Page 69 of Glow of the Everflame

All the more reason to stick to my plan. I needed powerful allies, and who better than the children this realm had abandoned? If I could find them and convince them to fight at my side, we could be a force to be reckoned with.

“Regardless,” I said, “there is a risk to the Houses in bringing a Challenge against me, successful or not. So what reason would they have for doing so?”

“There’s only one reason, really.”

He paused, then took a torturously slow sip of his wine, seeming to savor the knowledge he had the advantage. I clenched my teeth and forced myself not to react.

“A Challenge would only appeal to them if they believe you will endanger the Twenty Houses.” His eyes flashed with a dangerous glint. “Allof them. Including mine.”

I choked out a laugh. “You think they’ll Challenge me if I’m a threat toyou?”

“Not at all. I’m sure many would be happy to see you threaten me, or even threaten House Corbois. We have held power for a long time, and there are many who wish to see a change.”

Oh Remis, I purred internally.You have no idea.

“But,” he continued, “there are some matters on which all the Houses are aligned. They may be willing to risk a Challenge if they believe House Corbois would not seek retribution for acting in defense of a mutual interest.”

I returned his penetrating stare, channeling all of my strength into the timbre of my voice. “Then it’s your job to convince them House Corbois will stand by its Queen—no matter what.”

Remis settled back and matched my relaxed posture. “The other Houses know us well. They have seen which of our priorities and goals have remained steadfast through many Crowns. Any deviation from those values now would be seen as coming from you alone, regardless of any assurances I make.”

“So I need to assure them nothing will change.” I idly traced a finger along the rim of my glass. “Fine. I can tell them what they want to hear.”

“If only it were so easy. The Houses may expect to receive certain... binding assurances.”

“What kind of assurance could they possibly expect? The last King did whatever he wanted without consequence—” His upper lip curled slightly at my words. “—I doubt they’ll expect any less of me.”

“They may ask you to enter into a bonded bargain.”

He said the final two words with a tricky smile, a gleam of arrogance as he toyed with me. I had no clue what abonded bargainwas, and I suspected he knew it.

For a moment, I regretted not insisting that Luther stay. He had a way of anticipating the things I didn’t know and slipping the answers to me in a way that never made me feel ignorant or ashamed. Luther probably would have goaded Remis to lay out everything he knew from the very beginning instead of engaging in this painful, prolonged tug-of-war.

But Luther wasn’t the Crown—I was. And no matter what fondness might be growing between us, he was not part of my long-term plans. I needed to show everyone, including Remis—includingmyself—that I could handle the throne on my own.

I faked a yawn and idly swirled my wine. “This meeting is growing tedious. Get to the point.”

I took the tiniest victory from the way his smugness vanished. “Under a bonded bargain, if a party breaks an agreement, they lose their magic until they follow through on the terms. If they cannot, their magic is gone forever. The bargains are sealed using the Forging magic that created the nine realms, so even a Crown can’t escape the consequences.”

“I’m not putting my magic at risk to ensure a House gets preferential treatment on some trivial concern.”

“Of course not, Your Majesty. A bonded bargain is a risk to both parties. They will only demand it for matters of the highest importance.”

“And what matters are those?”

He gave another lazy, half-hearted shrug. “It could be any number of things.”

“Be frank or stop wasting my time, Remis,” I snapped.

“Matters involving mortals,” he said curtly. “Rebel attacks are increasing in every realm. We had one on our own soil just days ago. The Houses will expect you to find and execute the terrorists responsible and suppress any further rebellion.”

I swallowed, my mouth suddenly as dry as the Ignios deserts. “If King Ulther couldn’t stop the attacks, what do they expect me to do?”

“For all my late brother’s accomplishments, his strength against the rebels was not one of them. The Houses have long complained that the Crown is far too soft when it comes to mortals.”

My shock was so visceral, so loaded with the memories of too many injustices to number, that my body reacted before I could stop myself.

“Soft?” I hissed. I gripped the arms of my chair and leaned forward, my fingernails carving into the polished wood. “There is not a mortal or half-mortal in all of Lumnos who would label the King’s treatment of them assoft.” My face twisted in revulsion. “Especially all the children buried in the gods-damned ground.”

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