THE GREAT PRETENDER ¬ ACOTAR

chapter xxxii.

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CHAPTER XXXII

MASKS AND PETS

THE QUEENS FINALLY AGREED TO MEET, and Callaghan was told to come with the others.

She flew with Cas to the estate and stood beside Mor as they waited for the clock to strike eleven.

Cal was dressed in her usual leathers but instead of a long green coat, she opted for a shorter one, stopping just by the back of her thighs. She also kept her hood up for the mystery.

A smile graced her features when she saw Nesta eyeing them all with watchful eyes.

When the queens winnowed in at exactly eleven, Cal wondered why there were only five. They were supposed to be six. But her smirk was back on the moment the guards held onto their swords as Rhys stepped forward, greeting the queens.

They were of varying ages and physical traits, but each one held a look in them that said they were above everyone else.

Cal stands behind Mor as the golden haired fae sits down, playing her guard. There she was again, staying silent as the queens ridiculed her friends. Making their own assumptions based on rumors. She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from speaking up. She was supposed to be a guard, so she will be one.

Mor began talking about how she fought together with the queens' ancestors and how she saw nothing of those women in them. Cal saw Azriel inch closer as Mor spoke. It made her wonder, would he step in to save her too if given the chance?

Then the queens asked for proof. A proof that Rhysand wasn't the High Lord the rumors told them he was. The queens were selfish little creatures, Callaghan thought. Feyre was a living proof of his goodness as itself.

Yet Rhys agreed, he will give them their proof.

"Then come at your own leisure," Rhysand snapped when the golden queen said that they were not to be summoned by anyone.

From her spot, she could see Cassian grin when the guards moved forward with their hands ready to pull out their large swords. As if those swords can go through two full grown Illyrians and three powerful High Fae.

As the queens left, Cal's tight shoulders sagged. The silence was louder than any other in the room.

"I hope they all burn in hell."

For once, she could agree with Elain.

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THEY FLEW HOME still clad in silence. They landed in the foyer, but Rhysand went straight to the courtyard.

Soon enough, they all followed him. Cal merely listened to the others as she settled in her spot near the fountain. Vik sat beside her, taking her hand in his.

Cassian suggested taking the queens out, letting newer, more open queens to reign, but Rhys was right. It would take too long, and based on Hybern's army, they didn't have the time.

Mor had also suggested coming to the queens herself, but Azriel refused. Claiming that if she went into their territories, she wouldn't leave. It was true, the spies she sent into the queen's realms didn't come back. And if they did, they were missing a few limbs or their heads.