Page 49 of A War of Three Kings

He wheezes and nods vigorously, the useless guards at his back ignorant to the fact he is choking half to death. I slap him a little too hard on the back, releasing my air wield, and the meat goes flying onto the table.

“You!” Lord Tomas rasps with indignation.

I smile at him. “I…just saved your life?”

His eyes narrow, but he has no way of determining if I am telling the truth or not.

“Really, Tomas?” Edmund growls at his side, pushing his plate away from himself. “I’m not going to eat this if it’s going to choke us all to death.”

The little lord apologizes profusely and calls a servant, and they bring our table the same succulent platters of chicken the lower-ranking guests are already enjoying. Edmund’s intense gaze bores into mine, and he taps his temple beside his eye, telling me he saw and knows what I did. I place two hands behind my head and lean back in my seat.

“You’re too clever for your own damned good, Aldrin,” Silvan grumbles in my ear. “You know that, don’t you?”

I eat in silence while the humans discuss farming, fishing and other local issues, all skirting around the war that brought us here.

Edmund finally broaches the topic when the desserts arrive. “Lord Tomas, let us speak of the matter at hand. The new boy king Finan has roused his army and is marching north, to our lands. He intends to take what is not his by force. To remove a Mother of Magic from her temple. I’m gathering the armies of the North for a show of arms to greet him when he arrives. King Finan must learn that he cannot simply take whatever he wants. I have it on good authority that he will balk and turn back at any sign of opposition.”

Lord Tomas places his fingers on either side of his chin as he considers. “You want to raise the Northern lords to fight the new king.”

“If it comes to that, yes,” Edmund admits.

My heart hammers rapidly as I scrutinize the little lord. Keira’s future is depending on petty men like him.

Tomas turns to Keira, holding her eye. “Maybe your daughter should do her duty and follow through with her engagement. Why should my sons die for your daughter’s whims?”

Keira rears back as though slapped. Caitlin pulls her close and whispers urgently in her ear as her eyes become glassy.

A flash of black anger rises within me, and it takes everything in me to stop myself from striking the man. From choking thelife out of him. My muscles lock up. The wood of the table splinters under my fingers.

I lean in and snarl into his face. “Is this how you treat your women in this realm? As objects and pawns?”

“It is no woman’s duty to be forced into a marriage!” Caitlin snaps.

Edmund stabs a finger into the table. “It sets a bad precedent, that a king can take any woman by force. That he can bring an army to your doorstep and takewhateverhe wants. Finan has a wandering eye and many mistresses in the capital. Yes, it is my daughter he desires this time, but maybe he will notice your daughter next and snatch her too, as a mistress. He might start taking a lord’s land and title to give to someone who pleases him, just because he can. It starts here, and we must stop it while we can.”

The color drains from Tomas’ face as the thoughts enter his tiny mind for the first time.

“You might see me as a willful woman,LordTomas.” Keira spits his name like an insult. “But I am also a Mother of Magic. Do not underestimate what will befall these lands if our order is desecrated. You discuss the sacrilege of a Mother of Magic being kidnapped like it is nothing. If we cannot roam this kingdom with our safety ensured, there will be no Mothers available to offer our services of healing, of repairing crops or imbuing the land with magic. There will be no one to assist in childbirth, in teaching magic to any who have the spark, and there will definitely be no more pilgrimages.”

The lord almost shakes at the thought. Satisfaction grows within me at the fierce triumph on Keira’s face. I could throw her down on this table right here and kiss her passionately.

“And what of these fae?” Tomas seethes. “Why involve them? How do we know they won’t turn on us at the first opportunity?”

I exhale sharply, so bloody sick of this already. “We have a bargain to guarantee our loyalty. That is all you need to know.”

A long silence stretches out as Tomas and Edmund stare each other down.

Tomas shakes his head. “Edmund, I will support your daughter in her fight for her freedom—I would be insane not to back the Mothers of Magic. I will provide soldiers and supplies. But the fae? I cannot align with these intruders. You allow some into our realm and others will follow. Before we know it, we will be enslaved by them again.”

Edmund slams his hands on the table and leans over the other lord, getting right in his face. Tomas’ guards take a step forward, but he waves them off.

“Damn it, Tomas! Insult Aldrin and Silvan right in front of their faces one more time and I am going to lose my temper. We both know what happens when I do. There are so many open flames in this room already.” Edmund’s words are a low growl, and Tomas swallows visibly.

I stare at Edmund, cold shock pumping through my veins.

“We need all the resources we can muster. Aldrin and his ten fae aren’t going to take over the realm,” the Lord Protector finishes.

Tomas puts a hand on Edmund’s chest and forces him back into his seat, then holds up his hands in mock surrender to calm the moment. “Tell me, then—why are fae mercenaries agreeing to fight a war that doesn’t concern them?”

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