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“As I was saying, your majesty.” The man’s crest on his tunic had a hammer and ax that crossed handles. “The house of Protected Ones.” He nodded to another man who had dark hair and the crest of a shield and sword. “And the house of The Honored Ones”—he beat his own chest—“have brokered a peace agreement.”
“That is reassuring.” Dagda looked solemn as ever. “I would hear the terms of this agreement.”
“We have opened up an arrangement of trade between our two houses. The Protected Ones shall provide their smithing abilities, and we shall give them of our abundant supply of magic ore. And to seal the accord, my eldest son and his oldest daughter will wed under the Rowan tree soon after the upcoming Samhain.”
Dagda was nodding while I straightened, a nauseousness gathering in my stomach.
“Wait,” I said. “You are bartering your children? For peace? Do they like one another?”
Niall of the Honored Ones looked from me to Dagda, whose back had gone rigid. “It is the way our people have overcome long time feuds. We have done it this way for over millennia.”
“That’s not what I asked. Have they even met?” I demanded.
“My son and his daughter are to become acquainted once your majesties have approved the agreement—”
“I don’t approve.” I flicked my hand at them. “Make a different arrangement that doesn’t include forcing your children into lifetimes of misery.”
Not a sound. Not a movement. The dignitaries gazed up at me in a yawning silence.
“Court is finished for today,” Dagda said. “Everyone out.”
Without another word, the room emptied, the ruffle of skirts and the click of feet were the only sounds heard. Keelin slipped out last, shutting the large throne room doors behind him.
Dagda sat as still as death. I sensed his heightened breath; the battle raging within him to keep his patience.
“The houses of The Honored Ones and The Protected Ones have been at odds for the past three years,” he said, his voice low. “They hold the biggest influence in our court and, if they were to go to war, would rend this kingdom in two.”
“I’m not against them forming a peace agreement. I just think they shouldn’t whore out their own children.”
His hand slammed onto the armrest of his throne, and he stood. “A oncemate bond between houses is the most reliable way of ensuring a lasting accord among feuding parties. It binds their agreement in their very blood. Do not assume that either house has come to this arrangement lightly.”
“A oncemate bond lasts lifetimes, Dagda. It is not only one life, it isall future lives. You can’t take that choice away from someone. That free will. I won’t allow it.”
The whispers pulled at my mind.
He ran a hand over his face, worry flashing across his gaze as if he heard the whispers himself. “If you wish to change our laws, our customs, I am not against it. You may. But not like this. This will lead to rebellion and war.”
My teeth pressed together, and I glowered at him. “I suppose you’re going to fix my mistake now?”
His expression tightened. “I must try to work things out between the houses. I will try to negotiate… something different. I will try.”
It took everything I had not to rip the crown from my head and chuck it across the room. “Don’t bother,” I snapped. “Let them do whatever the hell they want.”
I rose from my throne, and left him standing there as I stalked to the waiting room door.
The whispers still played in my mind. Roisin wasn’t in the small room, and I continued out into the hall.
“Your Majesty.” The faerie standing guard bowed. “Would you like me to escort you?”
“No,” I said. “I am only going to my room.”
The guard bowed again. I moved through the halls alone, tracing down their long, lonely pathways. The route to my chambers wasn’t that difficult to find. I thought of Dagda’s clear frustration, and I found a hiss seeping out between my lips.
Why did everything here have to be soarchaic?
I rounded a corner and paused when I saw a line of about twenty children disappearing down a side stairwell. Giggles floated up and curiosity got the better of me. I set aside what had happened with Dagda and followed.
The steps winded down, ending in a two-way door. I pushed my way through and found myself in a bustling kitchen. Fires burned in ovens, making the area toasty. Cooks shouted at children, who grabbed plates of food off the counters and scurried to the sides to eat their prizes.
