Crown of Shadows (Court of Midnight and Deception #1) - K. M. Shea Page 0,22

edge of the brick walkway before I looked out upon the stony crowd.

The fae were unnaturally still.

We were outside, and there was a slight breeze which should have blown through their hair or tugged on their clothes, but they were suffocating in their stillness.

They looked like a glossy magazine picture—so perfect in hair and dress that it was almost alien.

That was the difference between them and me: perfection. I was dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a cute lace top, and a few artful strands of my thick black hair were already slipping from the ponytail I’d pushed it back in.

The fae were dressed for a garden party, with the females all wearing dresses and skirts, high heels, and fresh flowers accenting their clothes, and the males wearing navy blue or dark gray suits with glittering swords secured to their belts. Not a hair moved on any of them, and the planes of their faces were equally frozen.

My smile wanted to die, but my stubbornness kicked in. I willfully relaxed my posture and made my grin grow a little.

The Paragon gave me an approving nod, then turned to address the crowd. “Night Court, I give you your new queen: Leila Welkin.”

I’m sure they meant their frosty expressions to be frightening, but it actually made them look like clothing mannequins as they stared at me with lifeless—but somehow still disapproving—eyes.

The whole stunt was intimidating—not because I particularly feared well-dressed people, but because it really showed just how many more of them there were than of me, and displayed the clear line between us.

“The night mares have bound her to the Court and made her queen,” the Paragon continued, “but she will be publicly crowned before the end of the summer.”

“She’s human!” A beautiful fae who appeared to be about my age—which didn’t mean much as fae aged way more slowly than humans—stepped out of the crowd, breaking their flawless formation.

Her button nose was scrunched with anger, and there was a slight flush to her olive complexion, but that didn’t break the image of beauty she made with her blond hair floating in loose coils, her light pink dress that was a perfect fit and fell just below the knees, and her pink parasol trimmed with enough ruffles to strangle a doll.

“You have a skill of observation!” the Paragon marveled, not a hint of sarcasm lining the comment. “Yes. Queen Leila is half human, half fae.”

The crowd collectively exhaled quiet murmurs that barely made their lips move.

Yep. They’re going to be tons of fun to hang with!

The pretty fae curled her lips back in revulsion. “We can’t have a half fae as our queen! It would bring shame to the Night Court!”

“It’s a little late for that,” I grumbled under my breath.

The Paragon cleared his throat to keep down a gurgle that sounded suspiciously like the start of laughter. “The night mares bound her,” he said. “Her connection to the Night Court cannot be broken.”

Lady Demetria stood next to the blond fae. She clutched a fluttering fan which hid her mouth, but I could tell by the way she leaned into the younger fae she was whispering to her.

“Perhaps, then, it is time that we change the tradition of letting the night mares choose, so a more suitable queen could be chosen,” the blond fae said.

Oh ho-ho! This is who Lady Demetria wanted to be the next queen? I have to give her points for having the guts to come straight at me.

“It appears you are either daft of the mind or experiencing hearing difficulties. The night mares bound her. There will be no other ruler as long as Leila breathes. I suppose if you feel daring enough, you can float your idea past the night mares themselves. It would be such fun to see what they make of your opinion when they have been king and queen makers since the foundation of this Court in America.”

That shut her up. The way she broke eye contact with the Paragon implied just how well she thought that would go over with the night mares.

The Paragon nodded in satisfaction.

“How, then, are we to face the other Courts with such a queen?” A male fae dressed in a dark green suit stepped up next to the blond’s other side. “We are of the proud Night Court. Can we not expect to be led by a monarch of quality—not someone sullied by human blood?” His hair—braided on the sides and pinned to the back