A Discovery of Secrets and Fate (Chronicles of the Stone Veil #2) - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,84

a gathering place for announcements and such.

Turning back to Carrick, I ask, “Was that fae—Rebsha—a general in the queen’s military or something?”

“There’s no military,” Carrick replies. “Hasn’t been a need for a while, but if you’re asking because of what he’s wearing, you’ll find there are no fashion trends here at all. It’s all about being different and garnering attention.”

“Weird,” I murmur, walking past Carrick to the far wall where there’s a window framed in silver. When I look out, I realize we’re on the right-hand side of the keep. Nothing but rolling hills and the teal river winding lazily to the horizon. I glance over my shoulder to Carrick. “Where does everyone live? I don’t see any other houses or businesses. Surely all these fae we’ve seen don’t live here in the castle, right?”

Carrick strides toward me, giving a slight shake of his head. “Queen Nimeyah didn’t want anything built within her eyesight.”

“It must take visitors forever to get here,” I ponder out loud.

“Not the nobility or gentry that can bend distance,” Carrick replies. “It would take them but a flash of a second to travel from their home to here on business. The lower class that come here to work usually travel via horse, although there are some servants that reside on the grounds in dormitories at the back of the property.”

I glance up to the ceiling, which is about twelve feet above us, and start walking the length of the room toward the dais. There’s a huge clear crystal chandelier above. “And how are things powered here? I didn’t see any electrical poles or wires outside.”

Carrick leans up against the windowsill, pushing his hands down into his pockets. “Magic, which is how most stone-created realms have modern amenities. As for Faere, the royals, nobles, and gentry can easily accomplish it, but the lower class live pretty primitively.”

“And does this queen have the strength of magic to provide power to the lower classes?” I query, wondering why a ruler would allow such a disparity if the ability to provide it was there.

Carrick nods, his lips pressed flat. “Her power is immense. I imagine she could do so easily if she so chose.”

But clearly, the well-being of her subjects isn’t important to her. I’m thinking this ruler of Faere isn’t benevolent at all if she can’t even provide something as simple as electricity or running water to her people.

“I choose not to,” a regal but imperious female voice says from the direction of the door. I never heard it open, yet a fae woman I can only guess is Queen Nimeyah is walking through.

Words cannot describe her magnificence. I’ve hated everything I’ve seen about Faere because of its over-the-top artificial beauty, but there is nothing artificial about this queen. If anything, she seems to emanate real life in an authentic way.

She doesn’t look warm, by any means. It’s just that she looks like she means what she says and doesn’t care about putting on airs. She might want her land, her castle, and her clothing to look a certain way, but I can tell by her bearing and those first few words out of her mouth that she is not fake at all. I suppose, though, being the supreme power in the land with no one to rise against her, she can afford to be completely transparent with no fear of reprisal.

The queen is first and foremost breathtakingly beautiful. While I know her to be immortal, she looks to be no more than her mid-thirties. Her hair is blacker than the darkest night and when the sun glints off it from the windows, there’s a blue shimmer to the pitch color. Defined eyebrows of black that are arched in a way that lends her a continuous air of confidence and power. Her eyes are the palest blue, reminding me of the color of glaciers and seem just as cold. The queen’s face, like all the fae I’ve seen, is perfection, yet hers seems to put the other beautiful fae to shame. Have her strut around earth for any length of time and she’d be on the cover of every magazine as the most beautiful woman in the world.

Nimeyah is a statuesque woman but not rail thin. She’s absolutely filled out in all the right ways, as accentuated by her clothing. Despite her penchant for the color white and silver, she’s dressed mostly in black. It’s a full-length formal gown that fits tight through the bodice with heavy folds of