Page 52 of The Fae Queen's Revenge

He might as well have announced that he was courting the woman.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Aony replied. “Please allow me to accept on both my and my sister’s behalf. She is surely too awed by your favor to speak.”

The king’s smile was a sickly, devious thing. “Very well, though it’s best she grows accustomed to my favors sooner rather than later.”

Lady Selesta’s answering curtsey was flawless, but Tes couldn’t help but notice the way she gripped the handle of her fan. Knuckles white, fan shaking. Tes’s breath hissed out.Good. There’s fight in her.For while most might consider becoming queen a goal worth nearly any price, only a fool would want to beRyenil’squeen.

As Aony and his sister departed the king’s presence, several nobles clustered near the wall where Tes hid to gossip. “Surely he’s not thinking to remarry after so many centuries,” one breathed.

“You’re too young to have seen Lady Lora,” her companion whispered. “So very similar.”

“But—”

Another piped up. “He’ll have Lady Selesta, mark my words. Poor, sweet rabbit.”

“What of Prince Ber?”

The first lady chuckled low. “Perhaps he’ll be wed to the king’s next offspring. He has nowhere else to go, after all. The little spare will take any throne he can get.”

Tes glared, her eyes narrowing on the woman’s profile until she turned enough to be identified. Lady Mergoe. If Tes had her way, the lady would pay for that comment. Probably not today. Possibly not even this year. But her cruelty toward Ber would eventually earn its reward.

First, though, Tes had to find a way to prevent a wedding. Not just to stop Aony from gaining power, either. She couldn’t allow another innocent person to fall into her father’s darkness. If she could arrange it, she needed to speak to the lady at the after-court reception to better evaluate her character.

In her servant’s guise, an open conversation would be impossible, of course. But the way a noble treated the “lesser” classes told more about them than they knew. Tes might not be able to solve the problem during a simple reception, but she could gain a solid indication of where to begin.

Ber could only thankthe gods that he’d had so many years to practice hiding his emotions. Otherwise, he never would have made it through the rest of the business at court. As it was, he struggled to listen to any of the complaints, though he did his best to make note in case Ryenil asked his opinion.

Provided his opinion was still wanted.

With such a mercurial king, favor could shift at the slightest whim, and it was always best to flow with it. That meant thatdespite his every instinct, he could be nothing but supportive of the king’s pursuit of Lady Selesta. No good would come of trying to prevent the inevitable. No, Ber could only do his best to take advantage of it. If nothing else, this obsession might keep Ryenil from discovering that Tes was still alive.

Until she came forward to challenge him, if their luck held.

As court concluded, Ber followed the king through their private entrance. Ryenil generally avoided the reception that followed, but instead of turning toward his study as usual, he halted. The expression he turned on Ber wasn’t friendly.

“If you have had her before me, I will kill you,” Ryenil said.

“Pardon, Father?” Ber asked, blinking. Then clarity hit. The man was fixated on the idea that Ber had somehow found a way to sleep with the woman. “Do you mean Lady Selesta? I give my word to you that I have never seen her before court today, nor do I have any wish to do so after. Except for polite court functions, of course.”

The king eyed the guards to ensure they were far enough away. “You know I offered my servant to slake your lust, yet she found you leaving a tryst in your closet.”

Ber forced a light laugh. “With only my hand, I’m afraid. Though I did have the opportunity to ‘slake my lust’ in the special dungeons this morning. The guards were very disappointed.”

“I see.” Some of the tension drained from the king’s expression. “I had begun to worry over your unnatural restraint.”

Ber didn’t point out that restraint would have been perfectly natural, considering he would have been executed if he’d been found having sex with a noblewoman during his mourning period. In truth, he could have been killed for claiminganywoman, but to the king, the lower classes weren’t people, sosleeping with one of them didn’t break that lofty law. Regardless, it was telling that Ryenil had decided to ignore such rules.

“I will have Lady Selesta as my wife,” Ryenil announced abruptly.

“Of course, Father.” Ber could only incline his head and smile. “It would please me to see you happy.”

The king blinked. “If I should produce more offspring…”

“They will take precedence,” Ber finished. “I have always been content to merely be part of your family, Father. And perhaps I might gain the favor of some future princess of your blood, saving all of our plans. After all, if my own brother’s child should fail to reproduce, my own children would have the next claim to Llyalia.”

Or they would have if he hadn’t manipulated Toren into changing the rules of succession. Ber sent another thanks to the gods that his brother had kept his mouth shut about that.

Calculation glinted in Ryenil’s eyes once more. “Hmm, that is true. I suppose we shall see what the future brings in that regard.”

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