Page 101 of Conspirators' Kingdom

The battle had begun.

Chapter 40

Nefertnesu’sbeautywasterrifyingin its allure. How could anyone stand to be in the presence of such a creature, and not become slavishly devoted to the mere sight of her? It was a question Taisiya was beginning to ask herself. The queen smiled, her red-painted lips setting off the sparking turquoise of her kohl-rimmed eyes. She tossed a strand of glossy midnight hair over her shoulder, the waves cascading behind her flawless, light brown skin. Only her pointed ears marked her as fae, rather than the most beautiful of mages. As Nefertnesu sat back in her seat, Taisiya admired her perfect figure, accentuated by a gown with a tight, revealing bodice and a jewelled, tiered skirt. Whatever magic she wielded was as intoxicating as the sound of a silver-tongued mage’s voice and twice as lovely. If only the earthy taste in her mouth would stop distracting her from her open-mouthed appreciation.

“Sister, you’re being rude.” Mereruka clenched his teeth as he said it.

“Am I?” Nefertnesu asked primly.

“My wife is not your plaything.”

Taisiya was about to argue with Mereruka that Nefertnesu was not at fault and that he should keep quiet. Compared to Nefertnesu, her husband’s very presence was grating. The queen sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes, and even that was enough to make Taisiya’s heart flutter.

“Itet is right. You’re boring.”

When Taisiya blinked, the compulsion disappeared, along with the taste on her tongue. Nefertnesu was still blindingly attractive, but the need to worship at the altar of her beauty had gone. Taisiya scowled at the woman.Fucking fae magic.

Taisiya’s surroundings came into sharper focus. When exactly had they arrived in this place? She suppressed a shiver. The private courtyard afforded to the queen was shaded by date trees and surrounded by gilded columns. Perfume and floral scents wafted on a breeze created by servants bearing oversized fans. The ornamental pond in the centre was filled with shimmering, languidly swimming fish and floating lotus blossoms. Altogether, it was much too cheery a scene given the violation that had just occurred.

“Greetings, Princess Consort Taisiya. You may wish to wipe the drool from your chin. Never fear, my beauty has left many in a state much less dignified than yours.” She smiled winningly.

“Don’t give her the satisfaction of checking for something which isn’t there.”

Nefertnesu laughed, the sound like tinkling bells. Was anything this woman did physically unattractive? Taisiya had never been insecure, but this woman was going to give her a complex.

“What is a mage, precisely?” Nefertnesu asked. “You look like a witch, but your magic doesn’t hang about you like a rotting creature in the sun.”

Taisiya could only surmise that tact had also been removed in the ritual that had stolen a part of the queen’s soul.

“Most wield the natural elements.”

“And?”

“And we have never needed to describe our race to outsiders.”

“Yes, the Cursed Continent has hardly been a vacation destination for the rest of Oblivion.” Nefertnesu leaned back in her seat, apparently satisfied with Taisiya’s non-explanation.

“How do your children fare, sister?” Mereruka asked.

She lifted her shoulders in an elegant shrug.

“The eldest failed to survive the initiation. My husband will be wanting another in a few decades to replace him, selfish cretin. If I could have someone else ruin their body for me, I would. As for the younger ones, they’re being raised somewhere out of sight, ugly little beasts that they are. Motherhood is such a burden. It will be a relief when I can stop pretending to care. By the by, if Maat has a soul weaver, send them to Keftu. The last competent one disappeared some decades ago and we had to kill the recent one after he botched a number of initiations.”

“Good help is so hard to find,” Taisiya said, the sarcasm entirely lost on the queen.

Taisiya kept her horror off her face by an effort of sheer will. She finally understood what Mereruka meant when he described what became of heartless fae. Nefertnesu was wholly unaffected by the loss of her child, merely inconvenienced by it. She’d known noblewomen disinterested in raising and having children, but none so cavalier about the death of their own. Taisiya’s heart ached for the queen’s surviving children.

“It certainly is! Make no mistake, people are only worth what they can do for you. Never forget that.”

“I’ll engrave your words on my heart, Queen Nefertnesu.”

If she found any of these soul weavers, Taisiya would kill them herself.

The queen laughed again, the sound distinctly joyless.

“Your wife is charming, despite her physical shortcomings.”

“The standards in Maat are somewhat different from those in Keftu,” Mereruka said.

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