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“I assure you, they’re well cared for,” he gestured with one hand. “Look around. They receive clean clothes and adequate food. I—"
Arianna growled, baring her teeth and Niall stopped talking. She stepped toward him, ice crunching beneath her boots, and pointed a shaking finger at the slaves gathered along the benches to her right. “Cared for?” She growled again. “I see a mother, no, two mothers with chains around their wrists.” Arianna stepped again. “I see fear whenever one of you,” she gestured to the court Fae, “walks by.” Arianna shoved her sleeves up and held her wrists high for all to see. Audible gasps flew through the crowd, but her eyes never left Niall’s. “And I see the same scars that I carry.”
A multitude of emotions flashed across Niall’s face before his eyes softened with the one she hated the most. Pity. “I’m sorry for the pain you endured. It’s a—" An infant began wailing. The mother, truly horrified, stood to soothe the child. She rocked her back and forth in a gentle motion but the chains still clinked together, unraveling the last shreds of Arianna’s self-control.
Niall cleared his throat, but Arianna wasn’t looking at him anymore. She’d focused her attention on the male crossing the room, his jaw tense with annoyance.
“Quiet the child,” he hissed, working to keep his voice down. But Arianna heard him, as did every other Fae in the hall.
The female whimpered. “I’m trying.”
He looked down on her with so much disgust that Arianna’s stomach twisted with loathing.
He clicked his tongue when the child’s wailing increased. “I knew I should have just done away with it. When we get back—" He reached for her, but his hand froze in place, held there by a branch of Arianna’s magic. Arianna didn’t know when it had happened, only that the creature in her slumbered no more.
“You’ll what?” Arianna was already across the room.
The male with short brown hair, narrow dark eyes, and more jewelry than it should have been legal for a being to own, looked down his angular nose at the female who was supposed to be his queen.
He sneered at her. “The female chose to lay with another. The babe is a result of her disobedience.” He scoffed as if remembering something unpleasant. “She wailed so much I decided to let her keep it.” He looked at the slave and wrinkled his nose in distaste. "But clearly, that was a mistake.”
Let her. He’d let her keep it. The way he said it—oh gods, how long had they been separating children from their mothers? And what did they do with them?
The female clutched her infant tighter and tears poured down her cheeks. The male clicked his tongue again.
“Ellie,” Arianna called. The male looked at her, noted the challenge in her gaze, and smirked as if she were as powerless as the slaves.
But she was far from powerless.
Ellie appeared at her side. “Take this female to my room, remove those chains, and give her anything she needs.”
The male laughed and looked at the other Fae as if his next words were law. “That female is my property. You won’t be taking her anywhere.”
“Not anymore.”
All mockery left his face. “I will not be undermined by a naïve child." He reached out and right as his fingertips brushed her skin, Arianna exploded.
Ellie stood guard over the slaves, shielding them with her own magic as Arianna stared the male down. A layer of ice covered everything. The floor, the tables, the chairs, and the male’s body. He stood frozen mid movement, eyes whirling in frantic circles.
“Do not,” Arianna said between gritted teeth, “touch me.” She felt a trickle of pride down the bond even as Rion’s magic joined her own, circling as if ready to protect against an attack.
Arianna slowly turned to meet several stunned gazes, Niall’s among them. “I’m not here because I want to be. Your city, grand as it is, means nothing to me. I was brought here because of a prophecy. I was brought here to bring about peace.” Her voice lowered. "And already I see how little peace means to you.
“You want a queen you can control, one that will act as your puppet and grant you power over the masses. I am not her.
“Peace,” she continued, “can’t be found when we have chains around the innocent.” She locked eyes with Niall. “I will not be paraded around, I will not be manipulated to your will, and I most certainly won’t stand for slavery, whether they’re Fae, half-breeds, or even humans.”
No one moved or spoke. Arianna steadied herself. “Every slave in this city is now free to make their own choices. If they wish to leave, I’ll arrange an escort to Móirín first thing tomorrow morning. If they wish to stay, they’ll be paid a fair wage for their services.” The slaves began whispering to one another. “And if anyone takes issue with either of those things, then every slave in this city will accompany me back to Levea where I’ll stay.”
“You would leave Ruadhán?” Niall asked. “For them?”
Arianna nodded. “And I won’t think twice about it." The Fae murmured amongst themselves but they watched her and Niall with bated breaths.
“You’d cleave this continent in two.”
“Then maybe that’s what it needs.”
Seconds ticked by, agonizing and uncertain. No one murmured or whispered as they watched the Queen of Alastríona and the Regent of Ruadhán. Two who were supposed to be one, yet a pair that stood with so much separating them.
