Page 73 of Promise of Darkness
I told my mother about Mistmere, and she came prepared. But why would she do this? Does she not care about the Unseelie threat? Or does she think it may rid her of her most dangerous enemy?
“I don’t know what her interest in Mistmere is formed of,” Thiago says very quietly and very coldly. “Perhaps you can ask her.”
We’re getting nowhere.
He warned me that this meeting would be frustrating, but I’ve never truly witnessed the pettiness of the alliance.
How in Maia’s name did they ever drive the Unseelie back?
“If it was an illusion, then it was a grand one,” I tell them. “I felt the power of the ley line igniting. The heat of a bane’s blood splashed across my cheek, and the sensation of their teeth drove into my flesh. I could feel the warmth of their breath on my skin, and the shiver down my spine at the sound of their howls. I know you struggle to believe him, but what if he’s speaking the truth?”
I turn to Maren. “You share a border with the Unseelie kingdoms. Both you and Evernight will be the hardest hit if Angharad is truly plotting something.”
She and Lucidia share a look.
“And the alliance still hasn’t recovered from the last war,” I continue. “Mistmere is an empty land frayed at the edges by the claims of several others kingdoms. The Mountain Kingdom of Taranis lies fallow, its scorched plains peopled by monsters and howling winds. All that’s left are the four kingdoms represented here and the Isles of Stormhaven, where Prince Kyrian resides. Unless Angharad builds a fleet, he’s the only one of us who can consider himself safe.”
“Do you think we’re unaware of our geography?” my mother sneers.
“No. But I’d prefer not to kneel before Angharad,” I say, deliberately painting a picture my mother will despise, “and if we continue with this bickering, I will be. I may not agree with Prince Thiago on all matters, but I know what I saw with my own eyes. And if you don’t trust me, then send an envoy to see for yourself. Send Andraste.”
My mother’s eyes glitter with unspoken reprimand.
She’s too full of spite and enmity to care whether the alliance falls.
But my words do damage where I didn’t expect them to.
“Your daughter provides wise council,” Queen Lucidia murmurs.
“We shall each send an envoy so we may each make a decision we trust,” Queen Maren agrees, and I can tell that she, at least, is picturing her northern borders.
“So we shall,” my mother pronounces, sweeping to her feet. “And now, if this mockery of a meeting is done, I have things to do.”
With that she sweeps into the circle of light spilling through the roof and vanishes.
* * *
I waituntil we’re alone in Thiago’s inner chambers before I turn on him.
“Is there something I should know about this treaty?” I demand. “The queens seem to think this is some sort of game being played between you and my mother.”
“It was a game, and I bested her,” he replies. “That’s all you need to know.”
I’m tired of hearing those words.
Tired of knowingnothing. Locked away in a city of wraiths where there’s no one to even speak to beyond the prince. Blindfolded and led here, where I’m effectively locked away again, a princess in her tower.
“How kind of you to tell me what I do and don’t need to know.” The words sound like they came from my mother’s lips.
Thiago shoots me a hard look. “I would tell you more if I thought I could trust you.”
“Who am I going to tell?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” He tugs at his collar, loosening the top two buttons of his black velvet doublet. “Your mother, perhaps.”
“She’s at Hawthorne Castle by now.”
“Perhaps you can whisper the words to your grate then,” he says, his voice as smooth and rich as midnight.
