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Not only would the financial blow from their lost taxes take years to recover from, but their location made it critical that they hold our border. On the opposite side of the island from our continent, another powerful Fae kingdom, Ellender, occupied its own continent. We maintained a friendly relationship with Ellender, and their four high courts, but word had reached us that they were experiencing their own internal power struggles. We had no desire to get involved.

Nevermore’s mere presence as a buffer made it unlikely that we would have to intervene.

Clearly, Ambrose understood the complicated situation on this island just as well as I did, because he was being very diplomatic while talking to Bran. I strained my ears to hear them over the chatter of the hall.

“We’d be happy to compensate you for the jewel,” he was saying, his entire body turned toward Bran. “Or perhaps replace it with another treasure.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of red and turned to look.

“Oh, fuck,” I muttered under my breath.

“What?” Lonnie asked, turning around in her chair to see what I was looking at. I felt her stiffen and knew she’d seen exactly “what” I was looking at.

Cassinda was back, this time wearing a crimson gown with a plunging neckline and a jewel encrusted bodice. It was both too formal and too modern for Nevermore, making it clear she was aiming to make a statement.

She glided over and took the empty seat beside Ambrose at the head of the table. Seemingly without realizing she was doing it, Lonnie dug her nails into my arm. Her fingers were too hot—too hot—like burning coals.

“Easy, rebel,” I said under my breath. The danger of anyone overhearing was far overshadowed by the danger of her lighting the hall on fire. “She could be naked and he wouldn’t give a fuck.”

She shook her head, and looked up at me, guilt and confusion in her eyes.

A spark of anger shot through me, but it had nothing to do with Lonnie being jealous over Ambrose.

This was getting fucking ridiculous. He knew they were mates—I knew they were mates—yet she had no idea. She couldn’t understand what was happening, and was tormenting herself thinking she’d betrayed Bael and I. I couldn’t keep watching this. If he didn’t tell her tonight, I would.

“What are we discussing so seriously?” Cassinda asked loudly in the old tongue. “I thought this was meant to be a party.”

Bran stood up from his seat, addressing the entire room. “My daughter makes a good point. I apologize for my inattention, but you see, Prince Ambrose has just asked me for a most enticing favor.”

The table broke out in whispers. Cassinda—the fucking idiot—actually had the nerve to look hopefully at Ambrose. It was like she believed he’d returned to ask to marry her all over again.

An uneasy feeling washed over me.

Despite all we’d said upstairs, I thought my brother was wrong about his former betrothed. He clearly hated her, but the feeling didn’t seem to be mutual.

“The prince has requested that I lend him the jewel of Nevermore,” Bran announced.

The murmuring increased ten fold.

“Why?” someone shouted from the opposite side of the table.

Ambrose looked annoyed, but plastered on a smile before answering the question. “I don’t require it for anything onerous, I assure you. I will only need the jewel for a few weeks, before I promise it will be returned to its rightful place.”

The jewel would be returned to its rightful place in the crown before long. If Bran's court believed Ambrose meant to return it here, then that was really their blunder for not listening more carefully.

I was almost impressed.

Ambrose was good at this if he wanted to be, though all the tattoos and ridiculous earrings did make it hard to think he was merely a prince. He hadn’t had those when he left the capital.

“We couldn’t possibly part with the diamond,” Cassinda said loudly. “Especially after we were so recently snubbed by the capital.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What are you referring to?”

She looked down the table at me and smiled widely. When she spoke, it was in common tongue. “Only a few months ago our people were raving with excitement over the upcoming hunts, but then you canceled them so abruptly. We never got a chance to see our new queen defend the crown on our soil. The people were robbed of their chance to see her at all. One might even say that as she didn’t complete the hunts, she is not the true queen, and we owe her no loyalty.”

“Are you saying that?” Ambrose asked, his tone dangerous.

“I’m simply pointing out that one could make that argument, and how unfairly we’ve been treated by the continent. It makes one ask if we should reconsider if we are valued as a province, or if we may be better off on our own.”