Page 20 of Wings of Snow
“He has, and what’s gone on in the interim as he’s been adamant all will be fine? Unrest. Concern. The council pushing for us to invade the Nolus continent. War. He now has an entire continent brimming with barely leashed violence and the demand that we march upon our southern neighbors, and all the while, he looks like the innocent party who never wanted war in the first place. Our fae continue to love him.”
“But why would he do that?” Ryder pushed.
“Power.” I placed my hands on my hips as I mulled everything over again. I’d suspected my father might be behind the missing fae in the castle, since I knew he’d wanted to stop the talks of unrest, but I’d never suspected that he’d actually wanted the unrest to continue and was murdering fae as a way to mask his involvement. It was so manipulative and was such a calculated move—exactly something like my father would do. “I’ve always known that my father is power hungry, but I hadn’t thought he would move beyond our border. For the past several hundred winters, after he’d conquered all of the territories and united them under his rule, he’s been content according to my mother, but now, he’s not. He’s dominated the north, and now he craves the south. But how could he convince our fae to start a war? They wouldn’t support him simply because he wanted to expand his reach, but theywouldsupport him if their survival depended upon it.”
“Blessed Mother,” Nish whispered.
Ryder crossed his arms. “What if you’re wrong, and it’s not him?”
I shrugged. “I could be, but then you tell me who else on this continent has the power and means to find a way to douse theorem?”
They all eyed each other, then Ryder nodded. “You’re right. I suppose it’s possible a council member would have the means, but nobody else would, and your reasoning for it being the king makes the most sense, as disgraceful as that is.” He sneered. “But it is in line with his character.”
Haxil shook his head. “Buthow? How did he kill the crops?”
“I don’t know.” I scowled. “But he’s done something, and given what Lord Crimsonale overheard, he’s hired help. Someone who would know how to kill theorem.”
“Who in all the realm has enough power to do that?” Sandus’s confused expression looked exactly as I’d felt since this morning.
“That is what I still don’t know.”
Nish scowled. “Ock, it would explain why the king wants Ilara so desperately. If she’s the only fairy who’s been able to stop whatever it is he’s done to theorem,by using her affinity to allow the crops to grow despite this poisonous veil, then she poses a threat to everything he’s been working toward.”
“Exactly,” I said with a nod. I’d reached the same conclusion after speaking with Michas. “And I think that’s why my father’s so desperate to find her. He wants her found so he can control her. If she’s in his court, he can either stop her from visiting the fields, or he can keep tabs on which ones she’s healing so he can sabotage them again.”
Haxil’s eyebrows shot up. “Which is what he did to the Isalee fields right before Ilara’s test!”
I nodded again. “Yes.”
“That’s why the crops died overnight. He must have done something that killed them a second time.” Haxil’s glare turned deadly. I had no doubt he, a son of Isalee, was taking that affront personally.
“I believe so too,” I agreed, “but if Ilara can free her affinities, and if we venture to Isalee once more, then we stand a chance at figuring out what my father’s done.”
Ryder frowned. “But whatever is in the land punched out at her and trapped her affinities. Who’s to say that won’t happen again even if we find a way to untrap her magic.”
“It did.” My blood boiled just thinking about it, but I also knew that my mate was strong, stronger than any female I’d ever met, perhaps even stronger than the queen. “But if Ilara knows what to expect and can avoid what she did the first time so the veil won’t target her, perhaps she’ll be able to figure out what it is, and then we can discover a way to dismantle it, perhaps even destroy it completely.”
“Which would stop any further talks of war. If the crops return to normal, the king will have a hard time drumming up support for an invasion.” Sandus nodded. “Sounds like a solid plan.”
“And Georgyanna?” Haxil raised his eyebrows. “What of her? Your wedding is only weeks away.”
Power rumbled down my limbs all the way to my toes. “Georgyanna can go fuck herself.”
Nish snickered.
Ryder crossed his arms. “And what of the queen and how she’ll fare when you defy the king’s command and don’t turn Ilara over?”
“I haven’t figured that one out yet.”
Ryder arched an eyebrow. “What if we find Ilara, and the king manages to get his hands on her despite us trying to protect her?”
I stroked my chin. “Ilara’s affinities are strong enough to tear through mine. Unless he finds a way to subject her to the same spell he forced upon the queen, Ilara can handle herself, as long as we find a way to unlock her magic.”
“Agreed.” Sandus grunted and crossed his arms. “Ilara’s a true warrior even if she hasn’t manifested that affinity.”
“This will be seen as treason,” Ryder warned, “if the king discovers that we’re actively working against him.”
“I’m aware,” I replied dryly.