“Here. They’re one of my favorites to grab whenever I’m out patrolling the city in spring,” Rinni explains as we head over to the lakeside, sitting on a bench. “They start making them leading up to springtime rites.”
“What are springtime rites?” Harrow mentioned them before.
“A large festival of the arts to welcome back spring to the world. Usually the borders of the kingdom are opened…likely why the delegation from the fae is here. There will be music, and dancing, performances, singing and poetry.” Rinni sighs wistfully. “You’ll love it. And then, on fire night, the sky itself is the canvas and the Elf King paints blazing colors across it.”
“Literally?” I can’t help but ask.
“Of course.” Rinni laughs. “Eldas is the closest to the Veil and the strongest among us. There’s almost nothing he can’t do.”
I try and imagine Eldas painting with fire in the sky, his nimble hands commanding magic with the skill of a weaver on their loom. Rinni looks up, as if she can already see the glowing strokes. There’s admiration in her eyes. It makes my stomach twist, a sensation I promptly ignore.
“When does it happen?”
“Usually a week or two after the coronation.”
“Oh.” I stare at the food in my hands and suppress any glumness. I don’t need to see Eldas make fire sky paintings. I need to go home. I need to tend my patients. In fact, I don’t want to see the springtime rites. Because, if I do, I’ve stayed in Midscape too long and I can never really return to my world again.
“Is something wrong with it?” Rinni asks, pointing to the fried dough and misreading my expression. “I promise it’s good.”
“Oh, I’m sure.” I quickly take a bite. The cake is crisp on the outside but soft and fluffy on the inside. The charring on it adds a nice bite to what tastes like the corn base of the dough. The cheese strings between my mouth and the cake as I try and tear off a bite, prompting laughter from both Rinni and I.
For a moment, I forget who and where I am.
By the time I realize I’ve forgotten, the cheesy griddle cake is gone and the carefree moment with it. But, briefly, things weren’t so bad. They weren’t bad at all. I was eating delicious food and laughing with a friend. We were enjoying the weather and the quiet bustle of the city around us.
It was accidental happiness. A brief glimpse of what my life could’ve been like…maybe should have been like, if I had been prepared for this all along. If I had come here ready to be the queen, I wouldn’t be spending my time looking for a way to break the cycle. Instead I would be finding ways to explore and enjoy my new circumstances.
I sigh as my gaze drifts back to the opening in the mountain that leads through the Fade.
“We should get back to the castle,” I say.
“Yes, before someone sees you.”
We start heading back in earnest. Until something catches my eye, stopping me in my tracks.
There, in the back of an alley between two buildings, is Aria. She talks with shifting gazes and nervous glances to a lithe creature that has two deer antlers sprouting from the top of his head and dragonfly wings. I see the horned man hand over a small pouch to Aria.
Then, her eyes meet mine. She freezes and I quickly turn away to take several quick steps and catch up with Rinni.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, fine.” I lightly pat the brim of my hat, feeling for any stray strands of hair. There’s no way she noticed me in this getup, right? “I thought I saw something strange. But there are many strange things here, for me.” I force a smile and Rinni grins.
“We’ll be back in the castle soon.” She nods at the looming castle ahead of us and takes two eager steps ahead. “That’s at least a little familiar—”
A blur in the corner of my eye solidifies into the weight of a shape behind me. A hand clamps a wet cloth over my mouth before I can say anything. The scent of something sharp and tangy fills my nose and I quickly hold my breath on instinct.
But it’s too late.
I don’t know what concoction the rag has been soaked in but it’s not good. My muscles begin to go limp and my vision blurs. My lungs are already burning from holding my breath. But I