Page 178 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

You are flawless, Amira. You are doing perfectly.

“Amira is highly impressive,” Riordan added aloud, sounding as if he were agreeing with the king when we all knew that Balor had not meant to pay me a compliment. “Clodagh tells us that our mutual enemy is getting close to finding you,” Riordan continued, smoothly steering the conversation toward business.“You are here to discuss sanctuary for your people in exchange for assistance with defeating Rian DorTìodhlac.”

Balor tore his attention away from me. I was not sure why I seemed to hold his interest. Perhaps it was merely that he was annoyed that I had managed to contain him. But I had the sense that it was more than that.

“Correct,” he croaked.

“We will come to a mutually agreeable plan of action, but then I will need to discuss everything with the King’s Council before proceeding,” Riordan asserted. “There will be no contract today.”

I was surprised to hear that he intended to discuss this with the council, but perhaps that was a good thing. If he made an alliance like this without addressing it with them first, I didn’t think it would go over well.

“Time is of the essence,” Balor asserted with a hiss.

“Certainly. But I will not make hasty decisions on matters of this nature. Nor will I insult my council by disregarding them in our process.”

Balor eyed Riordan, really looking him over as if he were truly taking note of him for the first time. I realized that although Riordan was centuries old, he would be a child to the Spring King. Balor had thought this would be an easy negotiation where he could strong-arm my mate.

“They told me that you were young and impulsive and headstrong,” Balor admitted, confirming my suspicions. Another of those backhanded compliments I hated which didn’t even faze my mate. Riordan merely smiled.

“The Vale obeys my will. Your influence within the Spring Quadrant will be limited to a warded territory,” Riordan continued.

Balor’s eyes almost slid to me, and I knew my ability to contain him had been more uncomfortable for him than he had let on. Iunsettledhim.

“I do require a great deal of space to sustain myself,” Balor insisted.

“I cannot do too much. Not without displacing a great deal of my own civilians in the Spring Quadrant, and I will not inconvenience them,” explained Riordan.

“They need not be displaced. I am their rightful king,” Balor pointed out, and I sensed the first hint of irritation from Riordan.

“Be that as it may, most of them were born here. I will not deny anyone the right to choose their own allegiances, but I will not force it upon them. It will be up to them to move into your territory if they wish. And you will not be permitted to encourage their migration by force, coercion, or bribery,” Riordan maintained.

Creatures such as the fey kings and queens took their power from the concentration of the Tithriall which was in the very blood of fey. So the more Spring fey that Balor had close to him, the more power he would have.

Balor did not like this stipulation, and while I could understand why, it unsettled me.

“This is not an opportunity to establish a new court for yourself. This is merely an opportunity to seek temporary sanctuary from an aggressor. Once we’ve defeated Rian, you will return to the Spring Court,” Riordan clarified.

Balor was quiet for a time, deliberating on the loose terms that Riordan had laid out for him.

“I see this differently. I see it as an opportunity for a true unity between Spring and the Vale,” he proclaimed.

“And what do you propose?” Riordan asked, although I could tell he was just humouring the king. There was no way he wouldconsider any kind of formal fusion between the Spring Court and the Vale.

“You are a young male in his prime. I have a daughter, a siren of unsurpassable beauty for your consideration to take as a mate. I have long denied her suitors, but I know griffins hold considerable esteem for their chosen mates, so she would be treated with a gentle respect.”

It felt like the floorboards tilted sharply under my feet, my stomach turning at the mere thought of Riordan with another woman, and every insecurity screamed in panic. But Riordan was there immediately, a gentle and soothing presence that whispered through my mind like a thousand reassuring kisses.

“A siren,” laughed Orion, although I could not help but wonder if he would have preferred such a mate as well. “So she might whisper your will in his ears?”

“Aisling is a sweet-tempered child with no aspirations for politics,” Balor objected in offense.

“It matters not,” Riordan spoke up with the intention of shutting down this possibility. “I already have a mate.”

This seemed to genuinely surprise Balor, but the king recovered quickly, and then he looked right at me with such knowing certainty that it was terrifying.

“Then thedreíochaisyours after all. That is such an unfortunate affliction, and no doubt, she already syphons your power as if it were her own,” Balor lamented.

He knows what I am!I thought urgently to Riordan.

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