A Kiss of Shadow (Court of Starlight and Darkness #2)(2)

“I’ll wait here for you,” Dain said.

“Thanks. I need some girl time.” I let myself in through the beautiful wooden door and climbed the stairs. There was only one door at the top, and Meria swung it open as I reached it.

“Hey!” She threw her arms around me, and relief rushed through me.

“You’re not mad at me?” I hadn’t seen her since I’d defeated her in the competition, so I wasn’t sure where she stood on the issue.

She pulled back. “I’m bummed about my family, but of course not. I know you did everything you could to help me win.”

I nodded. “I’ll find a way to get them back. I promise.”

“Yeah.” Her tone was doubtful.

“You don’t believe me?”

“I believe you’ll try, but it’s impossible unless they’re related to royalty.”

They’d been banished for reasons unknown to me, and Meria had been hoping to get them back into the kingdom by becoming the queen. I’d tried to help her, but none of it had gone as planned.

“Don’t worry about it.” She tugged on my arm. “Come in and have a drink.”

I followed her in but didn’t listen to her admonishment not to worry about it. Of course I worried about it. But I could sock it away and try to deal with it at another time. Maybe she could become my blood sister or something. Magic could make anything happen, right?

Meria led me into a pretty apartment with golden wood floors and white walls. There wasn’t much furniture—just an emerald-green couch and a table with two chairs—but it had so much potential.

“It’s beautiful.” I spun in a circle.

“Yeah, not a bad consolation prize.” She went to a door and entered another room, returning a moment later with a bottle of wine and two coffee mugs. “Come on, let’s sit on the balcony.”

I joined her on the small balcony that overhung the sea. About fifty feet below, the waves crashed on the rocks. If I’d had a problem with heights, it would have been an issue.

Instead, it was gorgeous.

I looked up at the sky, where a sliver of moon was surrounded by the stars. I breathed in deeply, feeling their magic flow into me.

Meria handed me a glass of wine. “How are you holding up?”

“Barely. I think a dark shadow has been following me.” The words sounded crazy leaving my lips.

“Like a stalker?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think it’s the witch with deathly magic?” She looked to the right, where the dark clouds hovered.

I shook my head. “I don’t think she’s here yet, or the clouds would be closer. I think it’s someone else.”

“Makes sense. You’re queen now. Wouldn’t be surprised if someone wants you off the throne. You’re an outsider who’s hiding her ears.”

I wasn’t actually hiding my ears, but both Meria and I were the only ones who knew that. The other fae assumed I was using magic to conceal my pointed fae ears because I’d lived in the human world. The truth? I wasn’t fae at all. If others found out, they’d hate having an outsider on the throne.

“Maybe someone else knows what I am,” I said. The idea sent a shiver through me.

“I hope not. They won’t like having a witch as queen.”

“Neither will Lore.”

“Lore, is it?”

I blew out a breath. “Is it weird I call him by his first name?”

“Maybe not in the human world. But amongst the fae, it’s pretty personal.”

“Well, we’re going to get married.” I leaned back against my chair. “In name only, of course.”

“But he can touch you. And he can touch no one else. That’s got to be pretty intense.”

Our only kiss had been enough to melt my brain, but I didn’t mention it. Better to change the subject. “Yeah. I just wish I knew who my parents were. That’s what started this whole thing. I got a tip that I’d find my parents at the Dark Forest.” The bar hadn’t been the human biker bar I’d thought it was. Instead, it was a hidden fae bar. “But I didn’t find them. I got kidnapped and taken here.”

“So you’re thinking your parents must be magical.”

“Yep. I think they’re the answer to all my questions. And I want to find them. Not just to understand my magic, but to know where I come from. It’s been eating me up inside.”

She gripped my hand, and I took comfort from her touch. “I can help you.”

“You’ve got to be busy.”

“Not too busy to help a friend.” She frowned, then sipped her drink. “But I think you’re going to need more than just me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think you could get answers from the Truth Teller, but I don’t know how to reach her.”

Annoyance shot through me at the thought of the seer who had appeared at the end of the competition and declared me the winner.

“We just need to find her.” Meria stood up and looked over the balcony to the right. “But you’re not going to like how we do it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Evelyn.”

“She knows where the Truth Teller is?” Evelyn had been our primary competition in the fight to become queen. She’d started out as a real bitch. She might still be one, but when the competition had nearly killed Meria and me, she’d helped us. So she wasn’t a monster, at least. And I usually liked bitches.