This time, I paid no attention to the beauty of Queen Orla's throne room. Cyra strode next to me, her beautiful face frosted over with anger. Literal frost. I would have to ask her about that later. But right now, I only had eyes for the beautiful, black-haired male at the end of the long aisle.

"Why is he bound?" I demanded, coming up short when I spied the manacles around his wrists. Deep red welts were already forming where the metal touched. Soon they would bleed.

Queen Orla tilted her head, tapping a shimmering nail against her pointed chin. "Because that is what one does to criminals."

Cyra grasped. "Mother. This is absurd, and you are risking all of Faerie with this foolishness."

Glittering jade green eyes latched onto the princess. "How so?"

"He's the rightful ruler of the Summer Court. When Lorcan broke the covenants, he stepped down from the throne."

So that was how that came about.

"By rights, Niamh is next in line for the throne. She is the elder and carries the blood of the royal Summer Fae."

The princess bristled at my side, her fists tightening against her thighs. I cut my eyes toward her. She might not want to inherit her mother's throne one day, but she was every inch a queen.

"And yet the land refuses to acknowledge her as its queen. It is dying, and that rot will creep into our lands."

Queen Orla sighed and steepled her fingers together. "Perhaps you're right, my child."

I relaxed, allowing a small smile to tug at my lips as I focused on Calix. There was a burgeoning bruise beneath his right eye, and he did not return my smile. In fact, his countenance grew grimmer, and he shook his head ever so slightly.

"Then again," the queen said, her high girlish voice turning cruel and cold. "The land cannot choose a dead king, and that is what Calix will be soon."

"No!"

I rushed toward him, ignoring Cyra's hiss of warning. Fear flashed in his silver eyes, and he struggled to rise to his knees. Sharp pain lanced across my face and chest as an unseen force slammed into me and tossed me several feet backward. Hands shaking, I touched my cheek, and my fingers came away wet with blood.

The throne room rumbled, and lightning slashed across the sky as Calix thrashed. Queen Orla's expression of wicked delight faltered, and she swallowed hard when she looked at Calix's cuffs. Whatever they were made of, they were dampening his powers. Otherwise, he would have brought the sky down on her head for striking me.

"Orla," Calix growled, his eyes wild as they traced my body. "For every drop of Luna's blood you have spilled, I will take that from you seven times over. You will ask the Ancient Ones to end your life before I am through."

She couldn't hide the tremor that wracked her, even as she sneered down at him. "The Ancient Ones can save no one. Your mother saw to that. So go ahead and try."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked softly, even though I knew the answer. "He is my mate. That is sacred among your people."

"It is," Queen Orla conceded. "But there are laws, and you broke them by sealing a bond without my permission."

"Because I'm a member of the royal Autumn Court?" She nodded. "And yet you've offered no proof. You have no claim on me."

She rose and shook out her golden skirts. "And yet I have your mate bound in iron and the backing of the other three Courts."

"No. When I go to the Coire and make the change, I will choose the Summer Court. You will have no power over me."

"And by the time you return, his corpse will be half rotten and filled with maggots."

An inhuman snarl tore past my lips. My bones ached and burned, and I felt like I was going to come apart at the seams. I wondered if that was all my rage, or if Calix's emotions fueled the feelings. Because I could almost swear I felt magic sparking in my blood.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. I'm going to offer you a deal. One that ends with us both getting what we want."

"Absolutely not," Cyra said. Calix said the same thing, only with much more color.

"I'm listening."

"Luna, do not—"

The queen flicked a finger toward Calix and no more sound fell past his lips. "The Coire is not the only place you can make the change. You may also bind yourself within the Court that you plan on choosing. Most go to the Coire because of tradition."

Bind myself to the Autumn Court? I glanced between Cyra and Calix. The princess stared at the ground, resigned. And Calix... tears leaked down his cheeks. I jerked my eyes away, unable to watch him cry. Too afraid I might break.

"And before you get excited about any magic you might come into—"

I hadn't really considered it, but now that she said something. Perhaps with magic of my own, I might stand a chance against her.

Queen Orla continued. "You will be bound to my will. Your magic will be mine, and wielding it against me will end with you bound in iron. Just like your mate."

"Then..." I sucked in a deep breath. "Bind me."

Calix's head dropped, and Queen Orla laughed. "I applaud your noble sacrifice, but you're not letting me get to the best part. If you do that, then I will spare Calix's life. He will speak the words of abdication, of course."

"Why is this necessary?" I demanded, searching for her hidden agenda. It was easy to understand the last part. The abdication was for Niamh. "You've already claimed me. Why must I claim the Court and go through the change?"

"Because I wish you to marry another."

It was my turn to laugh. "Crown or no crown, do you really think Calix would allow another male to touch me? We are mated. It has been sealed."

"Exactly. You see, there is something else that can be done when a human goes through the claiming. And it can only be done then. It was a loophole of sorts to help humans who were forcefully mated to Fae."

"Spit it out, mother," Cyra snapped, her hand reaching for mine as if she knew how bad it was going to be.

Queen Orla stepped off her throne and grabbed Calix by his hair, jerking him upright so it forced him to look at me. "If you want your mate to live, Luna, then you will dissolve your mate bond."