Page 14 of Conspirators' Kingdom

“Do you need assistance to remove your dress, Ambassador?”

Vasilisa took that moment to step from a shadow. The fae woman leapt back with a squeak of panic.

“She does not. Does this gown require special knowledge to don?” Vasilisa asked as she pointed to the chest.

“No, it shouldn’t.” She shook her head, waves rippling about her face. “I’ll bring these to the prince.”

The blue fae woman wasted no time in leaving. When the door was shut, Taisiya looked at Vasilisa with a raised brow.

“You know that was funny.” Vasilisa smiled.

Taisiya grinned.

“It was a little. Do you plan to do that a lot with our fae guests?” Taisiya asked as she and Vasilisa began shedding the soiled dress and robes and scrubbing Taisiya’s feet.

Vasilisa shrugged.

“I’ll stop when they start treating mages like potential threats. Right now, they look down their noses at us.”

Taisiya nodded.

“The illustra certainly hasn’t made my job any easier in that regard. Acting like some star-struck child one moment and then-”

“Puking all over the foreigners in the next? Yes, though I imagine that will bring her down a peg or two at court.” Vasilisa snickered.

“Do you feel ill in their presence?” Taisiya asked.

Vasilisa shook her head.

“No, and neither did the strategos, going by his expression.”

“Let’s hope that the illustra is an outlier.”

“So, how many dresses and shoes should I have prepared?” Vasilisa asked with a knowing smile.

Taisiya returned it. Being prepared for the worst was second nature.

“Triple what we have prepared. When you can, inform my sisters and their attendants as well. And secure the exclusive services of every expert laundress. I imagine that before the fae leave our shores, such professionals will be highly prized, and I want their services secured and their contracts written up before their value increases. We can make extra coin by letting other nobles buy out their contracts.”

Taisiya turned around in the new gown. It was surprisingly airy, as if an inopportune gust of wind would carry it away, flowing along her curves like water. She might order a few to be made for the hot, humid summers of Nadioch.

“Well, how ridiculous do I look?” Taisiya asked.

“Not as bad as I feared. With the right jewellery, it could be quite fetching. Is it comfortable?”

“Quite. Should I champion it as a new fashion trend? I’m sure our guests would be happy to have a new market for their textiles.”

As the words slipped from her lips, Taisiya paused. She’d been thinking of this all wrong.

Now that she was a few moments removed from the illustra’s initial blunder, Taisiya realised what a gift it had been. Using Iliana’s constitution as a stepping stone, she could reposition herself for her rise in society. If she could secure exclusive trade with the magically gifted foreigners, she could enrich herself socially as well as monetarily. Maybe she wouldn’t even need to wed a wealthy old man to recoup her family’s former fortune. Taisiya grinned. Prince Mereruka didn’t yet know it, but he’d gotten himself tangled up in her net.

Vasilisa was about to reply, but looked to the door and sank into the shadows. The knock came moments later.

“Ambassador? His Tranquility the Prince awaits you on the barge.”

Chapter 9

Neveronetoleta good crisis go to waste, Mereruka couldn’t help but feel a little proud of his manoeuvring. When Taisiya stepped from the ship wearing the fae wedding gown he’d provided her, he savoured the chance to revel in the grim glances his enemies shot each other. Whether the ambassador was one of many mages free from a witch-like aversion to fae magic, it was impossible to tell. If she proved to be a rarity, he couldn’t afford to let this lucky coincidence go to waste. She didn’t know that in accepting his gifts and wearing them proudly, or by selecting attire for him, she’d as much as told his fellow fae that they were courting. He would be sure to gift her with jewellery and more gowns in the coming days so that she continued to serve his purposes. Whether he would need to manoeuvre her into becoming his bride or someone more suitable for the role appeared was yet to be seen, but this gambit at least allowed him time and room to breathe.

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