Crown of Moonlight (Court of Midnight and Deception #2) - K.M. Shea Page 0,64
and this sort of hunt are two totally different things.”
“Then it’s the chase you are dissatisfied with?” Skye asked.
Since the hunt was just for royals, both she and Indigo were dressed seasonably for this mid-October weather with bright blue sweaters. Skye was wearing a gray-colored knit cap, while Indigo had chosen a complimentary shade of purple.
“Yeah,” I admitted. “I can’t say I’m super excited about the idea of running after a poor creature until it drops from exhaustion.”
“It is a common-held feeling about fox hunts here in the USA,” Skye acknowledged. “Most fox hunts here are called fox chases because the actual purpose of the hunt is typically to chase the fox until it returns to its burrow. Unfortunately, the annual hunt is more in the ancient tradition, which is why it ends when the prey is slain.”
I let my helmet dangle from my fingertips as I tried not to openly shiver. And yet again I really, really believe these monarchs need better hobbies. Or they should just be working. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how they have all this free time! I mean, what the heck?!
“You can release it, though,” Indigo piped in. “Queen Verdant of the Spring Court wins most years, and she always releases the prey.”
I brightened. “Really?
“Yep.” Indigo nodded and impatiently pushed her curtain of red hair over her shoulders.
I relaxed. “That’s fantastic. Good for Queen Verdant. I never would have guessed she had a kind bone in her body, but that just goes to show me!”
Indigo and Skye exchanged glances.
“Well…” Skye slowly started.
Before she could continue a few dryads emerged from the trees, bearing gleaming trumpets.
“Anyone want to take bets that King Fell arrived?” I asked.
The dryads blew the trumpets, and yep, King Fell came striding through the trees.
He was extra festive today, with some kind of bronze paint or makeup artfully swirled around his eyes and his temples. He was more armored-up today, too, since he was wearing a fancy bronze chestplate, copper colored pauldrons covering his shoulders, and leather bracers that covered his forearms.
The King of Summer, Birch, with quiet Consort Flora, were just behind him. The Summer duo were dressed in long sleeved tunics that were a bright blue in color, though it had fancy golden leaf embroidery, and they also wore leather doublets over their tunics.
Huh. I wonder if hunting “accidents” are common based on the way everyone is dressed?
I was really starting to regret my choice of a breathable long-sleeved shirt—and before my fashion choices get questioned let me stress just how much work it actually is to ride. The chances that I was going to be a sweaty mess once this was all over were really high.
I glanced at Queen Rime—she and her underlings had already set up shop in the nature preserve we were holding the hunt in by the time I had arrived. At the moment, she was lounging on a pile of white furs under a gauzy white tent her people had built for her. She was wearing a gorgeous blue and gray dress that seemed like it was going to be a pain to ride in, and I didn’t see her mounts anywhere near her tent.
The Day King’s people had built a tent for him nearby, as well. His was bright and golden and was much bigger—it probably had to be, because King Solis stood under its awnings not by himself, but with five sun stallions that all nickered and perked their ears as they pressed into their clearly adored ruler.
For the record, King Solis was also wearing a sort of minimalist kind of armor—a gold chestplate and metal wrist bracers.
“I find it interesting that everyone is apparently concerned about protecting vital organs, but it seems like—once again—I’m going to be the only person smart enough to wear a helmet,” I said.
Indigo shushed me.
“The day of the hunt has arrived—and such a perfect day for a hunt it is!” King Fell laughed as his trumpeters retreated and some more of his servants scrambled forward, hurriedly erecting a tent just behind him.
Other summer servants were similarly building one for Birch and Flora.
Skye had mentioned something about tents, but I thought even the fae couldn’t possibly want to act that asinine and lounge around like French nobles just before the revolution. It seems I overestimated them.
“Good day to you, Queen Rime,” King Birch said. Behind him, Flora curtsied.
Queen Rime flicked her eyes up from the book she was reading. “Good day.”