She had questions, logistical ones, primarily. If he accepts, will I be expected to bear him an heir? If that’s even possible? Ultimately, there was no point in wondering about theoretical issues when she had so many problems already demanding attention.
Thalia closed the dossier. “Has Gavriel returned from Hallowell yet?”
“Early this morning. His casualties were grievous.”
“How many did we lose?”
“All but three.”
“Gavriel, and who else survived?”
“Tirael and Ferith.”
Her heart sank when Zan wasn’t named. Like Gavriel, he had been a close friend and her strongest supporter, even when she was too young to understand the sort of choices she would be forced to make for greater good. Thalia didn’t show grief; perforce, her features had become a placid lake over long years of training. To show her emotions was to offer a weakness that could be exploited. It didn’t matter that she was alone with Lileth or appeared to be. Nowhere was safe if any of her father’s loyalists remained at large.
“Did they see to the final rites?” she asked quietly.
“In Hallowell, yes. Apparently, the service for our fallen was well-attended.”
“Noted.”
Thalia rose and would’ve liked to stretch her shoulders and pop her neck, but revealing physical discomfort qualified as weakness too. The furniture in Daruvar wasn’t modern or comfortable, but she had moved her forces to this fortress for a reason. Bare stone walls couldn’t be camouflaged with a few tapestries here and there, and the floors were just as cold. While it was ancient and dilapidated, it was also the most defensible of her holdings. When the other houses challenged—and they would—she had sufficient numbers to bide unconquered here, even without factoring in any forces she might acquire from Pine Ridge. With proprietary wolf-tech drones, she might even go on the offensive. It was paramount to unite the Eldritch before Tycho completed his death march through Animari territory.
“Lord Pineda is known to be a man of…particular appetites,” Lileth said. “Are you certain you only wish to send the written invitation and nothing more?”
That was Lil’s way of correcting her when she felt Thalia was about to make a tactical error. “You make a good point. Please summon Madu and her team. I should record a personal message as well and give the wolf lord a sense of what I’m offering.”
It took two hours before the stylist was satisfied with Thalia’s cascade of platinum curls, pinned with fresh flowers and precious gemstones, longer for the artfully applied cosmetics, then, at last, she was laced into the ice and silver gown that befitted her status as a descendant from the lost line of Eldritch queens. Thalia studied herself in the mirror, noting the blush at cheek and lips, the shadow deftly emphasizing the curve of her breasts, before nodding briskly.
“Thank you. This should suffice as enticement.”
Once the equipment was set up, she spoke directly to the camera, as if she was addressing Raff Pineda himself. “I extend my personal invitation to you and your retinue to visit Daruvar to commence talks for a marital alliance. I offer myself as potential consort to Pine Ridge, though I will not accept full title as pack mistress. In return, I extend to you all rights and privileges pursuant to consort of the Eldritch. Though you will not be a king in our lands, none but me will hold higher status. All other terms and conditions may be discussed…at your pleasure.”
Lileth switched off the feed. “Well, that was…something. Should I send this?”
“Without delay,” Thalia replied. “We have no time to waste.”
Raff laughed softly, switching off the screen.
The would-be Eldritch queen was alluring, no doubt, and she knew it, but she possessed the icy and terrible beauty of an avalanche burying a village. He’d seen her relentlessly gunning down the enemy atop the walls in Ash Valley, as comfortable with combat as she was difficult to read. She would not make a congenial partner, and her ambitions might cost his pack more than they could afford. On the other hand, the alliance would boost Pine Ridge to undeniable strength among the Animari. If an opportunity to renegotiate the Pax Protocols came again, the talks would be held at Pine Ridge this time, not Ash Valley.
The cats had their chance. Time for this dog to have his day.
“What do you think?” he asked Korin. She had seen some hard fighting in Hallowell and his second wasn’t the same. It took two tries to capture her attention and he had to repeat the question before she engaged.
“If you can stomach it, we should move forward. Our losses will be incalculable if we have no one we can rely on for reinforcements, if the worst comes to pass.”
No invaders had set foot in Pine Ridge for…well, he didn’t even know how long. He’d have to delve into the archives, but he guessed it would’ve been during the territorial wars after the humans ceded the north. It seemed unlikely that the cats or bears would go on the offensive and use the chaos to gain more ground, but without treaties in place, he couldn’t risk the rest of his pack on accumulated goodwill.
“Must I put on my good pants and record a reply?”
“It would be polite, especially if you want to impress the princess with your attention to detail.”
He grinned. “We both know that’s not my style.”
Now he had Korin’s full attention. “You’re going to make my life worse, aren’t you?”
“That’s not my intention, but it may be the result.”
“Just tell me what you’re planning,” she demanded.
Raff uncoiled from his chair without answering. As he’d known she would, Korin followed him as he strode through the complex toward his personal quarters. Purposely, he quickened his
