Page 124 of A Crown of Lies

“It is because of your meddling that two of our strongest heirs have been removed from the lines of succession,” she accused.

“It is because ofyou, Matriarch, andyourmeddling.”

She bristled at Ruith’s accusation, jaw clenching and releasing. She folded her hands in her lap. “Nevertheless, I require something from you to replace what was lost.”

Fear coiled like a viper preparing to strike in Ruith’s belly as Vinolia set her gaze on Faelyn. He gripped his son’s shoulder and pulled him closer. “No,” he said firmly. “I will not barter with my son.”

Vinolia’s chair creaked as she sat back. “Then the alliance between Clan Deepfrost and Clan Runecleaver is at an end.”

“A moment?” Isheda said and waited for the matriarch to wave him off. He turned and gripped Ruith’s shoulder, pulling him away from beneath the tree to where they could speak in relative privacy. “Ruith, what are you doing?”

“The right thing,” Ruith growled back. “I won’t betroth Faelyn to one of her grandchildren.”

“Why not?” Isheda pressed.

“He is eight! And it iswrong. You and I got to choose our partners, Isheda. I ask only that he be granted the same freedom. He has suffered enough.”

“At what cost, Ruith?” Isheda shook his head. “You are at war because Eris chose you. I had to…” His voice broke, and he looked away, blinking back tears. “I watched the proud elf I loved become a stranger until the end, when I had to be the one to end him.” His throat bobbed.

Ruith pulled his arm away. “Do not preach to me about sacrifice, Isheda. Just because we have struggled and suffered doesn’t give us the right to gamble with his future.”

“If you refuse, we lose the Runecleavers, Ruith. Without them, Redrock wins. You don’t get your army of elvish reinforcements. Brucia falls, and Eris with it.”

“Father?” Faelyn said, frowning.

“Not now, Faelyn.” He pointed at Isheda.

“Do not ask me to choose between the woman I love and my son!”

“You are already making that choice!”

“I’ll do it,” Faelyn said. The boy cleared his throat and repeated it even louder so that there was no taking it back. “I said I will do it. I’ll marry one of the Runecleavers.”

Ruith’s heart sank. He closed his eyes and lowered his head, exhaling.

“Excellent,” Vinolia said, standing.

Ruith glared at Isheda and marched over to Faelyn, putting his hands on the boy’s shoulders and looking down at him. “Do you understand what you’re agreeing to, Faelyn? You’ll be expected to come back here when you’re of age. This is a binding contract, sealed with magic and blood. If you break it, the consequences will be dire for you and your bride. You understand that?”

Faelyn swallowed. “But it means Isheda will win, right? Niro will be Primarch?”

“For a time, yes,” Ruith said. “But you’re agreeing to a lifetime bond so that one man can hold a political office for six years. This is not an even trade.”

“That’s not why,” Faelyn said with a frown. “If I don’t, Brucia might fall, and Eris with it. She’s been kind to me, and I know how you feel about her. I don’t want her to die, or for anything bad to happen to Brucia. I want to help.”

“There are other ways,” Ruith said. “You don’t have to do this.”

Faelyn took a deep breath and stood up straighter. “You’re the one who’s always telling me that I’m a prince. As a prince, I have a duty to protect my people. To Brucia. I can do my duty.”

“The boy understands better than most,” Vinolia said.

Ruith sighed and guided his son back to stand before the Runecleaver Matriarch. “Very well. But she must be similar in age and standing, whole in body and mind, and suitably attractive.”

“Done,” Vinolia snapped her fingers and two more elves rushed forward with a scroll, a pen, and an inkwell.

She quickly scrawled her signature on the scroll, then pricked her thumb on the end of the pen and pressed it to the parchment. It glowed briefly before she passed it to Ruith.

Ruith gave Isheda a desperate look, but he knew deep down there was nothing either of them could do to stop it. If they didn’t go through with it, the alliance would fall apart. The Runecleavers would throw their support behind the Redrocks, tipping the scales irreparably in their favor. That meant no support for Brucia from D’thallanar, no alliance between the two cities. Everything Taratheil had died for, everything he had been building with Eris, would fall apart. All it took was a signature and a drop of blood to make it happen.

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