Page 93 of Wrath of the Fae Queen
“How much have you heard of what is happening in the City of Vertical Gardens?” I ask. “Does the term ‘Truth Templar’ mean anything to you? Are you aware of the food shortages and famines? The attacks on low fae and any with a drop of Winter blood?”
Calypso’s eyes darken. “We receive no word here. Not I, anyway, and not the soldiers. You will need to speak to Senator Ash about politics. He is apparently in control of this camp, despite having no military experience.”
“Senator Ash?” Cyprien curls his lip.
I snort. This could be easier than I thought. “Take us to your command tent immediately, Commander Calypso. This is not the place for political discussions,” I snap.
She tips her head at me, pointing a finger. “Are you here for a coup or not? I will not have an exiled king revolutionize my soldiers only for the High Chancellor to march the rest of the army here and obliterate us.”
“Has that happened before?” I ball my hands into fists, because I just fuckingknowthe answer.
“At my last posting. A handful of high-ranking commanders were planning an elite force to find you in the wilds and begin a coup not long after you lost the election and left the city. They and anyone associated with them were executed before the troops.” Calypso shudders. “It is not a memory that leaves a soldier.”
I glance at Cyprien, who gives me a small nod to confirm it.
What good could a rogue unit of soldiers do when I wasn’t willing to act myself?
I let out a long breath, place a hand around her wrist and pull her with me as I walk through the gate toward the command tent. “How about we just talk first, eh?” I grind out. “You’ve been pretty disconnected here. Maybe once you understand what is happening in the capital, you’ll be more inclined to support a…hopefully peaceful transition of power. I don’twanta coup, and it’s not my aim. I want a fair election.”
Calypso gives me a hard look, considering for a moment, then flicks her head at the messenger. “Go wake up Senator Ash. We have things to discuss.”
“I have been to the twisted lands! There is nothing there but snow and signs of Winter invasion! No corruption or rot or loss of magic!” Senator Ash paces across the room, his shadowed eyes wild with fear. “I can’t believe you have returned with the same old lies, Aldrin.”
“You have been to the edge of the Red Rose Grove, but what about Greenwood Locket and the Dividing Plains beyond?” I growl.
Senator Ash flinches. “What happens in Greenwood Locket and the Dividing Plains is none of this regiment’s business! Titania has forbidden us from leaving this post. We do very important work here. Do you have any idea where those portals lead?” He points a shaky hand toward one wall of the command tent, presumably in the direction of the ring of portals at the center of this camp.“One opens straight into the heart of Winter Court territory, another to the borderlands!” His voice edges toward hysterics. “And despite the numbers we have stationed here, we are failing to prevent their use by the enemy. The Red Rose Grove is already covered in snow! Winter agents sneak right under our noses, through this pathetic camp, and take their technology to precious Spring lands to convert them unnaturally to Winter landscapes. It is the first prong of their attack on the Spring Court. They are preparing to move the borders!”
Commander Calypso’s eyes roll to me. “Except that we have soldiers protecting the portals day and night, and we have never witnessed Winter soldiers breach our defenses. We are constantly accused of incompetence, but there is no threat here! Imagine for a single moment the poor morale of my regiment, who are doing their job and receiving nothing but backlash. The breach must be elsewhere.”
“Those portals could be protected by a dozen soldiers,” Cyprien points out. “It is a simple task to leach the power from them as soon as a fae tries to open them. You do not need an entire regiment here, unless Titania is afraid of them participating in a coup once they discover the atrocities she is committing in the city.”He smirks from where he sits at the map table, leaning back in his seat with arms crossed. That predatory expression only grows when Ash’s wide eyes fall on him and the color drains from his face. “It makes sense for her to keep any fighting fae isolated and away from her.”
“You were supposed to be out of the way,” Senator Ash hisses at Cyprien, then turns to me. “And you were supposed to be dead.”
I stalk toward the pathetic man and he backs away frantically. I push him hard against a bookshelf, my fingers curling around his throat, pinning him in place but not choking the air out of him. Not yet.
“So you do know exactly what has been happening in the capital,” I growl right in his face. “Let me guess: you were banished here by Titania as a punishment and you are a little man quaking in your boots, too afraid to invoke her anger again, so you do everything she asks of you and lie to the troops under your command. It doesn’t matter if you believe her lies or not, because you will spew her propaganda regardless.”
“You will not succeed. You have already lost to her once.” He shakes his head violently from side to side. “And she will obliterate anyone who tries to help you.”
I squeeze his throat harder and the man almost wets himself. I speak slowly, as though to an idiot. “Titania has already started her own downfall. She has pushed the people too far and they are almost ready to claw the disease out of this court.”
Ash shivers. “I will not be a part of it. She will kill me just for witnessing this.”
“The High Chancellor cannot kill you for simply speaking with the exiled king,” Commander Calypso cuts in. “She cannot harm you even if you aid him in challenging her in a peaceful election. It goes against the rules.”
Our eyes slide to her. Every line of her body is rigid. She always believed far too much in the system. Silvan openly laughs from his position guarding the door of the tent.
The desperation in Ash’s eyes tells me he knows differently.
“Have your soldiers temporarily restrain Senator Ash,” I order Calypso. “The last thing we need is for him to contact the High Chancellor. We are going to the Dividing Plains so you and your soldiers can witness the truth firsthand.”
“It. Is. Forbidden!” Senator Ash screeches. “I am in command here. I?—”
My fingers tighten all on their own, cutting off his air supply and his next poisonous words.
Commander Calypso’s eyes flick from me to the man in my grip and back, sweat beading on her brow. “It is true. Senator Ash outranks me. I suspect it is because commanders of other regiments didn’t take Titania’s restricting orders seriously enough and she sent her agents out to better control us.”
I grind my teeth. “And you never defied him? Questioned him?”
