Page 99 of The Princess of Nothing
“The fae guards have joined ranks.”
“Good.”
“King Blaise has sent all forces to join ours, except for the castle guards. It’s an unexpected show of force that has boosted our numbers greatly.”
“I know.” My cheeks bunched. “He’s been very supportive.”
“He has no choice. This war will ground in his kingdom.”
“Yes.” I pondered, looking out over the horizon. “Send some of the faeries to fly over the mountains, to see if they can tell what’s happening over there.”
“I will.” He squeezed the bottom of his helmet. “I’m not sure why that didn’t occur to me.”
I did. They didn’t think of the fae as equals, so why would they think to use their skills? “Send the elite guards.”
“We need them here with us. I think it best if we just send fae soldiers to look.”
I hesitated. “Okay, yes. I actually need to go now. I have to find Cedric.”
“About that,” he replied. “Be careful who you associate with. Your father pushed a fae-luna marriage only to get them under his thumb, never to make peace. Your people will never accept a faerie king by your side. You must not ruin your name. Be careful who sees you. If you must have affairs, keep them private.” His tone sharpened. “I will also add that Cedric is a Berovian too. Regardless of if he saved you, he’s not an acceptable partner for you, even if he weren’t a faerie. The lords would never allow it.”
There it was. I’d been waiting for it. The truth, that despite me being queen, the lords and men like Adius still had a lot of control. My eyes widened. “I’ll decide who’s appropriate or not.”
“I hope you do the right thing. I’d hate to see you forced not to.” He bowed at his waist. “I hope you take counsel. Good rulers need them, even your father,” he said, rising again.
“Cedric will be coming back to Magaelor with me,” I said quickly. “Also, I haven’t even thought about marriage.”
“You need to. It’s your duty to give the people a king.”
I tilted my chin. “For right now, they have their queen, or at least will.”
“They’re fighting and dying for you, for Magaelor. Do right by them is all I ask.” He walked away.
I watched his silhouette fade out, then cursed under my breath. Storming away, I decided to find Morgana before Cedric.
***
Licia’s golden eyesfound mine. They matched his hair and his two front teeth. He may have been a couple of inches shorter than me, but he acted like he was miles taller. “Princess.” he stated. The edge in his tone made me nervous.
“Queen,” I said, correcting him.
“Not yet,” he said simply and drummed his finger on the table between us.
Morgana sat beside him, holding a bag of runes. “How is everything going?”
“They don’t know where Edgar is. Can you both find him?” I despised Licia, after our previous encounters, but he was a skilled spellmaster, and as much as it irritated me, we needed him.
“We already tried,” Licia said icily. “Edgar is cloaked, just as we have cloaked you. However, we have searched instead for his generals. They didn’t think to hide them from magical detection.” His eyes glistened with mischief. “Two are at a small beach to the northeast.”
“I knew it!” I slammed my fist onto the table, making the drinks ripple in their goblets. “Adius has sent men there. I’ll send word for him to send even more.”
“We were trying to find you to tell you,” Morgana said, her fingers stretching over her blue drawstring pouch. “We have great news, in fact.”
“What?”
“We’ve successfully released the dragons from all spells. We have reason to believe they will escape shortly; therefore, they will be wreaking havoc in Berovia anytime soon. We should hear news tomorrow. However, I have heard something bad happened in Berovia today, but that’s all I have been told. Once I hear the details, I will tell you.”
I clapped my hands together. “This is excellent. Well done.” I appraised her, then nodded my head in Licia’s direction. “You too, Licia.”
