From across the cavern, I noticed his mother watching us, an inscrutable expression on her face. If I did not have her blessing, then there was always the other option.
War.
Chapter 24
Prince Cedrych
Irode in the automobile with Lord Vasil, my betrothed and future husband, back to the fortress, where he continued to shower me with tender affection and words of affirmation.
My mother took her palanquin, so it wasn’t until after I’d visited the healer to be checked over for any lingering effects of the poison and we were back in the parlor with refreshments that I finally had a moment alone with her
“Your elvish lord impressed me today,” she said with an air of superiority, as if his gallantry and skill as a sorcerer were still surprising to her.
“He impresses me every day,” I told her. She’d witnessed his very public proposal of marriage to me and my enthusiastic acceptance, but had not yet commented on it. Vasil had told me already he was willing to go to war with the fae realm if that’s what it took to keep me. Such a romantic.
“Well, I am glad you were safely recovered,” she said stiffly.
“Not much of a bargaining chip if I’m dead,” I replied.
She sniffed and a look of what may have been contrition passed over her normally stoic features, though she didn’t say anything more about it.
“Your father’s will stipulates that you are to inherit your title and lands once you marry. I suppose you and Lord Vasil will be setting a date soon?” she asked.
I turned to give her my full attention because I’d expected her to put up a fight about our betrothal–a real one this time. “Does that mean you bless this union?” I asked.
She sighed as if aggrieved by the request. “Well, it would seem it is either that or war with the elvish, and Lord Vasil has proven himself to be quite the formidable opponent.”
I smiled at her begrudging acknowledgement of his strength. My mother respected power, above all else, and Lord Vasil had it in abundance. Perhaps she also figured this alliance would benefit her somehow.
“I will no longer be beholden to you,” I reminded her, in case she intended to play the long game here.
“No, you won’t, but I do hope you will remember, though your loyalty may be to the elvish, you will always be of fae flesh and blood.Myflesh and blood.”
Perhaps this was her way of telling me that she loved me? I tried to interpret it as that. “I will remember, Mother. And I thank you for arranging this betrothal. It just so happens I met the love of my life.”
“Love is for peasants,” she said with disdain, “but you could certainly do worse.”
I smiled, accepting her underhanded compliment for what it was. There was one more matter I wished to discuss with her. “With regard to my title and lands, there is one thing I would trade for it.”
She narrowed her eyes cunningly. My mother loved to barter, and if she thought the deal benefited her, all the better. “What could possibly be more important to you than upholding your father’s legacy?” she asked with a lift of one eyebrow.
“Starting new ones.”
“I thoughtI might find you out here,” I said to Lord Vasil. He was taking a break from the interrogations to find a moment of repose in his mother’s orchard.
My own mother had left the evening prior along with her retinue. My lord had been busy working with the elvish guard to suss out the main conspirators among the Keepers. Galen had proven invaluable in exposing those whose crimes included kidnapping and trafficking in fae minors. The victims who were still children had been placed in homes until their families could be identified. The older ones were enrolled in a rehabilitation program to combat their conditioning and reintroduce them to society.
From the intel we gathered, it seemed Bethel Kane targeted fae children in order to mold them into obedient foot soldiers. Many of them came from guildless families who couldn’t afford their care. I suspected the families had been tricked into thinking their children would be adopted into loving elvish homes. Without families of their own to protect them, they had no power to refuse whatever dastardly deed Bethel Kane put them up to, and there had been many.
For his cooperation, Galen had been granted amnesty for his own part in the Keepers’ plot to overthrow Lord Vasil and now spent most of his time in the royal stable where his own horse Fidget was an honored guest. There would be trials in both realms by the time all of this was through, and multiple sentences for the main conspirators to serve. My mother had also promised to personally have her royal archivist find Galen’s family so that he might one day reunite with them, if he so chose.
“I was thinking of a proper punishment and placement for Kane,” Vasil said to me regarding the culprit currently imprisoned in his dungeon and awaiting sentencing. My mother had offered her own penal colony in the Northern Realm, but Vasil wanted to keep a closer eye on him. Even with only one hand, Bethel Kane was a formidable sorcerer.
“Somewhere solitary where he cannot sway hearts and minds,” I suggested. The sorcerer should suffer the same isolation my lord had to endure all these years, not to mention we couldn’t have him forming yet another disastrous cult.
“A tiny island composed mostly of shell and sand,” Vasil mused. “There is one such place in the middle of the lunar straits, unnavigable by boat. No metal there for him to make mischief.”
“With guards,” I cautioned.
