“I do not foresee Riordan sacrificing so many warriors to challenge Rian in open war. This is something else.”
We had sat in near silence all night while the earth had shaken from whatever was happening. My fears about an invasion were alleviated when Orion assured me that the fighting was staying far away from the camp. But then the temperature had dropped so suddenly the grass went stiff, and my skin felt numb. The potent scent of methane made me cringe as the air crackled with a strange energy.
“What isthat?” I breathed, my breath hanging in the air in front of my face, but Orion had shaken his head.
And then another power had rushed through the earth beneath us, something crisp and invigorating, before there was finally stillness and peace.
I was exhausted from sitting up all night, so I had just about fallen asleep when Rian suddenly ducked into the tent with two plates of food.
“My apologies for the delay to breakfast! We had a bit of a situation last night,” he told us. But I could barely pay attention to his words when his terrifying armour was covered in blood: black from Fuath and green from fey. His handsome face was flecked with mud and smudged with ash, as were the two long braids that fell over both of his shoulders. He seemed happy with how the battle must have gone, but he was also clearly exhausted.
“You have been fighting,” Orion stated in an attempt to get more information from the Autumn Prince as Rian gave us both our plates.
Rian grunted in confirmation as he took the extra fork on my plate just like the guard always did. It was strange to have someone eat off my plate just to prove it was not poisoned or drugged, but I appreciated it all the same.
“Do you also have Fuath in the Vale?” Rian asked us when he was finishedchewing.
I snorted with a glance at Orion who had already dug into his meal without even waiting for Rian. I supposed that meant he trusted them not to drug us now or he was simply too hungry to be cautious. Not that I blamed him. The food here was different, uniquely spiced compared to food in Kórinthos, but it was really good.
“Unfortunately yes, we have a great many,” I replied before taking several bites of the sweet meat and a buttery mash of different vegetables.
“As did we. Now they are dealt with,” Rian explained as he walked over to the table at the edge of the room.
“Could you not easily burn them all? Or… consume them with your power?” asked Orion with a glance over at Rian. I followed his gaze to the fey male and watched as he removed a wineskin and three gold goblets from the leather satchel he had slung over his shoulder.
“Certainly. But my power, when used on such a scale, can be very unsafe. As you have seen,” Rian pointed out with a smug grin over his shoulder that made Orion lash his tail in annoyance at the reminder.
“They were mobilizing in a way that was unnatural,” Rian continued seamlessly as he refocused on uncorking the wineskin and filling each goblet with a golden liquid. “Nuala was able to see that our Autumn queen was using blood magic to control the horde in order todistractme,” Rian added in disgust. He put the cork back in the skin and tucked it back into the satchel.
“Your queen was using blood magic? She could use it to control the Fuath?” I verified as my skin prickled.
“She was and she did,” Rian confirmed as he collected the three cups together to bring to me. It was amusing to see him doing it since I had watched many human men carry beer much the same way on bar patios.
“Does that not harm the Tithriall? Why would she use such magic?” Orion asked Rian in suspicion.
“It is extremely harmful. And she did it for the same reasonBalor lied to your king in order to gain entry into the Vale; they want to maintain power,” Rian insisted.
I took one of the cups when he extended them to me and watched him take another to Orion. I assumed it must be wine, and it smelled divinely of apple and cinnamon, but I set it aside to finish my food first.
“I am sorry,” I said because Ornella’s letter had hinted at the efforts Rian had made to find solutions for the Rot. And all the while, his queen had been undermining him by using the magic that was most harmful to the integrity of their world. Such a betrayal must have stung deeply.
Rian had been about to tip his gold cup up to his lips, but he hesitated to meet my eyes over the rim, as if he were surprised by my sympathy. Then he continued to tilt the cup to take a quick but deep swig of the wine.
“It is no matter now. I finally have proof that renewing the monarchs will heal the courts, and the Fuath cannot be used that way by anyone else after this,” he shrugged.
I watched him return to the table as something told me thatthiswas why he was here to see us.
“What does that mean?” Orion asked as Rian retrieved one of the chairs from under the table and brought it back. He took a seat in front of us with his goblet still in hand.
“It means I gave Queen Aoibheal one final chance to abdicate her throne willingly. She refused. So we took her power and passed it to her son who was able to heal our court within moments,” Rian explained proudly.
“You were fighting your queen last night?” I verified, and he raised his goblet in a smug confirmation.
I stared at him, and from Orion’s silence, I knew that my mate was staring at him too. I remembered that crisp and invigorating feeling and realized that had been their new king healing his court. The power had felt so young and new and fresh, and at the same time, as ancient and uncompromising as the bones of the earth somehow.
“You would not happen to know anything about blood magic being used in your kingdom?” Rian asked us.
“Why would we know anything about blood magic except that it is illegal and harmful?” Orion demanded.
