Page 16 of A Crown So Cursed
Lord Elric’s answering smile grew thin. Only Lirael ever dared take that tone with him—not even her mother dared. Their family had risen from the lowest echelons of Fae nobility through Lord Elric’s cunning and patience. At last, he held sway with many of the highborn, including the ministers of the Shadow Court, whose patience with the mortal kingdom had long since waned. He was not a man to be tested, and despite that, she persisted.
“Why did you say nothing whilst that filthy beast stole my crown? You said those portals were closed? How is it possible for her to breach our realm so easily? How, father! I don’t understand!”
Lord Elric stood considering, still saying nothing as he stepped into Lirael’s bower, then gently closed the door behind him. It sealed with a soft click. “Patience has never been your virtue,” he said with a frown. “This...development...whilst most unexpected, is not unwelcome.”
“How can you say such a thing?!Iam supposed to be queen—me! Not her!”
“Do you believe I will allow carefully laid plans to be thwarted so easily, Lirael?”
Still petulant, she shook her head. “It’s too late!” she contended. “He’s already announced their betrothal. What can you do?” she asked.
Still, a flicker of hope had ignited within her at the familiar glint in her father’s eyes. She knew him well. Already, he was weaving the threads of a new scheme.
“Sheis mortal. That will never satisfy the Court’s demand for an heir. They will tolerate many things, Lirael, but not a mortal queen. That is a bridge too far.”
Lirael’s breath caught in her throat. “Do you mean to overthrow him?”
Lord Elric chuckled darkly, a sound that sent shivers even down his daughter’s spine. “That would be...inelegant. No, Daughter. We will play the game with finesse, and once we are through, you will not only have your crown, but I will have my way with the mortal lands.”
Lirael lifted the tail of her gown, wringing it into a knot as she listened.
“Your Dragon King is young and impulsive,” he allowed. “His persistence with that mortal only proves as much.” Lirael nodded, because a hundred years was like a day to her kindred. Against mortal years, Málik’s age could hardly be construed as young, but he was certainly younger than Aengus Óg when Aengus took the throne. And meanwhile, her father and his ilk had been around since The Year of the Awakening. If he said the elders would never accept a mortal bride, it must be true. Lord Elric paced, his steps measured.
“The court will be divided,” he said, scheming aloud. “We will use her arrival to our advantage. It will be the wedge we need to drive discord.”
“But you cannot arrest her,” Lirael said, and frowned, not entirely satisfied. “You saw what he did. He took her straight into Tech Duinn, and there shall keep her, as he has the Druids.”
The king’s private quarters had been doubly warded since Aengus’ day. Once inside Tech Duinn, there was no one who could reach them who did not have Málik’s permission to enter, and he had very loyal guards who would allow no one within an arm’s length of his person.
This was why there had not yet been an attempt on his life, when half the Shadow Court’s ministers disagreed with hispolitiks. Even those fool Druids were protected despite having objectors within the King’s own circles. His rule was absolute, regardless of her father’s machinations, and he had been working for years now to undermine Málik’s authority, with little progress. And they had been so close to breaching Tech Duinn—so close. Once inside, Málik’s days would have been numbered.
Lord Elric ceased pacing and turned to Lirael, his features tightening into a mask of determination. “I will begin with whispers in all the right ears,” her father continued. “It will be simple to plant seeds of doubt about her true intentions.” He shrugged then. “Who can say for certain? Has she come for love, or does she seek to usurp this kingdom, as she did her poor, dear husband’s?”
Lirael’s brows twitched. “The one called Locrinus?” Even she had heard the tales of that cruel human beast. If anyone had deserved a blade to the heart, it would be him.
Her father ignored her. “I intend to remind the Fair Folk it was she who took Aengus’ head—to what end? To steal a relic that should have been rightfully ours?”
Lirael thrilled at his words. “And what should I do?”
He grinned then, revealing a perfect row of porbeagle teeth, sharp as knife blades. “Quite simply, you challenge the mortal’s lineage and her worthiness to stand as our queen.”
Lirael’s pale brows collided. “But…what willthatdo? Málik doesn’t care, or he’d have sent her away.”
“Think, Lirael,” he urged. “The Fae Court has laws…ancient and binding. Not even a king may circumvent them…”
“The Rite of Blood,” Lirael said, and her father nodded.
“Precisely, clever girl.”
Lirael’s eyes flashed with malicious satisfaction, following her father’s plan.
The Rite of Blood was an archaic law, seldom used, but binding even so. Once a challenge was issued, Gwendolyn must prove her Fae lineage or forfeit any claim to the throne. However, she would not simply find herself excluded from wearing the Horned Crown, she would be imprisoned for the rest of her days, or banished to the mortal realm—and this time, the Shadow Court would invoke words to keep her from reentering. But there was a flaw in his plan…
“Málik is king…surely he?—”
“Will have no choice but to comply,” her father asserted. “Once invoked, the Rite must be satisfied. If he does not allow its due course, he will himself be found in contempt.”
Lirael smiled, then frowned. Really, it would be a brilliant plan, except that she remembered the rumors about Gwendolyn’s birth. It was bandied about that she was a changeling—stolen from the Fae and placed as a human child. If there was even a shred of truth in that, this could present a dangerous possibility. If Gwendolyn could prove her ancestral connection, however tenuous, the Rite of Blood would not work as they hoped. Such a revelation could even bolster her claim, tying her more firmly to Málik, and even placing herself above him. “What of Gwendolyn?”
