The moment stabbed me with guilt. A newly married woman should not be staring at men’s muscles and chests, right? I shook my head as if answering my own question, but then the uglier question reared its head. Where was my new husband, and why wasn’t he here?
It wasn’t like I’d frozen in space, trying to figure out those answers or wondering what came next in this unwelcome Fae drama. I’d been edging wearily toward the dual queens, as if marching to an execution, completely lacking in enthusiasm for any decision the two of them were about to make as to my fate in all this.
But I’d reached them and had no option except to stop, bow my head slightly to show respect to their position (and power) and to wait for what was to come.
“You look okay,” Queen Moragana said. “Your sparkle of beauty still peeks through that horrid dress and the smudges of dirt from face to . . . naked feet.”
Oh dear. Had I broken some Fae custom because I wasn’t wearing shoes?
“My clothes were taken from me while I slept,” I explained, as the queen continued to stare at my bare feet. “The shoes I was given were too small, so I had to go without.”
“Oh, mercy,” the kidnapper said. “I’d forgotten that Lady Carine had tiny feet. Of course your humanly large feet didn’t fit. This is my fault, Queen Moragana, not an intended affront to yourself.”
Queen Moragana pulled her eyes from the sight of my bare feet and glared at the other queen. “Of course, it is not the human’s fault. You kidnapped the child, you monstrous queen.”
My stomach took that moment to complain loudly about its need for sustenance. It had not been fed anything since leaving the ship, and that had been no more than a few pieces of finger food: a couple of tortilla chips, two slices of apple, and a bite of a not so delicious cheese that Timothy had insisted I try. (He thought it was wonderful, but I couldn’t stand even the smell of it.)
I don’t know how long the bitter exchange of nasty words between the queens might have continued without my stomach’s growl, but the sound did have a nice effect of ceasing all discourse. Even the assembled soldiers fastened their attention on either my feet or my stomach.
At least they did for that instant until a wrinkling of air with streaks of gray and orange brought with it the tinkling of bells. Then everyone’s eyes did a 180 degree, the soldiers went into alert, and Queen Moragana swept me into her embrace. Smothered in velvet and jewels, I could barely breathe and was unable to see what was happening.