Valentine's Arrow

26: A Distant Lullaby

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

REBECCA

Rebecca should have known that with the Fair Folk, things never came so easily. The Queen, still with Rebecca's sword against her throat, led them down an endlessly long corridor, ignoring the muffled curses and gasps of pain from the others as they stumbled over rocks that seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and twisted out of creepers that attempted to wrap around their legs.

"How much longer?" Rebecca said finally.

"Not long," the Queen said serenely.

Rebecca rolled her eyes as Simon came up behind her and tugged at her elbow. "I really, really hate to say this," he whispered, "but that kind of seemed too easy."

"Maybe she's letting us go because she thinks we'll die there."

"That's comforting," Simon whispered sarcastically, falling back into step with Clary.

Rebecca shrugged. "What did you expect? A pep talk?"

As the darkness became more and more complete, her thoughts wandered to Sebastian. What was he doing now? Did he already know that she had turned against him? Probably not, but the Queen would warn him soon enough.

But if it came down to killing him, would she really be able to do it? Could she kill someone she loved? Did she even love him at all? These questions swirled around in her head until she became dizzy.

Fortunately, the Queen's voice brought her out of her musings. "Here we are," she said, a tinge of amusement in her voice. "Can you guess the right road?"

They stood in a massive cave, the roof so high it was lost in shadow. The walls glowed with a phosphorescent shine, and three roads branched out in front of them. One was clear and broad and smooth, leading directly ahead. The one on the left shone with green leaves and bright flowers; Rebecca even thought she saw a glimmer of blue sky in the distance. The one on the right was dark and narrow, its shadows so thick they seemed to be almost alive, waiting for them to come into their clutches.

Something clicked in Rebecca's mind. "This is the Three Roads," she said. "That one," she pointed to the one on the left, "leads into the mundane world. That," she pointed to the one on the right, "leads further into Faerie. The one directly ahead of us leads straight to Hell."

"How do you know?" Alec sounded genuinely puzzled.

"Because this is where the Endarkened hid," she replied, turning to the Queen. "They waited here at the crossroads, then took the road leading to the mundane world and made for the Adamant Citadel."

"By the Angel," Clary breathed.

"Did you know this before?" Isabelle said urgently.

"No." Rebecca tore her gaze away from the Queen's unwavering one. "No, I asked Sebastian, but he never trusted me enough to tell me where they were." She glared at her feet. "Let's just go." She poked the Queen with the tip of her sword, and she jumped. Under other circumstances, she would have laughed.

"Just a second." Jace turned to the Queen. "What will stop you from telling Sebastian we've come after him the moment we leave you?"

The Queen's lips thinned. She looked old in that moment, despite the youth and beauty of her face. "You ask a fine question. And even if you kill me, there are those in my Court who will speak to him of you, and he will guess your intentions, for he is clever. You cannot evade his knowing, save you kill all the Fair Folk in my Court."

"Swear," said Jace. "I know what promises mean to your people. I know you cannot lie. Swear you will say nothing of us to Sebastian, nor will you allow anyone in your court to do the same."