the balance. But I will tell you this: You’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“Excuse me?”
Marzeya hummed absently as she looked around the room where the rest of the witches and even the candle flames seemed to be frozen in time. “You heard me, dearie. You’re purposefully seeking out fool’s gold, as if any crown will be the right fit.”
“I’m doing what the Spring Queen’s curse wants of me, I’m seeking out the noblest of men, and now, a fairy one at that. Following her requirements worked for my brother! The only difference between us was that waiting for the right one to come to me was not an option.”
Marzeya laughed again, seeming delighted by my confusion and despair. “The right one didn’t just happen upon your brother. It wasn’t fate that led her to him.”
“Yes, it was! That witch threw her and her father in Rosemead, threatening to offer them to the Beast she thought Leander truly was, and—”
“Nariman Rostam never intended to make good on her threats to our dear Ada. She just got rid of her stowaways in the first stop she could, and then used them as incentive to make Ada work hard for her.” Marzeya pointed through me, as if at something only she could see. “The only thing in common between your curse, and your brother’s, isn’t his solution, but the catalyst of his rescue.”
“The catalyst was Bonnie!” I insisted. “The daughter of a fairy princess who said she loved him. That’s it!”
Marzeya gave a piercing cackle. “I’m sure she willingly sauntered to his castle when she heard of the man-eating monster, ready to declare her undying love and get the handsome prince at the end.”
I threw my hands up in frustration. “You make no sense at all!”
“Dearie, it’s not my fault you’re thicker than a cinderblock.”
Tension gripped my jaws. My body must be grinding its teeth to powder right now, thanks to the irritation this horrid woman inspired. “Give me a clear answer, I beg you.”
“Now, where would be the fun in that?”
I groaned, curling my fists, making her laugh harder.
“It’s not that hard, princess. All you have to do is ask the right question. What led that girl to your brother, and what made her different than any pretty girl your family could have sent his way?”
“I don’t know what led her to him. But I suppose it was her determination that made her different.”
“Determination for what?”
I searched my memory for the relevant bits Bonnie had told me, when I tried to glean what I could replicate from their experience. “To not fear Leander, then to go to whatever lengths it took to save him, and those caught in his curse, as well as her father and Ada, who she thought were in Faerie.”
“Sound like someone you know?”
The search for a good comparison landed on only one man, and he was the only one without a title.
I only stared at her, frustration tearing me apart.
“Now, get out of here. You interrupted my summoning.” Marzeya waved her hand in my face.
Before I could blink, I was sucked back into the dark tunnel.
A heartbeat or an eternity later, I blinked back to somewhere drenched in brightness.
But though it was sunny, I was no longer in the Summer Court, but in an environment similar to my kingdom’s countryside.
I could see rolling hills covered in fields of wheat that shone like gold in the midday sun, while in the near distance, vegetable patches spread. All similarity to my kingdom ended when I saw the unearthly colors of the produce, the giant upright rabbits, and the carts being dragged by flying horses.
This was the Autumn Court!
Before I could wonder how I got here, I realized two more things: I couldn’t sense the weather like I had before, and I heard voices.
Bracing myself for another apparition, I turned around in their direction just as Amabel neighed sharply, and Robin spun around, gaping at me.
Then he blurted out, “How are you here?”
Chapter Twenty-Six
With everyone staring at me in shock, I could only shake my head mutely. I had no idea how I’d come back. Or why I’d gone to the Underworld in the first place.
Agnë and Meira finally jumped off their steeds, and rushed towards me, eyes filling, speaking over each other.
“We thought it worked, and you returned to your body!”
“We thought King Theseus broke your curse!”
“We thought you’d wake up, and the thorns would be gone, and they’d come for you!”
“We should have gone straight from the Summer Court