I watched as Kalian took a step forward. They had bound his wrists in chains. I got the feeling that was unnecessary; he would respect this court, its proceedings, and his punishment, no matter what. That was the level of resolve that sat upon his face as he began to address the court of Seelie, Unseelie, brownies, elves, and other residents of the realm.
Kalian described to the room his years of service under Queen Minerva and his utter respect for the position, and how proud he was the day they promoted him to General. Truly to hear him describe it, even knowing the fae army had been on the wrong side in many of the battles, it sounded honorable and noble. He described a time when the Queen’s actions became more secretive and self-serving. She began to send him on missions meant to tip the balance in the Universe directly, such as sabotaging peace efforts and agitating other realms. Most of the fae in the room at that point were in agreement with him. The balance was respected, and most everyone knew that knocking it out of place wouldn’t favor anyone for long. Even the Unseelie, who existed to cause trouble, usually never went that far. The Queen was an exception.
“With the Kings captive, I knew no one could stop her.” Kalian’s voice was soft and humble as he spoke. It was charming and persuasive and reminded me to ask him why he’d been such a dick to me when we first met. “The fae realm was at risk, just as every other realm was. I sought to warn the Kings of her plan to capture them, but I was too late. The… Queen Myrcedes, two gargoyles, and I made a plan to free them. I used alchemy to remove the glamour that disguised our realm, and another mixture to knock out the guards we needed to get by. I made sure they were safe and unharmed as long as we were quick enough.”
“The plan was to distract Queen Minerva long enough for Queen Myrcedes and the gargoyles to free the Kings and return them to the Underworld,” he continued. “I would accept punishment from Minerva, and I knew that likely meant death. It could have led to retaliation by the imprisoned Kings, but as the plan stood, there would be no harm to Minerva. What Myrcedes did… while I don’t believe it was unwarranted, I was not responsible for it.”
A short silence hung in the air as everyone digested his words. I tried to pry into the minds of the court. Maybe if they weren’t planning on being merciful, I could give them the idea. One mind was unguarded, a female Seelie.
If the Kings and this new woman hadn’t shown up, it would be easy enough to deem him guilty and execute him. But…
The man who had interrupted me spoke once again. “Well, if what everyone has said today is to be believed… Kalian is innocent of killing the Queen. However, no matter your intentions, you divulged confidential information confided in you by the Queen, and led an ambush on your own men.”
Kalian looked dumbfounded. “I only did-”
“You did what you thought was best, and your actions saved the Kings and… the Queen.” Damn. I hoped people could eventually say that without sounding like they were in physical pain. “And for that reason, we will release you. Because of the charge of treason, however, you cannot serve under the Royal Army.”
“What?” I watched his golden eyes grow wide in a sudden burst of fear, unlike any emotion I’d seen him show before. “I can’t-”
“You are hereby stripped of your position as General and will no longer serve the Army in any capacity,” the Seelie continued. “This court is adjourned. Thank you all for your attendance.”
5
Myrcedes
A guard walked over and removed the chains from Kalian, who looked suddenly pale. Kalian searched the guard’s face, a pale blonde man who looked like he would kill Kalian himself if he could. The guard refused to meet the ex-General’s eyes and walked away in silence. I sensed Daath and Syrion were ready to go, but I couldn’t leave him like that.
“Kalian,” I said, coming to his side. “Are you alright?”
He took a small step away from me. I couldn’t tell if it was out of surprise or contempt. “I’m fine… thank you for your words, Your Highness.” He bowed slightly, his mind clearly in other places.
I bit my lip as I tried to think of something positive to say. “I… I’m so sorry this happened to you. You made a huge sacrifice for us. If it weren’t for you-”
“I did what needed to be done. Now I’ll deal with the consequences.” He sounded hoarse as he spoke. “I expected death. This should be a relief.”
He seemed so deadpan. I couldn’t imagine what it must feel like to have something like that stripped from you for doing the right thing. I didn’t know what I could do to fix this, but he was in so much pain that I had to think of something.
“Is there someone who can overrule their decision?”
“There’s no higher power without a monarch in place,” Syrion said as he and Daath approached us.
“Oh…” I hadn’t considered this part. If Minerva was expected to live for years to come, if not forever, there must not have been a contingency plan for someone to take her place. “How do they decide who’ll rule next? When will they have a new King or Queen?”
Daath looked at the podium where the council members seemed to all be in disagreement and general upset over something. “The council will elect a new ruler, I suppose, but I’m not sure when. It could be soon, but I wouldn’t place any bets. Those are the only fae old enough with the magic qualified to be a ruler, and they can’t appoint someone without a unanimous vote.”
“They were the Queen’s personal advisors,” Kalian
