Page 97 of Atop the Faerie Throne
“Mab,” I whisper, and my grandmother appears beside me instantly. I spend a little magic to bring her into physical form, not wanting the others to miss out on what she has to say.
“He’s not left the palace,” she reports, seeing where my focus is.
“You’ve had her spying on him?” Drystan’s brows shoot upwards.
I shrug. “You said I couldn’t leave him unchecked.” I turn back to her. “Is Torrance still there?”
She nods. “He was sent to spy on Iondell and report back on any Spring Court troops stationed there, but he returned and is currently whoring his way through the Pleasure District while Eero stays holed up with his advisers. It looks like he’s planning to hit Spring in a surprise attack, using Neila’s defection and the Hellebore knights’ absence to his advantage.”
“That sneaky piece of shit,” Jaro growls.
“It makes sense.” Florian groans. “He has to know his days are numbered. He’s desperate to find a bargaining chip he can trade for his life.”
Nodding, I add, “How are the Temple’s efforts to sway the people going?”
“Well,” Kitarni answers. “Your gift of supplies has helped. I took the liberty of sending priests with a talent for brewing potions. Faerie itself has been causing chaos there since you left. There’s been a drought, and the fish have become scarce. The people are hungry and almost as angry at their king as we are.”
Meaning the populace won’t get in my way, and we can keep casualties to a minimum.
“Then it’s time.” I take a deep breath. “Mab, does Eero know about my charm magic?”
“They’ve not mentioned it, and you’ve been careful. He’s more concerned about how many spirits are around Siabethathat you might use against him. His court is offering money to mediums who can get the dead to leave in case you turn up.”
“And Ciara?”
“Plotting away in her rooms, under heavy guard. It seems she already had a plan to take power, but your pilgrimage interrupted it, and now she’s using her maids to get letters out to her supporters.”
So the quiet princess was planning a coup long before I even arrived? I somewhat remember Máel complaining about the nobles forcing Eero to make Ciara his heir and cock my head as I consider that, perhaps, she might’ve had a hand in that all along.
Filing that information away for later, I look around the table. “I’m going to charm my way into the palace, but I need suggestions for how he can be killed.”
“I can help you there.” Prae bursts into the room, carrying the chestnut-sized metal sphere I fiddled with before her mating ceremony. “For the record, I want his crown melted down and turned into my first fairy armband for this. I’ve outdone myself, and I’ve decided that gold really works with my complexion.”
She sets the tiny object down in the middle of the table, and Jaro picks it up, nostrils flaring.
“Smells like iron and enchantments.”
“Fairy magic is so much more tolerable when I can use it, too.” Prae pauses as Florian scoops her into his arms, frowning.
“Is this another weapon?”
Prae hums noncommittally, and Florian’s jaw works.
“Hey, the only fae she’s murdering this time is Eero,” Gryffin pipes up. “Do you really have a problem with that?”
Florian makes a conflicted sound in the back of his throat.
I cough lightly. “I’ll take anything we can use against him.”
“Good.” Prae snatches it back from Jaro. “All you have to do is make him swallow it.”
Swallow it?“Do I want to know?”
Prae’s sly smile tells me I really don’t. “It’ll make your redcap happy; let’s put it that way. The trigger is water, so don’t get it wet, but it should react with his saliva on the way down.”
Lore’s cackle is far too delighted for a conversation about murder. He blinks to her, snatching the ball and tossing it into the air. “Oooh, you make the best toys.”
The gleeful menace in those words makes me gulp, but then I remember everything Eero has done and shrug off any reticence.
