Free Dame of Owls by A.M. Belrose

entirely sold on the genocide angle, but the Summer Court hadn’t set themselves up for the benefit of the doubt in his eyes.
                  A woman entered the room through a discreet side door. Chris honestly had no idea what her job or rank might be, so he stood when Juniper and Sid did.
                  “You’re expected,” said the woman, and turned without another word.
                  Juniper followed her through the door with a confident stride, but Sid hesitated, and Chris wasn’t entirely sure he was invited. Sid reached out and grabbed his arm, cool through layers of borrowed linen.
                  “Be careful,” she told him. “I trust the queen, but we are all of us fae.”
                  He didn’t know what she meant, but a quick swipe of his tongue over his teeth reminded him of the scope of ‘all of us.’ It was easy to push that to the back of his mind, to lock it firmly away, when everyone around him was feathered at best. The girl leading them had visible claws and downy fur on the back of her hands. Chris was still the most human thing walking.
                  But not by a full margin. Not completely , just mostly. Just a little bit off, somewhere left of center. It was a feeling that had plagued him all his life, driving him to live footstep-to-footstep, house-to-house, friend-to-friend. Never saying no, but never quite saying yes, either.
                  Did he belong here, then? Could he be like Sid and spend a lifetime – whatever that meant now – shouldering one cause straight back and determined? Could he have a place ?
                  A bit much to ask of people he’d never met, but he found himself hoping so. Maybe that was what Sid needed from him: proof that he was something other than transient and easily arrested.
                  “I’ll be okay,” he said. “I promise.”
                  “Good. And mind your manners.” Sid pulled him after their escort.
                  The girl pushed open an ornate door and led them all into another sitting room, this one even more ornate than the last, a level of opulence Chris hadn’t even thought possible. But all of the glitter and shine was outclassed by the woman perched on a loveseat in the center of the room. If Chris hadn’t known better he would have pegged her as young, maybe in her early 30s. Straight black hair fell down her back in waves, curling just slightly around branching antlers, and her dark green eyes took in every detail of them in an instant.
                  Juniper and Sid both went down on one knee. After a half-second’s hesitant Chris mimicked them, hoping it wasn’t something reserved for knights.
                  “I didn’t expect to see you, Dame of Pines.” The queen's voice was effortless and melodic.
                  “Urgent news,” said Juniper to the carpet.
                  “So I have heard. I am glad, at least, that no one was harmed. Thank you for bringing the prisoners to me, I know it must have cost you to stay your hand. I am also glad that Dame Obsidian has fulfilled her duty. The Lady of Cats will be delighted at this happy news.”
                  Sid might have grimaced. Chris couldn’t quite wrap his head around the idea of anyone being happy to see him.
                  “Your Majesty,” Juniper began, but the queen interrupted her smoothly.
                  “The prisoners are secure, and the matter will wait. Rise, and let me see all of you.”
                  Chris hoped she wasn’t expecting anything too grand. He was still in his secondhand clothes, and he suspected they all smelled strongly of horse. Sid still managed to look regal, and Juniper ferocious, but he didn’t count on himself stacking up. The way the queen stared him down made him