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He clenched his jaw. “It is the way of our realm. To save her now would put each of my islands at wrong and sentence us all to death.”
Troi fought, but her feet didn’t move. A post separated her hands so they couldn’t touch, but her arms flexed as if she was trying to get them to do so. I didn’t know this girl, but I didn’t want to see her die.
“There must be a way.”
“If she were freed, she could go into hiding. I could make a new deal with King Vern to keep her safe.” Bash rubbed his face with his hands, smearing the gold paint. “I need more time to think.”
I stared up at the island where Ian stood somewhere, prepared to fire. Any moment now and Troi would be dead. She’d stopped struggling and found Bash in the crowd. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
“Please, all, come find your seats.” King Vern gestured to the room. The fae half-heartedly filed in, while the fae king beamed as if he noticed none of the discomfort. Odette’s auburn hair passed me by, and she touched my hand.
I grabbed her. “I need a knife,” I said.
She frowned but startled me by pulling one from her mass of curls, where it was tied with a ribbon. The fae were now in their seats, and any moment King Vern would give the order to shoot. I only had a second to think of something.
Odette spoke quickly. “If we are planning to stab somebody, King Vern doesn’t keep his heart in his body. You’ll be in a mess if you try.”
Her comment only furthered my frantic confusion. There was so much of this realm I had yet to understand.
Odette stepped toward the arena. “Don’t interfere,” she whispered. “And if you do, you’d better be certain.”
The only thing I was certain about was my heart twisted in a thousand knots while Bash bent as if he’d been punched, his expression that of a lost child searching for something to save him.
“Kill me instead,” he called out to King Vern. “Kill me instead of her.”
From what I’d gathered, fae lived for thousands of years. He’d said he wasn’t much older than me. He was giving up untold centuries to save her.
Troi shouted in return, but her words didn’t reach us.
The king’s eyes brightened at the idea, but he laughed. “I think not. Another time, perhaps. Tell your father to think twice before accepting deals in the future.”
Bash stood back from the room, his expression contorted as the rest of the fae settled into their seats with ghostly faces and averted eyes. I’d planned to strike Vern down, but if Odette was right and that didn’t work, I’d need something else. Something certain. Something that couldn’t fail.
The idea came to me, and I shivered. But another look at Bash’s face set my plan. This would cause me pain, but it would cure his.
“You said the fae love the Mortal Queens no matter how hard they try not to,” I said, sliding my hand once more into the nook of Bash’s elbow. “I need to know how much.”
His gaze broke from Troi long enough to flicker to my face. “We would die for you.”
“That’s all I need to know.”
I slid the dagger into the fold of my skirt. “King Vern.” My voice raised. I distanced myself from Bash. “I seek an alliance.”
Bash swung his head to me, but I kept from looking his way.
King Vern steadied his hand from giving the signal to fire.
I drifted closer. “I desire a strong alliance, and I can tell you are a strong king. Together we would make quite the pair.”
He twirled a finger through his beard. “That we would. What would you offer in exchange?” Even an execution could be paused when talk of alliances was in the air. I only needed his attention a few moments longer.
I took a deep breath and pretended to be almost bored. “First, I need to see that this trick is real. A true king wouldn’t hide behind false tricks.”
He threw his head back in a laugh. “Watch as close as you like. The archer is true.”
Bash was calling my name. I looked at him. “I need an alliance with someone stronger than you.”
The hurt in his eyes is for his sister, not me.
