Loche shook his head as he watched the flames Zaddock had finally managed to ignite, forcing his mind back to the present and to the room with the cracked walls and missing windows, where Iviry’s and his people waited in silence.
The memory from that day did little to calm his racing heart… especially after having his own people come after him. Loche didn’t believe that they’d truly hurt him, but they were afraid of the Fae—they were afraid of the sparks of magic that flew through the room, of their tall frames and their otherness.
He could see it in their eyes.
“Regent.” Iviry’s voice was as detached as it had been when she’d spoken to him over the past few days. “We should probably begin before they forget all about why they’re nearly pissing themselves right now.”
Right.
He appreciated that Lessia had realized so quickly that they needed to get their people aligned before they could tackle the prisoners’ fate—that she’d given them the time to figure this out.
Maybe he should have been as worried as she was about the people in those dark cellars—especially with his mother down there—but right now he had people to take care of, and he needed to do what he could to ensure they would be comfortable collaborating with the Fae.
Nodding to himself as if it might give him strength, Loche made his feet walk to Iviry’s side, and even though Lessia had been fucking terrifying, he was glad that she’d been able to calm everyone down.
Tensions had run high ever since the battle, and he’d just been waiting for a clash of wills—or fear—to happen.
Even if the air was still thick with emotions, it remained quiet when he ordered, “What just happened herecannothappen again.” His eyes flew across human and Fae, meeting as many gazes as he could as he continued. “We have an army of Fae coming this way, and they’re not a threat just to us humans.”
Loche waited a beat to see if anyone would call outthat he wasn’t just human—not really—but the room remained silent, so he kept going. “Like Elessia said, we need to stand together now. Everyone in Havlands needs to stand shoulder to shoulder, kind by kind. It doesn’t matter if we’re human or Fae or even shifter, because if we don’t… we’ll die all the same.”
“He’s right,” Iviry called out, her voice bouncing against the walls. “Fae of Vastala! Your king tricked you so that he could remain on the throne. He was planning to sacrifice so many of you to kill these humans… and because ofgreed! Rioner is the cause of the army coming our way, because he turned down our brethren—another race of Fae—when they were in need!”
She took a step forward, her arms flying out. “I have seen the ships myself. There are thousands of them, and their drums echo across the Eiatis Sea. And these Fae? They are not just ruthless! They have magic like we don’t. If they’re connected to the earth: They. Do. Not. Deplete. Do you hear me? It doesn’t matter that you can fight with flame or mind—they will not tire! And eventually… they will kill you.”
Iviry’s words whirled down Loche’s spine, prickling it, until he shook his shoulders.
He could tell several of the humans and Fae around him had started fidgeting, worried murmurs bouncing between walls and people.
“This is why we need to work together!” Loche was glad his voice carried strongly over the crowds, even with the unease knitting in his gut. “Elessia and her wyverns will fight beside us, but there needs to be anusfirst!”
“But how can we trust the Fae?” a man in the crowd called out. “They just tried to kill us! They were coming behind that wave, and if that half… if Elessia hadn’t killed their king, they would have followed him blindly! They wouldn’t have stopped!”
“He’s right!” another shouted. “How do we know they won’t turn on us if it suits them better?”
A concurring murmur from the humans followed until it grew so loud that a few of the closest Fae hissed, their sharp teeth glinting menacingly in the light.
“How do we know you won’t take the weapons we’ve made for you and stab us in the back?” a Fae called back, several behind her nodding in agreement.
Magic flickered in the air again, and Loche ground his teeth, casting a warning look at a human who broke from the crowd, as if planning to lead the way if the Fae attacked.
“We are creating a council of Fae and humans to make decisions!” Iviry had to scream to be heard over the voices now rising from every corner. “We’ll be voting on everything we do! It will be joint decisions that lead us, not one people or one person!”
“We know of your mind powers!” a woman broke in, her voice rising at the end. “What’s stopping you from tricking any human on that council into agreeing with you? You can just make us into puppets that you command!”
Loche had to fight not to twist his lips, even as apprehension rose in the room, the crackling of the current soaring through the crowds.
She had a point. Lessia had broken the treaty between humans and Fae too many times for him to ignore it.
“What about a true joining?” A tall blond Fae stepped up to Iviry’s side—a man Merrick had called Dedrick Reinsdor on the ship here—and despite Iviry’s violentshake of the head, he continued, his hand raising until the Fae behind him went silent. “You are mates, are you not?”
Dedrick’s words quieted even the loudest humans, and Loche cursed himself for swallowing so loudly in the silence, sweat starting to bead above his brow.
When neither Loche nor Iviry responded, Dedrick frowned, but his voice remained level as he continued. “While Rioner never honored it, it is forbidden for Vastala Fae to harm someone’s mate and anyone they might love.” He glanced between Loche and Iviry. “By your formal mating—or marriage, if you prefer, as I believe that’s what humans do—you’d protect the humans from any threat Vastala Fae might pose. Everyone can see the love you have for your people, and as such, they’d all be protected.”
Loche didn’t think his heart could beat any harder than it had before, but when people around him began nodding, it felt as if it would escape his chest.
Mating?
