Page 16 of A Courage of the Chosen

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Hector relinquishes and settles back into his chair on my left. Lord Fettis harrumphs and folds his arms across his chest.

Lady Calder looks as frustrated as I do. Like me, she hasn’t seen much battle, and is the newest member of this council. She has little to contribute to the planning beyond what supplies we have for the armies. She’s kept a careful distance from me, like she’s wary of what I might say or do after they saw what I hide beneath my skin.

When she speaks, her voice is laced with reluctant disbelief, and I can’t determine if it’s because she’s working the room into thinking she doesn’t believe me, or if she genuinely doesn’t.

The conversation rattles on around me, and when they begin talking over one another again, I find my focus slipping in and out.

“Tired of them yet?”

I sit taller in my chair and swallow, hoping against hope no one notices the way the color has drained from my face.

“Useless, aren’t they?” His laugh is seductive as it peels through my mind unseen.

How does he know what I’ve been doing? I’ve kept a careful grip on the bond with him, not wanting to send anything unwillingly in his direction, but perhaps something has slipped through without my knowing. There’s an intricacy to this tether with Tavish that I haven’t worked out yet, so maybe an errant thought or a strong emotion reached him?

Or maybe…

My eyes narrow on Hume, while he watches the room gradually get louder with barely restrained glee.

“Come to me, little warrior. And we’ll show them what real power is. We can silence them all.”

Needing to escape the way the walls are starting to press in on me as Tavish’s presence grows, I raise my voice louder than the rest of them. “We’ve been in this room for three solid days, and we haven’t made any progress. And while we argue, the Dorche are out there. Killing and hunting and preparing to corrupt us all.” It’s an obvious thing to point out. But it’s easy for us to sit protected by the stone walls of this palace and forget that innocent Seelie are dying.

Each council member looks down, shame flashing over their features, except one. It makes me wonder how many times they’ve gathered at this table squabbling like children when they could have taken action, how many times Raghnall let it happen.

I’ve had enough.

“We’re done for the day. Tomorrow when we come back, I want real plans on how we’re going to stop this world from falling.” I haven’t said much in the last seventy-two hours. While I’m technically queen, I don’t know my place here yet, or what value I can add. Not to mention my claim to the throne hasn’t been formally acknowledged by anyone other than Hector, and the council have discredited every word I’ve uttered.

I hate that I’m so uncertain about this, but I won’t walk away. I’m meant to be here. But I need to lean on the people in this room to lead, and I want them to respect me as their ruler. Eventually.

I’ve let the conversations loop over and over again until someone else suggested we finish for the day, when I’d proven to them that my story is solid. Right now, the beginning of a headache is forming, and I’m tired of the scathing looks from more than one person that’s supposed to assist me as queen.

“Don’t keep me waiting too long.”

His threat echoes, and his presence loosens its hold. His words circle though, ice prickling at the back of my neck.

“We should finish this discussion before we break for the day,” Lady Navin interjects.

Her brown hair is a contradiction to the blue eyes that lack any warmth, and it makes me wonder if she’s known any sort of happiness in her life at all.

I level her with a glare that rivals one of her own.

“We’re done,” I reiterate in a firm voice.

Yes, I want them to respect me, but I’m also their queen, whether they accept me or not. An instinct tells me tolerating disrespect won’t go over well.

The Seelie sat around me value strength, and if there’s one thing the last two years have taught me, it’s just how fucking strong I am.

She nods curtly at my tone.

I’m the first to rise from the table, my legs stiff after being sat in the same damn chair for yet another day. As before, Hector is the only one who bows when I leave, the rest casting their eyes away. Aside from Hume, who smirks at me derisively as I pass him.

A look that says, you’ll never be my queen.

I let it go for now, but my suspicion of him is only growing, and he’s the main reason we’ve not gotten anywhere. The moment we take a step forward, he derails us with a well-timed remark, or a question aimed at exposing me as a liar, and we descend into chaos again while he sits back and smiles.

Tavish’s voice follows me out into the throne room along with the footsteps of the council. The sky is an impressive display of lilacs and purples and oranges as the sun sets on another day in Elfayne. I slow down, tilting my head up to the glass ceiling to admire the view, and pull in a full breath to clear him away as everyone leaves through the golden doors propped open at the far end of the room.