The Mad King (The Dark Kings #1)(6)
She nodded, and I did not doubt that the centauress would prevail. Against the Fates at least. There was nothing the centaurs loved more than a good riddle. But I had to warn her of the very real dangers posed to her and Petra as well. For she was correct, the Fates would very likely want more.
“You should know, however, that if you do choose to agree to this journey, they might require more than just the seedlings. A task. No doubt a terrible and deadly one would be asked of you. And if I were you, I know I would not want to go into anything without knowing exactly what it is I’d be walking into.”
She snorted, the sound a lot like that of a neighing mare. “Fear is a weakness of the flesh and nothing more. But forewarned is forearmed. Knowing what I do of the Fates, I have no doubt the task would be a difficult one, but I am not without my own strengths.”
I knew the way a centaur fought. They might be wise, beautiful, and fascinating creatures, but they were also exceedingly deadly if pushed to it.
“Would you happen to know where they’d send us?” she asked.
I shook my head, causing my wavy hair to sway around my jawline. “I do not know. The Fates know you come, but their minds haven’t settled on a course of action yet.”
Her full lips curved into a half grin. “I see the rumors of you are true.”
Knowing I’d just revealed one of my many abilities—that of second sight—I gave a hard nod. For so long I’d kept my powers hidden from the world, feeling as though I could never fully reveal myself or my gifts to others. It was foreign to me to be so exposed to another, but I was a new fairy now, and I had a world to fix. Pride and fear must take a backseat to my old hubris.
“If you know so much, how is it that you do not know what’s caused this madness? You have second sight. Surely you must have some idea. I do.” She lifted a shapely brow in challenge.
Curious, I wondered what it was she thought had caused this. But I knew that was a rabbit trail I had no time to indulge. One thing I was sure of, all this had happened because of me.
I just didn’t know why other than the obvious. At first I’d believed it’d only been the couples I’d meddled with, but as far as I knew, I’d never meddled in Hades and Calypso’s affair, much less Hook and Trishelle’s. So if it wasn’t my meddling, what was it?
“I wish second sight would answer all my questions. Sadly, that’s not how my particular talent works. Because of the Creator’s fingers in all this, there are many blank spots for me. I know some,” I admitted softly. “But not enough to speak definitively, and so I’d rather say nothing at all. The only way to unravel this mystery is to do it slowly and methodically. Which is precisely why I’ve chosen you to speak with the Fates. Learn all you can. And when you are ready to return to me, merely speak my name and I will come for you.”
She nodded as her fingers toyed with the leather strap around her chest. “And you? Where do you hie off to now?”
Again, I glanced back at Danika. She’d still not moved from her spot. “I have so very many to see to. But for now, my primary concern is the Hatter. Wonderland is suffering at the loss of him and his true Alice.”
She nodded. “Be well, Galeta the Pink.”
“And you, Tymanon. And you. May the gods have mercy on us all.”
When the hall was entirely cleared save for Dani and me, I turned toward her. Once, she’d been the godmother to the Bad Boys, in an alternate timeline. Somewhere in her head, surely she must remember the love she’d once held for them.
Pulling out the seat beside her, I lightly ran my clawed hand across her pale one.
Startled, she yelped, shifting in her seat so fast that she very nearly toppled backward. I had to grab hold of her chair to keep her steady.
“Dani, it’s just me. Just me,” I murmured softly, looking into her panicked gaze.
Her pulse fluttered like manic butterfly wings in her throat, so violently that even I saw its beat. It was difficult not to tear up at the sight of what Danika had become.
A shell of her former self. Once such a fierce and tiny warrior, now she was losing herself to the madness of seeing the memories of two worlds, one of which no longer existed but that had left a lasting impact on our new reality.
“Galeta?” she whispered brokenly, giving her head a tiny shake and blinking several times.
I nodded. “That’s right, love. It’s me.”
Her brows gathered into a deep frown. “I do not like you.” She said the words in a distant fog, then shook her head again. “And yet I do. Once so cruel. Now no more. What has happened to me?” She moaned and clutched her temple.
I swallowed the lump in my throat; I’d done this poor fairy such harm in my former life. I wished I could fix her, wave my wand and make her whole again. But I’d tried, and nothing seemed to help her. The magic had affected all of us differently.
It seemed cruel that I was exempt, considering I was the catalyst for this mess.
“We’re going to fix you, sweetheart.” I patted her hand. “I promise. But in order to do that, we first need to fix your happily-ever-afters.”
There was nothing more sacred in this life to a fairy godmother than the knowledge that her couples were happily loving and living and eating bonbons in some fabulously wealthy setting all their livelong days. Danika would never truly heal until her “children” were seen to.