Page 64 of The Mortal Queen

Lir’s eyes lit with verdant storms, every muscle in his body taut with cold, calculated rage.

“How quick you are to break Sidhe law,” Lir growled, his voice the groaning of the oak in a storm.

Balor cackled nervously. “It is you who breaks Sidhe law,mo Damh Bán.No mortal, no Unseelie, and no Sidhe are to enter fomorian territory and if they break such law, it is within fomorian right to do with their intruders as they please.”

“You appear well acquainted with the law when it suits you, Balor. And, once said law has changed against your favor, you turn a blind eye.”

“And should we disagree with such change?” Balor took a step closer. “Tell me,mo Damh Bán, why jeopardize your allegiance with the Unseelie for humans? Those who burn our land, light fire to the isles?”

“To prevent the continuation of such crimes from harming either Unseelie or Sidhe,” Lir growled.

“You’re naive,mo Damh Bán. There is no such thing as peace between mankind and the Sidhe. Maybe you should’ve spoken with Danu before seeking an audience with the fomorians. She would’ve told you all there is to know. Or do you fear what the empress hasseen?”

Danu. The empress. Aisling turned her attention to Lir, in time to witness a muscle flicker across his jaw.

“You will obey me, Balor,” the fae king commanded, his voice startling the nearest Unseelie.

“And what if the fomorians reject your leadership?” Balorchallenged and the surrounding hordes of Unseelie inched nearer, drawing their weapons. “We’ve heard rumors of what you did to the Cú Scáth. Only what the trees have whispered. How quick your loyalties change when the possibility of an heir is dangled before you,” Balor spat, pointing his axe at Aisling.

Lir stepped before her, shielding Aisling with his shoulder.

“Especially after what happened with the last. What was her name? Narisea?”

Aisling’s heart skipped a beat. The name of his firstcaeraand mother of his passed child.

Lir grinned but it was humorless. Unholy. The boasting of fangs in the mouth of a hungry wolf. Aisling shivered, beholding the fae king as he curled his hands into fists at his sides. The knuckles turned bone-white around the hilt of her dagger.

“I’ll tell you what,mo Damh Bán,” Balor spat, “the fomorians will give you your peace. Obey your Sidhe law. Vow to you their continued allegiance”—Balor licked his teeth—“in exchange for the mortal queen.”

Dread was a snake coiling around Aisling to release whatever breath remained within the mortal queen’s lungs. Aisling couldn’t see Lir’s face but every muscle in his back tightened, forcing him to roll his neck from side to side.

The fomorians shrieked with delight, whispering to one another wildly. Their hunger a bitter taste in the midnight air.

Lir licked his lips, glancing at Aisling over his shoulder.

“Never let your guard down around him, Aisling. Never give him an opportunity to choose between you and what he covets.”

Aisling’s stomach twisted. It would be so simple for him to hand her over to the fomorians. Hide the truth of her violent death from the mortals for another handful of decades to ensure the treaty didn’t lose its value. Would Nemed demand to see proof of her? Or could the fae king tradeher to the fomorians with no negative consequences?

“And should I refuse?” Lir asked, returning his attention to the giant before them.

“As Danu foresees, the Sidhe have already lost the war against the mortals. You are no longer my king,” Balor said. “In fact, after you failed to prevent the fire hand from destroying the feywilds you haven’t stood as my sovereign. Should you refuse to hand over the mortal queen, we will denounce your kingship once and for all. And, with no Sidhe king, there’s no Sidhe law; all those who find themselves unfortunate enough to stand in fomorian territory or elsewhere will be ours to do with as we like.”

The hordes of fomorians leapt up and down, slamming their weapons against the earth and pounding their chests. The expanse lit like the audience at a tournament, stretching their ugly faces and stripping their vocal cords to shriek.

Lir rotated the iron blade in his palm, toying with the haft.

“I won’t let any harm befall you.”He’d promised the mortal queen, but Aisling didn’t know the worth of a fair folk’s word. To her father it meant nothing. But what did it mean to her?

And even as she repeated Lir’s words in her head, she doubted them. Vows, if Aisling were being honest, she hadn’t taken seriously herself. Hadn’t taken any of the fae superstitions seriously. For they were all nothing more than empty religion and poison from the Forbidden Lore.

“Never let your guard down around him, Aisling. Never give him an opportunity to choose between you and what he covets.”

“I won’t let any harm befall you.”

And just as the words began to lose their meaning, Lir flicked his wrist, releasing Iarbonel’s dagger. The knife spun four, five, six times, pegging Balor between the eyes. The mighty ogre gaped, eyes flooding from within. He swayed to the left, then the right, glazed orbs unblinking.

The hordes of fomorians held their breath. Balor was a giant. Surely such a small weapon was ill-equipped to slay the great fomori where he stood. Unless Lir had nailed him in the brain. Shot the target on a whim.

---