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Alisdair waved, and walls shot up from the sides—enclosing me in against the cold.
“I promise, my beast, my king, my husband,” I whispered. “I’ll come back for you.”
BRADACH AND THE RAVENfaeriken flew all night—not stopping to eat, rest, or make waste.
I prayed to Meya as the snow, clouds, and darkness vanished in the distance, and the sun returned.
Heat beat down on the litter, as blazing as the beaming sunlight penetrating the slats and dazzling my eyes. How was this the world I grew up in? I felt like a stranger embarking on a new land.
“The Crystal Palace,” Bradach bellowed, shouting over the thunderous hum of faeman-sized wings beating the air. “It’s there!”
I wanted to see but Alisdair didn’t make a window. All that mattered was that he could see it. We were close.
“Mama. Meli, I’m coming.”
Despite what Bradach said, we flew for ages more. The light coming through the slats grew duskier and dimmer. Reds, golds, and purples danced before my eyes when I peeked out—Meya’s final parting gift before day left us, and her moon and stars reigned.
“How much longer!”
“Almost there!”
I popped off my butt, thrown against the wood as Bradach and his brethren put on a burst of speed.
“What is that?”
“There!”
“Faeriken! It’s faeriken!”
“They’re attacking!”
Never did I think I’d be happy to hear those words. “Bradach,” I called. “I can’t see anything!”
Suddenly, the entire front wall of the litter blew off. I screamed, throwing myself back as the rush of wind and light blasted my sensitive eyes. Blinking rapidly, the Crystal Palace came into sharp view—as did all of Lyrica.
Little specks moved this way and that way on the streets, scurrying about their day. From high above, the stark difference between the royal residences and the Galley was impossible to miss. Trash rolled through broken cobblestone streets, falling off the piles stacked behind ramshackle huts, and homes that were old and falling apart from the day they were built.
We left behind my old home, flying straight over the marketplace and the shouting people below. Fruit and day-old vegetables took to the skies, pelting my litter and its bearers.
I gritted my teeth. “So much for the arranged marriage bringing peace and tolerance to the kingdoms.”
Bradach and the others didn’t let them slow them down. They went straight to the palace gates and carried me over, igniting fires under the feet of the palace guards.
“Back, beasts!” Soldiers flooded the courtyard, their swords aloft. Coudarian crystals embedded right on the hilts. “Leave this place or—”
A blast of wind blew them off their feet—sending them and their weapons scattering. Bradach, the others, and my littertouched down as they clambered up—filthy curses and violent promises pouring from their lips.
“That was your second mistake, beast,” hissed a tall, freckled soldier. He spat blood on the pavement. “Coming here was your first.
“Atta—!”
I jumped out. “Stand down! Everyone, stand down now! Weapons on the ground!”
“Excuse me?” Derisive laughter filled the courtyard. “Who do you think you are, bitch?”
I raised my head, glaring into his eyes. He jerked back so fast his feet tangled, and the stupid fool fell on his ass again. “Queen Emiana, Royal Highness of Wind and Wild, and former princess of Lyrica. That’s who the fuck I think I am.”
“P-princess? How—?”
