Chapter 21

Chapter 21

FEY

F ey’s shoes patted rhythmically on the rough cobblestones as she ran through her neighborhood. It was just past dawn, and the early morning air held a pleasant chill, cooling the sweat that coated her skin. But the cold air could only do so much, and by the time she reached the park, a thin line of sweat had collected on her back and ran down her spine.

This was Fey’s favorite trail to run in the mornings—through her neighborhood, past Regina’s shop, and up through Goddess Park. It was early enough that no one was out, early enough that the only sounds around her were the chattering and singing of birds as they heralded the coming day.

Today, Fey felt at peace.

Once, she could only achieve this level of calm after spending hours in the training gym. Back then, she would push herself far past her limits, almost to the point of collapse, to feel like this. But something was changing. She was changing. Now, she let herself relax as she ran, losing herself in the rhythm of her breath and the repetitive sounds of her feet hitting the pavement.

She didn’t see the posters until she reached the midpoint of her morning run—the Dual-faced Goddess statue. Stopping near the base, Fey took a moment to catch her breath and stretch out her legs.

That’s when she saw it.

Someone had taped it to the base of the statue, as if they had put it there just for her. Frowning, Fey stepped closer, and when she saw the image on the notice there, all the calm of her morning run vanished.

It was the same posters she’d seen before, the same image of her face. But the words written over it no longer read OUR TRUE QUEEN .

No. This message was different. Written in a different hand.

DEATH TO THE COUNCIL.

DEATH TO THE ROYAL FAMILY.

Fey’s hands shook as she took the poster from the statue and held it tight between her fingers.

There were more. Now that she’d noticed, she saw them everywhere. Nailed to power lines, taped to shop windows, they were all around her—Fey’s own face looking back at her under a hand scrawled message.

KILL THEM ALL.

Fey collected all the posters she could find, but even after she’d burned each and every one, she couldn’t erase that image of her own face from her mind. Couldn’t keep the taste of ash from her mouth, as that inferno of rage burned inside of her.

BANG, BANG, BANG

Alice sat bolt upright at the knock, fumbling for the blades she kept next to the bed—the only memento she kept from her life under the Queen’s reign. Lying next to her, Joy groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers over her face.

“You deal with it,” Joy said, voice sleepy and muffled from under the blankets. “Whatever it is, you deal with it.”

In the few seconds it took Alice to climb out of bed, grab one of her twin blades, and pull on a pair of pants, Joy had already fallen back asleep. Her soft, rhythmic breathing reminded Alice why she was so jumpy. Reminded her of all the things she needed to protect .

She had lost Joy once, for the good of the realm, and it had almost killed her. She wouldn’t risk losing her again. Not for anything.

BANG, BANG, BANG

Blade ready at her side, Alice snuck quietly to the front door and opened it, ready for whatever monster awaited her on the other side.

Thankfully, this time the monster was one she recognized.

Fey stormed in, nearly knocking Alice over in her rage. The tension in Alice’s shoulder dissipated, and she released a shaky breath of relief, closing the door behind her sister and flipping the lock back into place.

“Have you seen these?” Fey asked without preamble, shoving something toward her. Alice set her blade down against the wall before taking the piece of paper from her sister.

TRAITORS , this one read. Fey’s face, wearing a near-identical scowl to the one she wore now, stared back at her.

Alice ran a hand over her face. It was too early for this. Far, far too early.

“Yes,” she told Fey, handing it back. “Yes, I’ve seen them. You want some coffee?”

Fey bared her teeth, lip curling in anger. “No, Alice, I don’t want any fucking coffee. Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

Alice rolled her eyes, pushing past Fey and into the kitchen. She opened a container of coffee and scooped some into the machine. “Well, I’m going to need coffee to deal with this conversation, so you’re going to have to wait. Do you want a cup or not, babe?”

Fey clenched her teeth together, crossing her arms tight against her body, but she knew better than to argue. “Fine,” she snapped. “I’ll have a cup.”

The coffee bubbled rhythmically as it percolated, making happy conversation with itself while Alice and Fey sat in silence and waited.

“Where’d you find that one?” Alice asked, finally.

“Near Goddess Park,” Fey told her. “But Alice… they’re everywhere. I found them on every block, every street sign from the park to here.”

Alice nodded, pouring a cup of coffee for herself and then one for Fey. When she opened the icebox to get some cream, the door to their bedroom opened and a head full of blonde, tousled hair appeared.

“Is that coffee?” Joy asked sleepily, then spotting Fey, she smiled. “Hey, Fey! I should have known that was you trying to break down our door!”

Alice smiled at her, grabbing another mug from the cupboard for Joy. Merle appeared from out of the ether to rub against her ankles as she poured.

“What’s this?” Joy asked, walking up to the counter and plucking the slip of paper up off the table. Her eyebrows drew together as she read it.

“Someone is putting them up all over the city,” Alice explained as Joy’s face tightened. The air in the room crackled. “Kallista brought them to our attention at the last council meeting, which means someone has also replaced all the ones she spent several hours taking down.”

“You’re telling me you’ve known about this for days,” Fey said, tapping the poster with a long fingernail. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“I haven’t seen you since then, babe, so don’t give me that,” Alice explained. “Calm down. I haven’t been keeping anything from you. I would have told you the next time you came over. Which, coincidently, is right now, isn’t it?”

Fey pursed her lips but didn’t argue.

“Who is doing this?” Joy asked, frown deepening.

“We don’t know,” Alice told her.

“Probably the same lunatics putting up the other ones,” Fey said. “This is just the next step, isn’t it?”

Alice shook her head. “No, no, I don’t think so. All of those posters were about Fey. These… these are different.”

“They’re using her image,” Joy argued. “These are the same posters as before, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, but they’re not about her, are they?” Alice looked at Fey. “Do you remember what some of the other posters you found today said?”

“Yeah,” Fey answered. “ Death to the council, death to Witches , that sort of thing.”

“The ones Kallista found were the same,” Alice verified. “They’re not about Fey at all, they’re mostly about the council and the royal family. Fey is just… a symbol, here. A revolutionary.”

Fey raised an eyebrow at her, and Alice shrugged, stirring sugar into her coffee and taking a sip. “I’m not saying you are a revolutionary, babe. But to this group? Maybe that’s what you represent. Change. A challenge to the system.”

“But I have nothing to do with the council,” Fey argued.

Alice shrugged again. “Maybe that’s why they’re using your image? You haven’t had anything to do with it—but you were responsible for taking down the Queen. Maybe they see you as the solution. The one to bring down the council. I don’t know, babe, I’m just speculating here. We’re as in the dark as you are.”

“What did the council say when you talked about this?” Fey asked.

Alice took another drink of her coffee. Sip by sip, she was feeling more awake, more herself. “Nothing, really. We decided on a wait-and-see approach. The posters are concerning, but… so far, there haven’t been any real threats, no action taken against anyone. It’s all just talk. Let’s see if these people burn themselves out.”

Fey pulled a face. “‘Wait and see’? This is my face plastered all over the city, Alice. And you’re not going to do anything about it?”

“What do you want us to do?” Alice asked, exasperated. “Set up a stakeout? Bring in random citizens for interrogation? We barely have an army anymore. You realize that, right? Enrollment has never recovered after… after everything that happened. Do you want me to waste what few resources we do have trying to track down whoever this is? When they haven’t even done anything?”

“Do you have any idea who might be behind this?” Joy asked Fey, her voice soft.

Fey shook her head. “No,” she conceded. “I have no idea. None whatsoever.”

“No one has approached you about the council?” Joy pushed. “No one has tried to corner you and find out how you feel about any politics in the realm?”

Fey snorted a laugh. “When would anyone have the chance? I spend all of my time here, at home, or at work. I don’t see more than a handful of people a month. You two included.”

“Well, that’s concerning for completely different reasons,” Joy said, giving Fey an assessing look.

“What about your students?” Alice pressed. “I know you teach more than just kids now. Have any of them tried to speak to you about this, any of the older Witches?”

Fey thought back, trying to remember anything unusual, but finally shook her head. “No,” she said. “Most of the work is group-focused, not individual. Leandra handles more of the one-on-one time with them. Most of our students are terrified of me, they don’t try to engage in casual conversation.”

Alice threw up her hands in exasperation. “You see? What are we supposed to do here, without any leads or any real threat? Where would we even begin?”

Fey scowled.

Setting her mug down, Alice gave Fey what she hoped was an understanding smile. “I get that you’re scared?—”

“I’m not scared,” Fey said. “I’m pissed . This is my face, staring at me from every place I look in this city. My face, posted on every damned building I see. I don’t appreciate the constant reminder of my public outing by the Queen. I don’t appreciate having one of the hardest times of my life shoved back into my face every time I leave my house.”

She snatched the poster from the counter, crumpling it in her hand.

“Tell me when you find something,” she demanded, glaring at Alice. “The moment you find something.”

Then without another word, without a goodbye, she stormed out, leaving Joy and Alice and a quickly cooling cup of coffee behind her.