Grave Visions (Alex Craft #4)(27)

“Of course, you’ll have to hire me to raise the shade.”

“Hire you?”

“That is how these transactions occur.”

She stared at me, her frown giving way to a scowl, but it was Maeve who asked, “Are you threatening to refuse to question this corpse for her majesty?”

And onto thin ice already. “No, I’m simply trying to negotiate the terms.”

The queen crossed her arms over her chest and the abrupt silence in the room told me Falin had stopped bagging the body to listen to our conversation. The council members also watched with a little too much interest. Inside my head I cursed Maeve, but I held my tongue, and kept my chin lifted.

The Winter Queen’s eyes widened. She was shorter than me, but somehow came off as looming. It would have been a neat trick, if it weren’t so freaking frightening.

“I am the queen and you are in my territory,” she said, her voice cutting through the suddenly frosty air.

I acquiesced with the smallest nod. “Yes, and as the law requires, I came to your summons. But if you would like to employ my skills, we must negotiate a fair bargain.” Or, at least, that was my understanding of Faerie law. I’d had a crash course over the last few months, but the finer points escaped me.

The queen studied me for a long moment before giving a hiss of disgust and dropping her hands. “What is it you desire in exchange, Lexi?”

“Independent status.”

“No.”

She said it with rigid finality, and the hope inside me deflated. I needed to create a bond to Faerie for my own and my friends’ survival, and I’d thought I’d been handed a way. Two little letters crushed that chance. I tried not to let it show as I gave her a small shrug.

“Well, then, I wish you the best of luck discovering who is behind this.” I waved in the general direction of the skeleton.

“You cannot walk away now. Negotiations have already begun. We must continue until they are complete.”

Crap. Seriously? I glanced to Falin for confirmation I didn’t actually need—it wasn’t like the queen could lie. He gave a small nod and shoved a long bone into the bag. I tore my gaze away.

So we were locked in negotiations now. And that was why it was dangerous to jump into a situation with the fae when you only halfway understood how things worked. I sighed and considered my words carefully. Fae couldn’t lie but they could twist the truth so backward it was a near thing, and they always tried to get the better end of a bargain.

“So then, little planeweaver, what is your next offer?” the queen asked, smiling at me in the way a predator might grin down at cornered prey. And I doubted the fact she’d dropped the false-familiar nickname she’d given me was a good sign.

From the other side of the room the rustle of the knapsack closing was loud in the too-quiet space. Falin joined us a moment later, the bag slung over his shoulder. The tanned material bulged in odd places, and it was too small. If I hadn’t known a body was in there, I wouldn’t have guessed, but I did know, and the half-masked shapes pressing against the edges made my stomach sour.

“We are ready,” he said, heading for the doorway.

The queen shook her head. “No, we are in the middle of something.”

“Your majesty, can it not be discussed on the way?” he asked without pausing. He passed through the doorway and vanished a moment later.

The queen frowned after him for half a moment, but seemed reluctant to let the corpse get too far. “Come along,” she said before hurrying out of the room as well.

By the time I made it to the hall, the queen had taken the lead, Falin several steps behind. I caught up to him and fell in step beside him.

“Is she always this unpredictable?” I whispered the question as quietly as I could and have any hope he’d hear, but the look he shot me told me I shouldn’t have chanced saying anything.

I didn’t think he’d answer, especially when his gaze darted back to where Ryese and Lyell trudged along several steps behind us, but after a moment he whispered back, “No.”

I glanced at him, but he was staring at the queen’s back, and his features held both caution and concern. I didn’t really understand his relationship with the queen. He’d been her lover once, I knew that, but from what he’d said, that time was long past and he held no love for her now. There must be something between them though—his expression was too complex for him to care nothing about her. I hated that realizing that fact made my chest constrict, ever so slightly.

We turned a corner and reached the corridor with the carved ice pillar. The world fell from focus as we stepped between Faerie and the Bloom, and my steps became heavier, the world darkening slightly. It wasn’t bad though. Noticeable yes, but not even so bad as leaving the pocket in my father’s house.

Which was why I was completely unprepared for actually reentering mortal reality.

When I stepped through the door leaving the Bloom I stumbled, gasping under the weight of reality as it slammed down on me. The world spun, my knees locked, and I pitched forward. Falin caught one arm, the startled-looking bouncer—a green-skinned goblin—caught the other. They were the only reason I didn’t hit the wooden floorboards headfirst.

“What is wrong with her?” the queen snapped.

I couldn’t see her, my vision hadn’t cleared yet, but she sounded close.