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Veyka straightened at her name, her eyes narrowing. There was the fire, the rage I’d seen in the throne room and after when she’d eviscerated Gwen and I over the loss of the white hart.

She did care about something—just not her citizens or her kingdom.

“If that is Her Majesty’s wish.”

All eyes swung to Esa, mine included.

Thedonna, however, looked to the silent queen.

Such bold words. Such a blatant attempt to cling to power.

She’d taken a gamble and misplaced it.

Veyka Pendragon did not care about her court or her kingdom, why would she care about putting herself between her power-hungrydonnaand myself?

She did not disappoint.

How could she? When she’d already shattered all of my expectations like that bottle of wine.

“As the Brutal Prince wishes,” Veyka said quietly.

A beat of silence. Then the fox-eyed councilor, Noros, wisely launched into some other topic. But Veyka…

Her eyes were pinned to me.

Slowly, I let the beast a little closer to the surface. Carefully, because I could not let him have control here. But I could let him show a little, let his menace shine out through my eyes, the color of death.

I might never have the cool, calm composure of the elementals. But I was a terrestrial fae, the most powerful in millennia. The beast that lived inside of me was something to be feared. Apparently, Esa needed reminding of that. Maybe Veyka did as well.

I pushed back from my seat, saying nothing.

Let them watch me, warily, like the rabid beast I was.

I rolled my shoulders and worked my jaw, so that my prominent canines were visible. Whatever shared lineage we elementals and terrestrials shared, their more animal features had long been bred out. But as a full-blooded terrestrial, mine remained. The sharp canines once meant for ripping out throats—the size, larger, stronger. The ability to shift.

I left my chair out but swiped up the empty wine goblet—my pretense for approaching Veyka.

She glared at me as I approached, held out my cup.

I would not have been surprised if she chucked the bottle at my face.

“What do you want?” she hissed.

I held up my empty goblet. “I would think that obvious.”

Her hand on the wine bottle did not move. “You said no.”

“I changed my mind.”

“Go to hell.” She turned her eyes back to the council, currently debating the granting of a lordship to someone named Pellinor, and pretended I did not exist.

“I am already there,” I said with complete honesty. Whatever the humans imagined, this had to be the fae version.

Veyka continued to ignore me.

I turned so that my back was to the table of councilors, my eyes fixed on the rolling red hills and valleys beyond the goldstone arches. I spoke so quietly, even the keenest fae ears would not be able to hear me.

“Why did you give up your rule?”