Page 44 of The Witch Queen

She looks around, then says in hushed tones, “I might know something, might not. Hard to remember after such a long shift today with barely any tips.”

Silene snorts, and I give her a harsh look. Then I slip the woman a second coin. “Sorry to hear about the slow day. Maybe this will help.”

She takes the second coin, putting it in the pocket of her trousers. “I’m guessing you’re here for the rebels. I don’t get myself caught up in none of that, but they do frequent this place since it’s such a shit hole. What do you want to know?”

“When they meet, how many are usually here?”

“Depends,” she says with a shrug. “Day like today, where they’re recruitin’, it’ll probably be about two or three of them. Plus, they always keep a few outside to act as guards, case anything goes wrong.”

“Thank you. When they arrive, could you give us a signal?” I ask, sliding her another two coins. She nods, then walks away.

“Hate to say it,” Silene says, “but your royal coffers got her to talk, not your prince charming act.”

I give her a mock sneer as I stand. “I’m going to go tell Fionn he can come in now. If the most they’re going to have is a half dozen of them, we can take that and make it out, no problem.”

An hour later, two males enter, and the barmaid immediately looks over at me. I give her a nod but otherwise act oblivious to their arrival. Silene and Fionn stiffen beside me.

“The one on the left,” Fionn says. “He was one of the prisoners we helped escape. Laurel thought none of the prisoners were connected to leadership. I think she was wrong.”

I tense as the tall fae walks toward us, recognizing Fionn and Silene. He has bright red hair and midnight blue eyes that gleam with something that puts me on alert. The fae next to him is stout and muscular, covered in tattoos, with cropped chestnut hair and matching eyes.This must be the fae who ordered the attack on Rusthelm.Knowing I’m in the same room as the monster who decided a village should be punished for accepting help from their ruler makes me feel ill.

“Silene, Fionn,” the tall male says as they pull up chairs to our table and sit. “Thank you again for your help. I’d be rotting away if not for you.” They both nod, and he turns his gaze to me. “You must be the Shining Prince, Hawthorne Vicant himself,” he says with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

“I am,” I say coolly. “Though I can’t say I have the pleasure of knowing who you are.”

“My name is Krantz, and this is my second, Saff,” he says, nodding to the male beside him. “We are what most people would consider the leaders of the Sons and Daughters, though we prefer to think of ourselves as protectors.”

“And what is it you protect?” I ask, eyes narrowing.

“Well, the sons and daughters and Thayaria, of course,” he responds, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. Silene steps on my foot, and I take that as a sign to lighten up.

“Well, then, Krantz and Saff, great protectors of Thayaria, I’m pleased to make your acquaintance,” I say with my most magnanimous smile. Krantz grins himself and reaches out to shake my hand. I oblige, putting the tiniest zing of aether into my grip to remind him who he’s dealing with.

“We’ve wanted an alliance with Velmara for a long time.Weknow that your father, His Majesty the King, has spoken the truth about theWitch Queenfor three hundred years. The outside world believed him, but here in Thayaria, her wicked magic swayed the people to her side. Only in the last fifty years have we started to see the reality of her corruption.”

I hate what I’m about to say, because I’ve seen the truth for myself. “The Witch Queen has pulled a veil over the eyes of Thayaria. I’m here to remove it so that you can finally see.”

“We knew the rumors that you were here to bring peace between Velmara and Thayaria were lies,” he spits back.

“I’m no Prince of Peace, of that I can assure you,” I tell him with a menacing snarl.

“I’m glad to hear it. And even more glad to hear it today, as we have an opportunity for you to hit the witch where it hurts most.” His eyes are bright with malice that makes my stomach roil.

“Oh?” I feign coolness. “And what might that be?”

“We’re going to attack Arberly, and we need you to help us.”

My stomach drops low in my gut, but I keep my expression indifferent. “Another poorly planned attempt to strike the Queen like what my advisor saw during court? I’d rather not dirty my tunic for something doomed to fail.”

His expression tightens. “No, this is nothing like that. We’ve been planning this for months. The attack you witnessed was merely a distraction to keep her spies sniffing in the wrong places. Had you not rescued us, we had our own plan for escape. We’re going to attack the city itself and show those loyalists who live there just how vulnerable they, and their Queen, really are.”

“What exactly is the target?” I ask, my heart now pumping a fast staccato.

“The target is the thayar processing tower, though the mission is to steal what we can from it, not destroy it. The merchant district is the distraction. That, we plan to leave in ruins.” My mind races, trying to think of a way out of this, a way to stop them.

“What do you need our help with?” Silene chimes in, ever the strategist.

Krantz looks at her like he hadn’t remembered she was there. A sneer crosses his face. “We needPrince Hawthorne’shelp to sneak us into the processing tower. It’s heavily guarded, since it contains the largest supply of thayar in the entire kingdom.” He looks at me. “Once we saw how easily you kept Fionn and Silene cloaked, we knew we’d found the last missing piece we needed to pull this off. My people will cause a distraction in the merchant district, while you get a small group of us in and out. It’ll be simple.”

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