Nova grunted, apparently dissatisfied. It was her job to assess potential threats not just against the monarchy, but against Yemi in particular. Yemi could see the wheels in her head turning even as Nova changed the subject.
“Well, since we’renotbreaking up the government, any new thoughts on an animus?”
“One does not so much choose an animus as the animus makes itself known through them,” Yemi replied, her tone mocking that of all her tutors, who had similarly been up her ass for the last decade about it.
“I’m thinking mongoose,” said Nova.
“Arodentqueen?”
“Nota rodent—common misconception—but a hunter of snakes. You’ve got enough enemies for that to make sense. Better than an ass, which would also make sense but for different reasons.”
Yemi thought about responding with something quick and biting, but all that came out was an apple-flavored belch. They both laughed.
“This is terrible,” Yemi chuckled, swishing the rings of foam around in her glass.
“You’re not wrong. We’re a wine country,” Nova replied.
Yemi’s ears pricked. Somewhere in the gaps of conversation surrounding them, she heard the words:
“… bottom line. There can be no lasting peace in Ixia while the Blackgate line survives.”
She turned to glimpse the patrons at the tables around her, watching their lips, their postures, for the telling of secrets. No sinister gazes, no clenched teeth. And yet these were venomous wordssomeonein this room had spoken.
She glanced back at Nova, who seemed to have noticed something herself, lifting her chin to point to the far end of the room where a small cluster of people had gathered, seated before a woman with bobbed white hair sitting on top of a table. Yemi listened closely.
“Our sovereignty in the eyes of the international community can never be affirmed,” said the woman. Before she knew it, Yemi was on her feet. Nova hissed her name.
“If Kespia decides to rekindle their war, they will come at us until we’ve been depleted and conquer us when we can no longer resist. And the dissidents will never rest. Broken families will continue to join their cause until the monarchs meet their violent ends and some fanatic government takes their place.”
There were grunts of agreement, nods, side conversations.
“Ask any fisherman, and you’ll find their catch has been low these past five seasons. How many ships are they going to let disappear into the depths? We all know who’s taken them. What good’s a half-Mer queen if she won’t rein in her own kind?”
“The fish have proven their interest is in protecting their position,” said a disembodied man’s voice. “Likely because the position is all they have, but that is a matter of family, not country. It is not a problem Ixian blood should be asked to solve. Not anymore.”
“Hear, hear,” said Yemi, stepping up on the edge of the gathered collective. Chairs groaned and crashed into one another with the speed they were cast aside so their users could beg forgiveness on their knees. Apart from that, the entire room went silent. The woman with the white hair stood and Yemi blinked.
“Dahlia.”
“Apologies, Qorrea. We meant no disrespect,” said Dahlia plainly.
“Disrespect?” Yemi almost laughed. “Is that all this is? Which one of you fucks let the wordfishslip out of those lipless, traitorous beaks, hmm?Soldiers of Ixia. I’d be curious to know which one of you would have reported this meeting after it ended.”
The men didn’t move, didn’t so much as turn up their faces at being addressed. There were easily a dozen of them and no way to tell if they were armed.
“Why do you stand there, when you should bethere?” Yemi asked, pointing to the ground before her.
Dahlia said nothing, and Yemi’s blood quickened. She had a temper. It was a famed thing that saw her less beloved, more feared than her mother, and it had taken years of practicing thoughtful restraint to tamp down.
“Don’t you fucking move,” Nova growled at her back. Yemi turned slightly to see Nova’s spear at the throat of a man seated at the bar. It was clear that he was armed, not so much that he intended to attack. But as far as either of them knew, every single person here was a threat. Yemi was no slouch with a spear. Her parents had seen thenecessity of being a fighting royal a long time ago and saw to it that she was as trained as any of their soldiers. Nova was often her sparring partner, and they’d both bruised ribs over it. At present, she was hoping Dahlia felt bold.
“My Light, we should go. You’ll be late,” Nova said loudly.
“I will have my satisfaction first,” Yemi insisted, still pointing at the ground and eyeing the ever-defiant Dahlia.
The doors opened and Moss entered, his easy demeanor immediately tensing at the scene. He leaned back out of the doors and whistled for what Yemi knew was backup.
“Qorrea,” Moss barked. Three uniformed soldiers had joined him in the doorway, spears and shields at the ready. “The queen requests your presence.Now.”
