I did not know what he wanted yet, but I doubted it would align with what was best for Annwyn. In which case, if we could not find sufficient leverage, we might have to take what we needed and ask questions later.
Palomides’ life for the rest of my subjects was an easy trade.
The thin female on his left twitched, unused to standing still for such long periods. Three lives, then, for the safety of my kingdom.
I could certainly live with that. I’d survived worse.
But I’d play the game a few minutes longer.
I touched a hand to the shell of my ear as I spoke: “Amorite.”
That serpentine smile deepened. “Amorite is very valuable. Is it possible the elemental kingdom is not as prosperous as we terrestrials are taught to believe, that you must loot our kingdom to enrich your own?”
“It is allherkingdom,” Arran said sharply. “And mine.”
My heart surged with emotions I did not dare examine in the middle of the fraught negotiation.
Palomides bowed his chin, but his eyes were clear. “And yet you came here, to speak with me, rather than seizing the mines with your… considerable force.”
Did he know about Barkke, ensconced in the woods?
Was he really arrogant enough to think that Arran and I could not slaughter him, his kin, and every guard here before they could make it to the outer bailey?
My fingers itched for my dagger.
“We have no wish for strife. You will be compensated for every stone we take from the mines,” Arran countered.
He must have negotiated like this before; hundreds of times, maybe, over hundreds of years leading the terrestrial armies. Though if the legends were true, he’d mostly accepted surrenders.
“But to what purpose?” Palomides pushed.
Arran’s face hardened.
My stomach turned.
Arran.
He did not respond. His gaze did not flicker.
I wasn’t even sure what I would have said to him if he answered, what I would have asked. But to feel the caress of his beast, brushing against my consciousness, might have given me a measure of confidence that I was making the right choice.
Nothing came.
Bravado it is.
I shrugged off my cloak, tossing it toward the line of guards along the wall with total disregard. Nevermind that I would soon be shivering without it. This was about performance and cunning.
“Annwyn is beset by an ancient enemy.” As I spoke, I walked to the young female. I dragged my eyes over her, like a predator about to eat. I reached for her throat. The male on the other side of the throne inhaled sharply. But the female did not flinch, even when my sharp fingernails grazed her throat as I lifted the heavy amorite necklace.
“The succubus comes at night, while men and males sleep in their beds, to feast upon their minds and turn their bodies into weapons.” I recounted each detail as if I was reporting the weather. Detached. Bored.
“If you have not yet seen this horror, then consider yourself lucky and your time counted. The succubus will come for you eventually,” I said. But I did not look at Palomides as I spoke. Igave him my back, knowing that Lyrena and Arran would die to protect it.
I looked into the female’s dark eyes.
She did not flinch. But I knew the look of fear.
A wicked twist of my wrist, and the heavy necklace came apart in my hand. I slid it into my pocket and walked back to join Arran as if it—and she—were nothing.
