Gelsyne’s eyes flickered, turning emerald for just a moment, and Lady Mossi could have sworn she saw stark fear, a cry for help. But in the next second they were pure black again, the flash of emotion gone.
“Yes, she came to you and asked for help, didn’t she? And your plan was to trade her to Aolis for me and Avani.”
“Yes, well, King Aolis would have demanded I hand her over once he found out I had her,” Lady Mossi said, a little defensively. “I wasn’t about to risk the safety of my family or my realm for her.”
“Oh grandmother, I’m not blaming you.” Gelsyne placed a comforting hand against Lady Mossi’s cheek. “You did what you felt you had to under the circumstances.”
Slaugh cleared his throat, and they both turned to look at him. “If we could take this inside?” he asked politely. “There is much to discuss, and I’m sure you are hungry.”
“Yes, of course.”
Slaugh led Lady Mossi and her cadre into the castle, where they were shown to their quarters. Mossi took some time to freshen up and change into a dress before she met Slaugh and Gelsyne in the dining room, along with her general and advisor. Several members of the kingsguard stood along the walls of the room, but Lady Mossi hardly paid them any mind as she dug into the feast laid out on the table. She’d traveled a full day and night to get here, and was positively famished.
“So Adara has killed King Aolis and run off with her dragon lover,” Lady Mossi said once she’d assuaged the worst of her hunger. “Which has left you in charge of Kaipei Castle.”
“That’s correct.” Slaugh took a sip from the wine goblet in his hand. “No one has challenged me so far, but we all know that is because the other houses haven’t gathered their wits yet. My spies tell me that Adara is on her way to the water capital, where I gather she will seek Lady Axlya’s backing so she can assume the throne. Axlya will be only too happy to take advantage of the situation.”
“Of course she will,” Lady Mossi sneered. She sat back in her chair and assessed the situation for a moment. Axlya would no doubt spin Adara as the savior of the realm, since shadow magic vanished the moment she killed Aolis. It wasn’t just the cloud that had disappeared from above Kaipei Castle—reports had been coming in across Domhain that the pockets of shadow infestation that had been plaguing their lands had mysteriously vanished.
It appeared Aolis had been right about the prophecy, and the girl’s role in it.
But the bastard probably hadn’t counted on his own death being part of the solution.
“I think we all agree that the realm owes Adara a great debt,” Gelsyne said. “But though I love Adara and have raised her as my own all these years, I don’t think she should take the throne. She doesn’t have the experience or knowledge necessary to rule, and her half-dragon lineage will make the people very reluctant to follow her.”
She reached for Slaugh’s hand, twined her delicate fingers with his big, rough hand.
“I think the water fae need to relinquish their control over the Edirian throne,” she said. “It’s time for the earth fae to rule again.”
Lady Mossi’s eyebrows rose as she took in their joined hands, the cunning glint in Slaugh’s eyes and the smile on Gelsyne’s face. “You want to claim the Edirian throne? As king and queen?”
“Yes,” Slaugh said. He leaned across the table, his burned face stretching into a macabre grin as he grabbed Lady Mossi’s hand with his free one. “Think of it, Auntie. You’ll finally get what you’ve always wanted.”
Lady Mossi’s breath caught in her throat, hope unfurling before her for the first time in centuries. Ever since their family had lost the throne to House Usciete nearly twelve hundred years ago, she’d been fighting for a way to get it back. This could be the chance she’d been waiting for.
“Very well,” she said. “What do you need from me?”
11
Adara
“So, are you ready to talk about what happened yesterday?” Einar asked.
I snapped my gaze up from my breakfast platter to glare at Einar, who was sitting across from me in the galley. We’d come down to the galley for breakfast, along with Prentis. But unlike Prentis and I, who’d piled our plates high with kippers and other goodies, Einar’s own plate was empty save for a hunk of bread and a cup of tea.
I supposed if I suffered from seasickness, I would do the same.
“What exactly did you want to talk about, regarding yesterday?” I asked with forced politeness as I speared one of my kippers with a fork. The fish seemed determined to thwart me—it split neatly in two, then slipped off my fork when I tried to scoop it up instead. Annoyed, I plucked it off the plate with my fingers and shoved it into my mouth. “How Prentis turned into a giant orca and fought a kraken to save your sorry hide? Or about how you didn’t thank either of us, but wasted no time scolding me for coming after you instead of waiting on the deck like some useless damsel?”
Einar rolled his eyes. “First of all, Prentis didn’t fight the kraken for my sake only. He had to destroy it for the safety of the ship and everyone on board—”
Prentis snorted. “Such gratitude.”
“—including you,” Einar continued. “But no, I wasn’t talking about any of that. I was referring to whatyoudid.” He pointed to my neck. “To the new facet of power you displayed.”
Unconsciously, my hand drifted to the side of my neck, where I could almost feel the gills again. I’d intended to ask Prentis about it yesterday, but the truth was I’d been so exhausted that I’d slept the rest of the day away. In fact, I’m not sure I would have even come out for breakfast if one of the crew hadn’t roused me.
I glanced sideways at Prentis, who was staring at me. “Is what happened to me yesterday normal?” I asked, a little hesitant to hear the answer. “The gills, the webbing between my fingers and toes… are you able to transform like that as well?”
