Crown of Shadows (Court of Midnight and Deception #1) - K. M. Shea Page 0,19

felt. “The Night Court has no idea what it’s in for with you as its ruler!”

Mom agreed, but my mind screamed the truth.

Being queen? It was going to get me killed.

Chapter Six

Leila

A week later, the Paragon came to pick me up.

It surprised me enough that he came himself—even if he had to keep his promise to Mom, he was the most powerful fae in America, and delegating was a thing. But after his phone call telling me he was on the way, I half expected he was going to bum a ride from the Drake vampires again. Instead, he showed up in a gleaming Porsche with a naiad chauffeur.

He helped me arm wrestle my giant blue suitcase and the two duffle bags I was taking into the trunk.

I gestured to the night mares who were standing with Bagel in the pasture. “I thought you’d bring a trailer to drive them back.”

“Oh, they’ll come back when they wish it.” The Paragon opened the car door for me. “They’ll probably show up when they work out that you’ve moved into the mansion.” He hopped in the car after me, shut the door, and off we went, speeding in the direction of Magiford.

“Thank you for picking me up,” I said after a few tense moments of silence.

“Of course.” The Paragon casually straightened his thumb ring, which was topped with a huge sapphire that matched his purple-y robes.

I saw a wave of magic halo the ring, then expand, filling the back of the Porsche and creating a glittering bubble around us.

The magic felt whispery and soft, with a sort of sticky after-feeling, confirming it was fae magic.

Wizards, fae, and the other lesser known supernaturals that use magic can all sense magic.

Most frequently, you can taste or feel the differences in it—because each race uses magic differently.

I don’t know how it is for most fae, but I can sense magic by the different sensations it gives me.

Fae magic is whispery with a slightly sticky residue—like a spider web. Wizard magic is a funny, tingling feeling—similar to the numbing sensation you get when you smack your elbow hard. I only encountered dragon shifter magic when I went to Tutu’s Crypta & Custodia, which was basically the local bank/vault system for supernaturals and was owned and run by a dragon shifter. The magic there felt excessively warm with a dry heat—almost like a sauna.

“I apologize,” the Paragon said. “I should have warned you first, but I activated a ward that will keep all sound within this bubble, and ruin any listening spells or devices that may have been planted in the car.”

I glanced at the driver—who was outside the magic bubble. “I take it that means we have important stuff to talk about?”

“Precisely. I’ll give it to you straight, kiddo. Showing my support for you—by picking you up like this—is about all I can do for you politically speaking. As the Paragon I can’t be too obvious in my favoritism, or it will start a war,” he grimly said.

I leaned back in my seat. “Why does that not surprise me?”

Fae, such competitive, pushy things.

“What do you know about fae politics?”

“Not enough to be comfortable going into this,” I said. “And I know almost nothing about the politics of the individual Courts—I keep a closer eye on the supernatural community and the Midwest Regional Committee of Magic, though.”

“Understandable, given who your neighbors are.” The Paragon pursed his lips. “But it leaves you ill prepared for what you are about to experience.”

“I know the gist of it.” I shrugged uncomfortably and did my best to smile. “As a half fae, the nobles of the Night Court are going to see me as inferior, and they will do their best to take advantage of me as long as I’m around, and kill me as soon as they can.”

“They can’t raise a finger against you themselves,” the Paragon reminded me. “A Court is bound to the will of their ruler. They cannot harm you.”

“They can’t plant the dagger in my back,” I agreed. “But they can pay someone else to put it there.”

“It’s not quite so easy as that. It takes a great deal of conniving to achieve even that sort of betrayal, or the Night Court would have rid themselves of Nyte years ago. But your sentiment isn’t wrong.” The Paragon eyed me. “It seems to me you have a rather low view of the Night Court.”

“I’m not a huge fan of fae in general,” I admitted. “I don’t like