Page 8 of Made

“It’s a given. Everybody knows.”

“How?”

Ilmr waggled her head. “For example, when the Powers That Be offered a contest to determine who would create the court enforcer, Maeve and Serafina were the only two who entered. The other queens knew it would be pointless to compete against them.”

Vidar sighed. “Can you recall when it became common knowledge that the two of them were too powerful to challenge?”

He suspected the assumption was old enough to have taken on its own mythos. And so long as Maeve and Serafina were never challenged, they’d continue to enjoy the honors they’d come to expect without having to do a thing to earn them. Vidar knew all about that. The divine world was rife with similar scenarios.

Ilmr chewed while she thought, then took a long drink of persimmon wine. “I think it was sometime during the creation of the mounds. Maeve and Serafina produced vast homelands with innovative townships, palaces with minds of their own, lands and oceans whose beauty defies description by the most gifted of poets.” She cut a piece of meat free from a rib, then added, “Or so I’m told.”

“You’ve not been asked to visit?” She shook her head. “Ever?”

“No. I’m… ah. They wouldn’t say I’m a friend.”

“Which of the queens would you say are friends?”

Ilmr set her fork down, drew in a deep breath that made her bosom heave noticeably and looked away.

“I suppose, if pressed, I must confess that I have no friends among the queens,” she said.

“I see. Have you ever been friends with any of them in the past and had disagreements that estranged you?”

Again, she shook her head. “No. I can’t say even that.”

“Looking at it from another perspective. If not friends, might you say you have allies among the queens?”

“Vidar! These questions are growing both tiresome and humiliating.” She picked up a nearby pillow and smashed it into the settee as if she wanted to annihilate it.

“Please forgive me, Your Highness. Of course, I find it distasteful to ask questions that make you uncomfortable. My intention is to discern what pieces fit into the puzzle that may cause your power to rise like a chitterhawk taking flight.”

Ilmr’s fit of temper quickly receded upon hearing her future regard compared to a chitterhawk taking flight. Could it be that Vidar was not only a potential lover, but also a potential Counsellor of State?

She sniffed as she spent a few moments compulsively folding and refolding her napkin.

“Well, I suppose I’m the one who should ask for pardon.” That was a difficult sentence for Ilmr. If she’d ever asked for someone’s pardon before, she wouldn’t be able to recall when or where. “If you’re able toplan a path to raise my standing, the least I can do is provide information. Please proceed.”

Vidar offered a beguiling smile. “Very well. I have some ideas about where to begin a campaign to alter the way you’re regarded.”

Ilmr brightened immediately. “You do? Vidar. Are you a master of charms? Because I think it would take intimate knowledge of deep sorceries for such a drastic change.”

“I’m not saying it could be brought about overnight. But day by day. Your climb can begin now. If you wish.”

“Oh! I do wish! Tell me how to proceed.”

Vidar reached for a rib as he said, “Tell me your understanding of the order of queens by power.”

“Alright. I think it would be Maeve, Serafina, Enya, Dames Blanches, Femke, Arantxa.” Looking down at her lap, subdued as if ashamed, she added, “Then me.” Her eyes came up to meet his. “I almost forgot. There’s also Evangeline, Diarmuid’s wife, but I didn’t mention her because she’s been queen for such a short time and is only recently fae. It might seem that her close relation to Maeve would improve her status, but I haven’t noticed that. Yet.”

“She’s an unknown factor.”

“Yes. Exactly.”

“Does she have friends and allies among the queens?”

“Indeed, she does! Serafina became her mentor. The rumor in my court was that it stuck in Maeve’s craw. Knowing something about Maeve, I suspect thatshe didn’t want to mentor Evangeline, but didn’t want anyone else to do it either. Especially not the queen she sees as her principal rival.”

With his quick mind, Vidar had memorized the queens’ names in order as she’d spoken them. “Would you say that Maeve and Serafina are friends? Or allies?”

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