With one last smile, she turned and strode out of the courtyard, leaving Thane staring dumbfounded at her retreating back. His warriors began to whisper worried words of unease. His gut twisting, he turned back toward his company.
“Let us put my mother’s words out of our minds and return to what is important.” He nodded, steadying his nerves, keeping an image of Eislyn’s eyes in his mind. His mother had only been trying to intimidate him, to try and force him to back down. It was a show of power, one that he had seen her do many times. Her tricks would not work on Thane. “Here is how we are going to save our future queen.”
37
Imogen
“You cannot allow Thane to take this meeting. It will only strengthen his position if they make some sort of agreement,” the annoying buzzing insect whispered in her ear. That was how she had begun to view her lover—ex-lover, in fact. They had not made love in weeks. Imogen hoped they never did again. Unfortunately, he had a tendency to initiate an embrace on an almost-daily basis, particularly after he had made a courtier squirm.
She suddenly stopped in the corridor, whirling to face him. “My dear Grand Alderman. I can allow whatever I like. Or is that not my prerogative as High Queen of this realm?”
A flash of irritation on Aengus’s face betrayed his true emotions. He tried to pretend as though he did not mind deferring to Imogen’s power as High Queen, but she was not a fool. He wished to take her place on the throne, just as she wished she could discard him in a gutter somewhere.
“It is not wise. You agree or you would not have argued with your son in front of his warriors.”
“Perhaps.” She continued striding down the corridor. Instead of taking the path toward the Great Hall, she spun toward the right, aiming her feet in the direction of Curaidh Tower, where the crown’s warriors lived and trained. “However, I am surprised by your reaction. You never seemed particularly opposed to High King Ulaid in the past. If Thane were to make some sort of agreement with him, would you disagree?”
“We do not need to be making agreements with these courts,” Aengus said in that strange, hitched accent of his. “These alliances still leave us with kings and queens. Conquering is the way forward. It is the only way to create a true empire.”
Imogen was not surprised to hear Aengus’s views. She had heard a similar expression from her husband until he had decided that allying with the Wood Court was the way forward. She’d never quite understood why he had suddenly changed his mind, only a year past.
But Aengus was wrong. Under the proposed alliance, if Thane ever did marry the Darragh girl, he would become High King over both the Air and Ice Courts. Cos Darragh, Reyna’s father, would retain the title of King, though he could no longer be called a High King. If they united with Wood and Sea beneath the Air Court’s banner, there would be two more Kings beneath Thane’s rule. In theory, Imogen would be pleased with the arrangement. From it, they could still create an empire.
But she wouldnotally her people with the Wood Court’s ruler, Ulaid Molt.
She found herself in the unfortunate position of agreeing with her former lover but for entirely different reasons.
Aengus glanced around, and seeing where they were going, hurried his footsteps along in eager excitement. “So, the High Queen agrees with her Grand Alderman.”
“The High Queen agrees with herself,” she snapped.
Another flash of irritation crossed Aengus’s face, but he quickly hid it with a smile. “And what of your son? How will you prevent him from sending his troops?”
“I won’t. I overheard his plan. He will wait for nightfall so as to best hide his warriors in the darkness, in case the discussions go wrong. That gives my own troops plenty of time to track down these invaders and destroy them.”
“And the princess?” he asked with a wicked smile. “This would be a grand opportunity to rid yourself of her. Your warriors could allow her to die in the fighting. It would not seem your fault if she were unable to escape alive.”
Imogen pursed her lips and came to a sudden stop in the corridor. “Thank you for your advice, Grand Alderman. However, for this plot to work, I need your assistance with something. There is every chance that my son could change his plans. Go speak to Lord Bowen’s spymaster. Have him watch the prince. If Thane decides to leave early, have the spymaster stall him. He may use whatever excuse he deems necessary.”
Aengus’s narrow grey eyes narrowed even more. He stood there for a moment, his mind clearly churning. Imogen wondered if he would defy her. She knew that he wanted nothing more than to see the troops off himself, likely to ensure that she followed through with the plan. And, she knew that he would no doubt make suggestions to the troops. About leaving Princess Reyna behind to be brutally murdered by the wood fae.
Imogen was not fond of the girl, but like it or not, Princess Reyna was one of her people now. And Imogen wouldalwaysprotect her own. She would have her warriors rescue the girl. Aengus would not.
And she did not want him poisoning the warriors’ minds.
After a moment, he gave a slight nod. “I will deliver the message.”
She watched him go, his tall, slight form disappearing down the long stretch of shadowy stonework, his rapier shifting with his every step. For now, she still held some amount of power over the Grand Alderman, but she knew it would not last. He would push, gently at first. But over time, his gentle prods would be as strong as a mountain weighing down the very dirt. If only she could kill him and remove his threat once and for all.
But she could not. He was the only other person who knew the truth about Sloane’s humanity. She had vowed to never speak of it. If Aengus died, the truth died with him.
But perhaps that did not matter. Sloane had vanished down south to his brother’s castle. His body was weak, his mind was old. He likely spent his days sitting by a window, reading a tome, and staring out at the Mag Mell Sea. He was no longer a threat to her.
She let out a heavy sigh and resumed her trek toward Curaidh Tower. Aengus would need to be taken care of, eventually. But right now, she had to destroy the wood fae.
38
Reyna
