I bit my lip, disappointed. “So, we should wait for him to get back?”
“Hm? Oh, no.” Daath shook his head. “He could return in either a week or a month, depending on what he’s able to find. If we act now, we have a flawless cover. We can visit members of the council in private under the guise of diplomacy.”
I felt my pulse quicken as he spoke, both excited and nervous to find out something I’d been dying to know. “So when can we start?”
A smirk fell across his face. “Tomorrow.”
10
Daath
“Oli,” I bowed as we entered his home. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us on such short notice.”
“Oh, yes, of course,” the Unseelie’s voice shook as he spoke. I recognized him from the trial. He had been the first to address us, and he’d seemed just as nervous back then as he did now. “How could I say no to the King of the Underworld? Oh, a-and the Queen, as well, of course.”
I’d had to have a serious conversation with Myrcedes about how vital it was that she not imply any suspicion until we were certain he was involved. Thankfully, she seemed to take that to heart because her demeanor was confident and positive. She nodded to Oli with a cool smile. “Still, we appreciate your hospitality.”
“Please, sit,” he said as he himself took a seat in a rocking chair. His house wasn’t very large; most houses in the fae realm were small, aside from Minerva’s palace. Still, I expected such a high-ranking Unseelie to live with some luxury. Instead, he lived in a cabin. The living room had just enough room for the three of us amongst all of his trinkets and decorations. Typical. Fae made a habit of stealing or conning items from others, usually humans, and that was the only explanation for the strange amalgamation of objects on the walls and cabinets around us. My eyes were drawn to a small wooden horse with wheels on its legs. It was distinctly human, but it looked to be at least a few centuries old. It sat next to a very modern, rectangular metal tin. I recognized it as containing little chocolate pearls from some candy company.
Myrcedes and I sat on a couch across from him.
“What can I do for you?” Oli asked. “Oh! May I offer you tea? I have several herbal teas I got a while back I think you’ll enjoy.”
I smiled to myself. My lovely companion wouldn’t realize this, but he had gone out of his way to insult us. High-ranking fae were known to offer something like tea immediately upon the entrance of a guest, and they had a hierarchy of what they thought was a worthy visitor. Herbal teas, and ones he’d made a point to say were older, were the lowest rung of that hierarchy.
Myrcedes spoke first. “No, thank you, though. We wanted to ask how things amongst the council are going?”
He sighed. “Well… not well. We can’t seem to agree on anything. Someone always insists on voicing a dissenting opinion; you know I’m sure some of them do it just for the sake of causing trouble? It’s sad.”
“What exactly are you disagreeing on?” I knew the answer, but I had to be polite and ask, anyway.
“Mostly what to do next… everyone wants to be in power. And I know what you’re thinking, but it’s different! They just want to be monarchs for the sake of control. I’m the only one who really wants to do what’s right for the fae.”
“And what is that?” Myrcedes cocked her head. “What would you do to serve the people?”
“I’m glad you asked,” he smiled. He seemed to relax a touch, but the Unseelie still seemed on edge. I got the feeling that was a permanent thing for him. “There have been so many taxes posed on the fae in the past few thousand years, that most of the realm lives in poverty. But if I were the King, the first thing I would do is open the coffers and provide every resident of the realm with an allowance to make up for the ages of unfair taxing. Darce actually suggested raising the tax! Can you believe that? And she wants to restrict travel to other realms. Unbelievable.”
“Well, you sound like you have the best interest of your people at heart,” she nodded. I smiled, very impressed with her quick grasp of diplomacy. I didn’t think I’d ever stop being surprised by her.
“But the rest of the council is so power-hungry. They couldn’t care less about someone good sitting on the throne. They all just want to take the place themselves. It’s sad to see so many people I trusted betray their world so selfishly.” Oli shook his head. “It’s almost a surprise that the people haven’t up and revolted. If we don’t come to an agreement soon, heads will be rolling.” His old and shaky voice was clearly attempting to exaggerate an unfunny joke, but I quickly noticed a shift it set off in Myrcedes. It was almost imperceptible, but I felt a change in the air around her. She seemed to grow anxious. I couldn’t fathom why.
“Is Serriah any help?” I questioned.
“Serriah?” A distasteful expression graced his face. “She… it was very helpful of you to send someone to help, your Majesty. I’m afraid it’s just unfamiliar to so many of the fae to look up to an elf… ask any elf yourself, and they’ll agree. Seelie and Unseelie are more naturally suited to leading. She's doing a fine job, I suppose, for someone whose responsibilities are loosely defined and barely exist.”
I simply nodded. Serriah had expressed to me the relief so many of
