Crown of Shadows (Court of Midnight and Deception #1) - K. M. Shea Page 0,15

wire frames, and always wore a variation of silk robes. Today’s robes were in muted forest green colors and were embroidered with gold leaves.

Since he was sort of my representative, I’d made sure to research him when I was first formulating my plan of surviving in the human world as a half fae.

He had a reputation for being remarkably good humored for a fae, and his short patience for his own people was legendary, which meant I loved reading about him.

The Paragon put his fists on his hips and beamed up at the cloudy sky. “What a fine day, is it not, Hazel, Killian?”

“It is,” Hazel agreed. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course!” The Paragon paraded across the yard. When he reached the fence, he yanked his robes up—revealing knobby knees and skinny legs—and casually hopped over the fence despite his aged appearance. “It is always my pleasure to come to the rescue of my dearest friends!”

A wrinkle sliced across Killian’s forehead. “Why did you arrive in one of my cars?”

“The fastest way here was to use my gate to your house,” the Paragon said. “And though I will do much for you, I will not walk over here in this heat. One of your vampires agreed to drive me, and a delightful House Medeis wizard kept me entertained on the drive over.”

“You have a gate that drops you on my property?” Ice formed at the edge of Killian’s words.

The Paragon huffed. “Of course! Do you know what kind of a drive it is from Magiford out here? Annoying, that’s what it is. I don’t wish to waste my time! I invested in making a gate so I can pop over whenever I want.”

“That’s a great idea!” Hazel said.

“No, it is not,” Killian growled.

Hazel pressed her lips together in thought. “Really? Because I think—”

“The Paragon is here for your friend, is he not?” Killian said.

“Oh, that’s right.” Hazel grimaced, then came to stand by me.

I was pretty tall for even a half fae, but I felt like a sky scraper as Hazel—a particularly petite wizard—didn’t even come up to my shoulder. “Paragon,” she began, glancing curiously at one of the fae horses. Eclipse and the others had backed off a little, giving us space, but they stayed clustered around us. “This is our neighbor Leila—she helped me the day I took back my House from Mason and is a good friend of mine. These weird cultist fae are bothering her.”

“We are not from a cult!” Lady Demetria said.

“Wise and glorious Paragon.” Suits, busting out his best manners for the occasion, bowed deeply to the Paragon. “We have found our new queen.”

“And she’s not cooperating,” Lady Demetria added.

“Because I can’t be the next Night Court ruler,” I said. “I’m a human.”

“Half human, half fae,” Suits corrected—as if he was the expert on everything me.

“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “I don’t want to be your queen.”

“The night mares chose you?” the Paragon asked.

“They bound her,” Lady Demetria interrupted and thrust her finger at me. “Her! A half fae!”

“You keep saying they bound me, and I still have no idea what you mean,” I said.

“Ah,” the Paragon said.

I turned to him, my spine stiffening with dread. “What?”

“Traditionally it takes a minimum of two night mares to select the next monarch.” The Paragon smiled kindly at me, instantly putting me on my guard. “It’s fairly common for three night mares to choose—which they do by congregating around the chosen fae, who is then anointed and sworn in as the official monarch. However, the night mares also have the power of King Makers.”

I don’t like the sound of that.

I glanced at my fae horses. “And what does that mean?”

“It means six or more night mares have to mark you.” He tapped his forehead. “With their essences. They’re creatures that are made of magic; it’s a simple matter of shedding some of themselves on you—as I can see they have on your forehead.”

I touched my forehead, recalling the way each horse brushed my temple when they arrived. Feeling oddly betrayed, I swung around to stare at the fae horses.

They avoided looking at me.

“And besides—you had six of them bind you. As soon as the sixth one marked you, their essence became strong enough to bind you to the Court—a process that would normally happen as part of a monarch’s official crowning.”

“And binding me to the Court means?”

“That you are already Queen of the Night Court.” He gestured to the other fae. “They cannot harm you, and if you have