“You think she offered themfood?” I barked a laugh at his naivety. “You think they have not attacked innocents? That vile army has been laying waste to Ahnnaòin from Dulgune to the Standing Stones! My village, mymother, was slaughtered. The forests in the Suridin Valley were burned and the surviving aes sídhe were forced to flee their homes ahead of those monsters. An army that your mother has been using blood magic to control!”
I was immensely thankful that Nuala was behind me to help diffuse my shadows because my rage was getting the better of me, and I was becoming dangerous.
Caelan did a remarkable job of staying composed even as I could see my words rocking through him.
“She would never use such practices,” he objected.
“She came after my people todistractme because it is only a matter of time before I find her!” I snarled at him. “You know I do not lie, but if you truly do not believe it, then go and see for yourself! Go and see where my home once stood. Go and see where Sage’s village was burned. Go and speak to the surviving aes sídhe that were brought here so I could defend them. Go and hear them mourning after hundreds more were killed by that vile magic I know Aoibheal just used on our shield. Right before she left you here to confront me because she knows that I cannot kill you for what she has done!”
My voice had risen as I spoke until I was shouting at him and barely containing my magic. Only Nuala’s gentle hand on my back gave me any sense of grounding.
Caelan stared at me, looking like a solid push might send him sprawling into the dirt.
“Rian—”
“No. I don’t want your apologies; I want youraction! You are the heir of Ahnnaòin. Aoibheal’s time as queen ended long ago. She has become a poison in the veins of our court, and it is time you took your place as king!”
His catlike pupils narrowed into slits, and he shook his head at me in irritation at my renewed sentiments.
“I am merely a guardian. I am loyal to the queen until she is ready for her reign to be ended,” he maintained.
“Then you endorse the actions she has taken against my people?” I asked, my tone daring him to uphold her. And I had the horrifying realization that if he shattered my hopes for his rule, then Iwouldkill him. I would find another way to protect this court without the monarchy.
Caelan did not answer me aloud, which was an answer in itself. I knew that his hands were tied by royal protocol and tradition, but he had a moral responsibility to act!
“Take me to her,” I urged him.
“You know I cannot! How could I expect to rule this court with honour after forsaking my most sacred oaths to protect myqueen?” Caelan demanded shortly.
“But how will you look in the mirror if you do not?”
I had hit a nerve, I could tell by the way his jaw flexed before he looked away from me.
“Just bring me to her, and I will do what you cannot,” I insisted in frustration with him.
Something flickered in his eyes that made me hopeful, but it was a long moment before he spoke again.
“You have grievances. You should have an opportunity to bring your concerns before your queen.”
“She will not see me willingly,” I said dismissively.
“She may underMionn na Síochána,” he pointed out with his brows rising significantly.
Mionn na Síochána. An Oath of Peace. Aoibheal knew how seriously I took my promises, so it was probably the only way she would ever agree to meet me face-to-face. Years ago, before I decided to kill her, I had tried to entice her to speak under this truce, but she had declined to join me when I called. She was more likely to come now while her army was present to protect her. But to break such an agreement and take the opportunity to finally kill her would mean sacrificing my own integrity. My people were likely to shun me more than they already did after such a crime. I would lose the respect of my enemies and possibly even my own army. Fey had been executed for betraying an armistice during such wartime negotiations, although I knew Caelan would be unable to enact such a punishment upon me.
The prince stepped closer, ignoring Darragh’s rumble of warning as he put his mouth directly against my ear where no one else would be able to hear him.
“You say I should forsake my sacred oaths as if it is an easy thing to decide that my promises will mean nothing from this time forth. But I know you value your honour as deeply as I value mine. So how much does this court truly mean to you, Rian?” he asked me evenly.
I could not help but wonder if this had been his plan allalong. His loud proclamations of loyalty to his queen and his intentions to uphold his oaths to her could merely be his way of hiding treasonous intentions. He would not even speak outright of harming her, but the possibility hung between us, just as Nuala had foreseen it would.
So how much did Ahnnaòin mean to me? More than it meant to Caelan who was not prepared to even consider breaking his sacred oaths. But then, he would be the king. Perhaps it was better that I be the one to dishonour myself so he could at least appear to retain his integrity. It was not as if I were not already considered a villain by many fey in the Autumn Court.
I felt Nuala’s hand brush my back in encouragement, reminding me of how she pleaded with me to trust her in this before we stepped through the portal. She had warned me that I would need to be willing to sacrifice an integral part of myself in order to get Aoibheal in front of me.
She had been right. I needed to trust that she would be right about how the rest of this was about to play out.
“Very well,” I finally relented, just barely managing to keep the dread out of my rising voice. “Under the sacred agreement ofMionn na Síochána, I, Rian DorTìodhlac, demand an audience with Queen Aoibheal.”
