Surprise jolted me. Alifedebt? She’d failed to mention that particular detail. I could only hope Patamoi wouldn’t demand flesh for flesh.
“I do,” she said evenly. “I’ve come to pay it.”
He studied her for a long moment, then shifted his gaze to me. The water around his arms flexed tighter. “And you are Aurelia, the daughter of Tyrion & Celeste. Summer’s flame. The one who burned a king.”
I held his stare. “I burned an enemy who sought to steal my power and use me for his own gain.”
“Hmm,” Patamoi hummed. “And now you stand before me with my enemy at your side.”
I tensed.
His enemy? I slanted a glance at Rydian. “Maybe you should have waited with the horses,” I whispered.
He winked, which only irritated me.
Patamoi seemed impatient, so I bit my tongue and faced the river king. “Whatever is between you and my companion is in the past. I’ve come to speak of the future.”
“You’ve come to ask for something,” Patamoi said with a disdainful sniff.
I pretended not to notice. “An alliance just as my father,Tyrion, proposed to you before. A united and formidable army against the threat of Heliconia.”
Patamoi leaned forward slightly. The water curled closer to him, like an animal guarding its master. “My kingdom does not involve itself in land wars. The river follows its own tide.”
“Heliconia’s taken Concordia and uses it to build an army that will destroy everything in its path. Winter is spreading south into Autumn already. She’ll come for your rivers next. Either invade them or freeze them into a block of ice.”
Some of the naiad in the room gasped. A few murmurs went up.
I kept my gaze on Patamoi.
Something flickered in his expression—an almost-smile that wasn’t kind. “You speak like your father, spreading fear and panic.”
“Maybe you should’ve listened to him,” I said before I could stop myself.
The room went so quiet I could hear the low hum of the currents shifting.
Patamoi’s eyes narrowed. “Your father came to me once, asking for an alliance. He left with empty hands and an enemy at his back that called itself his friend.”
“What enemy?” I asked, suddenly unsure. I’d never heard of anyone else?—
He glared at Rydian again.
“The dark fae of the Great War have long been liars who care only of their own kingdom.”
I blinked at that, ignoring the way Patamoi spat the words in Rydian’s direction. Had Tyrion managed to ally with the Midnight fae after all?
“The Summer fae were fools to think they could be trusted,” Patamoi finished. “Nevertheless, your father made his choice, and I, in turn, made mine. As it seems you have also made yours.”
Rydian tried to pull his arm out of mine, but I held tight, keeping my gaze fastened on the river king.
“What can I do to earn your trust?” I asked.
“There is only one way to ally with us,” he said, still glaring at the prince beside me. “Renounce the Midnight Court. Only then will I consider your request.”
“You’re serious?”
“I do not joke about such matters.”
Rydian’s entire body tightened, and I knew he was fighting for control to keep quiet. What the seven Hels had happened when he’d come here before?
