I sat up taller. “You don’t keep them through the generations?”
“None. Just like in the Autumn Court, where some of my ancestors hail from. Our slaves are actually paid a small fee and work in Ramshold. Only here—for their safety. However, if the kingdom can change their views, I have no problem setting them free and providing them a means with which to start their lives.”
“Wonderful.” I exhaled a breath that had been trapped in my chest.
He gave an approving nod. “Anything else?”
“Nothing.”
“Then I expect you’ll want a ceremony to make my binding to you public?”
“Yes,” Thyra said.
“Tonight then.” He stood.
I blinked. He’d known about the dwarves, about how they’d asked for Dergia to be independent from the rest of Winter’s Realm. And yet, neither Lord Riis nor Lord Balik had asked for much.
The Warden of the South took in my reaction while rounding the desk. “You think I request too little, Princess Isolde? That I would want to be king in the south? That I should want more power?”
Stunned that he read me so easily, I blinked. “It crossed my mind.”
“I have all that I want and more. My family, my city, and my people. I don’t need a wider realm, and if I can find a queen who is fair and just, that’s enough for me.”
No wonder Vale thought highly of this lord. And that Tadgh Balik was seen as honorable and wise. I understood now.
“Speaking of your city, we have one more request. It’s regarding that library everyone talks about.” Thyra latched on to an opportunity before I’d had time to let his words sink in. “Might we visit it? And bring a few of our court? We have some research to do regarding the Shadow Fae.”
Lord Balik’s eyes widened at the mention of that long-lost race of fae. “Indeed. I’ll take you there myself.”
Interlude
PRINCE RHISTEL AABERG, HEIR TO WINTER’S REALM, HOUSE OF THE WHITE BEAR
Deep in the cavern of his mind, the prince waited and gathered his strength. For a moment in time. A heartbeat. An instant to break free from his mother’s hold.
Since the day she’d taken control, the queen had not delved further into his thoughts. Rhistel wondered if it was because he’d threatened her so often that first day that she’d grown tired of hearing his thoughts. Or maybe his resolve to kill his sister had shaken her, and she was fearful of what else she might find. If so, she was right to fear him.
Nothing and no one would stand in his way and take the throne he’d been promised. Not even kin.
He exhaled, placid on a settee, his body docile as his mother wished while he tracked that very female across the solarium. Warmth and the scent of plants and dirt enveloped him. Not uncomfortable, but not to his taste either. In his heart, frost and snow and ice reigned.
The queen, on the other hand, adored the solarium. The prince had known it would only be a matter of time until she dragged him to the humid room, so he’d made a plan.
“Set that one just over there,” the queen instructed two servants, brawny dwarves carrying a potted plant fresh off a ship from the Summer Kingdom. Rhistel wondered how soon those ships would stop arriving in the harbor of Avaldenn. If there was a war trade would surely be affected.
The dwarves did as she requested, and the queen smiled.
“That will be all for today.”
Dismissed, the servants exited, leaving only the prince, the queen, and the Clawsguards at the door. Rhistel stood, and the motion caught his mother’s attention.
“Do you need something?” the queen asked.
“To move. I’ve grown quite stiff of late.”
She didn’t allow him to leave her side, save for when he required a toilet or sleep. In those moments, Queen Inga tightened her grip on her son and released it only slightly in his presence. Enough for him to speak and interact with those who might address him, all the while avoiding topics the queen did not wish him to indulge in. The queen’s power was a suffocating vise around his body, and at night it was worse. If he broke free, it had to be during the day, in a place where the queen was at ease.
She waved her hand. “Get some exercise, my son.”
