All Chapters of TWO CAN PLAY THE FAE GAME : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Empire was not built in a day. Elena learned this on day five after Blood Moon, when she tried to build Starlight school and realized Palace of Ice had no chairs for 6-year-olds, only thrones for 300-year-old fae. Lily, 6, white-gold hair, who had fixed toilet with small star, sat on ice throne too big and said, "My feet don't touch floor. Is this queen test?" Maya, mother, who had taken iron off and now glowed faintly, said, "She needs small chairs. And juice boxes. Do you have juice boxes in ice palace?" Elena, King on Throne, crown of constellations bright, looked at Adrian, King-consort, who beat warm fast, and at King Moros, advisor, old, black ice crown less bleeding, and at Sophia, with list, and at Kael, who was teaching Jake 15 how to make storm-ice sword small. "We need school," Elena said, queen voice, but also tired mom voice. "Not just training room that was frozen lake. School. With small chairs. And juice boxes. And no iron." Adrian, arms around waist, bond h

Dream-Walk was not supposed to be possible for queen.Old law: Starlight Queen does not dream-walk to hollow place, because hollow place rots light. Only blood witches dream-walk. But Elena had broken old law before — she had sat when Mara rose, she had fixed toilet with light, she had built school with small chairs.Day seven after Blood Moon, after Lily's black rose, after net of light sealed crack, Elena could not sleep. Bond hummed, Adrian beside her, warm beating heart fast, but hollow place whispered.Victoria, in hollow, red eyes, offering black juice boxes to 6-year-olds.Elena stood, gown of starlight silk, crown dimmed because tired, and said to Adrian: "I will dream-walk to her."Adrian sat up, instant, frost-vine crown gold, possessive, protective."No," he said, voice that made ice crack. "Hollow rots. Mara is there, under ice, sewn mouth smiling. If you dream-walk, blood can take. You are King on Throne. King does not go to hollow."Elena touched his face, cold and warm.

Blood Waits was not just what Mara did under ice. It was what Victoria did in hollow place, after dream-walk, after Elena burned black salt to roses, after small thrones sealed crack and spear burned Mara's heart but not killed. Day nine after Blood Moon, Elena woke to Sophia shaking her, not with list, but with black feather that wept blood. "Little queen, blood message," Sophia said, raven eyes wide, feathers falling black. "From hollow. From Victoria. Not dream-walk, blood letter. Old law allows blood witch banished to send one blood letter to old houses that contested. She sent." Adrian, King-consort, shirt off, frost-vine crown gold, took feather — which burned his frost, because blood — and read, in blood language that throne taught Elena too. To House Frostfall, Nightglass, Hollowwind, who knelt to battery queen. I, Victoria Hale, Blood Heir, granddaughter of Mara, offer deal. Old law says if Starlight Queen fails to protect heirs before next Blood Moon, throne can be

Twelve was number Elara had. Elara, first Starlight Queen, 500 years ago, had twelve heirs, twelve small thrones in East Wing that had been prison, then school, now army. Mara killed eleven, hid one — Liora, Elena's mother, who burned to hide Elena. Elena had five — Lily 6, queen of small chairs who fixed toilet, Maya 28, mother who protected, Jake 15, angry lights thinking of sister, Aisha 14, healer who healed rot, Mrs. Chen 62, heir of market with glowing hydrangeas. Five thrones glowed without queen. Seven empty. Day eleven after Blood Moon, Elena stood in Brooklyn garden gate, Starlight only, guarded by Mrs. Chen's hydrangeas and Aisha's healer shield, and said: "We find seven more before winter. Because Elara had twelve, and twelve seals blood better than five. Small stars army needs twelve." Adrian, King-consort, frost-vine crown gold at heart beating warm fast, arms around waist, bond humming, said: "Where? Brooklyn is big, but not that big. We found five in one morni

Pure was not supposed to be possible for diluted. Old law: Starlight diluted by human blood dims, needs iron to hide, needs battery to endure, cannot be pure. Only Elara pure, because first. Elena pure, because Liora burned to hide her, because Victoria failed to keep battery. But Elena had taught twelve heirs pure during First Winter, small, controlled, with love, not big dimming. Day thirteen after Blood Moon, day after First Winter, Elena woke to palace not snowing inside, but glowing, because twelve small thrones glowed pure white-gold without queen touching, and twelve heirs slept in East Wing, because school now had cloud-ice beds, like Elena's bed, gold-white, because heirs who are pure need beds that glow. Lily, 6, queen of small chairs, slept holding ice rose that was pure, white-gold, that she had made during First Winter thinking of mother. Maya, mother, slept holding Lily, glow pure, not flickering, because mother love purifies, and First Winter taught purify. J