“It’s one thing for Adaia to take Finn hostage in the ruins of Mistmere,” Thalia points out as if we’ve all lost our minds. “Quite another to kidnap a royal princess right in the heart of the queensmoot.”
“I think it’s perfect,” Lysander replies. “Everyone will be wearing masks. They’ll all be mingling and drinking. Nobody is even going to know if we take her.”
Thalia leans forward. “She arrived with Adaia. Even Prince Kyrian is going to arch a brow in surprise if she suddenly appears in our encampment, and he’s our ally.”
“Then someone ‘seduces’ her,” Lysander suggests. “Maybe she’s enjoying our hospitality? The only one who needs to know the truth is Adaia.”
“Are you volunteering?” Thalia asks.
“As handsome as I am,” he retorts, “everyone knows my preferences lie elsewhere. Someone… else….” He scans the room, his gaze drifting between me and Baylor.
Baylor gruffly folds his arms over his chest and glares at his brother. “Have you been drinking already?”
“That’s a no. Nobody would believe it.” Lysander steadies his focus upon me.
“I don’t do seduction.” Somehow the words come out a little roughly. “Particularly not with the enemy’s daughter.” I snap my fingers at Thalia. “Eyes on her only. For now. But she might be a bargaining chip we can use. What else do we have?”
“Well, there’s the matter of the Ravenal alliance.”
The words near take my feet out from under me. This was a private matter discussed between the two of us—and I certainly never gave her permission to reveal it to the others.
“Ravenal alliance?” Eris asks.
“The queen of Ravenal has a granddaughter,” Thalia explains to the others. “Her name is Lucere and—”
“And this was supposed to be a consideration only,” I snap. “What in the name of Maia have you done?”
“Princess Lucere is of marriageable age,” Thalia continues to the others, as if I haven’t spoken. “She is also interested in meeting our prince at the queensmoot.” She gives me a stern look. “You said you would consider the alliance. Lucere only wants to meet you to see if you would suit.”
“Marriage is the last thing on my mind right now,” I growl out. “Finn must be our first priority—”
“Finn is our first priority,” Thalia snaps. “But if he’s the only hand of cards we’re playing right now, then Adaia will have us backed into a corner quicker than you can say, ‘Yes, Adaia. No, Adaia. How high would you like me to jump, Adaia?’ Let’s open negotiations with Adaia and see what she wants in exchange for him, which means we must relay this through the Seelie Alliance. Everything we do to get him back must be played out in the open, or she’ll kill him and have perfect justification to do so.”
Her voice softens. “Prince Kyrian is our only ally. The other queens think you’re an upstart prince who stole his throne. You need allies. More allies. You need someone to back you when Adaia comes for your throat. You need someone who might vote your way if Adaia pushes the issue. With Queen Maren of Aska in bed with Adaia, that only leaves Lucidia of Ravenal. The old bitch is cunning. She knows she’s no powerhouse, but she also knows we need her. With Evernight to the north of Asturia and Ravenal to the south, Adaia will barely dare to breathe. It’s our only hope. Meet with Lucere. Marriage to her could be the means with which we get Finn back without bloodshed.”
“I know, but….”
She’s out there. The woman I’m meant to marry.
Maia wouldn’t have granted me a glimpse of her face all those years ago, if she meant me to be bound to another.
Something softens in Thalia’s eyes. She alone knows the truth of what I saw. “It’s been five hundred years since you were granted that vision, Thi. If she was out there—”
“If she’s out there,” I grind out, “then I can’t bind myself to another. I can’t.” Not even for my country.
Not even for Finn?
My breath catches. I know the answer to that. He’s my brother-at-arms. My ally. My friend. Five hundred years ago he saved my life on the battlefield and I can never repay that.
“I will… meet with Lucere.” Even saying those words feels like dying a little on the inside.
For five hundred years I’ve been holding onto a dream, clinging to it at times with the desperate need of a man hanging from the edge of a cliff by his fingertips.
I can’t give up.
The woman I saw has to be out there somewhere.
But if this is the cost of Finn’s freedom….
He saved my life.
Can I do any less?
2
Iskvien
The first day of the queensmoot dawns bright and golden as my mother’s servants set up the tents. Asturian colors flutter in the breeze as a warning as to whose quadrant this is.
Beyond them rise a sea of tents, clinging to a gently sloping hillside that envelops a circular valley. The tents of the Seelie Alliance stretch almost halfway around the valley. The sight makes my breath catch.
There are hundreds of fae here.
Thousands.
And tonight they will sing and dance and seek to drive away the restless spirits that haunt Arcaedia on nights like these. I’ve seen paintings of the queensmoot and heard all the tales, but this is the first time I’ve ever attended.
Asturia is granted the land right on the flank, and everywhere you look there’s a sea of red and gold. My mother’s rose, thorn and crown standard rises above her tent. She’s somewhere within, no doubt plotting ruin for some poor soul.
I don’t want to know.
I never want to know what she’s up to.
That doesn’t mean I always get my wish.
Beside us stands the Askan encampment with its golden serpent leering from a dark green background.
And then the burgundy of Ravenal, with a black crow picked out in stark relief upon their flag.
The blue and silver of Stormlight is next, and right at the end, as far away from the Asturian camp as one
