Page 40 of A War of Three Kings

Edmund’s blade slides off mine, and I use the momentum to force him back. He staggers a step, then catches himself.A lifetime of training and fighting is clear in his every move.

“Sure,” he says. “We will change our entire culture and remove all safeguards just to suit you.”

I am so sick of the games and circular arguments with this man. “Look past your hate, Edmund. My lands are dying. Your people are losing their magic and way of life. The only way we can save ourselves is by coming together.”

He runs at me, screaming, blades flying in a series of maneuvers I struggle to block, each more powerful than the last—but it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t know that my sword absorbs the energy from each blow. That it sucks the raw power from his, and I am saving it up.

“Hate, is it? Or a long history of fae men abusing human women?” Edmund snarls. “You cannot have my daughter, not back then and not now. I will not allow it. Some prophecy spewed up by your sister doesn’t mean you own her.”

“Neither. Do. You.”

He forces me on the defensive, and I am losing ground. I could throw so many tricks at him, but I don’t want to humiliate Edmund. I don’t care to defeat him. Weneedto have his conversation. To get it all out.

“And what if Keira decides she doesn’t want you? What if all your ploys to manipulate her to be your consort fail?” Edmund swings his blades again, eyes narrowed on me. “Will you abandon her to her fate and walk away from this war?”

And there it is: this man’s biggest fear, and the reason he cannot accept me or my band of warriors. He is too afraid to trust us. Rely on us.

“I want a wife. A queen.Nota consort.” I say those words slowly, so they can finally sink in. “I will fight for Keira’s freedom, regardless of whether she wants to be withme. Understand one thing: I will always protect her from any monster and not expect a damned thing in return. Even if she won’t speak to me or look at me ever again. I will not abandon you on the eve of some battle if things are not going my way.”

Edmund flies into an attack again, but I can tell he is weakening. We both are.

“Have you forgotten our bargain already?” I ask him.

“Fae are notorious for finding loopholes in bargains.” He swings his fiery sword dangerously close to my face, forcing me to duck. I swear I can smell the tang of burnt hair.

“Are you trying to give me a haircut, Edmund?”

“For fuck’s sake, Aldrin, do you ever stop mouthing off?”

“I would hate to bore you to death. Besides, I’ve had over a week to sit on my ass and come up with a backlog of quips.”

I use his distraction to pull the thin layer of air out from beneath his feet—a cheeky trick Keira taught me. Edmund stumbles, then shoots me a hard look, like a father scolding a child.

“Ask yourself a question,” I push. “If I were not fae, but some highborn human suitor, would you have such an issue with my relationship with your daughter?”

Edmund doesn’t answer. He runs at me instead. A feral cast takes over his features, turning him from man to animal. From fae to god. His lips curl in a snarl, his nostrils flare and his eyes are wide with hatred, showing so much of the whites. “You had no right to make my baby girl your lover!”

Edmund practically combusts as both of his swords crash down on mine. I draw all the built-up raw energy from my blade into myself as wave after wave of flames flows from Edmund, as though we are in the middle of a firestorm.

I take all that stored power and throw it into thick shields around the balconies of the courtyard, protecting the humansthere from the inferno. I encase myself in barriers of air and ice, but the former heats too quickly and the latter melts.

There is too much magic rippling off him for me to protect myself from it all. The skin of my arms blisters and cracks as searing pain shoots through them. The same agony erupts across my cheeks.

Edmund’s eruption rages on for an eternity, and then the fires die all at once. He collapses at the center of a black, scorched ring, and I catch him. His eyes bore into mine.

“I want to be your ally in this, Edmund, as much as we cannot stand each other. Is that not clear?” I glance down at my arms to see the crackled skin slowly knitting together, then flick my gaze up at his unharmed people.

Awareness dawns in Edmund’s eyes at the implication.I protected them, instead of myself, because I could weather this storm and recover in a few days. They would have all died at his slip-up.

Gasps and cries ring out from the guards. Edmund’s hand flies up to his ears, which have become peaked, just like mine. His face has transformed to the sharp, angular planes of a fae, and bits of his hair are still on fire. He pushes himself away from me, then, with a shake of his head, snaps his glamour firmly back into place.

At least he has been practicing some of his magic.

The murmuring of the crowd grows louder.

Edmund holds up a hand and everyone falls silent. “We all have fae blood in us—that is not a secret,” he snaps. “The greater a human’s magic, the more fae blood they have. Now, you all have places to be. Return to your stations immediately.”

The space clears out in a blink. The authority the man has over his people is impressive.

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