Page 46 of Wings of Snow
She laughed lightly and took a sip of the broth, long cold but still delicious. “I never thought I would bear children to any male since I’d always been a defective. I never thought anyone would permanently want me.”
I grumbled. “No male shall give you children but me.”
She blushed. “I’d only want children with you.”
I leaned closer to kiss her, and she ran a finger softly along my mating mark.
Arousal heated inside me, but I made myself pull back and keep eating. We’d already consumed half of the food, and my magic was returning. By the morning, I still wouldn’t be a hundred percent—not after all that had happened—but at the rate my affinities were growing I would be close to it by tomorrow night.
But more than that gave me pause. My mate needed a break from my cock. While her body was made for mine, her pussy was incredibly tight, and I’d plundered her so many times that I knew she was growing sore, so I suppressed the desire to take her again, and instead brought up a subject that needed to be addressed. Even though I was loathed to discuss this following such a sacred act as sealing a mate bond, I also knew that until the king’s plans were stopped, he would forever be a threat to Ilara.
“There’s something you need to know.” I chewed on another piece of meat. “I think my father is behind everything that’s going wrong with our home.”
She dropped the piece of bread she was holding, her jaw dropping. “What? What are you talking about?”
So I told her about my encounters with Michas and what he’d revealed.
Her eyebrows shot up. “That’swhat he was going to tell me on our date?” She grabbed my arm. “And Michas said his father smelled rot too? That’s exactly what I scented the night I’d been nearly attacked following my date with Lord Waterline.”
I nodded. “Which leads me to believe that whoever my father met nearly a full season ago, is also the one behind the missing fae.”
Her eyebrows scrunched together. “But why would your father do that? Why would he order the abduction of his own fae?”
I explained how the diminishedoremhad created support for war. How almost everyone on the king’s council was ready to march on the Nolus fae and take their land. How all of these talks only united our continent with one clear goal—to save our race—and with the king being the most against it, he appeared the most innocent of wanting war at all. He’d maneuvered an entire population to do his bidding, kidnapping our fae in the process and stirring rumors ofmebeing the culprit, all to make himself look innocent of any wrongdoing.
“Starvation is a powerful weapon. Survival instincts have ignited, and fae are turning feral as you saw in Pentlebim’s market. Only a master manipulator could have made it play out as my father has. It all makes sense now.”
“And you’re certain it’s not actually the Crimsonale’s? That they haven’t planted this seed in your mind that it’s your father, tricking you into thinking it’s him, when in actuality it’s them?”
I cocked my head. The same concern had played through my mind briefly, but Ilara didn’t know the Crimsonale’s as I did. I’d known them my entire life, just as I had my father. Of the two, I knew which one would betray their nation. “I understand your concern, and you make a good point. You’re right that the Crimsonale’s are power hungry, but they’re loyal to the Solis. They would never stoop so low as to plot against their own kind. I’m certain of that.”
She gave a nod, then sneered. “In that case, no wonder your father loves Georgyanna. She’s just like him.”
My nostrils flared thinking about my arranged fiancée. That witch made my skin crawl, and my dragon roared with desire for her head.
My mate picked up her bread again. “So do you think Wormiful or Crimsonale have anything to do with the suppressedorem?”
“I don’t, not any longer.”
She picked at a fingernail as worry strummed through our bond. Gods, I could feel her so viscerally now. “How close is the council to acting on invasion?”
“They’re not there quite yet, but I have no doubt they will be soon if my father isn’t stopped.”
“How long do you think we have?”
“A few months at least, a full season at best. The food stores will be gone by then.”
“And you truly think this is all because he wants more power?”
I shrugged. “He’s already been king for hundreds of winters. He’s united the territories. The Solis continent is firmly under his control. I’m not surprised that he’s now set his sights further. His thirst for power has always been his driving force.”
She nodded. “It makes sense.” A soft scoff left her. “Mother Below, he’s clever. So he’s devised a way to suppress theorem, making it look like a natural occurrence, and he did it all to create concern over the state of our crops. And then as support grows for invasion, once fae firmly believe our crops are dying, he pretends that everyone’s overreacting, which in reality only made the council members more enamored with invasion since the king has been blowing them off.” She leaned back on the pillows, her expression stunned. “It’s the perfect plan. They’ll love him for it even more when he finally acquiesces and invades. He’ll look like the savior in the end.”
I popped another bite of salted meat into my mouth. “Exactly. There’s no better way to drum up support for a war than having an entire continent on the brink of starvation.”
“Does anyone else suspect him?”
I scratched my chin. “Honestly, besides the Crimsonales, I don’t know.”