Across the Green Grass Fields (Wayward Children, #6)

by Seanan McGuire

“How does a queen get chosen, anyway?” “When an old queen dies, every herd in the Hooflands puts forth their finest candidate. They go to the meeting chamber built by the first Alliance of Hooves and Hands, back in the days before we had memory or thought, when the humans came here and refused to claim our pastures as their own. Only one leaves the chamber and ascends to the throne. The others are lost forever.” “One of my mother’s sisters went when this queen was chosen, even though she knew a peryton would never hold the throne,” said Zephyr, sounding almost wistful. “I never met her, but Mother says she had antlers like cupped hands, full of wind and moonlight, and she was beautiful beyond bearing.” Regan didn’t feel like she could say anything about peryton standards of beauty, so she didn’t say anything at all. “As to how the queen is chosen from among the candidates, no one knows,” said Gristle. “Maybe she eats the others. Maybe she takes the throne with a full belly, containing part of every other thinking creature in the Hooflands. Even if she doesn’t eat them, they all vanish utterly and eternally.” Regan shuddered. “But that would mean every reign began with murder. That’s no way to start.” “We know she’s a bad queen now, so maybe she was always bad and just took a while to show it,” said Zephyr. “Yes, but if she killed all the other contenders, then all the other kings and queens before her had to do that too. And if they all had to do that, there have never bee...