Page 137 of Crown of Slumber

“Why have you summoned us, Your Highness?” demanded Lord Northall, his bushy gray beard twitching with displeasure.

I had quietly summoned the nobles of our court, and we stood in the council room. The twelve nobles were seated at a long, rectangular table with me at the head—in Mother’s place.

My insides coiled tightly with nerves. If this didn’t work…

I cleared my throat, shoving aside my unease. Next to me stood Brannon, a servant from the kitchens. Several nobles cast him wary looks, but the servant stood next to me, silent and serene, his expression almost bored.

I gestured to the servant and said, “I’ve invited Brannon here with us today because his fae magic can counteract another person’s powers. Lord Halsburg, could you please demonstrate your abilities for us?”

Lord Halsburg, a broad-shouldered blond man with vibrant green eyes, nodded, and rose to his feet. He flexed his fingers, and long, leafy vines sprang forth, slithering across the table like snakes.

“Brannon, if you wouldn’t mind?” I asked.

Brannon nodded, then closed his eyes. The air thrummed with power, and in an instant, Lord Halsburg’s vines receded, sliding off the table and vanishing. Lord Halsburg continued to stretch his hand and fingers, trying to summon his powers, but nothing happened.

Every noble stared at me with wide, fearful eyes.

I swallowed hard. “Brannon is here to guarantee to all of you that I will not use my magic against you. I will not take away your choice.”

Twelve pairs of eyes watched me solemnly in response.

I resisted the urge to twist my fingers together, instead focusing on my determination. In my heart, I knew this had to be done.

But that didn’t make this any easier.

After a deep breath, I said, “I have brought you here to discuss deposing Queen Sonara from the throne.”

Gasps and frantic whispers met my words, the nobles muttering to one another in shock and alarm.

I waited another moment before continuing, “She seeks to overtake the Court of Twilight as well as the Summer Court. She plans to drag us through unnecessary wars, submitting our people to the horrors of battle, not to mention heavy taxes to fund her army. I am here to tell you we donotneed to go to war. And I refuse to stand by and let her do this to our kingdom.”

More hushed comments drifted down the table, and, once again, I waited, my insides jittering in anticipation.

At long last, Lord Northall said, “Our people have been suffering, Your Highness. You cannot deny that something needs to be done about it.”

“Wehavedone something about it,” I argued. “The Summer Princess and her dragon are currently in our custody. That dragon could supply us with enough Nightfire to keep our people safe for the foreseeable future.” I didn’t point out that I planned to release the Summer Princess as soon as the crown was mine. They didn’t need to know that just yet.

“And what of your… complicated involvement with the princess?” asked Lady Flora, her tall, bony fingers steepled together atop the table. Her beady eyes appraised me with keen awareness.

“That is between me and the Summer Princess,” I said stiffly. “I had hoped to strike an amicable alliance with her, but my mother ruined that with her deception. My top priority is preventing war. If my mother is deposed, it’s possible I can still salvage an alliance with Summer. But if not, their dragons are sure to tear us apart.”

“But we could win,” argued Lord Northall.

“At what cost?” I said, my voice rising. “Do you want to sacrifice thousands of lives? For nothing? WehaveDragonfire. There is no need to invade the Summer Court.”

“We have Dragonfirenow,” said Lord Vincent, his large and beefy frame extending past his chair. “But what about the future? How can we guarantee enough Nightfire to protect our people after the dragon dies?”

I pushed away the horrifying thought of Mal’s death and instead focused on a logical answer. “One step at a time. First, we must keep the unseelie tribes at bay, holding off further attacks. From there, I am confident that it won’t take long for our commerce to return to normal, for our revenue to rise once more. That includes our stores of stardust. If we can increase the production of stardust, we can make the Dragonfire last longer. In addition, if I can salvage relations with the Summer Princess, then perhaps we can utilize her other dragons and keep the Dragonfire burning.”

Lord Northall snorted. “I highly doubt she’ll doanythingfor you, after we’ve imprisoned her and captured her dragon.”

My lips grew thin, and I had to fight to keep my hands from shaking. “A valid point. But I know Aurelia well. She doesn’t want our kingdom to suffer. If we can stop treating her like an enemy and start treating her like an ally, I have every belief that she will honor the original terms of our arrangement.”

My chest tightened from my words. I did, in fact, believe that Aurelia would still help us after she was free. In a perfect world, she would forgive me and rule by my side as Queen of the Midnight Court.

But I knew that could never be.

“You must forgive us, Your Highness,” said Lady Windsor, aslim, blond figure with a robust voice that was surprising, given her stature. “You have never taken court matters seriously before now. It is… difficult to believe you are in earnest.”

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