But the hope within me faded at the same moment Gareth shook his head.
“In theory, it’s a good idea. But forming an army takes time. Not to mention how dangerous some of the unseelie forces can be. They don’t trust us. Many of them would kill us on sight.”
“It would also be difficult to convince them to fight for us,” I added. “If we don’t have enough gold for seelie soldiers, we certainly don’t have enough for the unseelie.”
“Unseelie fae wouldn’t want to get too close to the Winter Palace anyway,” said Huck. “They are repelled by the queen’s blood magic.”
“For good reason,” muttered Lark, rubbing his bloodshot eyes and taking another drink from his flask.
“The smaller creatures aren’t as affected,” Penelope said. “And they have the advantage of appearing like ordinary animals. As long as they don’t talk, no one will suspect them.Then they could slip into the palace undetected. Like Frisk. He’s good at that.”
“No way am I going in there.”
We all jumped and turned to find Frisk coiled on the carpet by the front door. How he’d gotten inside, I had no idea, but the sight of him curled up on the floor like that brought a smile to my face.
He rose up on his legs and stretched with a long, lazy yawn. “Lark is right, there’s a good reason we don’t go near the castle. Her magicreeks. Even those of us who are small hate that smell.”
“Frisk, what are you doing here?” I asked with a sigh. “As soon as the others find out you snuck in, they’ll want to join, too. It’ll be chaos.”
“Oh, I just thought you would want to hear my brilliant plan. But, if you prefer, I can leave.” He lifted his nose in the air.
I rolled my eyes. “What’s your plan, then?”
His dark eyes surveyed me for a long moment before he said, “I propose we make a move on the queen’s assassin.”
A hushed whisper fell among those of us seated at the table.
Denton spoke first. “The hunter? That’s the worst plan I’ve ever heard. He’s unbeatable. How are we supposed to make a move on him?”
Frisk flashed his teeth, his eyes glinting. “You know what the villagers are buzzing about? They caught sight of the fearsome hunter not too far from here.”
I held my breath. The assassin washere? In Knockspur? The fae never traveled this far into the human lands unless they had to.
Which could only mean one thing: the hunter was on assignment for the queen.
I exchanged a glance with Stella, who smirked knowingly at Tansy, who raised her eyebrows at Huck. Huck scoffed and crossed his arms again, clearly unconvinced, but Denton was nodding eagerly. Lark had fallen asleep, and Gareth gazed out the window as if no longer interested in our conversation.
No one was closer to the queen than her assassin. He knew her secrets, and he was powerful enough to give us an edge against her.
He could be our secret weapon.
Penelope shifted nervously in her seat. “How do we approach this without getting ourselves killed?”
“Well, there’s eight of us,” Stella said. “And only one of him.”
“He’s taken on fifteen opponents at a time and still won,” I said as if reciting from a textbook. I’d never actually met the feared assassin—Calista always ensured I was far removed from her court dealings—but I knew enough about him to know he shouldn’t be underestimated.
Yet Penelope’s suggestion sparked a plan in my mind. Fae creatures disguising themselves as ordinary animals… I tapped my chin, a slow smile spreading across my face. “But you’re right. As humans—or half human, in my case—we do have an advantage.” I leaned forward, bracing my palms on the table. “All right, friends. I have an idea. And this one will work.”
It didn’t takeme long to discover the princess was holed up in the small human village of Knockspur. All I had to do was travel to the various outlying provinces, those closest to the latest disturbances from the Snow Princess and her band of rebels, and make my presence known. It was strange to not use stealth as I traveled. I was so accustomed to maintaining a strong glamour, traveling only at night and avoiding the main roads.
It unsettled me, to be so out in the open like this.
But it was the only way to flush her out. I had spies and informants in all the provinces, and I paid them handsomely for their information. I lingered a few days in each area, then checked with my sources for any whispers among the humans.
It wasn’t until I heard rumors of a robbed carriage and a flurry of speculation of Snow’s human allies that I knew I’d found her.
Still, I was at a disadvantage. I didn’t know what the princess looked like. But I knew she was half fae; if there was one thing I was good at, it was detecting fae creatures and their magic.
