Page 49 of A Kingdom of Monsters

I grimaced. At least we’d been able to hold on to the crown. I was quite sure that Idris had intended to take it from us during the ceremony, and perhaps it was only the unexpected death of the priest that had prevented him from doing so. That felt like little consolation now, though. What use was the crown when the court had forsaken us.

As if reading my mind, Bael leaned forward putting his elbows on the table. “Why did the court turn on us so quickly? Not that I’d expect their loyalty, but neither have I ever known them to risk their necks. They certainly took to Idris quickly.”

“It was like Penvalle,” Scion growled under his breath.

I startled, looking over at him, my mouth parting.

Bael had once explained to me that the Everlast family had spent generations refining their powers and marrying to produce the most powerful possible offspring. As they didn’t typically claim their mates due to the curse, they instead focused on building their power-base generation to generation.

There were three primary abilities that manifested in their bloodline. There were illusionists, like Scion. Seers, like Ambrose. And third, there was persuasion.

The former king, Penvalle, had used his persuasive magic to hypnotize the servants into enacting all his perverse fantasies. Bael’s sister Aine had the gift as well, but rarely used it for fear of being turned into a frontline soldier as Scion had been.

“Is it possible that Idris could have that ability?” I asked the room at large.

It was Ambrose who answered. “It’s not only possible, love, I’d put money on it. After all, he’s our ancestor.”

Scion sat up straighter, turning to look at Ambrose. “You believe he’s really Aisling’s son, then?”

Ambrose nodded. “Don’t you?”

“I should have tried harder to talk to him,” I complained. “We guessed thisdaysago but he kept talking in circles. I knew something was off. Why didn’t I try harder?”

“I understand,” Ambrose muttered, with a commiserating glance in my direction. “I want to know why I didn’t see this coming,”

“Perhaps that’s part of his ability,” Bael mused. “Didn’t you say that you only trusted Idris because you spoke to him when he first boarded the ship? Well fuck, what if that was because he wanted to persuade you to ignore any visions you might have about him.”

Ambrose's face contorted into a grimace, and he remained silent. His eyes were unfocused, but there was a haunted look in them. It was as if he was physically present, but his mind was somewhere else.

“Perhaps he has persuasion abilities,” I interjected. “But that can’t be his only power. He called back the afflicted and put out all the flames.”

“I still think we should have killed him right then and there,” Scion growled.

“But could you?” Ambrose asked.

“Yes!” Scion and Bael said at the same time, both glaring angrily.

Before either Ambrose or I could reply to that, the sound of footsteps and creaking wooden stairs interrupted our conversation and Ciara bustled back into the room.

She paused in the doorway, an enormous leather bound book held in both hands. “Well don’t stop talking on my account.” She glanced around at the table where we’d all fallen silent. “This house has thin walls. You’re not hiding anything.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Good to know.”

She slammed the large book down on the table in front of me, narrowly avoiding the puddle of tea that still pooled on the surface. Up close, I realized the book wasn’t all that much largerthan a normal tome. It was simply that Ciara was so small, it looked enormous by comparison.

Ambrose’s hand shot out and he grabbed the book, his eyes flashing with interest. “Where did you get this?”

“Years ago, a servant from the castle left this item behind. It was on the same day that Rhiannon was taken away and her children were brought back to the palace. As such, I was skeptical of anything related to the royal family--” she glanced around the table, seeming to remember whom she was talking to “--no offense meant, I assure you.”

“Oh, of course not,”Scion muttered sardonically. “Why would we take offense?”

Ambrose ignored him and leaned forward toward Ciara, evidently fascinated. “Did the servant say anything about the book?”

“As it happens, she did. I wouldn’t have taken it otherwise. She said to hold on to it and give it to the queen if she ever came looking. Of course, at the time I thought she meant Queen Celia. I wondered why the servant wouldn’t give it to the queen directly, since she was coming from the palace, but she wouldn’t tell me.”

“And you kept it all this time?” I asked, suspicion heavy in my voice.

“Well, why not?” Ciara asked maddeningly. “It doesn’t seem to be worth enough to sell, and what else could I do with it?”

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