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It was not news to him that Cetia did not believe in marriage. Many Tetrians were polyamorous. The queen had several consorts, and all three of her daughters had been born to different men.
Graeson touched the oldest ring on his hand. While polygamy worked for many, it would not work for him. His heart would not change. It never had, and it never would.
After a moment passed, Cetia snapped her head in their direction. “So you all have known where the missing princess has been this entire time?”
Terin cleared his throat. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Theentiretime?” Cetia asked, ire tingeing her tone.
They all nodded. Although Graeson did so reluctantly. He still had not forgiven Esmeray for delaying Kalisandre’s rescue. But nowhewas done waiting, done listening to the commands of kings and queens who preferred to play with politics than protect their people. If Cetia denied his request, he would find another way to save Kalisandre.
Cetia stood, throwing her hands in the air. “Then why have you let it go on for so long? Why have you allowed her to remain in Domitius’ hands?”
The muscles in Graeson’s jaw flexed. With some strain, he relaxed his shoulders and forced his words to sound neutral and calm. Despite his irritation with the situation, he would not betray his queen’s decision in front of another ruler. “Not by choice, Your Majesty, but by necessity. As you know, the treaty—”
“Thetreaty?” Cetia scoffed. “She is one of yourown.The treaty should not matter! Not when someone’s very life is at stake.”
“That is why we are here today,” Graeson countered, straightening.
At the same time, he heard Dani mumble behind him, too quiet for the queen to hear, “At least she gets it.”
Graeson ignored her and pressed on, “We are done being on the defensive. We are done waiting. We are here to take back what is ours.” Graeson glanced back at Dani, her fist still clenched at her side, gaze cold and blank. He returned his focus to the queen. “And to give justice to those who have taken from us, who have robbed us of not only our princess but our future king.”
“Fynneares’ death is a part of this?” Ellie asked.
Apparently, the Tetrians didn’t know everything.
“Fynn died in the pursuit of rescuing Kalisandre,” Graeson said.
“By whose hand?” Cetia asked.
Dani stepped forward, rage fueling her. “Well, we—”
Cetia held up a firm hand, stopping her. “The facts.”
Cetia stepped forward. The older warrior reached for the queen’s hand, but Cetia swatted the warrior’s hand away. Still, Ellie and the warrior remained close behind their queen, their swords in their hands but loose at their sides.
“We deal in only facts right now, child,” Cetia said.
“Frenzian soldiers,” Graeson said.
“Multiple?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. When we”—Graeson pointed to Dani beside him—“reached the Frenzian ship the night of the attack, we saw Frenzian soldiers throw him overboard. We were too late to save him. When we retrieved his body, Fynn had been slaughtered.”
Cetia hummed in thought. “And what do you expect me to do?”
Terin took a deep breath. “We believe you saw the wedding invitation?”
Ellie’s head fell, and heat flooded Terin’s cheeks. Graeson smirked as the prince looked at the queen and nearly white irises stared back. Terin had forgotten that the queen was blind, and he rushed to cover his mistake, saying, “I apologize, Your Majesty. I meant no offense—”
An amused smile formed on the queen’s face. “I may be blind, Terin,” Cetia tipped her chin up, raising one brow as she looked at the rest of them, “but I see more than you all do. Now, tell me, what do you need from us?”
Chapter19
KALLIE
Kallie slammed the door shut,startling Sansil, who stood on guard outside her rooms.
