Page 73 of Wrath of the Fae Queen
Aldrin watches her closely through my eyes. Titania will snap soon, and there is no telling what chaos she will unleash when she does. We must time the second part of our plan perfectly.
Florian reads out the names of two more supporters, who are torn yelling from a very confused crowd. Some snicker and point at Titania’s greatest followers receiving the same treatment as their own loved ones for minor digressions. Others stand as still as statues, eyes wide and faces pale.
Titania grabs her son by the tunic and drags him down toward her, snapping a series of commands in his ear. Torin stalks to Florian, tearing the list from his hand and shoving him in the chest. I hold my breath as I watch, waiting to give my cue.
“What the hell do you think you are doing?” Torin hisses.
“I am reading the fucking list the High Chancellor approved,” Florian booms back, voice far louder than professional, showing discord in her inner circle before all.
“This is not the list she approved.” Torin waves the parchment in the air. “Those names should never have been on it! Their loyalty and usefulness has been proven time and again, and weneedthem.” His voice is a low growl, and I can only just make out his next words. “Admit you made a mistake and fix this.”
“By the Soul Ripper, Torin, the mistake is not mine to admit! I will do no such thing,” Florian snarls back. “You say the mistake wasyours, if your mother doesn’t want to admit fault. She is good at using you as a scapegoat. Surely you are used to it by now. It seems to be the only value you bring around here.”
Torin looks ready to explode and Titania is gesturing madly at her Wildrose Guards. This situation will spiral out of our control if we leave it any longer. Shame. There were more senators on that list.
Aldrin, move our forces in now!I shoot the command to him, and he responds with a caress of acknowledgment across my awareness before barking orders at his amassed Assassins of Belladonna.
The shadows at the corners of the room billow like smoke, expanding rapidly with tendrils that reach out across the light, consuming it. Within them, Nightmares form. Beasts with claws as long as my forearm instead of fingers and great, branching antlers or horns. Black bodies covered in spikes or scales. One unhinges his huge jaw like a viper, displaying rows upon rows of needle-like teeth. Razor-sharp tails with spines lash out and leathery wings unfurl.
The crowd rushes away from the Nightmare assassins, colliding into each other in frenzied panic. There is nowhere for them to go. Titania barricaded the doors. Royal and Wildrose Guards pull their blades from their scabbards, but hesitate with confusion.
“Hold fast!” Jasper bellows over the screams of the crowd. “We were warned that Titania had a new punishment in mind for these traitors. Allow the beasts to do their work and make sure they do not attack any innocents. Form protective barriers around the guests!”
They move in quick formation, trusting his position as Captain of the Royal Guard.
My breaths come in short pants. I know these are highly trained and disciplined assassins, but they sure look like wild beasts that would tear into any flesh displayed before them. I hate how vulnerable I am in these chains, but there are too many eyes on this dais for me to break them with magic.
Titania remains paralyzed in her throne, her entire body taut as she grips the arms tightly. Tendons show along her throat and her eyes of swirling fire are wide, fixed on the Nightmares flooding the ballroom. Torin speaks rapidly at her side, trying to extract orders from her, to work out if this was planned, but Titania has completely frozen up. We had arrangements in place to deal with her if she got in the way, but she has incapacitated herself.
Then every window in the room shatters and more Assassins of Belladonna leap through. They are high fae, wearing those signature indigo robes that billow around them, hooded and hiding their faces for further effect. They create silver blades of sparking lightning or the purple-black glow of a dying star, and converge on the Spring fae.
A single Assassin of Belladonna stalks to the center of the room, drawing all eyes with his magnetism, dozens of bolts of lightning crackling and zapping across every surface of his body. The magic reminds me of my grandmother’s abilities. He is hooded and masked, but enough of his blue-and-black hair escapes for me to recognize it from Aldrin’s experiences, along with his voice.
“High Chancellor of the Spring Court,” Valentine announces. “For the crimes of treason, corruption and abuse of power, we are here to enact violent vengeance.”
Ialmost want to laugh at Titania’s expression. Valentine’s words lead the High Chancellor to believe the assassins are here to attack her personally, but allude to the rest of the amassed people that he seeks justice on her behalf.
Titania jumps to her feet, almost twisting an ankle in her heels, then runs from the room through a hidden door behind the dais. Torin sends multiple guards after her, then draws his sword and stalks toward the chaos. It is clear he still has no idea if she planned this. He looks to Florian, who simply watches the madness unleash with his arms folded across his chest and a rare smile on his lips.
The assassins advance on the whimpering, shaking prisoners in the center of the room, many of whom are on their knees. The image is jarring: vulnerable nobles in chains, with foreign warriors converging on them in metal plate armor, swords drawn. Especially as our own guards step aside and offer them up.
“No, no, no! I will give you anything,anything! I am a wealthy man!” Senator Flint calls out, holding up his manacled hands before his face. “Just don’t kill us!”
Senator Ivy clutches another accused woman and both weep loudly.
I don’t feel a scrap of pity for them.How many others have they put in this exact position?
At least we don’t truly intend for them to die.
The energy in the room shifts from frozen terror to pure panic as the Nightmares launch themselves through the crowd, roaring in the faces of innocents and swiping at them with claws and teeth that conveniently miss. Multiple winged creatures pick fae out of the crowd and lift them up in clawed talons before dropping them again.
The desired effect is immediate: absolute chaos.
Courtiers run and scream as they are chased by Assassins of Belladonna. Guards fight the foreign force to protect the nobility and stop the threat from getting out of hand.
This is the show we need.A brutal distraction so I can do my job for this night.
I watch the battle rage before me, waiting for the right moment.
