Flauvis mutters another high-pitched mockery, but I ignore him.
“But I agree something must be done with the Renounced before we face the human threat. We cannot fight two enemies at once, and we need their cooperation to extend the wall around Faerwyvae.”
“Then what do we do?” Minuette asks, her blue hair fluttering around her head.
I ponder for a moment, pieces of a puzzle coming together in my mind. “We need to convince them to agree to a ceasefire until the wall is complete and the human threat is dealt with.”
Tris nods her agreement. “They may be our enemies, but they deserve to be warned of what’s coming.”
“Will that be enough to get them to stand down?” Aelfon asks. “We can’t tell them about the Parvanovae, in case they get any clever ideas, which means they can’t know our plan for enchanting our proposed wall.”
“We can tell them Estel has created the technology to protect us,” Tris says with a shrug. “That’s simple enough.”
“If they were that easy to reason with,” Flauvis says, “we wouldn’t be at war in the first place.”
“True,” Nyxia says. “I doubt they’d even agree to hear us out. How can we convince them we’re sincere? How do we get them to meet us for a peaceful exchange of words in the first place?”
Aspen shakes his head. “We’ll have to offer them a compelling bargain.”
“But what?” Tris asks.
My eyes unfocus as ideas shift and reassemble in my mind. A bargain. We need a compelling bargain.
Then I see it.
“I know what we have to do.” All eyes turn to me, burning with curiosity, disdain, hope, fear. “Flauvis is right. If it’s the weapons they want, we should deliver them.”
Flauvis grumbles. “Why do I get the feeling it doesn’t involve the best part of my suggestion? The part about shoving them through their hearts?”
Aelfon shakes his horned head. “We cannot give them weapons they could use against us.”
“We won’t,” I say. “Not exactly, at least.”
Aspen turns to face me, brow quirked. “What are you thinking?”
“If they agree to a ceasefire, we will agree to deliver the weapons once the battle with the humans is resolved. What they won’t know is that the weapons will be unusable by the time they receive them.”
Aspen narrows his eyes, then his lips quirk into a devious grin.
I lift my chin and meet his approving gaze. “The weapons won’t be usable because I’m going to melt them.”
20
Apparently, talk of fae deception was exactly what the Alpha Alliance needed to forge unity, for the rest of the meeting goes smoothly. Plans are finalized and our message to request a peaceful exchange of words with the Renounced is drafted. Nyxia promises to send it with one of her owls as soon as she returns to Lunar. By the time the meeting is adjourned, the mood in the atrium is far less grim.
As the royals begin shuffling toward the hall to exit the palace, Aspen turns to face me, taking my hand in his and bringing it to his lips. As he lowers my hand, his mouth quirks into a crooked grin. “You truly are a brilliant queen,” he says. “Or perhaps it’s your devious human side that is so wickedly clever.”
His confidence in my plan makes my chest feel warm, but I can’t keep my mind from spinning up the worst possible scenarios. I bite the inside of my cheek. “Do you think the Renounced will buy it? Do you think they’ll even agree to meet?”
“The Renounced are losing allies by the day,” he says. “They won’t be able to refuse any chance at regaining the upper hand.”
“I hope you’re right,” I say with a sigh.
He leans in and kisses my cheek, then trails his lips to mine. The nearby sounds of the royals chatting at the other end of the atrium keeps me from deepening the kiss, and too soon he breaks away. “I’ll see the others out.” His eyes flash to the side, a suspicious gleam in them, before he steps back and makes his way to join the royals. That’s when I realize what—or whom—he’d glanced at.
Estel remains at the table, eyes trained on me while Aspen leads the others down the hall. Fehr comes up beside me, gaze shifting from me to the Star Queen. “Shall I wait with you or join your mate?”
I study my guest, her folded, shimmering hands, her serene expression. There’s no threat in her lingering presence, only a silent request for privacy. Besides, she was the one most firmly on my side about not using the Parvanovae. “You may join my mate and see that the others are safely on their way,” I tell Fehr.
