Page 68 of Kingdoms of Shadow and Ash

'Fyia,' said Edu. She swung her gaze to him, her mind swimming. 'We have to get out of here.'

She nodded. Edu was right, they had to leave … regroup …

'Call them off,' the King hissed, trying to step towards her. His countenance was cold and commanding, no hint of the flirtatious rogue from moments before. 'Before this gets out of hand …'

Edu held the King back. 'Don't …' he said.

'I …' said Fyia, as the pain in her head intensified. Her wolves feigned attacks, keeping the northerners away.

'Fyia,' Cal said, his voice icy but imploring, 'stop.' The King's green eyes were all she could see now, blackness having stolen most of her vision.

She closed her eyes, shaking her head back and forth, trying to escape the pain. And then a bear roared through her mind, and everything went black.

Chapter Eleven

STARFALL ENTERED THEgreat glasshouse attached to Lord Eratus Venir's sprawling country mansion in Moon, right on the border of Moon, Plenty, and Sky. She had travelled with Sensis to Moon, and was passing on her return, so it would have been churlish to decline his invitation to visit the Venir estate.

The King of Moon had gifted the land to Venir’s family many generations before, as thanks for their help in weeding out the Kingdom's magic-touched. The Venirs had been extremely good at it, the family renowned for their intelligence, along with their ability to sniff out opportunities to apply their sharp minds for personal gain.

'Ah, Lady Starfall,' said Venir, striding across the humid expanse, his shoes clicking on the stone floor. 'It is magnificent, is it not?' He held his arms aloft, encouraging her to cast her eyes over the glass and wooden structure around them.

'It is very impressive,' said Starfall, with a reluctant smile.

'Come … let us walk,' he said, stepping back and holding out his arm. She set off along a path through the middle of the lush greenery. The smell reminded her of the jungles of the south, as did the colorful birds that flitted from branch to branch.

'Flowers have always been a source of fascination for me,' said Venir. He nodded to a display of shocking pink blooms, where a host of butterflies sucked at the nectar.

'Why is that?' said Starfall, hating the circuitous nature of political conversation.

'Their purpose … attracting pollinators. They developed precisely for that purpose—for their own survival—and if they had not, our food—that which sustains us—would be much different. The system exists in perfect, fragile balance. It is remarkable, is it not? The ways of nature.'

A bead of sweat ran down Starfall's spine, her dress made for the crisp outside air, not the heat of the glasshouse. A planned side effect of Venir's preference to meet in here, no doubt. 'Did you have a point, my lord?' she said impatiently.

'In our carefully balanced system, Fyia is the flower. She exists to look pretty … to attract a pollinator.'

Starfall almost choked. She looked sidelong at Venir, shocked both by his casual use of the Queen's name, and his brazen sentiment. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of showing her outrage, nor let fly the many choice words that strained the clamped seam of her lips.

'If she were successful,' Venir continued, 'and attracted an acceptable pollinator, then the balance of our system—the way we produce goods, trade, and all the rest—will surely fall seamlessly back into place.'

Starfall stopped walking and looked Venir directly in the eye. 'And just so there can be no confusion as to your meaning,' she said, 'the rebellion within the Queen's own kingdoms …'

'Would surely cease,' said Venir, as though he'd said something truly wondrous.

'And if she refuses to find an acceptablepollinator?' said Starfall.

'The system is already out of balance,' said Venir. 'I fear it would spiral into ever greater disarray … rebel activities would increase, interruptions to our food supplies would intensify …'

'But our supplies largely originate from your own glasshouses, do they not?' said Starfall, in mock surprise. 'Well, yours, and those belonging to Lord Antice, who is your nephew.'

When the Venirs had finished persecuting the magical, they'd turned to a different kind of weeding. They'd erected great glasshouses, enough to become the biggest suppliers of fruits and vegetables in the eastern kingdoms.

Venir coughed. 'We will do our best, but I cannot work miracles, my lady.'

'What makes you so sure the rebels will stand down if our Queen marries?' said Starfall, tired of the political dance.

'The Spider is not the only one with spies …'

Given Fyia could strip him of all he held dear with a click of her fingers, it was worrying Venir felt secure enough to issue thinly veiled threats, and to admit his involvement with the rebels. 'Did you have candidates in mind?' she asked lightly.

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