Page 23 of A Heart of Crimson Flames
“I think we could agree on a lot of things, Your Majesty,” she added coolly. “Like how Olmdere and Taigos could both benefit from the support of the other. Like how a war is coming withthe Silver Wolves, and if either of us want to keep our kingdoms intact, we need to set our differences aside to do it.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Differences? I killed your Queen.”
“Semantics.” She shrugged. “Ingrid didn’t truly want change, she just wanted power for herself. Much like the sorceress you ousted off your own throne. Either way, me and my ilk forgive you for Ingrid.”
“Who are these ilk you speak of, Verena?” I asked curiously. “Why have you come all the way to Olmdere to wax poetic about forgiveness? Let us speak plainly.”
“Right.” Verena straightened her shoulders, clearly knowing I wanted her to cut to the chase. “As you probably have assumed, there is infighting amongst the Ice Wolves since our Queen’s death. Three front-runners have each splintered off with their own packs, each claiming their rights to the throne. My cousin, Djen, is one, as is our army general, Hestoff.”
“And you?” I guessed.
She bobbed her head. “And me, Your Majesty,” she said. “Djen and Hestoff are both claiming that it was a mistake to let a woman rule, a mistake they’re not willing to make again. Hestoff has all the war strategy in the world but could not win one friend to save his life. Djen is a pathetic weakling who will roll over and show his belly to Nero in an instant. Still, they have garnered the most allies just for what lies between their legs, however small.”
I couldn’t help but smile at her. She was certainly intriguing to say the least.
“And how many Wolves have followed you, Verena?” I asked, wondering if it was just the four behind her.
“Fifty-two,” she said, and I raised my eyebrows, impressed. That was a considerable amount of the original pack. That put her at only at a slight disadvantage to the others. I was impressed more that she admitted her lagging numbers to me outright. “My second-in-command has our forces gathering in the northwesternpart of the court, waiting for Djen and Hestoff to pick each other apart before we go in and strike them at their weakest.”
“Nero will encourage this infighting,” Grae said. “Play both sides. He will sweep in and take Taigos while you’re all too busy chasing each other’s tails.”
Verena nodded her head. “I know. Which is why I’ve come to seek an alliance. I am the only one of the three who would consider siding with Olmdere again,” she said. “But with your backing, I know I will pull more votes to my side. You have gold, you have resources, you have a human army, and—if rumor is to be believed—one of your courtiers has a dragon?”
I pursed my lips, considering whether I should answer her fishing questions. Finally, I decided it was better she think I had a dragon than not. Wars had been won from perceived fighting power alone.
“I have all of those things,” I confessed. “And I’m guessing, as an ally, you will want access to all those things. What is in this alliance for me and my court?”
“Besides a friendly ruler who won’t sell you out to Nero?” Verena chided.
“Those promises are easy to give and hard to keep.”
Verena paused, considering me. The sparkle in her eyes gave me the feeling she was about to lay down a winning hand before she even spoke. “What if I vowed to help you get your sister, and only once she’s safely returned to your court would I ask anything of you?”
I leaned forward in my throne. That certainly got my attention. “How do you plan on breaching the dungeons of Highwick?”
“Your sister isn’t in Highwick.”
My eyes flared and my heart galloped in my chest. “What?”
Verena tilted her head, smiling at me. “See, this is but one example of why an alliance with a Taigosi Queen would be so fortuitous.”
“Where is Briar?”
“She’s at the former Queen’s castle on the border to the Stormcrest Ranges.”
I furrowed my brow. “The same castle she was taken from?”
“It seems her sorceress mate has claimed the castle as her current abode.”
My hands gripped the wooden armrests tighter. “Maez saved her?”
Verena tipped her head back and forth. “Saved, abducted, who’s to say? That is beyond my purview.”
My hope soured at that, wondering why Maez would bring Briar to an abandoned castle in a foreign kingdom instead of their own cottage home in Olmdere City. New anxieties began to cloud my mind. What if Maez was just as bad as Sawyn now? What if she was hurting Briar? Was Briar evensafewith her mate now?
“How do you plan on helping us retrieve her?” Grae asked, filling in for me as my mind spiraled.
“My cousin used to take us to vacation there every year,” Verena said. “I ran through all the corridors, found every servants’ passageway as a child playing hide-and-seek in its halls. There are many secret ways in and out of that castle. I can help you get your sister back.”
