Page 90 of The Fae Queen's Revenge

Horror lockedTes’s body in place, her gaze frozen on Ber and Toren. There was a glow about them, and her skin prickled as Toren’s energy eddied around her before it was sucked back toward the two men.Ber is channeling it.

Until he wasn’t.

A spell darted past her, so close that she shivered from the force. But she wasn’t the intended target. Instead, it found its destination in Ilduin, piercing the man’s shields and then blooming outward to cover the rest of the dignitaries—even the unconscious ones. And in that moment, she recognized what had happened. Somehow, her husband had cast a strong truth spell.

“There’s more energy to channel,”Ber sent.“You’ll have to question the emissaries.”

Her mind cried at her not to turn her back on Toren, but her heart understood that Ber would ensure her safety. So she stepped closer to Ilduin. Then she braced herself, but not for an attack from behind. This blow would no doubt be coming for her heart.

“Lord Ilduin,” Tes began, her voice ringing around the throne room in the way that she’d been taught. “State your purpose in journeying to this court.”

His distant gaze didn’t shift her way, and when he spoke, his voice was an eerie, wooden thing. “I was sent to test the loyalty of the Llyalian royal family to our alliance.”

“And?” Tes asked through clenched teeth.

“To return Princess Lora, Prince Ber, and Prince Speran to Centoi immediately.”

It took all of her training not to throttle the man. “What was in the vial your servant was going to give to Princess Elna?”

“Poison,” Ilduin replied, his flat voice a horrid contrast to his dark words. “King Ryenil wants no interference in his plan to bring Llyalia under his control. He need only get a female child on his new wife, and the two children can seal the kingdoms together in marriage.”

Bile scalded Tes’s throat. If not for the literal truth spell, she would have struggled to believe it. Her father would actually wed his own daughter to his grandson? He was demented. “When did my father marry?” she managed to ask.

“He has not done so yet,” the earl replied. “But he will do so as soon as Lady Selesta is found. With a new, young wife, he can repair all that is wrong with his lineage.”

It was clear to Tes that she was what Ryenil considered wrong with his bloodline.

As always, she stuffed the hurt down deep and continued. “Do you have other spies hidden in the palace?”

“I do not.”

But that didn’t mean one of the other envoys didn’t.

If she wanted to be certain, she had to question everyone.

Ber allowedthe voices to drift by, his concentration on the energy he redirected—until there was nothing else to direct.Yet as he finally stepped away from his brother, that low hum lingered beneath his skin. He’d used a lot of energy on such a large truth spell, but he’d apparently retained a spark.

He eased back a few more steps as Mehl and Ria slipped close to Toren’s side. Despite the formality of the moment, Ria linked her fingers through Toren’s, and Mehl made sure their hands brushed. It must have bothered them greatly that they’d been unable to channel the power outburst this time.

“That’s the last,” Tes said.

Ber blinked at her as some of the haze cleared from his mind. “The last to be questioned?”

His wife nodded. “Only Ilduin was involved in the plot. Of course, his confession was enough.”

To orientate himself, Ber glanced around the throne room. The nobles murmured amongst themselves now that the force of Toren’s magic no longer held them in thrall. But only a few cast uneasy glances toward the High King. No, most of the angry looks were directed at Lord Ilduin. Elna was popular amongst the nobles, so his attempt to murder her would not be forgiven.

“Princess Etessa,” Toren said. “I will grant you the right to sentence him for his crimes, so long as justice is met.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Tes said, smiling.

Then in a blur of motion, she leapt forward—and plunged her dagger into the soft skin beneath Ilduin’s chin.

Chapter 43

Possibilities

Warm blood coated Tes’s hand and rolled down her arm as she stared into Ilduin’s panic-sparked eyes. For once, he hadn’t been able to lie his way out of a situation—and he knew it. Even so, he attempted to jerk back, his hands flailing uselessly. Then he sputtered and coughed, sending flecks of blood everywhere. She merely twisted the knife and shoved it in harder.

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