I exchange a glance with Amelie and reach for her hand. She places her fingers in mine, and I give them a squeeze. “Amelie has proven herself trustworthy, and her loyalties will no longer be questioned.”
My sister lets out a heavy sigh.
Releasing Amelie’s fingers, I put my hands on my hips and watch Dahlia through narrowed eyes. “But I too want to know what we plan on doing with this one.”
“We could present her to the rest of the Alpha Alliance,” Estel says. “We can let her acknowledge the rest of us the same way she did with Evelyn just now. Then she can send out an official declaration urging her allies to acknowledge our rule and a return to the Old Ways.”
“Or we can execute her here and now,” Nyxia says. Her eyes find mine. “What do you think?”
I clench my jaw, recalling all that she’s responsible for.
Dahlia’s eyes are wide with terror as she looks up at me, hands pressed together in supplication. “Please,” she says. “I’ve already lost everything.”
I take a slow step toward her. “You tried to trade me and my sister to Mr. Duveau in exchange for a human army. You were going to let our enemies onto fae soil.”
“It was my last chance to defeat you,” she says, tears streaming over her cheeks. “My final opportunity to secure peace with the humans. We would have drafted a new treaty—”
“No, you wouldn’t have.” I let out a bitter laugh. “Do you still not get it? Mr. Duveau was using you. He needed me and my sister to save face with King Grigory, but the alliance you made with him was a farce. You were a pawn to get human armies into Faerwyvae without conflict. After they destroyed us, they would have destroyed you too.”
She pales, shaking her head. “No. No, we made a bargain.”
“Not a watertight one, obviously,” Franco mutters under his breath.
“He’s right,” I say. “You made a joke of a bargain. When I met with you to arrange a ceasefire, I meant what I said. We had proof that the humans sought to obliterate the fae.”
“You mentioned the warships,” she argues. “I already knew they were coming. They were sent for my aid.”
“You honestly believed that? They were invading whether you let them in or not.”
She opens her mouth, but she can’t seem to find the words. Instead, she purses her lips, regaining some of her haughty air. “How do you know? What is this proof you claimed to have that revealed the humans wanted to destroy all fae and not just the rebels?”
I crouch down, balancing on the balls of my feet. It takes everything in me to control the rage that comes from being this close to her. “Have you heard of the Parvanovae?”
She leans back, hand flying to her chest. Her voice comes out barely above a whisper. “It’s a myth.”
I study her expression, the way her eyes widen in fear. Up until now, I wasn’t entirely convinced she hadn’t known about it from the start. There was still a chance she’d been after it when she sent her pretender king to occupy my palace. After learning about her alliance with Mr. Duveau, the possibility remained that they were working together to find it. But the look on her face tells me, despite her claim that the star bomb is a myth, she’s terrified of it.
No, she wouldn’t have worked to bring the bomb to the humans. She may be a fool for believing Mr. Duveau’s promise of an alliance, but she’s not stupid enough to put the most dangerous weapon known to man and fae alike in human hands.
Reading the truth on my face, she shakes her head. “It can’t be. It was supposed to be destroyed.”
“It wasn’t. But you will be if you make one more move against me and my allies. Say even one thing against us, and I will tear the wings from your body shred by shred. Then I’ll burn you alive.”
She swallows hard and gives me a short nod.
I rise to my feet and address the others.“I agree with Estel. She can come back with us alive, so long as she works with us and acknowledges our rule. I doubt the broken bargain will stop the warships from coming, but at least we can face the armies as a united front.”
“Does even a united front stand a chance against a dozen warships?” Franco asks. “I’m not sure we would have survived a single army, if they hadn’t retreated.”
“I don’t know,” I say, “but we must try. Besides, Aspen and I were able to destroy the ship in the cove before it could get away.”
Nyxia assesses me from head to toe, eyes alight with appreciation. “Nice work.”
“Thanks. Now, we need to get back to Faerwyvae so everyone can heal and we can make a plan. Aspen is still unconscious. Can he travel by Chariot in such a state?”
“No,” Estel says. “He must be awake.”
I turn around and start back toward the medical tent. “I’ll see if I can wake him, but he has laudanum in his system—”
