“Walk directly in front of me and don’t touch anything,” he says. I nod, lifting my hand in promise before I’m ushered into the palace’s cool interior. I blink as my eyes adjust to the shift. Though high windows let in plenty of light, it’s an abrupt change from the blazing reflections outside.

The watery blue tiles are cool on my feet, and I wince at the sensation of a reverse burn against my sweltering soles. I lift the hair on the back of my neck, attempting to expose it to a lick of cool air, savoring a break from the beating sun.

“Walk,” the guard says before we march down a hallway towards a large chamber through an arched doorway. As we near the end, he calls out, “Halt.”

He brushes past me. “Stay there.”

Two more guards flank the entrance. One male and one female, both stiff with attention. My escort exchanges a few words with the High Fae female in a low voice that I strain to hear. She casts a look at me and then back before jerking her chin.

The first guard then passes me by and walks in the direction we came, shaking his head as though I’ve ruined his entire day.

“It was nice meeting you too,” I call to his retreating back.

Not surprisingly, he doesn’t respond or acknowledge my existence.

“Come with me,” the female guard says as I turn to face her.

She has deep olive skin, her nose and cheeks covered in a dusting of brown freckles, likely garnered from hours in the sun. Her brown hair is tied in a high braided ponytail that accentuates the hard lines of her face, and her dark green eyes flash with anger. I can’t tell if it’s because of me or because she’s just having one of those days.

I’m led through the palace and its winding halls, hearing the crash of the ocean in the distance. Otherwise, it’s quiet here, no one passing us as we walk. The woman stares straight ahead as she marches at a brisk pace.

We pass high windows made of stained glass in various shades of blue and green and walls embedded with the fossils of seashells and sea life, all dusted with sparkling silver. As we head down another long hall, I see more guards waiting at the end.

We approach them, and the woman says, “Take her.”

Before I have a chance to react, two enormous male High Fae wearing Alluvion armor seize me roughly by each arm.

“What are you doing?” I ask as a door swings open and they drag me through. “I demand to see your king!”

The female guard walks ahead of us and calls over her shoulder. “You were told you’d be sent to the dungeons if you insisted on bothering the guards.”