Destined for the Fae King (Courts of Faery #3)

Chapter 14

W hen we arrive at the council meeting, the circular table has been expanded to allow room for all of us as well. We’re spaced out between the advisors and members of the royal family. Advisor Danai gives me a look as I open my journal, her attention catching on the colorful lines of text, one dark brow rising. I wait for scorn, but the hint of a grin forms in the corner of her mouth before she focuses her attention back toward the open center of the wide-ringed space.

Vasilius looks particularly resplendent today in a loose, cream-colored shirt with golden accents that shimmer in the light. A split in the center of the neckline lets part of it fall open, teasing the muscular chest below. His sleeves are rolled up, baring his equally impressive arms. It’s distracting to say the least. Maybe that’s part of the test—who can pay attention to the topic at hand with a handsome god-like king showing off his prowess?

In fact, everyone seems a little more relaxed today. Well, everyone who isn’t in the competition and there to be judged by the others around the circle .

The discussions start off easy. How to resolve a dispute between two parties where one is clearly in the wrong. Suggestions on what to do with an excess harvest.

But it doesn’t stay that way.

“Now,” Vasilius begins, “we need to talk about the Unseelie.”

The word chimes through the room like a discordant note, echoing back on itself. If there were any windows in the room, I wouldn’t be surprised if a cloud didn’t decide to block out the sun simply for effect.

“Avara,” he continues, “please share this morning’s update with everyone else.”

The Captain of the Guard rises to her feet. She fills the silence with her presence, her sheet of pale hair barely moving as she slowly takes us in. “Late last night, we intercepted a band of Unseelie that crossed over the border after a breach was sliced through our wards.”

A few quick intakes of breath precede the damning silence that follows. Adeline openly gapes. But it’s only us women who appear surprised. The others must have already been informed.

Grace recovers first. “I thought the wards protect us from Unseelie?”

“They do,” Avara replies. “Weaker Unseelie are kept out. The strong ones can sometimes move past them, but we always feel it, those of us who have attuned to them, our king especially.” She nods toward Vasilius. “It has been a rare occurrence with the Unseelie, at least in our territory.”

“You said, sliced,” I clarify. My gaze drifts to Lysandir, who gives the briefest of nods. “Like by the Unseelie King’s sword?”

“Mmm, someone is well-versed,” Elaine muses.

The praise bolsters me, and I count it as a win. Thank you, Lysandir. He really wasn’t kidding about helping me out after all .

“That’s right,” the captain says. “We weren’t sure his sword possessed such power yet, since our last reports from the Court of the Air stated the Unseelie King had been able to fully recharge it. The cut through our wards was slow and sloppy, but effective none the less.”

“What did they do once the ward was breached?” Alex asks, leaning onto the table.

“Good question.” Avara nods toward her. “Their aim once inside our wards was unclear. The band of Unseelie that slipped through did not go far, perhaps because we were on them quickly.”

Katherine wrinkles her nose. “What did they hope to accomplish?”

It’s a fair question, though her tone is more derisive than inquisitive.

Avara looks to the king. Vasilius glances around the circle.

“What do you all think they hoped to accomplish?” he asks.

“Was there a city or a settlement nearby?” Zoe asks.

“None,” Vasilius replies. “This happened along a stretch that is mostly uninhabited.”

Zoe leans forward, hands clasped in front of her on the table. “Would they have known that though?”

“We’re unsure the extent of their current knowledge of our terrain. They would have known the locations of our cities at one time, but whether their records remain intact is uncertain.”

Adeline clears her throat. “Is there anything valuable there? Natural resources?”

“Nothing significant,” Vasilius supplies.

“What about—”

“They’re testing response time,” Cora says with confidence.

It’s a smart answer. A good one, as much as I hate to admit it. She glances between Vasilius and the captain, waiting for one of them to confirm her assumption.

When no one immediately replies, she continues, “They had to know you would feel the breach. The Unseelie did not go far. Probably so they could flee back through it once you all arrived, which also supports that they were not looking for anything in particular. There wasn’t a city or resource nearby to draw them. It has to be a test.”

Vasilius smiles. “Very good.”

I could kick myself for not thinking of it first.

Memnon rises to his feet. He was the one who had been so strongly anti-Unseelie the last time. Not that anyone was pro-Unseelie, but his opinions were a little stronger than some of the others. “So, now the question is—what do we do about their little foray into our lands? Surely such a thing cannot be ignored.”

He stares at Vasilius, awaiting a reply.

But the king is unruffled and turns the question to the rest of us. “Ladies?”

A debate erupts over whether to go on the offensive or defensive. Katherine is a clear offensive proponent and keeps steering the conversation that way, though most of the women and myself prefer a defensive approach.

“If the Court of Fire attacks the Unseelie, people will get hurt. That’s for sure,” Zoe says. “But if you all don’t, then maybe they’ll just leave you alone too.” She’s not always the brightest bulb, but I murmur my agreement.

Bailey raises her hand. Elaine is the first to notice and encourages her to speak.

“Prince Lysandir,” Bailey starts, “you see the future at times. Have you been given an insight on what the Unseelie plan? ”

All attention in the room focuses on him. I assumed if he had, we would have heard about it already, but it’s a fair question.

After a moment, Lysandir says, “I’ve meditated on the Unseelie’s intentions toward our court several times over the past weeks, but each time I’ve seen only the same brief vision, flickering flames.”

“Fire like the court symbol? A campfire?” Grace asks.

He shakes his head. “I wish I knew. I simply see flames no matter where I look, nothing else.”

Adeline clears her throat. “Fire could be a good thing.”

“A sign of our victory,” Memnon adds, though Adeline frowns at that, as if it’s not what she’d meant at all.

Lysandir turns his palms up over the table. “Only the fates can say, and they did not. I have no more than that.”

“But it’s got to be a good thing, right?” Katherine presses, tossing her long hair over one shoulder. “This is the Court of Fire.” An unspoken ‘duh’ lingers in the wake of her words.

“Visions are not always that clear,” I say. “If Lysandir, who has seen it himself, is unsure what it means, how can we think to know any better?” I hold his gaze across the room. “We can learn more by looking at the past than we can from uncertain visions of the future which we might misinterpret. The past is set. The future is not.”

Lysandir goes eerily still, his gaze boring into mine as if seeing me in a new light.

Advisor Danai picks up the thread where I left off. “The past, even recent days, has shown the Unseelie to be unpredictable.”

Lysandir blinks and the look is gone. He shifts focus to the woman speaking at my side.

“No one expected them to try to incite war between the courts,” Danai says. “It’s too subtle for the brute force we’ve seen them employ in ages past. ”

“The Unseelie King has not been able to fully recharge his sword and has done no more than make this one cut in our wards, right?” I ask. Several advisors nod. “So, it would stand to reason that he doesn’t have what he needs to empower it further and hopefully cannot hurt the court more than he has already.”

“Unless that changes, the Court of Fire should be safe from the Unseelie threat,” Danai says at my side.

“Except they have a null,” Avara points out.

“One,” I argue. “Only one.”

“A powerful one though,” the captain replies. “The Unseelie King’s sister, from what we gather.”

“And therefore, he won’t want to endanger her with some reckless mission,” I say. My brothers and I aren’t exactly close. I wish we were. Things were different when we were younger, but the older they get, the more time they spend together and the less with me. It doesn’t hurt that they share the same hobbies and are really close in age. But even not being that close anymore, I would never send them into danger in enemy territory.

“She already snuck deep into the Court of Air. You think she would not do the same to our court?” Memnon says.

I purse my lips. He has me there.

Thankfully, Grace runs with my idea. “To what end? We are bound. Safe.”

“Who can say what such monsters plan,” Memnon sneers.

The debate continues, threatening to devolve into more of an argument again. The proponents of taking action are few, but they sure are loud.

“Maybe it would be best to save any military action until after The Choosing concludes?” I suggest when there’s a pause.

Vasilius leans back in his chair. “And why is that?”

I’m not sure if it’s a test or he genuinely doesn’t like my suggestion. I risk as glance at Lysandir, who gives an encouraging nod. Bolstered by the idea that I haven’t totally screwed up, I glance back at the king and continue, “Because anything that risks lives should get your full focus and attention, and that might be hard to give when you’re still getting to know all of us so that you can make another important choice.”

“Mmm,” the king muses. “You all can be quite distracting.”

A flush races to my cheeks at the look in his eyes.

“But a worthy suggestion and a wise one. I cannot go far from you all, given our bond.” He raises his wrist. “It keeps the Unseelie from taking you all, but it also restricts my movements and keeps me close. Trying to venture into Unseelie territory would be extremely difficult for me, maybe impossible with all of your bonds pulling me back to you.”

Vasilius slaps a hand on the table. More than a few women jump at the sharp, unexpected sound.

“Enough talk about Unseelie,” he says. “Let’s debate a more pleasant topic—what activities to include in our upcoming garden party.”

Several of the women perk up just as many of the advisors groan. It may be a tiring council meeting after all.