Page 48 of A Deception of Courts

“The Nephilim are the unknown,” Lyra added. “And I do not like the idea that an entire realm has dwelled out across the oceans for as long as the time of the gods.”

I straightened my back in the chair, feigning authority in my tone. “If the Nephilim were an issue or threat, there have been years they could’ve meddled. And they haven’t. I’d suggest we don’t waste our time worrying about powerful allies who have promised to help us with nothing in return. Our focus should be on our shared enemy.”

“Robin is right. Now is certainlynotthe time to create new enemies, Lyra,” Elinor said, offering me a motherly smile.

I was glad to see that Elinor Oakstorm looked a world better than when I last saw her. Her skin glowed with the kiss of sun; her cheeks flushed with the red of apples. A tiara held back the mane of dark curls. The metal band was made from a gold, but woven to look like the knot of a vine. A pointed crystal sat upon her brow, decorated at its side by flowers made from yellow and red metals. Elinor certainly looked comfortable beneath the weight of her signifier, and Icertainlypreferred seeing it on her head instead of Doran Oakstorm’s.

But that didn’t stop a sliver of discomfort every time she blinked, flashing those piercing blue eyes through dark brown eyelashes. I couldn’t help but see Tarron in her expression. Even though her smile warmed me from the inside, as though she conjured rays of sunlight and bathed me in them, it was a reminder of what price she’d paid to sit here as queen.

“The Nephilim are responsible for the death of a few of my soldiers. They have ensured that some of my own have not returned home as I promised they would,” Lyra reminded. “Forgive me if I am not welcoming them upon the shore with open arms.”

“I don’t think they are expecting such a welcome either. They’ve not left their ship since arriving,” I said, mind drifting to the ship and the two-winged warriors upon it. “Lyra, I trust the Nephilim. During a time when such a thing is hard to find, I’m confident they’ll help us with our fight against Aldrick. We could do with all the force required to prevent another court from falling.”

My words were meant as the painful reminder to what happened to the spring court.

“I hate that he has a name now,” Lyra said, lowering her cup to the table as a grimace sliced across her freckled face. “Makes the Hand seem mortal, when in actuality the man is nothing but a monster.”

“Names also have power,” I replied, mind wandering to the echo of those very words I had heard before. “And we will need an abundance of it to go against him. Having the Nephilim by our side will help when the time comes. They know more about how to stop him than we do, we need them on that basis alone.”

“Which is exactly what we must discuss.” Elinor’s eyes scanned the map, resting upon the marker for the Elmdew Court. “The longer Aldrick is left to his own devices, the closer he is to making his next move. And, considering my court rests closest to Elmdew, all signs point to him paying me a visit first. Frankly, as much as I wish I was, I’m not prepared.”

“Then I put forward that we pay Aldrick a visit in Elmdew and evict him with fire before he has the chance to move,” Lyra snapped, leaning forward on the table with both hands. “You may not be ready, but we have the numbers.”

My nose itched with the kiss of smoke.

“Careful, my friend,” Elinor added, looking down at the tendrils of flame and the sudden scent of charred wood that followed. “Before you do the same to us here and burn us out of this tent.”

Lyra reluctantly pulled back her hands, extinguishing the small flames from her fingers with a single breath. “Enough time has passed where we have allowed thatmanto infiltrate a court and hold claim to it. He has killed our friends and forced innocents from their homes whilst keeping the rest as prisoners of war. In honour of Peta and Dai, we must deal with this threat once and for all. With force.”

There was no denying the boiling, raw emotion that rolled from Lyra in waves. Regardless of if she had her flames in control, her magic was potent in the air.

Elinor laid a hand upon Lyra’s, curling her fingers and holding on. Her touch emitted a golden glow that encased Lyra’s skin and melted into it. I’d seen this healing power before, but it was not a physical wound Elinor wished to treat.

It was the internal wound of loss. And from the way Lyra’s eyebrows softened, her mouth smoothing out of its pinched shape, and her shoulders lowering from the sigh she expelled, I could see that Elinor’s power was helping.

“There is another problem we must remember,” I said, drawing both of their attentions back to me. “By us going to Aldrick, we will give him exactly what he wants. We hold thesekeysto open Duwar’s gate. We are exactly what Aldrick wants. If we do so, the realms will face a far greater threat than Aldrick. I can’t help but think that Aldrick has not yet acted again because he is expecting us to go to him. He is lying in wait, not wasting his energy or forces until he needs to.”

“Robin, I am impressed with your line of thought. You are right.” Elinor smiled, her gaze lingering on me. When she spoke, she did so from a place of pride, the emotion so powerful I felt it careen into me. “I can only imagine Aldrick’s reaction when he figured out the truth of these keys he so desperately searched for. He had us both in his grasp, only to lose us. In a strange and twisted way, it brings me great joy to imagine him in his moment of dreadful realisation.”

“The question is how did he find out,” Lyra said. “How did he work it out if no one but the Nephilim seemed to have the insight? This is not knowledge that the courts have, and yet the moment the Nephilim come he suddenly works it out. See where my distrust comes from?”

“I do.” I inhaled sharply at a sudden pain in my finger. Looking down, I saw the skin around my nail bed swelled with ruby blood. I’d not even noticed that I’d put my cup down. “Then we invite them off their ship and give them the chance to explain themselves. I’m merely passing on information, they would be better to explain.”

“Aldrick is, I hate to admit it, a detailed man. He has means to information about Duwar, and that was before the Nephilim arrived. His information is coming directly from the demon. If he knows about the keys, surely it is through his connection to it?”

“Although I don’t believe the Nephilim are involved with Aldrick finding out about the keys, I also do not think Duwar has anything to do with it. If so, Aldrick wouldn’t have let me slip through his fingers.” I offered a forced smile to Elinor, keeping my hands beneath the table. “We can speculate all night how Aldrick has gained such knowledge. It won’t help. What might help is waiting on the Nephilim’s ship. One of them, Gabrial, can read the past of humans from a script that presents itself on her skin. Aldrick is onlyhalf-fey, which means he’s not above her prying. If anyone can help us gain information on Aldrick and put us, finally, a step ahead, it would be her.”

Elinor’s brow peaked at something I said. “Every movement of Aldrick is recorded?”

I nodded, noticing the same silent intrigue on Lyra Cedarfall as she gripped her cup again. Her fingers glowed a deep red, all to heat the tea she held, which soon hissed when she brought it back to her lips. “Unknown warriors beholding unknown magic. How many more surprises will we uncover until you see what I see?”

Lyra’s distrust was evident. It would be foolish of me to disregarded it, but I also couldn’t stoke the flames.

“Gabrial may be able to shed light on Aldrick’s doings. That’s the insight we will need to keep us a step ahead of him.”

I purposefully left out the bit about Aldrick messing with what she was able to see, but I trusted she’d find a way around it soon enough.

“What do you propose then, Robin?” Lyra asked over the rim of her cup. For a brief moment, I caught respect in her gaze as she regarded me, not as Robin, but as a king who sat before her.

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