The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

by Holly Black

“Nononononono!” Grimsen cries. “My work. My beautiful work. It was supposed to last forever.”

then why was it so easy to break bruh

Then the black bleeds down his face. He turns to me, opening his mouth, but his jaw is changing. His whole body is changing—elongating and ululating.

great i’m disturbed again

The monstrous thing seems to have swallowed up everything of Cardan. His mouth opens wide and then jaw-crackingly wide as long fangs sprout. Scales shroud his skin. Dread has rooted me in place.

well!

In the place where the High King was, there is a massive serpent, covered in black scales and curved fangs. A golden sheen runs down the coils of the enormous body. I look into his black eyes, hoping to see recognition there, but they are cold and empty.

bro did he die or just turn into a serpent either way, i do not like it at all 😥😥😥😥😥

“It will poison the land,” cries the smith. “No true love’s kiss will stop it. No riddle will fix it. Only death.”

BRUH WHY NOT A TRUE LOVE’S KISS YOU SUCK

“The King of Elfhame is no more,” says Madoc, grabbing for the hilt of his massive sword, intent on seizing victory from what had been almost certain defeat. “I mean to slay the serpent and take the throne.”

omfg i’m sick of you can the serpent eat him

This is nothing like being Cardan’s seneschal. This is nothing like ruling beside him. This is horrible. They will never listen to me.

YOU ALL SUCK

“Elfhame has a queen, and she is before you. Guards, seize Madoc. Seize everyone in his party. They have broken the High Court’s hospitality most grievously. I want them imprisoned. I want them dead.”

!!!!!!

“Because I am the Queen of Elfhame, the true queen, chosen by the king and the land.” My voice cracks on that last part. “And you are nothing but a traitor.”

YEAAHHH TELL HIM

Randalin steps up beside me. “You heard her,” he barks, surprising me. “Take them.”

LETS GOOOOOOO

“Mother!” Oak screams, and takes off across the brugh toward her.

OAK NOOOOOOO

But all he does is draw a child’s sword from a hilt at his side. The sword I insisted he learn through all those lazy afternoons in the mortal world. Holding it high, he puts himself between his mother and the serpent.

don’t make me cry STOPPP MY HEART

It strikes back, knocking him down and then sliding over his body in its haste to chase its real prey: Grimsen.

lol

Oak looks up at me, his eyes wet with tears. His hands tremble on the sword, clutching it far too hard. “You were very brave,” I tell him. “You just have to be brave a little longer.”

someone get me a tissue omg

“You want to be the Queen of Faerie, Jude?” Madoc shouts as he moves with a limping gait. “Then slay him. Slay the beast. Let’s see if you have the bravery to do what needs to be done.”

OH SHUT UPPPPPPPP

I order them shut and barred behind us.

😶

“Get ahold of yourself,” she growls. Knees weak, I slide to the floor, one hand pressing against my chest, as though I am trying to keep my heart from beating through the cage of my ribs.

oh no is she having a panic attack NOOOOOOOO

“You’re right,” I say. “I need a new Grand General. Will you accept the position?” Grima Mog’s surprise is obvious. “Me? But what of Yorn?” “He doesn’t have the experience,” I say. “And I don’t like him.”

lmfao real shit

“You’ve described pretty much every important relationship in my life,” I return, taking slow, shallow breaths. “I like you fine.”

💕💗💖💞❣️💓

Cardan is gone.

NOOO IT CANT BE HE IS NOT

There has to be a loophole. There has to be a trick. There has to be a way to break the curse—a way Cardan can survive.

there HASSS to be or i’m rioting

And then there are the Folk who must be convinced that I am the legitimate Queen of Faerie.

people still doubt her being queen???? are you kidding me

Nonetheless, when we look at each other, she comes immediately over and puts her arms around me. I think of the Roach and of all the curses that cannot be broken, and for a moment, I hug her tight.

stoppppp😭💔

“And if one of your spies overhears plans for my assassination, they do not need to bring me word. Nor do I care how vague the plot or how uncommitted the players. I just want them all dead.”

ohhh yeaaaahhhhhh END THEM ALL

Taryn takes a big breath. “Okay. I’ve got this. I’ll make you look good.” “I’m going to have to look really good,” I say.

you already do shawty 🫦😜😜

“There really is nothing that—” he begins. I cut him off. “I want to know everything about the prophecy you made when Cardan was born. I want you to tell me it exactly.”

YEPP STRAIGHT TO BUSINESS

He clears his throat. “There are two parts. He will be the destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne. Only out of his spilled blood can a great ruler rise.”

spilled blood doesn’t have to mean death right just cut him or her or something it BETTER not mean death

“Before he died, Grimsen said: No true love’s kiss will stop it. No riddle will fix it. Only death. But that cannot be true. I thought the prophecy around his birth would provide an answer, but…”

qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm

“If that’s what you wish, Your Majesty.” His tone suggests that he’s agreed to many equally useless commands on the behalf of previous rulers.

BRUH

Is this what it is to rule? To be far from the action, stuck on a throne or in a series of well-appointed rooms, reliant on information brought to you by others? Madoc would hate this.

let him suffer

“The king—I mean, the serpent—is no longer in the throne room. It seems to have gotten out through the crack in the earth made by Madoc’s blade. And—and I am not sure what to make of this, but it’s snowing. Inside the brugh.”

well that’s… fun

I sit in the chair, my back straight, and look out at the dancing flames. Taryn gives me a very mortal thumbs-up.

okay cute

“Perhaps we ought to wait for the High King to be restored before we come to any decision about such important matters.” “Yes,” says Randalin eagerly, looking at me as though expecting some answer about how we’ll do that.

and how do you expect the king to be restored if we just wait hello????

“Slithery snake king,” says Fala, dressed in lavender motley. “Rules over a Court of nice mice.”

someome lock fala up i’m not in the mood for this buffoonery

There is a way, I want to insist. There is a way; I just don’t know it yet.

jude i’m losing my mind

“Very well. We received intelligence that Madoc intends to attack at dawn the day after next. He hopes to catch us unprepared, especially since a few more Courts have flown to his banner. But our real problem is how many Folk plan to sit out the battle and see which way the wind blows.”

bro just give it up

“And there is a belief,” Grima Mog says. “A belief that has grown swiftly—that the person to rule Elfhame is the one who will slay the serpent. That spilling Greenbriar blood is as good as having it in your veins.”

😀

“The king had a pretty head,” says Fala. “But can he do without it?”

NOT THE TIME FALA

A knight from the Court of Needles tried his luck against the creature. We found what was left of the knight’s body an hour ago and tracked the creature’s movements from there.

😃 that poor knight omfg

“Are you?” I ask, and the voice that comes out is honeyed malice, the exact tone Cardan would have used. It spills out of me as though I am no longer in control of my mouth. “Because wisdom ought to urge you not to court my displeasure. Perhaps a stay in the Tower of Forgetting will recall you to your place.” They all become very quiet.

you got me speechless too bc…

I think of the stitches in my side and the white flowers pushing up through the snow. I concentrate on that memory and try to draw on the power of the land. He’s a descendant of Mab and the rightful king. I am his wife. I healed myself. Surely I can heal him.

did she just pull a “i can fix him”

I concentrate and concentrate, but the magic doesn’t come.

💔

He has grown so used to me that he’s closed his golden eyes.

i guess he’s your pet now

No true love’s kiss will stop it. No riddle will fix it. Only death.

what if the death part is like a metaphor of some sort and not actual death or am i looking too deep

The hardest thing—the impossible thing—is to get past the memory of Cardan telling me he loved me. He said those words, and I didn’t answer him. I thought there would be time. And I was happy—despite everything—I was happy, just before everything went so terribly wrong. We won. Everything was going to work out. And he loved me.

HE STILL LOVES YOU PLS DONT DO THIS TO MY HEART DNSMWMSMS

“We caught a few courtiers speculating about assassinating the mortal queen. Their plans got blown up.” A small smile crosses her face. “As did they.”

oh HELL YEAHHHH EXPLOSIONS I NEED MORE

Madoc wants a guarantee that he and Lady Nore and Lord Jarel may come to the palace and treat with you.”

no just blow him up

When he dismounts, I notice he has a pronounced limp where the serpent slid over him.

deserved

Fresh scars cover her face in the shape of the bridle she wore when last I saw her. I try to keep my face impassive, but the horror of it is hard to ignore.

POOR CHILD WHAT THE HELL

“I cannot blame you for being angry,” he says. “But we have been angry at each other for too long, Jude. You’re not the fool I took you for, and for my part, I don’t want to hurt you. You’re the High Queen of Faerie. Whatever you did to get there, I can only applaud it.”

nah don’t try to sweet talk her and praise her now