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in the same direction of the forest.
    “What’s going on?” I whispered. He shook his head without a word and searched the crowd.
    Out of the gathering, I saw a man coming toward me, faeries parting like the Red Sea as he walked. His coal black hair flowed down his back. His features were sharp, so striking; it was almost hard to look at him. Almost. Two younger men accompanied him, flanking both sides of him, their looks so remarkably similar to the man in the middle they had to be related. About five towering figures assembled behind them with spears in hand. I could only assume they were his Keepers.
    “King Adair?” Declan gasped.
    “Who?” I whispered urgently, but there was no time for him to answer before they reached us.
    “So, it’s true?” King Adair questioned, searching our faces with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. “Favner is gone?”
    Declan nodded. “Yes. Favner is no longer King.”
    When King Adair’s eyes finally rested on me for more than a second, his hand shot to his mouth in disbelief. “You look so much like him,” he murmured.
    I stepped closer to Declan, feeling self-conscious by his scrutiny. “Who?”
    “Finnian. You must be his daughter.” His eyes lit up with warmth that contradicted his intimidating appearance.
    “I am.” I cleared my throat to speak louder. “I’m Calliope.”
    “Queen Calliope,” he addressed me. “I am Adair. King of Rymidon.” He bowed his head, acknowledging me as royalty. I did the same, knowing he deserved the respect more than I did.
    “King Adair.” My brain was just grasping what this meant. The Waking Oak was working again. The passageway was unblocked.
    “Please, you may call me Adair. You and I are Royals. We may speak to one another as equals.”
    I offered him a smile. “Okay, Adair. But how is it possible that you got through? I thought Favner had set up wards, blocking the passageway through the Waking Oak.”
    “The barrier must have lifted after he died. We came as soon as we noticed it.” He seemed to notice then that all eyes were on us. The music had ceased, and everyone was stunned into silence. But I couldn’t blame them. They had not seen any of their fellow fae in so many years.
    “I am being so impolite.” Adair’s words pulled me back to the present. “Let me introduce you to my sons—Skye and Sakari.” They both bowed their heads respectfully so I mirrored the gesture. “Skye will eventually be taking my place as King of Rymidon.”
    Skye offered me a polite, yet serious smile, most likely thinking the same thing I was. When the time came we would be the ones playing nice with one another. Or rather, I guess we wouldn’t have to play nice. We were already at peace. Things could go back to the way they ran before.
    “Calliope,” Skye’s deep voice resonated as he nodded to acknowledge me.
    “Sakari,” Adair said his name, and he came forward and took my hand, kneeling on one knee in front of me.
    “It’s an honor to meet you, Your Grace,” he said.
    I blinked. He stood again with a smile so charming my breathing sped up and he released my hand. His eyes were like sunshine, a bright yellow while reflecting hints of light orange … beautiful. “Thanks.” I swallowed. “It’s nice to meet you too,” I finished lamely.
    “We did not mean to interrupt the merriments. I merely wanted to come and see if it could possibly be true. Favner is dead, and your family has been brought back to Faylinn. We have our true bloodline back.”
    I didn’t like being referred to like that—like all I was good for was my blood. I may be the true heir to Faylinn, but he made it sound like there was no one else like me.
    “Yes, sir,” Declan spoke up beside me.
    “You are welcome to join us if you’d like,” I offered. “There’s plenty of food.”
    “Thank you, but I think we will come back. There is much to discuss. May we meet again in a few days? I’m sure you could use a little time to get acquainted with