Crown of Shadows (Court of Midnight and Deception #1) - K. M. Shea Page 0,77

and passing over a slice of my favorite German chocolate cake.

“Thanks!” I eagerly dug into the thick slice. “I’ve missed your cooking so much.”

Mom gave me an amused look. “I think you miss eating regular food is the reality.”

“Can’t be helped.” I took a sip of my coffee to wash down the flavor of the sweet, coconut frosting.

Mom watched me devour my cake for a few moments. She stood up to pet Bagel—the donkey leaned eagerly into her hand. “Do you feel any better?” she asked.

I was only halfway done with my cake, but I set my fork down for the moment. “Yeah. I enjoyed the break—and getting to eat was amazing.” I sipped my coffee—my parents had made my favorite flavor, chocolate blueberry, for the occasion. “I’m not looking forward to going back.”

I’m dreading it, actually. Today just reminds me how little I like the fae.

“Have you asked Linus for help?” Mom sat back down on her chair, scooting it around to face me. “He told me he’s your official advisor.”

That little tattle-tale—I can’t understand how she can stand to talk to him!

“No, I haven’t asked him for help,” I said. “I don’t like him. I wouldn’t have even made him advisor, except if I hadn’t I think he would have wandered off and gotten himself farther in debt from gambling or drinking or whatever it is that he does.”

“He can be very capable.”

“He doesn’t act like it,” I grumbled. “He runs around and is generally annoying. I don’t like that I’m half fae, but knowing I inherited his blood makes it worse.” I meant it as sort of a joke, but Mom didn’t smile.

She studied me with very soft but sad eyes. “You’re unhappy.”

I shrugged and went back to my cake. “I’m a human that’s been forced to run a fae Court. I don’t know anything about the Night Court, and I’m struggling to keep up with the nobles, stay alive, and learn what I need to so the Court itself can survive. They have all these rules…” I trailed off and stared down into my coffee cup before I took a swig of it, then finished the cake off.

I was about to stand up and go back to the house to load my empty plate in the dishwasher—or maybe to get myself another slice of cake, who knows?—but Mom reached out and set her hand on my arm.

I looked into my mom’s eyes, which were warm with love.

“Honey,” she said, her voice soft but kind. “You’re wrong.”

I blinked. “What?”

“You aren’t human,” she said bluntly. “I didn’t even raise you as a human. You are half fae. You’ve known magic since you were little, you observed supernatural politics as a teenager. When the Drakes hired you to train their dogs, they chose you because you are half human and half fae.”

I settled back in my chair, surprised by her fierce words. “Yeah?”

“It’s time you stop acting like—as you said yourself—a human ruling over fae.”

“…what?”

“Sweetie, you’re special. And I’m not saying that just because you’re my daughter, but because of your blood.” Mom leaned across the gap between us and set her hands on my cheeks. “You can do magic like a fae, you’re beautiful like a fae, you have the stronger senses of a fae. You. Are. Fae. But,” she let me go and held up a finger. “You can lie like a human. You aren’t bound to the typical fae rules of conduct. And—most importantly—you were raised out of the political game most fae are born into. You’ve lived in a world they can’t even fathom. You. Are. Human. You’re both—and that’s your greatest strength.”

“Yeah, but what does that have to do with me being queen?”

Mom narrowed her eyes. “Because you’re acting like a human who has to be like a fae queen, when you’re neither.”

I could only gape in shock. Mom had that edge back—the one she used to pin the Paragon into place.

“Stop going along with their plans just because it’s the way it’s always been. Stop thinking of yourself as helpless when you have all of the advantages they have, and extras! You need to rule how you want to—you can shape the Court how you want to! If you’re sick of its festering underbelly, change it.”

Not a single thought was able to form in my mind, I was that surprised.

“You can continue this way if you want, of course. But—Leila—you’re going to be Queen of the Night Court for the rest of your