Page 85 of The Forever Queen

“What other choice do we have?” Lottie asked.

The question floated through the room, hanging above all their heads as they exchanged glances in the great hall. Every Sidhe sovereign forced into a corner here in the Other by the hands of Aisling’s father.

Tara leaned closer to Lir.

“Your concern distresses me,” Tara of the Howling Winds whispered to the king of the greenwood. “I thought your sorceress was well-equipped to destroy the mortals.”

Both Tara and Lir looked at Aisling, silently sitting on the other side of the table. She laid the Goblet on her lap, her fingers stroking the stem as she listened to the Sidhe sovereigns discuss back and forth.

“She is,” Lir assured her. “She wouldn’t be here in Castle Yillen, alive, if she weren’t.”

“Those were my thoughts as well,” Tara said. “But here and now, with the growing pressure of the mortals and their destruction in the mortal plane…the reality of our losses is fully tangible if not already felt.”

“Aisling will go forward as she’s done thus far: with determination. Fate will decide the rest,” Lir said, his words as sharp as he felt. Lir didn’t trust any of the sovereigns; the Sidhe were both truth-tellers and deceivers. If there wasn’t mischief afoot, there was something far worse lurking in the dark corners of the rooms they passed through.

“You believe in her,” Tara conjectured, studying the Sidhe king’s face closely.

Lir considered for a moment. The Sidhe king knew legends, myths, folktales, and prophecies were slippery with the blood of those condemned to worse fates. He knew the loom frayed, broke, braided, twisted, and knotted at the call of its own whims. But with certainty, he knew Aisling was salvation.

“I cannot articulate it well,” Lir confessed, running his fingers through his dark hair. “And were it sheer faith I’d doubt myself. But this is different. I feel it in my bones. Aisling will change everything.”

“Why not Niamh?” Tara asked.

“It is not in her making,” Lir said plainly. “She does not smell of the Forge as does Aisling. Stand close enough to the sorceress so that you can sense her, listen to the pitter patter of her once-mortal heart, taste her perfume on your tongue, and hear the melody of her voice as it blends with the immortal coil of destiny. She was born of the Forge like none before her.”

“And yet, is this once-mortal princess, capable of what you claim? Rewriting prophecy by both the Lady and Danu themselves?” Tara asked, eyes darting around the table to ensure none were listening to her’s and Lir’s private aside.

“I witnessed her courage not long after we wed,” Lir said. “a ‘once-mortal princess’ locked eyes with a Cu Scath and raced a Sidhe knight on stagback without hesitation. That was only the cusp of what I’d come to witness of her mettle.”

Tara smiled. “It will take more than courage.”

“Aye,” Lir agreed. “It will take more.”

“And so, she is our salvation,” Tara concluded.

“Are you not yet convinced?”

Tara hesitated, brows pinching. She lifted her eyes to find Aisling still seated across the table.

“Yes, I’m convinced,” she answered honestly. “I’ve long awaited the end to Niamh’s reign over the Other.”

“You disapprove of Niamh’s sovereignty?” Lir asked, his interest piquing.

“Isolation has made Niamh…” Tara considered her words carefully, daring a glance at Niamh in her throne. Niamh was wholly absorbed by Katari’s words, back straight as she darted between the Sidhe sovereigns who spoke aloud. “Unhinged,” Tara finished.

Lir looked at Tara now.

“What do you speak of?”

Tara shook her head, biting her bottom lip. “Under any other circumstances, I’d keep silent, but with the current political climate and your sorceress being our potential salvation, I fear I might not be allotted another opportunity to speak my mind.”

Lir narrowed his eyes. “Then speak.”

Tara exhaled, reaching her hand out and catching drops of gold in her palm.

“You northern Sidhe kingdoms have been spared from Niamh’s trickery. In recent centuries, she’s been hunting for something or someone, stealing Sidhe brides, Sidhe children, forge-born beasts to the Other.”

Lir held his breath.

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