Page 10 of Crown of Wrath

Reaching down to the base of the mountain that Stormhaven sits against, I feel for the limestone that the castle and its walls were built of, and I rip it from the ground. Flowing like water from a spring, the stone becomes liquid, filling in the gaps in the passage I’ve built for it. Just like the dragons did in Draenyth, I pull the limestone up, and the world becomes very quiet. Minutes pass, and no one makes a sound in the room assomethingchanges that no one other than me can describe exactly.

The sound of footsteps echoing in the halls outside the throne room quiets. The little whistles of air flowing through cracked mortar disappear. Silence is what I bring, and even the Shade looks at me in confusion.

The outpouring of power drains me almost as much as fighting the Nothing did after three months. I lean forward, my breathing hard as my muscles tighten to hold me upright. For the first time, I used the full power of the Painted Crown.

Then the door bursts open, and a human in steel armor shouts, “King Aric, something’s happened to the castle!”

Of course, something happened to the castle.

“Majesty, the walls are… different. They’re… I don’t know how to explain it. Please, come look.”

In King Aric’s throne room, there are no exposed walls. They’re all covered in expensive silks here. King Aric couldn’t see what I’ve done. But his guards did.

Aric frowns at me and stands up. The guard is frantic, but it doesn’t seem to bother Aric at all. He’s just confused and curious.

But the Shade, Darian, and Lee all look at me with shock in their eyes. The House of Earth has always been secretive about its powers, and I don’t think any of them understand what someone wearing the Painted Crown can do.

King Aric gets to the door and looks into the hallway for a moment. He pauses and I can feel his confusion. Disbelief fills him as he walks to the wall across from the doorway. He runs his fingertips over the limestone, and everyone watches him.

“What did you do?” Darian breathes.

I don’t answer. King Aric turns around and walks back into the throne room, but he doesn’t go back to his seat. “How much of the castle did you do that to?” he asks, his voice quivering.

“All of it. From the prison cells built directly into the mountain to the top floors, every wall has been covered in solid stone. Yourcracking mortar is unnecessary now. I have reinforced all the walls of your castle with an inch of solid stone.”

He gapes at me, but so do the Immortals in the room. “King Aric, I could raze Draenyth to the ground if I wanted, but that is the last thing I want to do. I’m here to fix things, not make them worse. For now, what I need is a prison cell covered in steel. Darian will help your blacksmiths to understand what I need, but this is not a request. I would like to maintain a civil relationship, but I am your Queen, and this is a command.”

He pauses and glances at the dozen armored men who have their hands on their weapons. I just showed him what I could do without breaking a sweat. Me, the woman he just dismissed. Not the two High Fae and the legendary Shade standing next to me. Aric doesn’t have any idea what the four of us could do all together, and the realization of that is hitting him hard.

“Come sit back down,” I say. “Youwantour protection, King Aric. We won’t draw any extra attention to Stormhaven, and to be totally honest, you don’t have a lot of choices. Let us use your prison cell, and we’ll stay out of your way otherwise. Just like you want. If you try to do something stupid, all that will happen is people will die. Your people. Not mine. Do you understand?”

Aric had looked almost amused when we’d first appeared in his throne room. None of that amusement is there now. Only the shrewdness in his eyes and a sharp smile across his lips. It’s just as much a court smile as any that Cole used.

He’s furious under it. No one that’s used to being the most powerful person in the room enjoys being shown that they’re far weaker than they thought they were. He wants to argue and try to force me to back down. Not because he’s worried about his city or his people. No, he is a man, and I am a woman, and I am putting him in his place, and that grates on his nerves more than anything else.

“Sit down, King Aric,” I say again. “Or I will be more forceful.” There is nothing but peace inside me, but peace comes from control, and I am in complete control of this situation.

Aric is a smart man, and while he may be furious, he knows he has no recourse here. He could kick his feet and throw a tantrum like a child, but he simply doesn’t have the power to refuse me. So, he accepts it and walks back to his seat at the table. When he gets here, he pours himself another full goblet of wine and says, “If that’s how it’s going to be, then when should I expect you to demand my crown?”

I shake my head. “I don’t want your crown, Aric. All I need is a single prison cell. That’s it. You may covet your throne, but I don’t even wantmine. I’m just the only one who can sit in it, so I don’t have the option of giving it up. You don’t need to worry about me taking your crown or land or anything else. And you’ll get to see what it’s like dealing with the Fae. A bit of experience with us certainly won’t hurt your ability to rule. I remember being human, more or less, and the most valuable thing I ever experienced was having someone to ask questions of—someone that wouldn’t lie or hide things from me. I’ll add that to our bargain freely. If you have questions about anything, I’ll be more than happy to explain in simple and straightforward terms for you. Protection and knowledge in exchange for a seven-by-seven steel box. It sounds like the deal of a lifetime to me.”

Aric sighs and drinks his wine. “Fine. You win. You may be able to force me to do this, but I don’t think you want me as an enemy, so it might behoove you to discuss things with me instead of demanding. There’s a reason that humans and the Fae have an agreement to leave each other in peace. You may be stronger than us, but we aren’t without our own skills and strengths.”

I nod to him. “We don’t intend to push you around King Aric. It’s a small thing that we need. Truly. And we’re paying withmuch more value than what it’s worth. I would just prefer to work with you than other human kings because I’ve heard good things about your rule.”

He sighs. “Then it’s settled. We’ll work together in these strange times. Now you just have to convince my small council that you’re not here to eat us all.”

Chapter 6

Iron is on every world we have come across. Every world knows that there must be balance to magic. It is the anti-magic, and just like its opposite, it can be changed, enhanced, and even strengthened. There is great difficulty in doing so, and I have not found another who could do as I have done.

~Sidon the Strong, A History of Magic and Dragons, added to Magical Combat for Humans by Alistair Hawkings

Maeve

A week. That’s how long we have until Casimir’s cell is going to be ready. A week of nothing while we wait in Stormhaven.

I look down on the city within the walls. It’s tiny compared to Draenyth, but it’s human. It calls to me in a way that Draenythnever could. I don’t know how to explain the difference. Everything about the Fae capital was beautiful. The architecture. The building materials. Even the geometry of the streets was so clean compared to the disorganized chaos of the city below me.

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