Page 9 of Made

With a shake of her head, which Vidar was coming to understand was a habit, she said, “More like rivals. Of course, all the queens are friendly with Maeve if she speaks. I’d say she enjoys being looked up to, but doesn’t care if she’s actually liked. The only one of us who might be called her friend would be Enya. In some ways, that makes sense. They’re neighbors and, though Enya’s territory can’t compare to Maeve’s in terms of space or wealth, she’s powerful because she’s backed by her wild band of brothers. None but the gods would challenge them.”

She noticed Vidar’s smirk at that last thought and imagined he was pleased that she and other fae knew their place.

“I’m not an authority on fae business, but my understanding is that the territories were established at about the same time?”

“That’s right. They were. Our families then went to war to establish who would rule. Of course, there was no question that the head of each family would be female as laid out by the Bradesmeorn Spiritual Pact. When the wars came to an end, which usually meant the families who cared less about power surrendered, the oldest daughter of each victorious family becamequeen. The bestowment of royalty somehow increased our magical ability tenfold. Or more. If I’m remembering correctly, that was an unexpected but glorious surprise. Thinking we would keep our former enemies close, we all chose to give the embattled noble status.”

“A wise strategy in some ways. But I can imagine it also requires a lot of oversight.”

With a huff, she raised her glass to her lips, but spoke before she drank. “Well. What doesn’t?”

“An excellent point. And since then, none of the queens has abdicated?”

Ilmr laughed and tossed her head like a young girl. “Out of the question.”

“Yes. I see that. When did it become apparent that some queens had more status than others?”

Ilmr tossed her napkin on the table, poured herself another half glass of wine, and rose to pace. Thinking back so far was hard work.

“At first, I think we considered each other equals. But gradually, over time, Maeve emerged as regnant.”

“If you could also remember why, it would be helpful.”

“In the beginning, our territories were established by boundaries. We had space, but not much else.”

“By space, you mean land.”

“Yes. Land and water. It was up to the queens to bring forth everything that’s made fae rulers among magic kind.” The queen drank like it was dinnerinstead of lunch, then poured herself some more. She tilted the bottle toward Vidar in invitation, but he declined. Looking at her wine glass, she said, “Vineyards. Buildings. Towns. Orchards. Farms.” She stopped to wave her hand in the air. “Palaces. Wealth and luxurious living. As issues arose, we, the queens and our advisors, recognized that we needed rules governing trade. Imports and exports. So, we eventually agreed on shared currency, ownership of property. Things like that.”

“Reasonable.”

“Yes. And eventually, the Powers stepped in with a solution for adjudicating behavior that discourages the destruction of what we’ve built.”

“The magistrate’s court.”

She nodded and rose to claim another bottle of wine from the lunch table.

“That seems to have worked out,” Vidar said as she again offered to refill his crystal stem.

“No one can argue that it’s been the best solution so far. Did you know the magistrate is the mother of Maeve’s daughter-in-law?”

“I didnotknow that.” Ilmr nodded. Vidar changed the subject. “Do you still have advisors you trust?”

It was her turn to smirk. She waved a full glass in the air as if to punctuate her answer. “I have advisors. I feel that I can trust them so long as I can see them and am aware of everything they’re doing publicly and privately. In short, the answer is no. When they’re outof my sight…” She let that thought hang in the air, her meaning clear.

“Hmmm.” It was not a word, but still carried a sense of understanding and acknowledgement. “I hope this is not too personal a question.”

She met his gaze, feeling almost eager to hear this question of a personal nature. Few in her court would dare to be curious about her private thoughts. She lowered then raised her eyelids slowly. “I’ll allow it.”

“Good.” He smiled.

“To a point.”

His smile broadened. “Understood. My question concerns family. I can’t help but notice that you’re the only one of the queens who doesn’t have children.”

He took the fact that her expression didn’t change as a sign that he hadn’t trod into eel-filled waters.

“I didn’t hear a question.” Her smile said she was enjoying the dialogue.