“So we’re looking for a pink diamond,” Alexei said when Odette had finished. “That narrows it down.”
Tygrys licked at some sugar water I’d put in a tiny saucer. Kiara said, “Theo, do you know anything about the Alicorn Court?”
Theo hesitated. “Nothing pops to mind immediately.”
“Maybe your brother would know!” Odette piped, while Theo waved her off.
“I didn’t know you had a brother,” I said, sitting forward.
“He’s a dullard,” Theo said sourly. “I love him, but h’es certainly more brawn than brains. I hardly think he or my parents would know.”
“We should at least try,” Odette insisted. “It might lead somewhere.”
Ethan hadn’t spoken the whole conversation. He’d been staring at the table, mostly. “You’re awfully quiet,” I said to him.
He grimaced. “We have some bad news.”
Oh, great. “What now?”
“I’m supposing you haven’t checked the media,” he started.
“No. Why would I?”
Ethan took a copy ofThe Annual Arcaneaout of his back pocket and tossed it on the table. With one look at the headline, my heart fell, and my guts twisted. I felt like I could hardly breathe. Panic crept over my skin, making goosebumps rise all along my body.
Kiara leaned over and read the headline. “King Elijah Makes Royal Decree— Universal Healthcare in Malovia Abolished. Medical Care Will Become Owned by the Private Sector.”
Odette’s mouth dropped open. “He can’t do that! Can he do that?”
Ethan shrugged. Kiara picked up the paper and began to read aloud. “In a speech delivered Tuesday evening, the king declared that healthcare would primarily come from employers. ‘Those who work will have their needs provided for— those who choose to be a drag on the system will pay the price,’ the king was quoted. ‘There will be no more free rides in Malovia. From today on, we work to build a better future for all fae kind.’ The excess funds that are now free from going into the previous healthcare system will be put into growing Malovia’s military.The self-employed, the elderly, and the disabled will be reliant on family connections or paying out-of-pocket in order to obtain healthcare.”
This was one of my worst fears. Elijah was already cutting social programs in order to put the tax dollars into bulking up his army… so he could attack other supernatural races. What a right bastard.
“This new plan leaves out thousands,” Alexei argued. “Most disabled people can’t work. And the elderly don’t have jobs. How are they supposed to get care if they can’t get it from their employers?”
“It says in the article these dependent groups will have to rely on charitable organizations to obtain what they need.” Kiara frowned as she speed-read through the article. “But that clearly won’t fill the gap. Those services are about to become very strained, with all the people who will need help. Those who don’t get there first will miss out.”
“That’s bullshit!” Delmare smacked a fist against the table, and her drink went spilling everywhere. Stefan hurried to clean it up.
I hated Elijah. It’d hardly taken him long to start abolishing programs people depended on. All so he could go on a power trip.
Ethan caught the desperate look on my face. “You don’t have to worry, Emma. I’ll take care of you. I have more than enough in my royal treasury to pay for your treatments. I’ve already made arrangements with your doctor for your shipments to continue, even after I’m…”
Ethan cleared his throat, and my stomach soured. Stefan rushed to fill the silence.
“Yeah, my mom’s not letting you go without,” Stefan said. “Doctor Miroslava Slasky is on the case.”
“Thank you,” I whispered quietly, and Ethan inclined his head. I really did owe him one. Despite the distance between us, he wouldn’t let anything happen to me. He wanted to take care of me even after he was dead from this demon’s torture.
I was so in love with him. And right now, that love felt so painful, because I couldn’t express it in the way I wanted to. Gods, I just wanted things to be different between us.
“But what about my people?” I sat back against the booth, stunned. “The disabled population in Malovia is totally fucked.”
“You can’t tell me this wasn’t Elijah’s plan,” Alexei said in a disgusted way as he looked at Ethan.
Ethan’s voice was half-hearted. “Eli’s trying to cull society. If he kills off all the elderly— and all the sick— Malovia’s taxes won’t be burdened by taking care of them. Only the self-reliant will continue to survive… and that’s if they contribute to his twisted idea of building a fae empire. Things are going exactly how I suspected they would.”
“People are going to die from this,” Delmare protested. “The Circle can’t just—”
