Page 50 of A Touch of Iron
Jon nodded and tucked his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. “The Winter Solstice celebration.”
Alec raised a brow. “You want to raise a coup during the celebration?”
“Yes; it’s the perfect time. Both the Unseelie King and Seelie Queen will be there. It’s rare that the Seelie Queen is in the Unseelie Court. We must take advantage of this opportunity.”
“Let me repeat my question,” Alec said, his voice hardening. “What are you asking Violet to do?”
Jon scratched the back of his head before speaking, his voice laced with nervousness. “We want her to lead the coup,” he eventually said. “If the last dragon leads the charge, more fae will follow.”
Alec pushed off the wall and straightened. “No. Absolutely not.” He shook his head.
“I wasn’t askingyou,” Jon declared hotly, earning a withering glare from Alec. “I was asking Lady Violet.”
Alec scoffed. “Right …Lady Violet… Do you really think I’ll sit idly by while you put her in danger? You must have been dropped as a baby.”
“Alec,” I groaned. “Come on, let’s just hear him out.”
“No,” he said adamantly. “Do you understand what he wants you to do, Vi? And for what? To get rid of the orb? Forget it. I’ll get rid of your orb myself.”
“You know it’s not that easy,” Jon interrupted. “You need an exceptional amount of power across multiple energy sources to remove the orb. Do you even know how?”
Alec glanced away, clearly annoyed with not knowing the answer.
“Alec is right,” I said slowly. “I need a better reason to do this. We might not know how to get rid of the orb, but given enough time, we could find a way.”
“Fine,” Jon sighed. “What about Alec’s freedom?”
I frowned, clearly not following his train of thought. “Alec’s freedom? What do you mean?”
“Nothing,” Alec interrupted, his voice cold and steely. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
Jon chuckled. “I don’t, huh? Then I guess it’s just a rumor that you were blackmailed into joining the Unseelie Court.”
My eyes widened as I looked between the two. Blackmailed? Did Alec not have a choice when he joined the Unseelie Court? Did his family know?
“No one knows what you were blackmailed with, but it was obvious you didn’t want to be here.” Jon swiveled his gaze to me. “If you do this, you could earn Alec’s freedom. Isn’t that what we all want? To be free from those two tyrants?”
Alec remained quiet, which was all the answer I needed. I didn’t know what chained him to the Unseelie Court, but if I could free him from the shackles that bound him to the Unseelie King, I would do it. For him. Even for Ansel. Maybe someday, they could mend what had been broken between them.
“You’re a smooth talker, I’ll grant you that. But can you guarantee her safety?” Alec asked, his expression tight with unconcealed anger.
“No one can do that,” I said. “And I’m not foolish enough to believe them if they say they can.”
“You’re right, Lady Violet, I can’t guarantee it,” Jon admitted sheepishly. “But I can promise you we’ll do everything in our power to keep you safe … although I think you’re much stronger than the rest of us combined.”
“So what’s the plan for Winter Solstice?” I asked. “Imprison the King and Queen?”
Jon shook his head. “That won’t stop any of their followers from trying to free them and regain power. No. We’re looking at total annihilation.”
My eyes widened. “You want tokillthem?”
Jon nodded but didn’t say a word.
This echoed what Creed wanted from me, except he just wanted to kill the King. The rebels wanted to take them both out. Creed was right about one thing – I didn’t think I could willingly kill someone on my own. I’d never killed anyone before.
Alec snorted. “Of course you wantherto be the one to commit treason. You don’t have the balls to do it yourself.”
“We’ll be with her every step of the way,” Jon defended himself. “She won’t be the only one committing treason. Just the act of discussing a rebellion is treason. Here, what we’re doing now is treason. She won’t be alone.”
