadow, a young Cambyra girl who was hovering behind me, snatched them out of my hands. "Allow me, Your Highness. A queen should never make her own tea."
I wanted to remind her that I wasn't Queen yet, but the Fae in the Barrow had already begun to refer to Rhiannon and me as such, and there was no going back.
"Thank you." Feeling conspicuous, I let go of the tea, standing back as she scurried over to a beautiful ceramic pot, hand-thrown, with delicate, hand-painted holly leaves and berries wrapping around the sides. She shooed Peyton out of the way and took over preparing the tea and scones.
We gathered in the seating area. I leaned forward, elbows resting on my knees. I was sitting on an ottoman, thick and comfortable, with a covering made of hand-woven linen, and for just a moment, I closed my eyes and let the warmth seep into my bones.
"What's wrong, Cicely? Is there something more going on than just Geoffrey and Leo's attack?"
With a glance over my shoulder, I sighed and stared into the fire.
"Yeah, a lot more. It seems that the Fang Brothers managed to free Crawl from his prison. He's loose now, somewhere out there on the streets of New Forest, looking for somebody to drink his dinner from. Apparently, Geoffrey is looking to turn me over to him, and Leo's out to kidnap Rhiannon."
There was a sudden hush, then Peyton slapped the table by her chair. "Fuck and fuck again. What are Regina and Lannan doing about this?"
"They have teams canvassing the town, but the truth is…Geoffrey and Leo could be hiding anywhere. Regina's offered to put a guard on the house. Since you guys move in a couple of days down the line, I told them yes—and I want no arguments. At least you'll be safe while you're at home."
"Not necessarily." Kaylin stretched out on an oak bench. It was polished to a sheen, and the workmanship was so detailed that I couldn't imagine how long it had taken to create. "Remember the day-runners? They might still have yummanii helping them."
"True. Which means we'll also station Cambyra guards outside the house during the day. The vamps can take over night duty." I frowned. "Before we left, Regina asked us to watch the morning news on television tomorrow. Apparently Lannan's going to give an announcement that they'll be reading on air."
"We'll have to go out. We can't watch TV here, that's for sure, and the cable hasn't been hooked up at the Veil House yet." Luna stood up, still looking weak, but her cheeks were beginning to glow rosy again. She was a yummanii bard; her magic was in her song. She'd come to us for advice and ended up staying.
I glanced at her. "You okay? You can stand without help?"
She nodded. "So where do we go? And yes, I'm doing better. The food and wine helped a lot. But…I never want to go through that again."
Peyton spoke up. "We can go over to Rex's apartment. He'll be fine with that." Her father had rented an apartment in town not far from the Veil House. Anadey, her mother, was still lurking in the shadows, running her diner, but she hadn't made another attempt to contact Peyton after she'd betrayed us.
"Good, I can charge up my cell phone while I'm there without worrying that somebody up at the house is going to steal it." Even though they were working for Regina, I didn't trust the vamps fixing up the house. Regina had paid for the restorations, though we could have gotten a loan from the Consortium—the magical guild we now rather forcibly belonged to—but for some reason, the Emissary had insisted on footing the bill.
"Soon enough, you must leave your toys and gadgets behind." Lainule's voice tripped lightly over the words and, at her melodic tongue, we turned. All of us rose, and Grieve and Chatter bowed, as Rhia and I dropped into deep curtseys.
"Your Highness…" I hadn't expected to see her. Lainule had been keeping to herself the past few days, except when she had called us in to instruct us in what would be expected.
She looked tired. Regaining her heartstone had saved her life, but it also deposed her as Queen. However, Lainule seemed content to accept her destiny gracefully. The foliage around the Barrow was halfheartedly returning to its former glory. Once we crossed through the portals that cloaked the Marburry Barrow, though, Myst's snows and ice came rampaging back with a fury. But here…here the trees were green again, though with a faint orange glow, like we were at the end of a long summer.
And it truly was the end of summer. At least the end of the summer that had ruled here for who knew how many centuries. Lainule would preside over the initiation and coronation of Rhiannon and me, and then she and my father would leave, forever, back to the Golden Isle. Rhia and I would then be responsible for routing Myst and bringing the balance back to the world.
But for now, she was still here, with us.
She swept into the room and accepted a chair. "Regina contacted me. She warned me of what's going on with Geoffrey and Leo, and the Blood Oracle. You must all be cautious until they are caught and Crawl is back under lock and key. Nothing can go amiss. You must undergo the initiation and coronation without delay."
As she sat there, it almost felt like she was one of us. Regal though she might be, the aura of her rule was fading. It made me want to cry.
"We'll watch out. I promise. I'm also asking the guards to keep an eye on the Veil House during the day to protect Peyton and the others. Regina promised guards at night."
"It heartens me to know you are taking this seriously. Myst must be destroyed. The balance must return. And you, Cicely, must finally visit the Court over which you will be ruling. It's time to see your new home."
The Barrow here would become Rhiannon's new home. When she married Chatter—Grieve's best friend and now soon-to-be King of Summer—they would live here, in the warmth of eternal summer. My own home was destined to be colder, caught in the grips of the eternal winter.
I sucked in a deep breath. The thought of living in perpetual snow and ice frightened me. "I wish…" But I stopped. There was no turning back, no walking away. Wishing for something that wasn't meant to be wouldn't make it happen.
"Yes, my child?" The Queen's gaze rested on me, glorious and yet like fading flowers.
"I can't wait to see my new home." I forced a smile to my face. She knew how I felt, but I wouldn't let her, or my father, down. I picked up the cell phone. "But I will admit, this is one thing I'm going to miss."
"Once you take the throne, you must relinquish some of the trappings that keep you tied to the mortal world. The changes in lifestyle will take some getting used to, but there are wonders, Cicely. There are wonders you haven't even dreamed of yet."