“Why should we pay for their medical care?”
“Many of them were men and children –” I point out.
“The only innocent Vylian is a dead Vylian! They don’t belong here!”
“They were our fucking guests!” I finally roar. “A fairy does not break the Laws of Hospitality.” There are severe magical consequences if we do. The old laws demanded an eye for an eye, which is what Echo follows. The new laws are less exact, but pain must still be paid with pain.
“We killed nineteen of our guests. Would you rather I killed nineteen of our own children as payment instead of resurrecting the Vylians?”
The crowd grows quiet, a mad silent fury rather than any actual reflection though. I wouldn’t have had to kill children in order to sate the magic that binds us, but I need them to fucking understand that resurrecting the Vylians was not the wrong choice.
And I have to believe that once I step down as king, they will do their due diligence of actually learning about the Vylians rather than holding on to their blind hatred.
“Now,” I say, trying to get us back on track, “does anyone have any questions about what will happen once I’m no longer king?”
As the debate continues and the Court gives their side of things, I cannot help but fear that maybe they are right.
Maybe the average person is too dumb to trust with the ruling of a kingdom.
Maybe they will vote us back into war, and I’ll never get the peace I want with my queen.
Afterwards, as I mount Maeve and fly to the next city, I wonder if everything I’m doing is just a waste of time.
Looking at the scar on my hand, seeing it mostly gone, I clench my fist. The anniversary of Aurelia’s death is coming ina few weeks. I cannot fail her another year. I need her death to mean something. I need her to be at peace before I can search for mine.
My eyes closing briefly, the guilt of having found my queen fills me. I took everything from her. From Jace. From Evangeline too. Yet, now I’m seeking my own happiness? I do not deserve the future I’m desperate to have.
And yet, I’ll fight for it.
I’ll never stop fighting.
Because I want children with my queen. Children that won’t grow up drafted into war. Children that won’t have to kill each other to take the throne. Children that won’t see their first dead body before they’re old enough to drink.
I just want a world that’s safe for them.
As Maeve lands on a branch of Iklov, I decide to move up the execution of the terrorists to today. Perhaps if my people can see us and the Vylians sharing the same pain, they will realise we’re not that different at all.
And perhaps that’ll stop a riot from occurring once King Dravr and his people arrive this afternoon.
Because at the moment, my people are ready for blood, and they might not wait to overthrow me with a vote.
If King Dravr is nervous about the screaming crowd that has gathered for his arrival, he doesn’t show it. He might be weary of fighting and greatly outnumbered, but he’s still an apex predator. One does not get to his age on the battlefield without being able to kick ass. Besides, I have no doubt that he’s spelled like I am, ready to swap places with some witch in Vyla. They did not have many witches left by the time the war ended, but only a fool puts her entire defence on the front line.
“Your people seem ready for war again,” he murmurs as I greet him at the door of Kholar’s castle. My guards have kept the mob from getting close, but I still do not linger outside with him. Turning on my heels, I lead him inside.
“Change doesn’t come easily,” I say.
“And yet, you are planning for quite a big change.”
I sent a letter to him the night I struck the deal with the Court. I do not know if he still has spies in our kingdom. It was part of the terms of the treaty that we would recall our women and men, but I know Evangeline has left a few of her ants, and I suspect he’s done the same. Regardless, I didn’t want him to be ambushed by this when he arrived in Raza. If there is to be peace between us, there first needs to be trust and communication.
“Raza is ready for it,” I say as we walk towards the Great Hall. The prisoners have been moved into there as I did not want to show King Dravr how to navigate the tunnels of our prison. It is a detail I know he doesn’t miss, but nor does he call me out on it.
Trust takes time to develop.
“Is she?” the Vylian king asks. “People are afraid of the unknown. And a scared populace is a stupid one, which makes them dangerous.”
“We are not all monsters. Spend the next few days here getting to know my people and see for yourself.”
