Page 5 of Curse of Darkness
It’s been over fifty years since the last king died. Edain said Andraste was to be the bride of the goblin king, but which one?
How many of these false kings remain?
And does this mean war with the north too?
“Your mother said she didn’t care what they did to Andraste,” Edain says, heat flaring in his blue eyes, “as long as they claimed she was legally wed. She knows Andraste is popular within her court and wants to make a fuss about the great ‘sacrifice’ your sister is making for her people.”
“My mother wants to trap Evernight between the goblins and her own armies.” I push away from the windows. If she’s used this to make a truce with the horde, we’re as good as dead. The goblins outnumber us five-to-one.
The only reason the Seelie Alliance was able to push them back was because we worked together, and with the alliance between the five southern kingdoms as good as shattered, there’s nothing to stop the goblins from striking south. Nothing more than an ancient treaty with a long-dead king.
What is Motherthinking?
If one of these potential kings can capture a fae bride and destroy a fae kingdom, then thousands of goblins will flock to his cause. They’re hungry for conquest, and while many of them will respect our treaty, others will yearn for war and plunder. Whoever this king is, he’s effectively taking the ancient crown of the goblins and settling it firmly on his head.
But to keep it there….
To keep his stolen crown….
It won’t stop at Evernight. It can’t. He must offer them more. More war. More plunder. He has to promise them victory. Asturia is the next kingdom beyond us, and if Mother thinks this king will restrict himself to waging war upon my people, then she’s truly lost her mind.
“Which king was she promised to?” Eris demands.
“Urach of the Black Hand.”
Her dark skin goes ashen. The sight of it makes my stomach drop.Erisis afraid. Eris—who makes entire armies sweat in fear when they know they’re facing her—actuallypales.
“What’s wrong?” I demand.
Eris rubs the knuckles of one hand into the palm of her other. “Urach’s been gaining followers for years. He bears only a drop of the royal bloodlines, but with the true heir in exile, there’s no one to deny him. Thalia’s been keeping an eye on him. He’s ruthless. Cruel. Ambitious.” She meets my gaze. “If Urach decides to crush Evernight then we don’t have the might to face him. The only thing that has kept him off our back has been the presence of the true heir. Urach hasn’t dared attack us when Raith and his followers are out there somewhere at his back.” She closes her eyes. “And he didn’t dare face Thiago.”
But Thiago is gone.
And now I’m the only thing standing between the goblins and complete annihilation.
An untried queen.
A grieving queen.
One who can barely control her magic.
I turn back to the map of Unseelie, sucking in a sharp breath as I eye the unconquerable mountains that loom to the north of Evernight. There’s a knot in my chest—a heavy weight that threatens to drown me—but I can’t let them see it. I have to be strong in this moment. I have to make sure they can’t see my panic. My doubt….
What in the Darkness’s name am I going to do?
“If he comes, then we will face him. We have a queen,” Finn says quietly, “one who is bound to the lands and the Hallow.”
I stare at that fucking map. All those little red and gold figures that represent my mother’s armies, marching upon the Firenze river—the natural barrier between our lands. There are no little figures in the mountains. Until now, we haven’t needed to add them, but with the goblins in play, I guess we’ll have to find the set that represents them.
And then there’s Blaedwyn’s banners beyond them—the unseelie queen I tricked and stole from.
Queen Maren of Aska to the southwest. No friend of mine.
Lucere of Ravenal beyond my mother—the princess who once thought to marry my husband before I “took” him from her, even though she never truly had him.
Everywhere I look, I am drowning in enemies.
Drowning in the heavy weight that sinks lower in my chest.
