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Aeval spoke. “We’re here to talk to you about the ludicrous idea Asteria and Tanaquar have cooked up about using mortals to wield the spirit seals. This is insanity. We cannot let it happen.”
“How did you find out about it?” I asked her, my hand freezing, another cookie halfway to my mouth.
“I told them,” Feddrah-Dahns said. “I’m so worried that I thought they should know.”
“Your father will kill you!” Delilah clasped her hand to her mouth, staring at him wide-eyed. “He agrees that it’s the right thing to do.”
“Sometimes, my youthful cat, reason must outweigh loyalty. Especially when honoring that loyalty would be to make a huge mistake.” The unicorn whinnied softly. “My father will be angry with me, yes. But in the end, I hope he’ll see I’m right.”
“The unicorn speaks the truth,” Smoky said. “Reason must, at times, prevail over blood ties.”
I glanced at him. I hadn’t had a chance to tell him what had happened, but he shook his head and leaned down, whispering, “Iris told me some of what went on. I know only the basics, but it’s enough for now.”
Titania leaned forward, her face crinkling with worry. “Camille, you were there. You saw my dear Tam Lin. Did you sense anything strange about him—or the other mortals? Anything out of the ordinary?”
Torn between allegiances, I struggled with how much to tell them. But Feddrah-Dahns had already done the damage. Whatever I said couldn’t amount to more than throwing another gallon of gas on the fire.
“No. I was too shocked to even think about it. I wanted to talk to Venus the Moon Child but there was no chance.”
“I might be able to find out something,” Delilah said. “I do have connections with the Rainier Puma Pride.”
I glanced at her, wishing she’d kept that little idea to herself until Titania and Aeval left. I scurried for something to throw them off the thought. “I did figure out that Queen Tanaquar is sleeping with our father. My guess is that she’s doing so in order to keep tabs on us. I don’t know how they plan on using Tom and Ben and Venus, but I was pretty damned shocked.”
“So are we, which is why we’re here,” Aeval said. “Queen Asteria, as prim and proper as she is, has a good head on her shoulders and this sudden shift in her viewpoint is odd, to say the least. The question is, what do they know that we don’t? And how did they find out about it?”
Titania let out a soft flutter of a sigh. “There is the question of whether she’s being threatened into action.”
“Who could threaten her?” I asked. “She’s one of the most powerful beings I know.”
“She would seem so to you,” Aeval said, “but even the Elfin Queen must watch her back. There are powerful Fae in Otherworld. Fae who are greatly displeased with the fact that the Earthside Queens are reawakened. Fae who don’t trust us. And no doubt, they know about your work over here, and your connection to the Elfin Queen. Perhaps they’re blackmailing her.”
I put down my cookie. Blackmail. Close to the thought Trillian had had. Another idea crossed my mind, though it sounded far-fetched. “Can she be charmed?”>He slowly nodded. “I see your point. And since you refuse to let me take you away from this war, then you’re correct. I should have told you about the betrothal sooner, but I thought I had time to figure it out before it became an issue. All right. Prepare yourself. What’s troubling me is this: We’ve made a powerful enemy and I’m frightened for you.”
I frowned. What powerful enemy wasn’t already signed up to hate us?
“Great. Whose hit list am I on now? You said the Dragon Council was on your side, and your mother may not be happy, but you said she . . . oh no.” I raised my hand to my throat, a lump the size of my fist forming. “Tell me it’s not your father? What happened with your father, Smoky?” Memories of Hyto’s hands on my ass came racing back.
“Hyto was kicked out of the Council and my mother denied him. Not only has he lost his seat in the Council, but he’s also been cast out of the family and has no rights over the children anymore. In essence, my mother divorced him and he lost any standing that we children brought him. She’s been leading up to it for some time, and this was the last straw.”
I could feel the fear hiding behind that impassive face. “Holy cripes, what the hell did he do? Isn’t it hard to get yourself kicked out of the Dragon Council?”
“For many, yes. But he’s a white wing, and white dragons hold only a moderate amount of caste and influence. When the Council put the stamp of approval on my marriage to you, he blew up and demanded the Wing Liege change his mind. And worse: When they cast him off the Council, he refuted them.”
I almost swallowed my tongue. “Is the Wing Liege your king?”
“No, the Wing Liege is the lead justice on the Council. He has the authority to speak for the Emperor—we don’t have a king—when it comes to matters like this. When Father refuted the Council, the Wing Liege ordered him to vacate Mother’s dreyerie immediately and then proclaimed him pariah for a period of a thousand years.”
Images of dragon rising against dragon flooded my mind and I was suddenly grateful that I’d been left behind and hadn’t had to witness the scene.
“Hell in a hand basket. Was anybody hurt? Did it turn into a fight?”
Smoky grimaced, a look of sorrow filling his eyes. “Not for lack of trying. Father sent a blast of fire my way, but I dodged it. The guards wing-strapped him for defying the Council ruling. There shall be no flame upon the Council’s sacred grounds. Ever. Only the Emperor and Empress may ignite flame in the courts.”
He looked so unhappy that I wanted to take him in my arms and kiss away the pain, but nothing I could do would soften the blow.
“I’m so sorry—and I’m to blame,” I whispered. If Smoky hadn’t met me, he wouldn’t have gotten into it with his father. Feeling responsible for tearing apart their home, I crossed to the window and stared out into the autumn night. “What can I do to make up for this? There’s nothing I can do, is there?”
Smoky whirled me around, his hands firm on my shoulders. He forced me to meet his gaze. “You have nothing to apologize for. Nothing. Father and I would have arrived at this point sooner or later. The foundation for this was set long ago, before I first left the Northlands.”
