Page 24 of Songs of Retribution

That didn't feel very helpful. The serf mentioned in her note that Aila was trying to get to me, but she'd apparently failed, and I didn't know which guards I might trust. However, I could feel the brotherly concern in Lennox's words, the guilt washing through him.Thank you, Lennox.

I love you. Do whatever you must in order to stay safe.

I love you, too.

As the magic faded and I draped back onto the mattress, falling gracelessly with a smack which brought a fresh, jasmine scent of the palace's laundry soap alive, I thought that was a comfort at least. This may mark the end of my life, but I'd found my brother and friends and a man I loved deeply. I'd taken my fate into my hands and would die fighting for what I knew was right.

My bedroom door opened, and guards flooded in. I sat up, squeezing my eyes closed to fight a rush of dizziness. My heart surged forward but I remembered what Lennox had said. Some guards may be on our side. The issue was, I didn't know which.

A serf walked amid them and bowed her head before me as another dozen guards stepped in. I clenched my hands into the edge of the bed, blankets wrinkling under my grip. They packed the room, the guards standing shoulder-to-shoulder as the serf continued looking at me.

A man stepped forward, slid a key out, and reached for my cuffs. I didn't have the presence of mind to sort out what was happening before he unlatched the cuffs and took them carefully in his gloved hands.

My arms dropped as magic rushed back through me again, like a leg that had gone to sleep then came back to life as I unfolded the limb. The powers tingled and pricked and sparkled. But I could feel the limited levels I had access to. I was still drained, my magic sputtering about within me.

"The King offers a tribute to you, Your Highness," the guard still holding the cuffs said. He had a sharp nose and pale green eyes. "So you can rebuild your magic."

I parted my lips to ask questions, but the serf shivered and understanding dawned on me. They'd marched this woman in here for me to compel her. I wondered if she'd been asked or assigned the task. From the way she trembled and refused to meet my eyes, I suspected the latter. Revulsion crawled up my throat and made me want to gag.

Compelling Sai when I had his permission was one thing. The Prasanna sirens using their magic to heal others, also with their consent, were siren abilities used for their highest good. But this—marching some powerless girl up her, standing her before me, and knowing I would access her mind anduseher was another thing.

"No," I said.

The guard leaned towards me as if he hadn't heard me. "I'm sorry, Your Highness?"

"I said, no, I will not."

Tears formed in the serf's eyes, and she batted them away. One slipping down her cheek was confirmation enough that she hadn't volunteered for this.

The guard frowned. "These cuffs will siphon your magic until it's gone." Until I was dead is what he wouldn't say. "You must rebuild your powers."

The guards all stood in their starched uniforms, observing me, hands lingering by the pommels of swords. A woman near the back had eyes dark with magic. Part of me wanted to fight my way out of there, a more logical part understood it was impossible.

"If you think I intend to use someone against their will to my benefit, you are mistaken. If you think," I added before the guard could interrupt, "that I intend to be a pawn in the King's machinations, you are even more wrong."

The guard clenched his gloved hand around the cuffs and they glittered with magic. Sai had his dark-like-a-night-sky magic that everyone feared. Yet this metal was the truly sinister force.

"Your Highness, it's imperative that you restore your magic."

"No," I said again, more firmly. Some energy and clarity had returned to me with the cuffs gone. I remained weak but not on the edge of passing out.

"If you don't, you will die."

I stood and the guards all shifted, some sliding weapons free, but my eyes remained on the man who spoke to me as I raised my chin. "Then I will die proudly doing the right thing."

Damn it, maybe Sai was correct that I was being a martyr, but it was the only move I had to make against my father where he couldn't win. He wanted me to stay alive so he could turn me into a puppet. I'd take my powers and his heir's mark and my mother with me if I died. Sadly, the other sirens would die as well, my magic going with them. It was a sacrifice I hated to make. The King still held the Seelie powers, so they’d live at least.

That would leave Lennox to fight for the Seelie throne. I knew he'd do it, though. Lennox was like me—a fighter, if an unexpected one. I thought he saw that now, too. The one thing I might achieve was to set Lennox up well for when he returned.

“I know Prince Lennox would make the same decision as me.” My gaze drifted across all the guards. “Perhaps consider that you currently serve a king who will treat his own child like this. Lennox has told me how he sees the Seelie, and it’s better than this.”

An unease settled over the guards as some shifted uncomfortably, glancing at each other.

“We are following orders, Your Highness,” the man said to me, enunciating his words like he wished to emphasize them.

“You’re loyal to our court. I understand and respect that. I know Prince Lennox would admire it as well. He is working with Sir Eldrick currently to fight for the best of the Seelie.” Another shuffle swept through the guards. Recognition lit their eyes; they clearly knew Eldrick well, his name meant something to them. “I’m devoted as well. My loyalties lie with Prince Lennox and he would never stand for this."

"You will die," the guard whispered.

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