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I raised an eyebrow. He was being far too complimentary, and many years experience had taught me that when advisors were too kind it meant bad news was coming swiftly.

“Who’s the other third who doesn’t support me?” I asked.

“Ah.” Draven laid out a list on the nearby desk and gestured for me to look.

I read through it quickly. None of the names were the slightest bit familiar. “These are all challengers?”

“Not exactly,” Draven said. “These are influential citizens who do not wish to challenge for the crown, and are instead voicing their lack of support publicly. They think you are too seelie to lead the Unseelie.”

“Why?” I snapped.

He gestured at me vaguely.

“Your…appearance doesn’t help. We are a kingdom of monsters in search of other monsters to lead us.”

I grimaced. If only he knew how well that described me. But apparently that didn’t matter because I looked like high Fae. Ironically, in the other court, I was too Unseelie. There didn’t seem to be any way to win such an argument.

“I can’t say I knew my father well.”Or at all. “But it would be hard to deny we looked similar.”

“True,” Draven agreed. “But Gancanagh spent the majority of his time in his beast form.”

I grunted in some vague agreement. I could do that. The only problem was I couldn’t speak in that form as my father had been able to. But perhaps with practice?

“If you want my advice…” Draven hedged.

“That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Well, I suggest that you choose a name from this list and make an example of them. Call them here to fight, or go to them. It makes no difference. All that matters is that the duel is seen.”

I raised my eyebrow. That wasn’t a bad idea. I leaned over the list again. “Who?”

He pointed at a name at the very bottom of the list. “I would suggest you start here.”

I frowned. I had no way of knowing if that was a good suggestion or not.

On a whim I would undoubtably regret later, I turned to the bird on my shoulder. “What do you think?”

Quill tittered, and it sounded like.“I thought you’d never ask. You must be less stupid than you look.”

The bird hopped off my shoulder at last. I quickly reached up to massage the tender flesh as I watched the bird reading the list—No, it waslookingat the list; birds couldn’t read.

As if it could hear my thoughts, Quill looked up at me before pecking his beak into the center of one of the names.

I picked up the list, peering at a tiny hole in the center of the name “Apophis.”No last name.

“Right,” I said briskly. “I’ll go meet with that one, then. Where do I find him—or is it a she?”

Draven’s eyes widened and he trembled slightly. “Lord, I’m not sure?—”

“Where do I find them?” I asked again, every word over-pronounced.

“In the mountains, lord. Apophis is a dragon.”

32

LONNIE

THE CAVE, NEVERMORE