“You brought me here against my will. You captured my innocent sister. And you threatened to kill her if I didn’t make a binding vow to your bloody king. If that is not a slave, then what is?”
Tarrah frowned and poked at her potatoes with a twisted fork that had seen better days. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like that.”
“Then, how exactlywasit supposed to happen?”
“I was hoping you would agree to help our majesty willingly.”
“Ha! That’s rich.” Reyna glanced around the table, noting a glaring absence amongst the various warriors and courtiers present. “Speaking of, where is your king?”
“High King,” Tarrah corrected, but then frowned. “He is otherwise engaged this evening. He won’t be joining us.”
Reyna noted a hint of disappointment—and disapproval—in the Champion’s voice.Interesting. So, his right hand did not approve of his dalliances. Was it jealousy? Did she wish she was the king’s chosen bedmate?No, Reyna thought, examining Tarrah carefully. The shadow fae’s hollow eyes were drawn to someone else, a warrior at the far end of the second table. A rugged male with piercing silver eyes, chiseled features, and an impressive physique, who wore grey scale armor imprinted with the Shadow Court’s sigil.
That could only mean one thing. Tarrah was not wholly pleased with her king. Very interesting indeed.
Reyna took a stab at the fried potatoes, chewing them carefully. They weren’t bad at all. “Yes, he did seem quite interested in the serving girl. I realize things are different in this realm, but I’m surprised he isn’t attempting to make a much more politically beneficial match. A marriage with one of the ladies would make his reign more stable.”
She had no intention of helping the shadow fae at all, but she wanted to gauge their reaction to her words. She knew next to nothing about his plans, other than an impending attack on the Wood Court. After that, he might very well aim to join his court with another. Not the Air Court. He’d made it clear he wanted to snuff out every last air fae royal, including the ladies he might choose to wed.
That left Sea and Ice. And he had Eislyn, or so he said.
Of course, Reyna’s father would never agree to such a thing. But High King Bolg Rothach did not know Cos Darragh as she did.
Tarrah sighed. “The High King’s dalliances are just that. Dalliances. But let us talk about something more entertaining. Princess Reyna, is the north truly as cold as they say?”
The north. Something inside Reyna’s chest twisted. Her beloved kingdom. Her people. It felt so long ago that she had set her eyes upon fields of ice and trees cloaked in snow. When she had been a Shieldmaiden in training, her father had asked her to never make the vow that would have bound her to be a warrior for the Ice Court for as long as she lived. Princesses could not become true sworn Shieldmaidens. Her heritage must always come first.
And so she had agreed. She’d done that one thing for him, to keep the peace with her family. He never would have forgiven her if she had turned her back on the court for good, even if it had been to fight for her people.
But now she saw she should have done it anyway. If she had, she would not be here now, trapped in a vow that could never be broken, stuck serving an enemy court, and forced to bow to a cruel king who cared little about the innocents who would die in his impending war.
“Princess Reyna?” Tarrah asked, her voice breaking through Reyna’s troubled thoughts.
Reyna sighed and poked at another potato. “The air is so cold that your breath frosts as it leaves your lungs. Icicles cling to your eyelids, and baths must be taken indoors, lest the water freeze while you are in the middle of it.” She gave Tarrah a sad smile. “It is as cold as they say.”
Nollaig popped an entire boiled potato into the folds of her cloak—and presumably her mouth. “That sounds intriguing. I would like to go there someday.”
Irritation ripped through Reyna’s gut. “Why? So that you might destroy every village there in your quest to conquer the entire continent?”
“We are not going to destroy every village,” Tarrah said with a frown.
“No?” Reyna arched a brow, dropping the fork onto her plate. “Then, how do you plan on doing it? None of the courts are going to want you back, especially not when we’re all already at war. You’ll just be one more enemy added into the mix, with a load of innocent low fae stuck in the middle, desperately trying to stay alive.”
“There are some fae we do need to destroy. I will not lie to your face about that, but they are not the innocents you speak of,” Tarrah argued, fist tightening around her fork. “Once we kill the wood king, we will turn our sights on the Air Court. But it’s the royals we want. And that throne. Once we have that, we can end the war.”
Thatthrone?
“Why do you need that throne?” Reyna asked. “You have a Seat of Power here.”
Tarrah pressed her lips together, and then glanced at Nollaig, who merely shrugged. “Might as well tell her.”
“Tell me what?” Reyna demanded.
Tarrah tapped her finger against the table, as if considering, but then she began to explain. “The Air Court’s throne is the strongest. It holds the most power. That was how the Selkirks found the magic to exile us despite the Fall. If we get that throne, we can undo the exile, and we can be part of Tir Na Nog once again.”
The most powerful throne? Reyna had never before heard that. But it made sense. Terrible, perfect sense. The Air Court had always been the strongest realm. They’d always held the most power, had the biggest army, and had not suffered as deeply as the other courts had. All this time, it had been because of that throne.
Reyna took another bite of food. “Why do you want to undo that magic so much?” she asked, honestly curious to know. In her eyes, she could not see much of a benefit for the shadow fae, other than access to trade. But that could easily be accomplished in other ways. Winning a few battles here and there, forcing the borders to reopen. Taking down the Wood Court would be enough for that. Then, they would have a direct line to the Empire of Fomor. It would be enough for their realm to not only survive but to thrive. And they would still have the ability to lie.
