Page 63 of Our Vicious Oaths
Kadeesha merely smiled, unflappable. “The answer to the Water king’s observation,” she said to all of the monarchs, “is no—neither Malachi nor anybody else is capable ofcorruptingme. I am my own individual with my own mind and own agendas. I am now the Aether queen by birthright, but it is not the only title I intend to assume. Malachi and I have come together because we have a joint proposal that may be advantageous to you all. More, this is clearly the will of the great Celestials.” She paused and laid a hand against her belly for effect. Malachi, cunning in his own right, helped amplify the effect Kadeesha intended without her ever having to give him any signal. Silently, he stepped closer to her side and laid a hand over hers, brushing his thumb protectively along the flat planes of her stomach thatwould swell in time. Each of the vassal kings tracked the movement, and Kadeesha could practically see the wheels spinning behind their eyes about what this pregnancy meant—in terms of the prophecy, the future of Nimani,andthe future of their own courts.
She didn’t mention any of that, however. Instead, she pointed out, “As vassal kings who serve Rishaud, you assume the roles of lesser monarchs, submitting to his every whim, including whatever wars or campaigns or redesigns of trade agreements he wishes to pursue. Have you ever hungered for a different future for your reigns and your courts? Have you ever thought if a fully united Nimani under his rule will be better or worse than what you currently experience?” Again, she let silence linger, her and Malachi’s hands still cradling her belly achieving a more effective sway of the monarchs’ thoughts than any rhetoric could. She simply waited, giving them time to fully reflect upon the prophecy Rishaud had exalted and peddled for so long—the one that said Kadeesha’s husband would be the divinely anointed high king of Nimani and her future firstborn son would be the ordained heir of a united Nimani. She also gave them time to then reflect upon whatever old and current grievances they had with their asshole liege lord. Fae monarchs were petty, scheming, and vicious to a fault, and she was counting on that here.
“To answer your unasked question, Iamwith child,” she eventually announced out loud. “It is a child born of two royal lines, just as the great Celestials themselves handed in a vision to the Hyperion high cleric—a child thatIwill produce. Clearly Rishaud’s reading of that vision was a misinterpretation. You see before you proof that the great Celestials will something different.” She tipped her head toward Malachi, standing as imperious as ever at her side. “The great Celestials have allowed a childof Aether Court and Apollyon Court blood to be conceived, and itisa portent that what was once whole and then fractured into two halves should be united again. You each have long supported the will of the Celestials as Rishaud had interpreted it. Will you each continue to do so under this new revelation, this indisputable proof of their true desires?”
When the monarchs’ expressions remained indurate, Kadeesha added, “Consider what it’s been like under Rishaud. Consider, then, what it may be like to serve a supreme high king that does not rob you, but rather only asks for what is fair—a modest share of resources and gold from your courts as suitable tribute, in return for peace and accord throughout Nimani. Who in turn does not demand that you contribute bodies and the blood of your folk to fight a war you may not even want or have any skin in. Do any of you desire to be preparing for war against the Apollyon Court this instant, solely because Rishaud’s pride is wounded that he lost his would-be bride andhischance to accumulate greater power, wealth, and resources forhiscourt alone? All while presuming the will of the Celestials when he is now so obviously spouting false prophecy?”
Evident tension rippled among the vassal monarchs at Kadeesha’s inquiry. If she were in their place, she’d be enraged to be required to devote fae lives and resources to something so frivolous that didn’t affect her court whatsoever and that neither she nor her folk would benefit from. Perhaps more, the idea of giving less of their court to the high king—whoever that might be—was something that certainly appealed to their more avaricious natures.
Still, the Wind king studied Malachi suspiciously. “You have been silent, Apollyon king,” he probed Malachi. “Do you have nothing to say on your own behalf?”
Malachi’s answering chuckle was dark, menacing, and full of arrogance. “The Aether queen, and soon-to-be Apollyon queen, paints a much more pleasant future for you lot than what I’d originally intended,” he said coolly. “Each of you conspired with Rishaud to murder my parents and besiege my lands. You may have only succeeded in the former. However, it is a crime I’ve long meant you to pay for with your lives and the lives of every living member of your families and every noble of significance in your courts. I started on that campaign at Kadeesha’s wedding with Rishaud’s court. And trust me: Iwouldhave seen it through. Yet the Aether queen being with child changed my perspective. Kadeesha is adamant our babe is a herald from the great Celestials. If it is true, I’d rather stand with the great Celestials and be a receptacle for their blessings than stand against them and court their wrath. So I suppose if you bow to Kadeesha as your new high queen, the first order of business among you lot should be to kiss her feet for sparing your miserable lives.That’swhat I have to say on my own behalf, vassal king. Is it enough for you?”
Kadeesha deserved a statue erected in her honor for the expression of stone she maintained. She filed away how smoothly Malachi had used a silver tongue to weave convincing lies together with the truth. How he so effortlessly mixed violence and diplomacy.
Tension remained about the lesser monarchs, but they hadn’t outright refused her and Malachi’s proposal yet.
“If I were to say that the vassal kings were not eager to kill the former Apollyon royals and only followed our liege lord’s whims we were bound to serve, would that lessen the aspersions you cast upon us?” Sedrin asked. The male appraised Malachi less with suspicion now and more with a calculating gleam.
A muscle in Malachi’s jaw ticked. “Would you submit to a truth rune to confirm it?” Malachi responded in kind. He didn’t level his pitiless stare that was entirely black for the time only at Sedrin—he pinned each of the monarchs with it in turn.
To Kadeesha’s astonishment, they all answered in the affirmative.
“In turn,” Sedrin countered, bargaining in earnest now, “ifwe were to recognize you as Nimani’s high king, would you swear an oath to uphold the promises of greater autonomy that you and your high queen have made this day?”
“Would you all swear an oath back to be ever faithful to your newly recognized high king and queen?” Malachi asked in lieu of an answer to what Sedrin had asked for. Kadeesha immediately marked it for the test it was. He aimed to see how far he could push them, how much they’d bend, and how much spine his newly acquired vassal monarchs would possess. Because Malachi already knew what Sedrin expressed next as well as all of them gathered atop the summit did.
“That is not our way in the Six Kingdoms,” Sedrin said stiffly. “Even when Rishaud first conquered the vassal courts beneath his banner, the courts bowed to him of their own free will. We made our kneeling to him as liege lord contingent upon the absence of any binding oath, such as with the ancient high kings who ruled the united Nimani that existed at the dawn of our kind. Many of our customs have shifted over the years, but that one has not. Any individual who truly possesses the might and is owed the reverence to be recognized as liege lord or high king is an individual who can hold the fae courts’ fealty based on that might alone.”
“Yet Nimani is on the cusp of entering a new age, and I’m of the opinion that this calls for things to be done differently,”Malachi returned. “Additionally, youareattending this meeting behind your current liege lord’s back, which is as clear a display as any that strength only goes so far when guile can easily undermine it. I do not intend to be failed by the latter.” Malachi paused for a moment, and Kadeesha surmised it was to let the knowledge sink in that he was a king who was as shrewd as he was physically powerful. “Once Rishaud is defeated,” Malachi continued, “you allwillswear oaths of fealty. It is the only way I’ll place your former deeds aside because youwereparticipating parties in the deaths of the former Apollyon king and queen and many important lord primes of my court. I do not care about your reasons; the crime is in the deed itself and reticence does not absolve you. The Apollyonfolk will demand suitable recompense if your lives are spared, as do I. In turn, I will swear the vow you’ve asked of me and you’ll get your greater freedoms. And as a show of good faith on my part, when I march on Hyperion lands, I do not require your armies to becomemyarmies. However, I do expect your armies that Rishaud will order into the fray to not engage mine. That will be you all’s display of good faith,” Malachi finished, making the terms he would and would not accept clear.
The emphatic, duplicitous speech made him all the more chilling. She didn’t know exactly what he was thinking, but she knew Malachi was not the sort to so easily forgive and forget. He likely meant to kill the vassal kings once they were no longer useful and before any oaths could ever be sworn. In fact, she’d bet her life that was his plan. He despised the other monarchs too deeply for it to be anything else. She thought about their willingness to submit to a truth rune about their role in Malachi’s parents’ murders. If they were truly innocent, guilt prickedat her conscience. Her stomach curdled at being complicit in their coming massacres.
This male’s nature is precisely why your own kingdom will still suffer in some way if he lives, a voice impressed upon her,regardless of the validity of Yashira’s arguments.As she considered warning the monarchs in whatever time she’d have between Rishaud’s death and Malachi’s additional bloodshed, a second voice she couldn’t quite ignore also emphasized that if Malachi killed the vassal kings and obliterated their courts, it’d help her rule without numerous adversaries who were true threats and keep her child safe.
“We would need confirmation of the pregnancy and to bear witness to a wedding ceremony,” said Sedrin, cutting into the dilemma she weighed.
“I’d expect no less,” Malachi told the Wind king, who was apparently speaking for the rest at this point.
Ahjay stepped forward then. His azure gaze was fixed on Kadeesha as a tendril of water floated from his outstretched hand. It came to rest a few inches away from her belly. “Water is a medium that gives and supports life. Thus, it can confirm new life too. If you will allow it?” Ahjay asked Malachi, not Kadeesha, for permission.
It inflamed her to have to stand quietly and let this play out instead of making the Water king pay for his gross mistreatment of her.There is a greater objective at play, she reminded her temper.The longer they believe this farce, the quicker we can end Rishaud.
A protective growl emanated from Malachi. It was a sound so menacing that Kadeesha might’ve taken it for being authentic if she didn’t know any better. As far as perceptions went, it made for a damn good display of the fact that Ahjay’s probe wouldconfirm Kadeesha was with child. Fae males were notoriously territorial, in some cases rabid, when a female was carrying their offspring, and Ahjay’s request asked Malachi to expose Kadeesha and his child to potential attack. It was a considerably large risk that Kadeesha herself would be taking too. However, it was a necessary one. Kadeesha inwardly winced, though. She knew just how haunting of an ask Ahjay had made given that Malachi’s mother had been slain while carrying a child and Malachi blamed weaknesses in his father for the tragedy.
“You insult my high queen by not asking permission of her, and you will not do so again henceforth,” Malachi told Ahjay with ice. “We’ve discussed ancient customs within the Six Kingdoms. Let’s also make clear long-upheld customs within the Apollyon Court.” His hand stayed flat against Kadeesha’s belly, his large fingers splaying to cover up a greater portion of it and bar the Water king access. “In my court, females of whatever station are afforded the same respect as you’d give a male of that same station. Kadeesha will be high queen of Nimani’s Seven Kingdoms. That means she will beyourhigh queen and you will treat her as occupying a station above you in rank. And even if she were not your high queen, you should still be directly addressing her when you request consent to proceed with any action that has to do withherbody. So you’ve asked the wrong individual for permission to confirm Kadeesha’s pregnancy.”
Kadeesha blinked. None of that was what she’d expected Malachi to spew Ahjay’s way. The Water king bared his teeth in what was supposed to pass for an apologetic smile. “I guess there is much to learn about your court’s traditions. May I, High Queen?” he asked Kadeesha tightly and sounded like he nearly choked on the title. Perhaps she didn’t need to think on warning the vassal kings at all.
“Get on with it,” Kadeesha consented quickly, because shadows now limned Malachi’s frame and they darkened by the second. So did the ones gathering behind the Water king. If Malachi attacked him over some perceived insult, it would possibly ruin everything that had been accomplished so far.
Malachi removed his hand from her belly, albeit slowly. At once, the water encircled Kadeesha’s lower torso. It brushed against her stomach and then splashed to the ground, disappearing into the snow.
“They speak true about a pregnancy,” Ahjay told his fellow monarchs.
Sedrin nodded and said, “Then so be it. I will pledge fealty to the pair of you and the babe in exchange for all that has been promised.”
The Fire king and Stone king expressed the same.
