The twisted on either side of us salivated with hunger as they stalked us with wide eyes. Younger vampyres jumped onto the wooden tables, twitching their heads, their blood-red eyes gazing at her as food. Her brown cloak trailed behind her, and I knew in that moment if the twisted turned on us, I would kill everything in here to get her free.
Holding out my hands, I called the wind to my fingers and created a wall of force on either side of us. The creatures hissed at the magical tornadoes separating them from my queen. Moira continued to walk forward; head held high, the epitome of our kingdom.
Sweat slid down my neck as I focused on stabilizing the wind and raising it until the only thing in the circle of this hurricane was us and the throne.
“Your majesty,” The Lich King said, his face sunken and wrinkled, a horrid reflection of the years he had lived. Pointed ears reminded me once he had been fae like us until magic and grim deeds had twisted him into something else. “Does this mean you have taken me up on my offer at last?”
The Lich King was older than us by at least a few centuries, possibly more. He tapped his fingers together, the skin barely hanging on his bones. Unlike his weathered body, his red robe was new and fine golden chains hung around his neck.
“Yes,” Moira said. “I have come to accept.”
“What do you want from me?”
“You said you could help me rid the palace of the dragon and keep my son safe.”
“I thought you two were lovers?”
“We were, but much has changed, and now I require your help in saving my son and protecting the fae.”
The Lich King tapped his fingers. “What does the queen offer in return for this assistance? My help comes at a steep price.”
“I will remove your exile.”
“Moira,” I hissed, my magic faltering for a moment from the shock. The nearby vampyres pounced forward and I growled, putting the barrier back up in place and blocking their advance.
She did not turn around and the Lich King slid forward on his throne, his glowing green eyes widening. “And you think this is something I want?”
“Once you were a part of us.”
“That spell has been intact for hundreds of years.”
“As the queen of the fae, I have the power to remove it and undo the magic that binds you from our lands.”
“You can’t do this,” I said, and she ignored my pleas.
“But there will be rules,” she added.
The Lich King isn’t going to follow your rules! What is she thinking?
“Continue,” the Lich King said.
“You will be allowed to walk our lands as you once did. Your undead will not.”
He leaned back in his chair. “This is what I will give you. I will give you the dagger with the power to stop the king’s transformation and breakthrough his magic resistance. It will be up to you to deliver the killing blow. I will also give you the stone you seek. Use the king’s blood and some of your son’s and put it into the stone and he will be immortal, but once this is done, his soul will be bound to the stone.”
“Why am I putting the king’s blood on the stone? Will that not bind him as well?”
“Not if he’s dead,” the Lich King said. “It will empower the stone. I will give you the words to bind Kane’s soul to the phylactery and then the gem must be hidden away. If somebody breaks the phylactery, it will be the end of his immortality. With this, I will accept your offer but my vampyres will be allowed on your land.”
“There’s no law that binds them away,” she replied.
“Yes, but they are shunned in most places, including the palace. I would like to conduct trade, and my vampyres, well, some of them,” he said, looking over at the younger ones who had no control over their bloodlust, “make good emissaries. I would like to have one at your court so that we know we have an understanding.”
“What if your vampyre decides to feed on my people? I cannot allow that.”
“Give him the prisoners. Allow him to feed on those who are disobedient to you.”
Unable to release my hands, I stepped closer until I was almost pressed up against her back. My arms shook from keeping the wind from tearing apart the palace. “You cannot agree to this. We will find another way.”
