Page 21 of The Witch Queen

“Well, I didn’tmeanto win so often. I was just trying to learn,” she responds, causing both Fionn and me to chuckle. “The game is simple, really. There are five suits of cards, one for each aether conduit, and corresponding tokens. The goal is to trade with others to make as many sets of matching cards and tokens as you can. But you can wager on every aspect of the game—even whether another player’s lying or not. You play until someone thinks they have the most matches, and they yell Skran. Then, everyone reveals their hands. The trick is to make people think you’re lying and don’t have very many matches.” We just stare at her. “Come on, let’s go to that empty table. I’ll teach you both. Might as well have some fun!” We follow her to the table and proceed to lose our own coin to her as she attempts to teach us the local game.

A hooded figure sits down next to me.

“Care if I join you?” a male voice asks. Fionn and Silene stiffen, but I pat him on the back in a welcoming gesture.

“If you’re willing to lose all your verdes to this one,” I nod at Silene, “then be my guest.”

He lowers his hood, revealing a fae with blonde hair, golden eyes, and a scar across one cheek. He grins at us, then places a small pile of the bronze coins on the table. “Deal me in.”

We play several hands in silence, and he beats Silene at least twice. She takes the loss in good humor, though I can tell she’s wary of him by her quick glances in his direction. Despite his skill, she still manages to rid us all of our initial starting bets.

“Looks like you’re as good as they say,” he says jovially to Silene. Then he looks at me. Voice low, he murmurs, “You’ve been inquiring about the Sons and Daughters.”

“Is that a question?” I ask with a cocky grin as both Fionn and Silene tense.

“I might have a contact. What makes you interested in them?”

“Guess I just heard about today’s events and decided I wanted to learn more,” I say, truthfully, allowing him to read his own intentions into the statement. “Do you have information?”

“I might,” he says cautiously. “But first I need to know you’re serious. What do you think about the Witch Queen?”

I pause to consider my words carefully, choosing to rely on the truth. “I don’t know much about her, really, other than what I hear from others. That makes me unsure of her intentions and whether she’s fit to rule.”

The male eyes me thoughtfully, then smiles. “Buy me into the next round of Skran and my next drink,” he says. “We’ll discuss some ways you can ‘learn more,’ as you say.”

Silene’s eyes are wary, and Fionn looks like he wants to bury a knife in the man’s chest, but I only grin and agree to his offer, always the one in our group who’s most comfortable around strangers. Silene deals us in again, this time with my own coin sponsoring our newfriend.

“So, tell me about the Sons and Daughters,” I say in a hushed voice after the first hand.

“They’re a network of humans and fae who work to ensure the future of the sons and daughters of this kingdom.”

“I see,” I say, slowly. “And you aren’t part of that network, is that right?”

He grins. “Exactly. I just know of them. Nothing more.” We both know he’s lying, but I don’t press it. Silene and Fionn stay silent, listening intently while continuing to place bets on the game, leaving me to navigate the conversation.

“And does this network often target the Queen of Thayaria?” I ask.

“Today was the first act against Queen Laurel herself. Earlier attacks mostly targeted smaller villages across Thayaria. But I’ve heard there could be more planned. Rumors only, of course.”

“Of course,” I say, considering his words carefully.

“Skran,” the stranger calls. Silene’s lips twitch. She knows she’s won. “Six pairs,” he says.

“Nine pairs,” Silene immediately responds, revealing her hand. She scoops the last of his verdes—my verdes—into her pile.

“Well, that’s my cue to leave,” the stranger says with a good-natured grin. He leans down close to me, and says, voice low, “There’s a granary a few blocks from here, painted red. Go there and ask for a fae named Restin.” With that, he stands and stalks to the door.

Fionn practically carries me home, Silene keeping a watchful gaze as I sing a bawdy tune all the way to the palace. While we were speaking with the stranger, I drank way more ale than I realized as he continued to wave over the barmaid for refills.

Once inside our apartment, they deposit me in bed and set several glasses of water on the bedside table. “You guys are the besssssst friends a male could ask for,” I slur out. They both roll their eyes, then close the door and leave me to my drunken state.

Thayarian ale must be strong, because while I drank a lot, a night like tonight back home wouldn’t have made me this inebriated. The ceiling spins above me as I think about the Queen and the information I’ve learned. Suddenly, I have an idea and stand from the bed before crashing back down. I take a deep breath, then stand again, and this time it holds. Stumbling to the desk, I pull out a blank piece of parchment and dip a quill into the inkpot. Then I pen a scathing note to none other than Queen Laurel.

Sealing the letter with my signet, I stumble into the common area and lay the missive on the dining table, promising to send it in the morning.

Laurel

Thayaria is home to a rare species of feline. Comparable in size to a wolf or deer, the sidhe run wild in the mountains and moors of northern Thayaria. Many myths surround these ancient and mysterious creatures. One of these tales attributes the sidhe to a circle of witches who became trapped in the cat-like form after practicing blood magic, and parents tell their children stories of the spine-chilling apparitions to get them to go to sleep at night. Many notable monarchs in Thayarian history have kept a sidhe as a pet after it unexpectedly followed them home and never left.

---