“Well,” the advisor sputters. “That’s a bit harsh. I see you want to make your mother proud—”
“Do not speak about my mother.”
“Then let’s speak about you. You are king. Your job is to stabilize the kingdom with a marriage, not—”
“Yes, I am the king, not a common whore!” The plane quakes, a deep shuddering beneath our feet. “My job is to rule, Uncle, and yet when I try to do that, you discourage me. So which is it? Am I weak or am I threatening?”
“Maxian, you know I didn’t mean—”
“You will address me as ‘my king’ or ‘Your Magnificence.’ ”
Hector jerks back. I can hardly breathe. After blinking rapidly, the advisor collects himself. “My king, while I admire your commitment to protecting all the denizens of Amyria, I fear this type of law will upset certain Houses—”
“Good,” Maxian rumbles, dust floating down from the ceiling. “They should be upset. They should be disgusted that their peers are monsters. They should be horrified that the law allows these atrocities to go unpunished.”
“I just don’t see a way where we can properly protect the faeries while also incentivizing the High Fae not to—”
The room thunders again, the glass table cracking.
“Incentive,Uncle? They need incentive? How about the fact that they are Illusion. They are Healing. They are not Reign. They do not rule—we do. If they need incentive, they will do well to remember that the Desert Walk applies to the High Fae, too.” Maxian draws up to his full height. “And if they cannot obey my laws, then I will take their Matter and Mind.”
My stomach feels as though I’ve swallowed sludge. This isn’t what I meant at all; this isn’t how it should go. But if it leads to better for all, perhaps I can compromise and be thankful. Perhaps this is what true change looks like—halting and hard.
Hector bows his head. “We do not need other House support, but we will want it.”
“We have never been wealthier, more influential.”
“We have never been so few in numbers. We are a dying breed, we Reign fae.”
“An Illusion fae cannot assault my faerie in front of me. Theaudacityto do that in front of his king, to my coronation present, no less.”
A chill claims me. My fingers dig into the expensive fabric. This is not about me or any other faerie. This is once again using us as pawns—this time, to curtail Illusion’s ego for the sake of preserving the king’s.
This is about destruction of property. Reign property.
I set my jaw.It doesn’t matter,I tell myself.It doesn’t matter what their motives are if change happens. If my people are better protected. That is what matters most. Impact over intention.
Hector grunts. “Illusion must have an outlet for their malice, Healing for their experiments. Better the faerie servants than you.”
Maxian paces, the stony surge of power retreating from the plane like thunder rolling away. He runs hands through his hair until finally he stops before his advisor.
“We will increase the assault fee by five silvers and ban complaints against the victim for one sun cycle, at which point the High Fae can choose to file one or not. Eli will bring me the data at the end of this year, and we can reassess.”
My chest feels so tight.High Fae don’t blink at a few silvers. This is nothing. This is worse than nothing—this is an insult—
“And while you’re here, you must know that this food waste redistribution proposal is preposterous,” Hector says, grabbing at a parchment on the table.
I go still, attention falling to the king, whose hair is messy, square jaw clenched. He plants hands on his hips.
“Why’s that, Uncle?” This time, Maxian’s voice is deadly quiet.
“If the Unskilled are going hungry, then they shouldn’t have spent all their coin on drink or theater or trinkets in the market. If they aren’t earning enough, they should work harder, like the rest of us. We don’t give handouts to the ill-behaved, addicted, or foolish. If we did, they would never learn their lesson.”
The muscle in Maxian’s jaw feathers. “And what’s that?”
Do something!I want to scream at the king.Why aren’t you doing something?
Hector doesn’t even have the decency to ask me to leave when he leans forward, saying: “That the Unskilled need to take it upon themselves to become skilled.”
