Page 158 of Bride of the Fae Prince

“You have enough fae blood to take a hard hit. You’d probably be incapacitated for weeks.”

She lifts one narrow shoulder in a shrug. “Better that than Faradir still being High King. I would only ask that when you are High King, you fight to protect humans. There are many fae who are sympathetic to the plight of humans, but few are vocal enough about it to overcome those who delight in their torment.”

My head sags in relief. I run a hand through my hair, overwhelmed in sudden gratitude. In a sudden flood of unworthiness that someone I barely know would sacrifice so much. Something told me she would be willing, but this was more than I could have hoped for. More than I could have asked for.

“Now, I must confess,” Oleria says, a delicate line appearing between her brows, “I do not know how I would accomplish such a feat. And I assume you need it done today.”

“Faradir loves to be served by humans—”

“I have no human servants.”

That shouldn’t surprise me, but it does. I nod. “We can still work with that. There are many human refugees in the Small Cities that can be hired for a single day. You do not have to explain everything to them, so long as they are aware of thedanger. I’d offer one of my servants, but the High King keeps a catalog of who works for me. Once you have a servant, you’ll need to sneak them into the kitchens as a server. And—”

“How would I do that?”

“Simple. Poison one human who usually brings out the High King’s food. Poison several, if you have to. It doesn’t hurt to have more than one servant on our side. I have a few different ideas for how to get our servant—or servants—to replace the poisoned ones. And I don’t mean to poison to kill. Just something to make them fall asleep.Nampirperhaps. Then, when dinner is being served, you stay hidden—I’ll tell you where—andafterthe taster has tested for poison, have your servant bring you the platter of food. I’d recommend usingyiropfor its weakness-inducing properties.”

“Do I poison the High King to kill? And what do I poison of his food?”

“No, no, personally, I would recommend you poison to incapacitate. It’ll be harder for him to detect if it’s smaller amounts. Poison everything on his plate, in his goblet too. But just enough to weaken him, not enough to raise his alarm.”

“Then I sneak up and stab him?” Her face turns a little green.

I’m asking so much of her.So much.“How are you with a bow?”

“Better than with a knife,” she replies with a nervous laugh.

I’ll need to engage another layer or two of contingency plans. I’ve had several options brewing in my brain in case this doesn’t work. I prefer this option, though, because it involves less human blood.

Less full-outwar.

“We’ll work through the plan,” I assure her. “We’ll make it foolproof.”

“You are betting a lot on my talents of subterfuge.”

She means it as a joke, but uncertainty flashes across her face. Perhaps I wouldn’t have noticed it if not for being married to Stella.

“I trust you, Oleria. I know you can do this. The fact that you are a half human living in a fae’s world, and that you’ve gotten away with it your entire life, tells me everything I need to know.”

Her wings give a little shiver. She looks away, and for a moment, I am afraid she will tell me she cannot do this.

Instead, she squeezes her eyes shut and growls in a voice of such determination, “I will play my part to end Faradir’s reign.”

My mouth draws into a thin line. “Then let us bargain, Princess Oleria.”

The tattoo that imprints on the back of my hand is a pair of beautiful wings.

Chapter 59

The Princess

I stand in thehallway, hidden behind the wall, listening to Ash and Oleria’s conversation. I’m still wearing my nightgown, my hair in disarray from sleep. I close my eyes, a knot of dread sliding downward from my throat, until it lands like a rock in my gut.

Today is Lulythinar. And if we do not kill Faradir today, then Ash is bound by magic to destroy the human lands tomorrow.

I know we can do it.

That doesn’t mean we will.

---