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“Bring Kieran’s wife before me.”
Kieran’s house was led by Blodewedd, who was created from the spring flowers of oak, broom, and meadowsweet by Gwydion and Math to be a bride for Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Why would the Unseelie Court take in a woman who had betrayed her husband and her marital vows, and only failed to be a murderer because her husband was able to kill her lover? Because marriage by force is not recognized among us. She was created, then given as a sort of gift, like you’d buy a dog or a horse. Even in a day and time when women didn’t always have the right to choose their partners, it was a little high-handed.
The one thing you always needed to remember with Blodewedd is if you’re fair with her, she’ll be fair with you, but don’t betray her. Don’t ever do anything she could take badly. She learned from her earlier mistakes. She does her own killing now.
Blodewedd stood as Mistral came for her table, and one of her people. Her hair was the startling yellow of the flowers that had formed her. Her skin was a soft, pale color that was somewhere between white and gold. She was almost doll-like in her beauty. The kind of woman men would create if they could, with high proud breasts a little bigger than was usual for the sidhe. Her eyes were huge and liquid dark, drowning and lustrous, owl eyes in that delicate face. Supposedly, she’d been cursed with them, cursed to be in the shape of an owl. If that were true, than she’d managed to cure herself of everything but the eyes.
“Made
“Is your house traitor to me as Nerys’s was, Blodewedd?”
“I would never betray a fellow sister of the dark.” Blodewedd would go for years without uttering a word in court, then she’d come out with lines like that. “Nor would I tolerate such betrayal among my household.”
“You may speak with her,” Andais said, “but it must be publicly done. There will be no more secrets this night.”
Blodewedd gave a small bow, then turned to the woman in question. Made
“Made
Made
“You must say something, for the Queen’s Ravens come for you. You must give me some reason to protect you. If you swear to me that you are i
I could not see Kieran’s face, but even with his hands bound behind his back, he stood easier and more naturally than his wife sat in her carved chair. I watched what little blood was left in Made
“Fainting will not aid you,” Blodewedd said, and her voice held an edge of that purring darkness that Andais’s could hold. “Can you give me a reason for defying our queen about this? Give me a word of defense for you, Made
Made
Blodewedd bowed her head, and turned back to Mistral. “I ca
“Take her, Mistral,” the queen said.
Made
“Hawthorne,” I said.
“Yes, Princess.”
“Help Mistral bring her out.”
Hawthorne bowed to me, then moved toward them in his crimson armor, putting his helmet back on so he had his hands free. He went to stand on the other side of the woman’s chair. Mistral shook his unbound hair back behind his shoulders, then nodded to Hawthorne, as if they’d discussed it. They both bent their knees, and raised the chair up with Made
They put her chair down beside her husband. Her shoulders rounded, and I thought she was probably crying. “Meredith,” the queen said, “come join me.”
She didn’t have to ask me twice.
She had taken her throne, leaving what had once been Prince Cel’s throne empty for me. It had been my chair for only twenty-four hours. She motioned Eamon, her consort, from behind her throne to take his smaller throne that was a little lower on the dais. There was another throne lower down on my side, too. It wasn’t for my consort of years but for the flavor of the day. Consort of the moment, perhaps.
The last time I’d sat here, the consort’s chair had been occupied by Sholto, Lord of That Which Passes Between. It was only as I took my throne that I realized that Sholto and his sluagh weren’t at their table near the door. Nor were they at the queen’s back as guards. The sluagh were not here. He was king of his own court. The goblins were not here either, but they were often absent unless it was a pla
Tyler, the Queen’s pet human, curled at her feet. She asked, “Where is your little goblin?”
She meant Kitto. “He is helping Rhys watch over the police while they are inside faerie.”
“Has there been some problem?” She was letting Kieran sweat, or seeing whether he would. Made
I told her briefly of the effect the entrance to faerie had had on Walters and his people. She seemed most interested.
“I wouldn’t think that your little goblin would be a good choice to protect the police.”
“He’s almost guaranteed not to bespell anyone by accident.”
“Not sidhe enough for that,” she said.
I controlled the spurt of anger that followed her comment. “He became fully sidhe during an earthquake in California.”
“The earth moved for you, how charming.” She was being both terribly urbane and slyly insulting. I wasn’t sure my nerves were good enough to keep up the small talk for much longer.
“Have you fucked anyone else today besides Mistral?” she asked.
“Actual intercourse, no.”
“Then, Mistral, take your place on the dais, for Goddess knows it will probably be your last chance to sit here.” I didn’t like the implied threat in her words, but I couldn’t argue that Mistral deserved the chair.
Frost had led the other men to fan out around me like good guards—that is, those who weren’t guarding our prisoners. Barinthus was left standing on the floor. She looked at him, and it was not friendly. “Take your place with her guards, Barinthus. For it is where you have chosen to stand.”
He hesitated a moment, then bowed and went wide around her, to stand on the far side of my guards. I think he was going to try to be as invisible as he could manage until we could figure out what had angered her. He had too many enemies to have any illusions. If he slew the queen, then most of the rest of the nobles would unite and kill him. Of course, Andais might not need the help.