Page 94 of The Crimson Throne
And we’re standing back in the moors.
No time’s passed; the sun’s exactly where it was when we slipped through. But where we are is a bit different. Still in the bog, still wild and open, tall grasses bobbing in the gentle winter breeze. But the creek we were passing over is gone, and ahead of us is a copse of trees.
I barely pay the change any mind. My focus goes to Alyth—stays on Alyth? I’m not sure I paid Beira too much attention, and that’s foolish, but Alyth’s become the North Star I have to orient myself to for any of this to have a chance of making sense.
And now she’s staring at the trees, her face furrowed, thinking.
I touch her elbow. Then rethink it and wrap my hand around her forearm, holding tight. “That was the queen of the fae?”
Alyth blinks at me, her furrowed look shifting to confusion. It clears with a sigh. “Oh. No—that was Queen Beira. The Winter Queen. She’s a—” Hesitation. Then a shrug, as if it can’t be helped, and it can’t; none of this can. “She’s a goddess. More or less.”
My jaw drops. Has it closed since we slid into the goblin market?
“A goddess?”
“Aye.”
“A goddess, Alyth.”
She doesn’t respond, just holds my gaze, all the questions swirling deep in her eyes.
Is this too much? Are you sure you want to keep pushing on? Will you turn back?
But I lean in and kiss her instead of saying anything. And that settles all the questions, all the answers, all the uncertainty.
The kiss is different from the one in the goblin market, only in that there was no desperate magic push leading up to it; but here, now, my mouth on hers, the intensity is the same, and I sigh into the contact. It wasn’t just magic that made her taste so sweet. Wasn’t just magic that made my whole body feel alive, lit up like lightning in a dark sky.
Her lips are soft and chilled from the Scottish wind, but I work warmth into them quickly, nipping and licking until she whimpers and I have to drop my forehead to hers with a moan.
“A goddess,” I say again and swallow, throat contracting. “All right. So who’s Moyra?”
Alyth pulls back to stare at me. Waiting for me to react to meeting a goddess, only there is no reacting. It doesn’t change anything, not really.Freedom from the curse is still waiting for me at the end of this, and nothing’s gonna tempt or scare me off seeing this through.
Bloody hell, agoddess.
Alyth tightens her grip on me. “Moyra is the witch we’ve come to see. I know she can break the magic on Darnley’s letter, and—”
“Wait.” My head shakes. “Why do we need a witch when we just spoke to a goddess? Couldn’t she have done what we needed? Surely she could break whatever enchantment’s on that letter.”
A sharp smile takes Alyth’s face. “You don’t want to know what it would have cost us to ask such favors from Beira. Trust me—Moyra is infinitely preferable to deal with.” Her expression falls, sobers in a heavy drop. “It’s enough that Beira spoke to us at all.”
It’s not just enough that she spoke to us. It’s a warning. What we’re doing, what we’re onto, is important. The Red Cap weapons, Cecil, Darnley—the High Blade.
It’s life and death.
I give Alyth’s hand two tight pulses, reassuring her in that fog of thought and worry she’s fallen into. She’s not alone. Not anymore.
She looks up at me. I can see this place reflected in her blown pupils, the healthy flush to her face, all that wildness soaking in.
She nods as if something’s been decided, then juts her chin ahead of us at the copse of trees.
It isn’t just trees. Now that I’m looking, I see a little cottage, so small and camouflaged with the landscape that it’s easy to mistake for a shrub. The building’s dark, sucking shadows in like it’s made of ’em, and the moment I spot it at all, a shiver walks up my spine.
“How should we approach her?” I ask. “What do you want me to do?”
“Let me do all the talking. All the talking.” She throws me an intent look. “Keep your head down. When all else fails, deference is the safest bet.”
I glance at the hut again. There’s something about it that sends another skittering shiver over my body. It’s small and obsolete but…threatening. Not a place that draws you in.
