Page 40 of Echoes of the Raven
“We can’t,” I say. “It’s not right.”
“If you want something that feelsright, you shouldn’t have askedmefor ideas, Dear Val.”
I grab my head and rub circles into my temples.
“If you can think of another way, I’m all ears.”
Sighing, I say, “I’ll just have to talk to him. Appeal to his conscience.”
“Good luck with that. I don’t think the man knows how to takenofor an answer. He’s accustomed to winning.”
“I have to try.”
He pours more wine for himself. I wave a hand at my glass when he tries to do the same for me.
He shrugs. “More for me.”
“There’s something else you should know,” I say.
“Oh, saints! Do I even want to hear it?”
“Amira is planning to create a holding compound for the fae,” I blurt out.
He stops, glass halfway to his mouth, and stares at me, slack-jawed. “Is that a joke?”
I shake my head.
“She told you this?”
“No. I accidentally read the proposal when I was in her study.”
“That’s wrong.” He pauses, then adds, “Cruel, even. What is she thinking?”
“I… I feel as if she’s become a different person, Jago. As if Orys…” I search for the right words, “tainted herand he’s still coloring her every decision.”
“What are you saying? That she’s still possessed? Or… not in her right mind?”
I stare at the bottom of my empty glass. “I… I don’t know. It’s not like she doesn’t have the right to be angry, but I don’t think she’s seeing clearly, and I’m afraid of what the council will do with this idea of hers.”
“Oh, I know exactly what they’ll do,” he says. “They’ll run with it.”
Abandoning the wine glass, I begin pacing along the table. “I know the idea of reopening the veil won’t fix all our problems, but it has to be better than what she’s planning.”
“I’m not so sure about that. Only the saints know what has happened on the other side of the veil these last twenty years, but one thing I’m sureof… when the fae go back to their homes, they won’t have anything nice to say about us, on the contrary. I still think opening the veil will invite a war we can’t win.”
“What if… what if… we close it after they go back?”
He contemplates quietly for a moment, then says, “Assuming the amulet will oblige, you would have to open it and close it more than once. It would take time to get the message out across Castella to all of those who were displaced.”
I nod, considering. “We could send a notice and set a few dates throughout the year to allow them to cross.”
Pushing the cheese around on his plate, Jago shakes his head. “I don’t know, Val. The Fae King is going to want his amulet back. The moment he realizes what’s happening, he’ll send his army to retrieve it.”
I let out a frustrated exhale. Jago is right. “Then we set one date, send the message out, and only open the veil once.”
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I realize there is a big problem with both of these ideas. The fae don’t trust us.
“Do you think the fae would believe such a message?” he asks, echoing the same thought that just sprouted into my head.
