To Catch a Queen by Shanna Swendson Page B

was able to ease her hand out of his grasp. She didn’t feel comfortable discussing his love for his missing wife while holding hands with him. Her equilibrium returned the moment she was no longer touching him. Feeling a lot steadier, she said, “I don’t suppose she told you specifically how?”
    “Apparently, the task or trial arises when it’s time, but she had some ideas for how it should go.” He gestured toward the corner of shawl peeking out of his bag. “I might have to buy her freedom, and she thought that trading things of value until I had something her captor values might come up. So, I got a start on that. Though I don’t know if it will work, since it doesn’t seem like she has a captor now, with Maeve out of power.”
    “Maybe it’s not so much a ransom as it is a gift for Jen. Think of it as wooing her all over again. You did it once before.”
    “Yeah, but the last time I wasn’t competing with the fairy world. She was a struggling actress and I was a guy with a steady job.”
    Oh, he was so much more than that, but she didn’t think this was the time to give him a flattering ego boost. “I’m sure that’s not the only reason she married you.”
    He stared at her so intently that she felt her skin prickling under his glare. “So, now what do we do?”
    She knew he wouldn’t accept “I don’t know” for an answer, but she didn’t know, and she didn’t know what to do about it. For once in her life, she was utterly without a plan or an answer, and all her newfound power was useless. “We go with your plan. We get you into the Realm and see if you can free Jen.” Funny, it sounded like her voice, but it wasn’t the sort of thing she’d imagined she would say. In fact, it went against her every instinct.
    No, actually, it had been her instinct speaking. What it went against was the part of her that resisted instinct, that tried to be rational about everything, even the things that weren’t at all rational. She was magical in multiple ways, human and fae. Maybe she should listen to her instinct.
    As surprised as she was about her decision, he looked even more shocked. “Seriously?” he asked, an eyebrow arched skeptically. “You’re not just messing with me?”
    “It’s all I’ve got right now. Don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind.”
    He was already on his feet and tugging at her hand. “Not at all. Let’s go.”
    She let him pull her to her feet. Beau grunted and shifted position as he lost his backrest.
    A shout from the other side of the market caught their attention, and they turned to see a wave of oddly dressed fairies swarming down the stairs into the market. Sophie was used to the wild fae, but these looked like cartoon images of savages, wearing necklaces of bones. “Oh no, not these guys,” Michael said with a groan. Sophie turned back to look at him. “I ran into them the other night. They’re bad news.”
    The invaders proceeded to demonstrate that by running wildly through the market, upending booths and knocking people over. As they ran, they sang something that sounded like “Again, again, the Wild Hunt rides again.”
    “ This is the Hunt?” Sophie asked, speaking mostly to herself. “It’s a night early. And I thought it would be more impressive.”
    “I think these are fans of the Hunt,” Michael said, not taking his eyes off the invaders.
    Sophie hated being the fairy queen, and she normally preferred to let the Realm rule itself, but she couldn’t stand by and allow it to descend into anarchy. She started to head for the fray, but Michael caught her arm and held her back with an iron grip. “These are my people. I have to do something,” she protested.
    “They’re just schoolyard bullies. You can help more by getting your Realm under control.”
    Soon, it didn’t matter that he was holding her back because the savages were running toward them. “My impostor must be getting rid of her rival,” Sophie suggested, instinctively