Page 156 of Faeling
Leita’s upper lip curled back in a show of disdain. “That sounds like your own problem.”
Ravenna mashed a berry into her porridge until purple juice squirted over the grains. “The plan is—”
“Your planis worthless—it’s entirely dependent on me agreeing to become Queen.”
“No, it’s dependent on you becoming Queen,” she spat back. Ravenna made herself sit back in her seat. Take a breath. Calm. Collected. Threatening the woman would get her nowhere. “I would speak with you civilly. Negotiate, queen to queen.”
Leita snorted. “Neither of us are queens.”
“But we could be.” Leaning forward, Ravenna pinned the other woman with a steely stare. “My mate has made me his queen. Your blood declares that you can take Amaranthe’s place. Why should we not treat?”
“Over what?” Leita sputtered. “Which of us will die first?”
“Upon Amaranthe’s death, the cycle will renew. It will take time, but the fae will hopefully begin to live without the sole need of magic. Your people haven’t grown or prepared food in centuries. I can ensure that a steady supply reaches them.”
“They aren’t my people,” grumbled Leita before shoving a spoonful of porridge in her mouth.
“But they could be.”
The other woman just spooned more porridge into her mouth, brows arched defiantly.
Ravenna took a more prim bite, reassessing.
“Whatever you want, if it’s in my power, I will give it to you.”
Leita smiled maliciously. “The promise of an almost-queen about to die means little to me. Besides, what I want isn’t within your power.”
“Try me.”
“I want my family,” she snarled.
“Ah.” Ignoring the ache in her heart, for Vallek, for her parents, Ravenna set down her bowl. “I can’t bring your mother and sister back—but I can promise you a family.”
Leita’s frown was a forbidding thing, hiding the vulnerable way her eyes glittered with unshed tears. A knot formed in Ravenna’s throat to see the feral need inside her.
Fates, she truly had been out in the wilderness, all alone.
Take the wildness away, the royal fae blood, the spite, and what was left was a woman yearning for a family.
“Don’t be cruel,” Leita murmured.
“I’m not. I have visions, remember? It’s how I found you. I can look into your future, see if there’s a family waiting for you.”
The woman sat in brooding silence, and Ravenna had to hope no immediate refusal was promising. Slowly reaching out, she laid her hand gently on Leita’s knee. Her eyes slid closed, willing a—
—wings mantled on broad shoulders—you won’t be rid of me now, doe—flames licking the night sky—burn it all, and from the ashes—life—a sweet cry—I knew you’d find me—
—vision.
Ravenna sucked in a breath, eyes slowly opening. Her sight was fuzzy for a moment, the image of Leita, her lips parted inshock, eventually coming into focus.
Leita groaned. “You—I saw—I felt—”
Slumping back in her chair, Ravenna took a moment to breathe. It was far more than she usually saw, a whole, busy life spreading before her like unfurling wings.
“You will take the throne and heal the faelands,” she said, not proud but not ashamed to embellish, “but you won’t have to do it alone.”
A stark, desperate hope carved lines across Leita’s face. “You’re lying.”
