Page 43 of Songs of Retribution

I stepped over to him and clasped his hand. "Sir Eldrick."

"Your Highness." He released my hand and swept a bow that was too formal considering we were the only true Seelie members in the Prasanna court, the only ones who understood each other. Yet he always maintained a respectful demeanor.

"Anything new?" I whispered.

His expression turned grim, his lips sliding into a thin line. "I'm afraid so. The King has gathered his forces and they’re marching."

I pressed my fingertips to the table. "Already?"

"That is what scouts have reported."

A breath left me in a puff. I thought we'd have a few more weeks at least. Father had regrouped so quickly. Even before I'd betrayed him and fallen out of favor, he'd said he wasn't ready yet. He'd spent years preparing, gathering magic and training soldiers, but he wasn't ready. He must have decided the time had come for decisive action. That meant we needed to match him, to stop holding back.

The Maharani strode in wearing a plum sari, the jewel on her forehead gleaming. Amyra walked to her right. The young woman, the Maharani's heiress, had grown more serious in the last weeks. The reality of ruling seemed to press on her, creasing the lines on her brow. I understood the pressure, and for the first time in my life, I was ready to rise to it.

Sai followed behind them, speaking in dulcet tones with a handful of Prasanna officials. He wore his ebony clothing like armor, like he dared anyone to question him. Despite his injuries, he walked tall, his posture easy. His eyes flicked to me and flashed before he shifted his gaze away.

Nearly a hundred fairies made it into the room before the guards shut the doors and the Maharani went to the table’s head and slowly swept her gaze over the attendees. She lingered on me for a minute, and I offered a nod of deference. I had nothing but respect for Shaan’s mother, and I sensed the heaviness lingering around her, the burden of facing the biggest threat to her court during her reign. It was my family's fault, and the guilt that had always acted as a companion of mine curled in my stomach, but I pushed it away. I was here now, and I would do everything I could to protect both our courts.

Amyra stood to her right, her hands folded together. Sai had taken a spot farther down, at a diagonal from me across the map that marked the soldiers’ locations. Shaan hadn't attended, and I missed his presence at my side, even if I was glad he was taking a break from all this. Eldrick remained beside me instead and he stayed stoic and silent as the Maharani spoke.

"The luxury of time," she said, her voice unnervingly steady, "has now passed us. King Carrington has readied his forces and marches them." She nodded to a man who stood across from me near the map. He reached out and moved markers lower, down the southeast portion of Landre.

I frowned and pointed in the direction. "They're heading south?"

The Maharani bobbed her head. "Our scouts have followed their direction since sunset yesterday."

"There's nothing in the southeast region there."

Sai's nose wrinkled like he didn't believe I had a right to speak at this meeting. "Kali's caves are there, the former Alegre city, and the sacred mountains between our courts."

"Yes, but why would he march his troops somewhere we could easily defend?"

Eldrick cleared his throat, and everyone in the room—from military leaders to the Maharani—snapped their attention in his direction. Eldrick winced. He still didn't like sharing secrets and information with the Prasanna, even knowing it was my desire. I knew it felt like a betrayal to him, but he was a man who saw a course through, and he'd chosen to back me. Thank God for that. If Lira and I were to wrest the Seelie throne from Father, we'd need all the loyalty and help we could gain.

"I would imagine," Eldrick said, "that King Carrington has used some of the many caves in the area to store resources or magic he didn't want near the Seelie palace’s vicinity."

Brows furrowed and frowns pinched faces. Amyra's eyes shifted side to side before she spoke. "Are you implying, Sir Eldrick, that the magic they may seek is so dangerous they didn't wish to keep it within the boundaries of your court?”

Eldrick looked down at the table, studying the wood’s grain for a minute before raising his face again. "King Carrington is a secretive man. Despite having spent the last decade in close confidence with him, I know only a small portion of his plans. But I do know he fears for the Seelie." Eldrick looked over all the Prasanna officials. "Before my time here, I did as well. I believed the Prasanna to be a direct threat to our people's lives and magic. King Carrington will stop at nothing—forbidden magic certainly included—to secure the Seelie. Of that I have no doubt."

The room remained silent as everyone digested what Eldrick had said. A shiver slipped down my spine. Certain magic had been forbidden in the past because it was unpredictable and risky. Father was desperate, though, and that made him dangerous. What would he stop at to destroy the Prasanna? It seemed everyone in the chamber understood the answer to that but no one wished to say it aloud.

A military leader in a crisp uniform, a gold sash across his chest, looked at the table’s head. "I believe, Maharani,"—he bowed slightly—"it would be in our best interest to cut off these troops before they reached their destination if this information holds any potential of truth."

"Yes," the Maharani said. "We must act quickly. If the book Sir Eldrick and his companion brought holds true, King Carrington is attempting to unearth forbidden magic and even attempting to locate the place where the elves allegedly put the dragons to sleep centuries ago.”

A Prasanna general frowned. “Dragons are myths, are they not?”

“Kali’s city,” the Maharani answered, “was considered a myth until Prince Sai and his party rediscovered it this year. With how secretive the elf society is, let’s keep everything in the realm of possibilities.”

I cleared my throat. "We should also consider enlisting humans in the countries to the east of here." Everyone turned towards me. "Prince Sai brought back news that my father is enlisting humans; it would be wise for us to match his actions so we aren't left at a disadvantage."

Sai's eyes darkened with magic. He'd seemed to have lost his hold on his powers in the last weeks of stress and injury. "Oh yes, let's also break our oaths and drag humans into this."

"The oaths have already been broken," I said, hardening my tone to match his. "I agree it is distasteful, but my father is paying the humans enough to support their families for a long time. We could do the same, better perhaps, and give the humans a choice to join us in this fight."

"So magical beings can decimate them?" Sai growled the words and shadows curled around his shoulders, contrasting over the glimmering gold decorating the wall behind him. "Because they are poor and non-magical, we should take advantage of that?”

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