Crown of Moonlight (Court of Midnight and Deception Book 2) Read online

  “Still not done with my latte, but thank you.” I held up my half-filled cup—which I was going to make sure I never finished. This might be special fancy tea prepared by the Paragon, but tea was tea—not coffee!

  “It’s an unfair advantage!” Fell nodded with enough force to make his upper body twitch, then downed the rest of his tea—which the Paragon promptly refilled.

  “As if you have anything to worry about.” Verdant bit into an éclair, then took another swig of her tea. “Queen Icey over there might be more powerful, but she’s let you run free and grind the rest of us under your heel even though she could blast you into last week.”

  “Hey, I leave Solis alone,” Fell said.

  “Only because you’re terrified I’ll take back my sun stallions if you anger me.” Solis held out his teacup for the Paragon to top him off. “Which would put you at the mercy of your Court griffins if you needed to do any kind of portal traveling.”

  Fell puffed up his chest. “The control I have over my Court is obvious!”

  “That’s why no one outside the Autumn Court has seen you near an autumn griffin since you were crowned—because you have such excellent control over them, is it?” Solis asked.

  Fell sputtered, and Verdant ate a mochi cake and looked on with interest. “That’s why you’ve left Solis alone? Here I thought you were just scared because he’s managed to hold on to all of his realm’s land despite the Night Court bottoming out and dragging the Day Court down.” She glanced at me. “No offense meant.”

  I pushed myself against the back of my chair, feeling uneasy with this new level of sharing we’d achieved. “None taken?”

  “Bottoming out? Hah!” Birch snorted with laughter. “The only reason we aren’t all scared stiff of Leila is because she’s still losing land like a leaky pot.”

  “Scared of me? What do you all have to be scared of?” I asked.

  “They’re talking about the way you beat the crap out of everyone in the races—even Birch’s cheating rider,” Solis said with relish. “And you got your Court under your thumb in a season and married the Wraith—that was enough to make Fell scared of you, even before he nearly wet himself when you trotted out the Night Realm at the hunt.”

  “I am not fully scared of her,” Fell announced. “Rime is still more powerful than she is! I’m just suspicious. I mean, come on! She’s a half fae who came out of nowhere! Even if she is Linus’s kid, who could do everything she’s pulled off and survive? She must have a motivation of her own—she’s going to try to take us all out!”

  “Yeah.” Birch scowled in my direction. “And she’s trending on social media. I don’t even know what that is, but it has to be some kind of human wizardry!”

  Fell and Birch are just volunteering these suspicions? This is next level weird.

  Concerned that either I was losing my mind or everyone else was, I looked to the Paragon.

  He was chilling, holding his cup of tea—which I wasn’t entirely sure he’d ever sipped. He smiled when he met my gaze. “Try some treats, Leila,” he encouraged. “And allow me to compliment you on your trending status! Your popularity with the local humans has put the Curia Cloisters in quite the kerfuffle!”

  “Thanks.” I reluctantly put an éclair on my plate, but I wiped my fingers off and didn’t even try to eat it.

  “I knew you’d be a force to fear once your engagement was announced and you survived the wedding,” Rime announced. “That means Rigel approves of you. And I don’t know that he’s ever acted on anyone else’s behalf before—not even Lord Dion.”

  “I barely have any power in my Court.” Verdant dabbed at her dewy eyes. “It’s only because the spring stags favor me. My nobles think it’s my fault the Autumn Court bullies us—but none of them helped me when I tried to fight against the horrible hunt!”

  “It’s because magic is dying,” Rime said. “The faster magic dies off, the faster our realms shrink. In a decade or two, even my siblings and I won’t be able to strengthen our wards.”

  “Yeah, but do you have to hide your own child?” Birch asked. “I get to see my daughter once a month because I can’t let my own Court know she exists—someone would have killed her by now.”

  “You have a kid?” I shrieked. “And why are you telling us this?”

  “Leila, are you displeased with my hosting skills?” the Paragon asked in a wheedling voice. “Eat—please!”

  I swung to the Paragon. “Why are you not shocked by this? Who cares about food at a time like this—” I stopped mid-tirade and stared at the Paragon.

  Everyone started talking like this once they started eating and drinking, and the Paragon’s been an excellent host, making sure everyone has plenty of tea and that he provided their favorite treats…

  “You bespelled the tea—and the food!” I shouted.

  The Paragon innocently fluttered his eyelashes at me—and, I gotta say, it was creepy beyond words to have a dude who looked like he was in his eighties fluttering his eyelashes at me. “How could you accuse me of something like that?” he asked.

  Next to me, Solis snored.

  King Fell grabbed his russet hair and groaned. “If I trip up even once, my Court will eat me alive. They follow me only because they know the other monarchs are scared of me.”

  I pointed to Fell. “That. That is how I can accuse you of this. What’s in the food—and the tea?”

  “Nothing harmful,” the Paragon innocently said. “It’s only one of my stress relief tea mixes. I call it ‘Get it Off Your Chest.’ It’s a very refreshing and therapeutic mixture. Aphrodite must have chosen it because she felt everyone could use the stress relief.”

  “Solis is the only one who looks remotely less stressed,” I sourly said.

  “That’s because he’s a sleepy drunk,” the Paragon said. “Watch out for Verdant—she’s a sloppy drunk. Cries the whole time.”

  “Drunk?”

  The Paragon winced. “I wish I hadn’t said that.”

  “You got them drunk!”

  “Not technically,” he said. “I didn’t add any alcohol. It’s just the spell used on these tea leaves has a similar effect to the consumption of spirits.”

  Solis slumped forward and hit the table with a thump.

  “Heavy spirits,” the Paragon amended.

  Birch was still morosely staring into his teacup. “Someone tried to poison Flora again. Even though I’ve been so careful—they slipped it into her bathwater instead of her food. I don’t know how to keep her safe anymore.” He smashed his head into the table and groaned.

  “There might also be a little bit of a social spell,” the Paragon said when I stared at him. “Just a tiny little harmless one. It’s supposed to encourage shy people to talk.”

  “They’re spilling their guts!”

  “They won’t remember it in the morning,” the Paragon said. “The tea leaves perhaps also have a tiny forgetfulness charm added to them.”

  “You mean you’ve done this before!”

  “I do it to every region, actually,” the Paragon said. “For informational purposes only, of course.”

  “You’re drugging them!”

  “Yes, well, this is a much faster way of tracking their feelings and goings on than trying to send out spies to watch them,” the Paragon said. “It’s more efficient and less time consuming. Besides, Aphrodite obviously thinks it’s appropriate, or she would have chosen a different tea.”

  I scooted my chair back so I was farther away from the spelled tea and drugged food. “This has certainly been illuminating.”

  “What do you mean?” The Paragon absently patted Birch’s back—the Summer King was now sniffling into his finger sandwiches.

  “I knew you had to be crafty to keep your spot as Paragon, but I didn’t think you’d fight this dirty.” I pointed to Solis, who was still passed out on the table.

  “I resent that remark!” The Paragon flicked his glasses off and jutted out his lower lip. “You forget, I have to d
eal with all the fae Courts in North America—which means I have to deal with the bickering between all the local Courts. I wouldn’t have any time for my quest if I played nice. And besides—we’re fae. It goes against our nature to play nice.”

  “Quest?” I asked.

  The Paragon balefully eyed me. “If I tell you, will you refrain from running your mouth about my teatimes to anyone?”

  “No way,” I said. “I’m telling Rigel everything.”

  The Paragon grunted. “I’m fairly certain he knows. I think he broke into my pocket realm once, but I have no proof—the whippersnapper.”

  “Then what’s your quest?” I asked curiously.

  The Paragon rubbed his eyes and sighed. “I’m looking for someone. The information trail led me here to the Midwest, but my current source is proving to be maddeningly tight lipped.”

  “Who are you looking for?” I asked.

  The Paragon shook his head, and for a second I could have sworn his appearance—the silvery hair, wrinkles, and beak-y nose—wavered. “I dare not say—not because I don’t trust you, but because I’ve gone through a great deal of peril to get this far, and I dare not risk anyone overhearing.”

  I leaned back in my chair. “Okay.”

  “Okay?” The Paragon peered in my direction, surprise flashing across his face. “You’re going to give up just like that?”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, I already have plenty of issues to handle,” I said. “In particular, I’d like to figure out who keeps trying to kill me, and why the Night Realm hasn’t recovered at all. I don’t need to involve myself in your drama, too,” I said.

  Wait. Couldn’t I use this as my chance? Even if the other monarchs are out of it, they still can’t lie!

  “Huh. That’s admirably logical,” the Paragon said.

  “Hey, Fell!” I said.

  “What?” The Autumn King balefully glared at me over his teacup. “What do you want?”

  “Are you the one who keeps trying to kill me?”

  Fell pushed his nose up in the air. “I—” he started, but his words were cut off when his bones suddenly gave out, and he face planted in his carrot cake, getting frosting all over his face.

  “No, no, no! Fell—Fell!” I stood up and stretched across the table to shake him by the shoulder.

  Fell snored loudly.

  I voiced my displeasure for several minutes as the Paragon watched in admiration.

  “I’ve never heard someone so creatively use the term ‘hat’ before. Well done.” The Paragon politely clapped for me.

  “Do any of you know who’s trying to kill me?” I asked with zero hope.

  Birch was too absorbed with his pity party, and Solis was snoring with Fell, so I didn’t think they even heard me. Verdant’s big eyes started to pool with tears. “Someone’s trying to kill you?” she asked.

  “Better watch out,” the Paragon said. “If you get her crying, there’s no stopping her.”

  “It’s fine. What about you, Rime, do you know?” I tried not to hope too much, but what little bit I was nursing came crashing down when the Winter Queen shrugged.

  “I heard of the attempts on your life—I assumed it was Fell,” she said.

  “Did he ever say anything about it?” I asked.

  “No.”

  “That’s just great.” I sighed. “What do we do now?”

  “We wait for them to sober up,” the Paragon said. “And then you all leave.”

  “Didn’t you have any specific questions to ask them?”

  “No. I didn’t really expect to get anything useful out of this meeting,” the Paragon said. “I mostly invited you all over because Fell would not stop sniveling. Now—even if he doesn’t remember the tea—he’ll at least stop coming to me complaining about you.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” I grumbled.

  “It’s a ruthless time to be a fae.” The Paragon raised his teacup to his lips, then shook his head when he realized what he was doing, and poured out the tea on a nearby flower bush. “What about you? Did you learn anything?”

  I was about to give him an emphatic no—I’d stupidly wasted my moment to find out who the heck was plaguing me. But I paused when I saw Birch cram another finger sandwich in his mouth and Verdant salute Rime with her teacup.

  “They’re scared,” I said. “Just as scared as I am. They’re afraid of losing their power and their realm—not because they want it, but because of the consequences. They’re scared of magic dying out.” I paused. “Does Birch really have a daughter?”

  The Paragon nodded. “Indeed. He’s kept her a secret—though he and Flora told me when she was born.”

  “But why?”

  “Birch dearly loves Flora. She’s everything to him, and he nearly lost her shortly after they were married when a servant poisoned her food. Once she was pregnant, he was terrified he wouldn’t be able to protect her. He sent her into seclusion until their daughter was born. Of course, when he set eyes on his daughter he loved her, too.”

  “Is that why he tries a bite of everything Flora eats?” I asked.

  “His worry for them has made him something of a paranoid lunatic,” the Paragon said.

  I scowled at the Summer King. “He’s still a jerk.”

  The Paragon spread his hands out in front of himself. “All of them are scheming and cunning—and they’d cut your throat out without a second thought. Except Solis, in your case, I think. He’s finally stopped coming to me and crying about the Night Court ever since you became queen. You’ve been good for his nerves.”

  “I don’t understand—why don’t they work together?” I asked. “Like Rime and her siblings?”

  “Fear is a terrible thing, Leila. It can isolate you, and play to the worst parts of you so you can’t even see logic anymore because you are too paralyzed,” the Paragon said. “And even worse, if left to fester, fear will produce bitterness and then hatred, which will lead you to strike out against the very thing that could save you.”

  I looked from Fell to Birch, and almost against my own will, I could feel a tiny sliver of me understand them. “I’m pretty freaked out about my inability to save my shrinking, decaying realm, so I guess I can understand why they’re scared—though I’d never be such a mule about it like they are.”

  “Pah—you worry too much about the state of your realm,” the Paragon said. “Just lean into your connection with the realm, and the land will start to mend.”

  Connection with the realm? What the heck is he talking about?

  “Connection?” I asked.

  “Yes, you know how you can feel the land itself?”

  I didn’t, actually. But before I could ask him to clarify, the Paragon continued.

  “There’s a reason why Fell bitterly hates you, Leila,” he said. “It’s the same reason why all of the Courts snubbed you initially. Because you have done things differently, and you succeeded where they are still locked in a constant struggle.”

  “Have things always been like this?” I asked. “This hopeless?”

  The Paragon shook his head. “We fae have always been blessed with cunning, but when magic started to die out we saw Courts turn against one another. Those who lost land resented those who didn’t, and the bigger Courts started to take advantage of the smaller…” He shrugged. “It’s an inescapable cycle. Or at least, I thought it was.”

  I clutched my now tepid pumpkin latte. “There’s got to be a way out.”

  “One can hope, Leila,” the Paragon said. “One can hope.”

  “What do you mean I have to take them home?” I crossly demanded.

  “You were the one who was rude and didn’t eat the refreshments I provided. You can take them back to their domiciles,” the Paragon said.

  “No way—they won’t all fit!” I pointed to my pickup truck.

  Dusk was settling on the horizon, but the library was still open, and a few of the patrons were giving the Paragon and me weird looks.

  Well, eithe
r us, or the still-addled monarchs in various stages of recovery around us.

  Birch and Fell were sitting together, swaying slightly as they glared at me.

  “You know, I was betting on the Wraith to kill her after they got married,” Birch announced. “Rumor has it he killed his own family to get his title. Obviously you’d think he’d be willing to kill a half fae for a throne!”

  “Unbelievable,” Fell agreed.

  I rolled my eyes—I’d heard that rumor before, and I believed it even less now that I knew Rigel better. With his dislike of politics, he’d probably done everything he could to keep his family alive so he wouldn’t inherit the title.

  Verdant bumped my shoulder. “I happen to love human country music,” she whispered at the volume of a shout. “But don’t tell anyone, okay? Shhh!” She leaned into me and giggled.

  “I’ll take Verdant home, you can take everyone else,” I said.

  “No deal. They’re out of my pocket realm, they’re not my problem,” the Paragon said.

  “I’ll leave Fell out in the country on the side of the road,” I threatened.

  “As if you could do that,” he scoffed. “You haven’t the heart to do that to an animal—even a snake like Fell.”

  I clenched my jaw and scowled at the bespelled monarchs.

  “Look, you can leave Rime here. I’ve already called her oldest brother—he’ll come pick her up,” the Paragon said. “And if you take the others home, they’ll owe you one.”

  “Fine, fine. But Birch and Fell are not riding in my truck.” I dug my cellphone out of my leather jacket and dialed Rigel with zero hope that he would pick up.

  “Whatever you like. Toodles!” The Paragon snapped open his coin purse and was gone before I could object.

  I was still glowering at the place he’d stood when my phone crackled and my call picked up.

  “What.” Rigel said on the other end of the line.

  “Hey, bae! I could use your help,” I said. “The Paragon got everyone drunk, and he wants me to take them home. Could you come help me? Please?” I asked.

  I wasn’t stupid. There was no way it was going to be safe for me to take everyone out to their properties around Magiford, even if they were drunk. If Fell really was responsible for the shadowy monsters, there was a possibility he’d spring a trap on me.