Page 100 of Atop the Faerie Throne
Kitarni inclines her head, conceding the point.
“I’m not some soft-ass fairy,” the Fomorian princess continues. “It’s pretty obvious I’ve got to do this or you’re all screwed. I’m not selfish enough to condemn an entire realm to continue this stupid endless war out of stubbornness. It allcomes down to whether I want to sit on that throne looking like the queen my mother imagined me to be, or not.”
“Read the treaty before you make a decision,” Florian insists, grabbing the parchment and pressing it into her hands.
“And for the record, I can just wither whoever dares comment on you having fae bodyguards,” Gryffin adds. “If they’re good enough for the Nicnevin, they’re good enough for a Fomorian queen.”
Prae hesitates, then bends, scanning the neat columns of text as Caed adds, “If Elatha doesn’t die, it’s written in there that Prae becomes the queen of all Fae-allied-Fomorians. Every single refugee signed it in blood.”
And indeed, at the bottom is a collection of scarlet thumbprints. I know it’s mainly symbolic—the Fomorian monarch isn’t an elected position—but it’s something.
“If Prae becomes queen of the Fomorians…” Jaro begins, looking pointedly at Florian. “You couldn’t be knight commander. Mates don’t separate.”
Florian shrugs. “I’ve done the job for a long time. I could take a change of scenery.”
“Ascal was?—”
“Also of the opinion that you’d do fine in the role.” Florian stares levelly at the wolf shifter. “And, given that she and the rest of the city fell under my leadership, I don’t think you can continue to cite losing the outer wall as your reason for not taking the position.”
My heart warms at the flare of hope in Jaro’s eyes and then softens with pity as he looks away.
“That was before my wolf?—”
“Being a little feral can be helpful,” my brother says. “My having a temper certainly did. Besides, you’ll need it to keep the twins in line, if you mean to make them your seconds.”
It takes a long time, but eventually Jaro nods. “I would be honoured to follow in your footsteps, Knight Commander.”
“I’m sure I can put aside my very important responsibilities to move across the ocean for you,” Gryffin says, and Prae smacks his upper arm lightly.
“Your biggest responsibility before you met me was getting up before noon and following your aunt’s orders without pissing her off too much.”
She leans back, swallowing deeply before meeting my eyes. “Well, it looks like you’d better heal my fucking eye.”
She’ll do it. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so conflicted over being relieved before. At least this way, she can separate herself from her mother’s actions and be the ruler she wants to be, but I can’t help but worry that I’m forcing her onto a throne.
“I—” The words of apology, of comfort, that I want to give die on my lips. Prae doesn’t react well to empathy, so I settle for, “You’ll be an amazing queen, and if you hate it, you can always make my brother do the boring parts.”
“Hey!” Florian forces some false indignation into his tone. “Maybe I’m retiring.”
“At your age, I would hope so,” Gryffin retorts.
Florian punches his upper arm. “Shut up.”
Meanwhile, Drystan’s concern flares as Caed uses their distraction to shift closer to me, tugging me into his embrace, enveloping me in the scent of almonds and liquorice.
My Fomorian lowers his mouth to my ear. “So, not bad, right?”
Goddess, the cockiness in his voice, combined with his sudden closeness, does things to me.
Not bad? Well, I suppose the outcome is better than we could’ve hoped for. Still, guilt flutters in my gut, because what we’re asking of Prae is no small thing.
Change is coming for us all, and it makes me nervous.
I offer him a sad little smile. “Do you think it’s the right decision?”
Caed snorts, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t have given her the push if I didn’t believe she’d love it. Prae’s pretending like she’s only considering this because she’s the only option, but this time next year, she’ll be happily ordering people around from her throne room. She’ll be the best minor royal in the realm.”
He adores his cousin, so I know he genuinely believes that. That’s what gives me the strength to smile as I summon Titania and prepare to do as she asked.
