"Is she real?" Liam asked, voice tight. "This goddess?"
"The Lady of Sighs?" Quinn voiced her title with obvious disbelief. "I doubt it."
Liam swallowed, but said nothing.
Running a hand along the table, I approached the general. “Bláth mentioned Forlaith’s Emperor was planning an invasion. You killed him. So tell me. What exactly is the goal of your little war?”
“To overthrow Forlaith.” Iosef’s icy eyes followed me. “To free this land from the tyranny of the Solhearts.”
“By killing Muirashins?”
“Forlaith is buried in the heart of four nations; it controls them with an iron fist. We cannot assault the seat of the Empire without first gaining ground. We struggled to recruit in Muirashi—it was the best option: the fewest allies, the most enemies.”
My lips curled into a snarl. Quinn stepped into my path, blocking me from Iosef. “You’ve already voiced your discontent, Lady Rohan. If you want to join, you'd best remember you rank below everyone in this room."
Biting my lip, I swallowed my hatred and stepped back. “Answer me something. Why am I cursed by shadows?"
"I do not know," Ethna admitted. "Even here, in Ceortha, people cannot wield the shadows. You were born with striking, unmistakable eyes. Years later, when I perused Aeourant's library, I found a record of the Diaths—of one whose eyes matched yours."
"Even this place has forgotten, then?"
"The wall was not always there to divide our peoples. Forlaith's tendrils once reached all the way to Thanas."
"And they can again," Iosef rumbled, eyeing me sharply. "If we do not stop them."
"But, Mare?" Ethna said softly. "I do not think it is a curse."
I bit my tongue, lest I say something I would later regret. "Perhaps it's not. What’s next, then?”
“We wait,” Ethna breathed. “We hoped for Tsuyan—it would be a formidable stronghold. Now, we gauge how the empire will react, to see if they will risk taking back their forts while monsters swarm their streets.” Her eyes fell to Cierthine, on my hip. “Whatever follows, Paragons will be at the center of it. They always are. If you manage to claim your title, you will have access to King Ailithir. To the Empire.”
“You want me to be a spy.”
“To put it simply. Yes.”
‘I’m not a spy,’I wanted to say. Throughout my life, I’d worn countless masks, spun lies, and worn insincere smiles.
I’d always been pretending to be someone I was not.
“Alright.” I laid my palms on the table. “What do you want me to do?”
“Precisely what you already were,” Ethna said. “Secure the Paragon’s crown. Win your king’s approval. You’re of little use to us until then.”
Her words stung. They shouldn’t have. Every word had been true.
“Once you’ve managed that, I’ll give you a proper assignment.” Ethna sighed deeply and shot a glare at her general. “By then, I'll have sorted out this mess.”
According to Quinn, Ethna had been resistant to starting a full-scale war. But after her general went behind her back, she had not tried to stop it, either.
Quinn cleared his throat. “There’s one problem. Reese isn’t an idiot—there isn’t a lie we could spin he would believe. The moment Mare returns? He’s going to start putting the pieces together.”
A footstep sounded on the floorboards behind me. I spun, startled. Bláth had been so quiet, I’d forgotten she was here.
“I have an idea,” she said, wearing a thin smile.
“This is a terrible idea,”Brighid snapped. “Fae are not to be taken lightly—whatever boon they give you, the price they take will be so much worse.”
Knitting my fingers, I stared up at the little violet tree planted outside Ethna’s manor. It was like a tiny piece of home to the natives of Tirnanog who would never see their city again.
