Page 31 of Vicious Fates and Vast Futures
“Grandmother, I know we had hoped that at the Ostara Courts Gathering the Light and Dark Court might be brought under our allegiance. If I had a...manner in which to bring them to heel, would you consider stepping down and allowing a council to run this court and the FEC as a whole?” I wait, feeling the apprehension from En. She thinks this is a bad idea. She’s probably right, but it’s too late now.
Seren sets her teacup down loudly. She blinks, studying me. “And do you, Adi?Doyou have a way to convince Barclay and Mirin to step down as well?”
Well, shit. That isn’t where I thought she’d take this conversation. I cough. “‘Something something murder’ is my current plan.” My lips purse and I raise my eyebrows. “Got any better ideas?”
The thing I would have least expected happens. Serenlaughs.Really laughs, long and hard. En’s eyes have finally risen from her teacup and she looks as shocked as I feel.
When Seren stops laughing, she delicately wipes her eyes and looks at both of us searchingly. “I may have a means to bring Mirin and the Light Court under control. Not that old blowhard Barclay, though. I’ve got nothing on him.” She looks at me again with an odd light in her eyes. “Adelaide, are you sure you don’t want my crown? You’re the best of my blood. You would make an exceptional queen.”
I hesitate. In for a penny, in for a pound, right? “Grandmother, this cannot leave the room.” I pause, taking a deep breath, then barrel ahead before my good senses stop me. “But no, I do not want to be queen. There is too much...hatred in this court. Inallthe courts. We need to break down our current institutions, as they are corrupt and dangerous. There is no reform that could correct it. It’s time to destroy, then expand. Integrate. I could not rule this, or any, court.”
En grips my leg under the table in support—and maybe concern given that I’ve just told Seren I want to dismantle her court. My eyes meet En’s, and the corner of my mouth rises as I get lost in her smokey eyes. En’s frigid face softens as we stare at each other for a moment.
Seren watches us intently before sighing and setting down her tea cup. She shakes her head. “I cannot agree to give up my throne on a whim. It was my mother’s and her mother’s before.I will, however, think on what you said. And mayhap most importantly, I’ll give you the key to Mirin.”
My eyes widen in surprise. This is actually more than I could have hoped for. Actually, all I had hoped for was not getting tossed in the Bower of Truth, but that’s neither here nor there. I lean in, taking a sip of my tea. “Well?” I ask, obviously impatient to get the dirt on Mirin.
Seren chuckles again. “It’s her heir.”
“Princess Mirin? The one who looks like a cookie-cutter copy of her?”
More laughter escapes Seren. “Come now. You didn’t really think her daughter would grow to lookexactlylike her naturally, did you?”
Well, I had been mostly distracted chasing Nairna, but I bite my tongue on that one.
Seren continues. “It’s glamour. And why, dear granddaughter, would they use that to change her appearance?”
I dip my shortbread cookie in the tea and let it get soft before eating it as I mull that over.
I talk it through out loud. “Mirin didn’t marry her child’s father, which matters to those stick-up-their-asses seelies. She didn’t marry him because...he was someone she couldn’t marry, for whatever reason. If you take that info and combine it with altering how the princess appears....”
Seren looks pleased. But then her face falls. She doesn’t say anything.
My eyes flick to En.
It hits me. “Princess Mirin’s father is an unseelie.” I gasp. “Aw, hell naw. It’s not Barclay, is it?”
Laughter bubbles out of Seren. “No, thank Goddess, though he was known to stick his dick in anything that held still long enough before he met your mother.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Oh, soyouknow about that too, huh?” There’s an annoyed edge to my voice.
Grandmother grins. “Child, do you think there’s much that goes on in my court that I don’t know?”
I can think of one big glaring thing involving her bed warmer and where his dick is regularly. Thankfully, En kicks my shin hard at that exact moment so I’m hopeful that Seren didn’t read that thought on my face.
Seren continues in a somber tone. “Again, Adelaide, you have shown me my mistake in leaving you so free and not training you properly.”
“Maybe that freedom is why I wouldn’t suck as a ruler, Grandmother.”
She looks at me ruefully. “Perhaps.”
Nairna
WHEN ADI AND I GETback to our rooms, the boys are gone. A note on the kitchen table lets us know they are off in Glario with Rory and Weyland and expect to return by dinner and that they politely request Adi’s five-star enchiladas.
“Would you like to hit the gym?” I ask my mate, smiling at her.
“Would you like a root canal?” Adi volleys back.
