The queen sniffed with displeasure. “You needn’t make it look so garish, Lord Vasil. What will the Duke think?”
If she’d meant to inflame our passions, it certainly worked, for Cedrych leapt out of his chair and stood with his hands balled at his sides. “I will not marry that old codger, Mother. Goddess, he could be my great grandfather. It’s obscene.”
The queen shifted her gaze upward and said haughtily, “You seem to forget your place, Cedrych.”
“And what place is that? Under your royal thumb?” he snapped.
“You are an ambassador of the fae realm,” she said coolly, snapping her napkin open and laying it on her lap. “Your duty is to the crown, above all else.”
“I’m a pawn in your ploys for power, you mean,” he retorted.
“A second-born son is not meant to rule, and you certainly do not have the skill of diplomacy. You’ve besmirched our good name with your exploits in Emrallt Valley and left me no other choice but to marry you off to a respectable royal with some power and influence.”
Cedrych gestured to me. “Lord Vasil is a respectable royal with power and influence. Far more than any fae duke you can bribe to take me. I won’t marry Duke Holcomb and I won’t be returning with you to the fae realm.” The prince crossed his armsand scowled, looking every bit the incorrigible brat I’d come to adore.
The queen didn’t move, didn’t even blink. “Is that so?”
“It would take an army to subdue me, Mother, so if you wish for fae blood to be spilled on the matter, then so be it. You will regret trying to force me. Your days of ruling my life are over.”
He shook out his arms, turned to me with a polite bow and said, “Excuse me, Lord Vasil. I will be in our bedchamber should you need me.”
To his mother, he gave no further remark, merely stormed off in the direction of the hall. My guards would follow him. He would be safe in our rooms and perhaps that was better than to witness whatever horse trading I must do in order to make him mine forever. Because that was the only outcome of this meeting as far as I was concerned.
That, or war.
“Well, he hasn’t changed a bit,” the queen said, dropping her shoulders, which had tensed in their altercation, despite her every effort to seem unaffected.
“He hasn’t changed toward you,” I corrected.
“Yes, you’ve certainly reformed him, Lord Vasil,” she said with an edge of sarcasm. “Just like his father, that one.”
“You inspire his ire, Your Majesty. And you’ve not seen him when it is just the two of us.” I met her scandalized gaze directly. I wasn’t ashamed of my relationship with Cedrych or of the fact that we’d been intimate.
“Yes, you’ve made your claim on my son quite apparent. I’m not sure how I’m going to spin that with Holcomb. No man likes used goods, you know.”
My temper flared at her reference to her son as “used goods,” though I knew that was likely her intention. “There is something we must discuss before we get into the topic of Cedrych and our betrothal,” I began. I turned the bottle of wine toward her,already uncorked, so that she might read the label. I’d gone to great trouble to acquire this bottle, a more recent year, but matching the poisonous wine from a decade ago.
“What’s this?” she asked, her countenance turning suspicious.
“Do you recognize this variety?” I asked while pouring her a glass.
“Of course. It’s my own.”
“It’s what my parents were drinking the night of their death, a gift from you, I presume.”
Her body went stiff as she assessed me differently, likely determining my potential for violence. Her eyes shifted toward her guards stationed at the back of the room, and mine which doubled hers in numbers. “What are you suggesting, Lord Vasil?”
“I’m suggesting that you or one of your retinue poisoned my parents, and I wish to ascertain if you know anything about it.” She snorted with displeasure and I continued. “And before you answer, Your Majesty, think carefully about our two realms and the treaties we’ve made, how any further treachery might compromise this tenuous relationship with your closest ally.”
Her lips pursed in a decidedly displeased way. “I have never been accused of something so heinous in my entire life,” she said indignantly.
Rather than argue that point, I said, “Imagine my surprise when the archer who tried to take my life just a couple weeks ago turned out to be fae.”
“He…what?” the queen asked. She was either a great actress or her surprise was sincere.
“All of these seemingly unrelated coincidences are not looking favorable on your reign. I can’t help but wonder if an all-out confrontation might be fairer than this cloak and dagger business, if conquest is what you wish to achieve.”
“Lord Vasil, theimpertinenceof what you are suggesting,” she huffed.
