Page 126 of With Wing And Claw

‘There are always dissenting parties,’ she said – a laughable platitude for Symeon’s knife diving at her, for a clamouring mob bringing her inches from death. Her voice did not waver as she added, ‘For now, they are under control.’

Lies.

Filthy lies.

Then again … why should she care? They weren’t her allies. She didn’t owe them her honesty any more than they owed her theirs.

‘And you would agree that any treaties between your court and our people become voided as soon as any member of your court attacks us again?’ Helenka said, and Thysandra could have sworn those shimmering gemstone eyes were taking note of every twitch of doubt to show on her own treacherous face.

Would she agree?

Shecouldn’tguarantee a single thing – that was the ugly truth of it. She didn’t even know where Bereas was hiding, for hell’s sake! He might just have set up camp half an hour away from the nearest nymph isle, ready to raid it for food as soon as he felt like it. But telling them that much, admitting she was hanging on to her crown by the tips of her fingers …

They would laugh in her face.

And she needed their pledges to save her own sorry life. She needed something,anything, to prove to the more peace-minded members of her court that she was the one who could give them what they so desperately wanted.

‘Yes.’ The voice coming from her mouth was Old Thysandra’s voice, somehow – that voice that had assured the Mother time and time again that she was happy, really perfectly happy, to serve the Crimson Court with every shred of her body and soul. A voice she hadn’t realised shehated– but gods help her, what else could she do? ‘That would be a reasonable condition, I’d say.’

It was. That was the worst of it.

Did that meanshewas the unreasonable one between the six of them?

But it was only a betrayal if she failed to keep the peace … and she could still very well succeed. She’d have to keep the Alliance’s condition a secret, of course. Telling the court that a single attack would ruin the whole agreement was almost an invitation for a few rebel fae to go ahead and do just that. But if she kept it quiet, if she simply didn’t tell anyone outside this hall …

‘Alright,’ a male voice broke through her frenzied thoughts, and it took her a moment to realise that it wasn’t Tared’s. Delwin had opened his mouth for the first time, healthy leg and wooden leg crossed before him, an expression of wary resolve on his tanned face. ‘If that’s where we stand, let’s talk numbers.’

It took a moment for that to land.

Even the other four representatives seemed caught by surprise for a moment of stunned silence.

‘Already?’ Nenkhet said sharply, scarred face contorted in a frown. ‘Isn’t that a little quick to—’

‘Finite lifespans,’ the consul of the White City interrupted with a laconic shrug. ‘You can go on bickering for two more decades if you like, but I might be dead by the time you’re done. Also, I have an island to repair.’

Thank every dead and living god in the world. Never in her life had Thysandra thought she’d be so grateful for anyone’s mortality.

‘I’m willing to talk numbers,’ she said and prayed the tone of her voice did not betray the truth – that she was notwillingbut painfully, shamefully desperate. ‘Are there any proposals you’d like to make?’

‘I can only speak on behalf of the White City and the dozen or so human isles I’ve visited so far,’ Delwin said, a mild meticulousness to his words. ‘That said, I’m willing to suggest these same arrangements to the others. We are willing to sell you a quarter of the grain and other crops that were taken as tributes by the empire – you’re only a third of the full empire, and I’m sure you can do with a little less feasting.’

Her lips twitched up despite her best attempts to keep them down. ‘We can, thank you.’

‘Current market prices in the north of the archipelago are about ten coppers for a bushel of wheat, I’ve been informed.’ Hissmall grimace suggested this had been the first time in his life he’d been forced to dive into the minutiae of grain prices. ‘We can stick to that, as far as I’m concerned. The only additional price I’d ask is at least one year of help restoring the city and other isles that were damaged over the course of the war.’

And that was all?

Gold and copper coins might be a valuable commodity for the human market, but not for the fae isles, where every metal could be forged with a single blast of yellow magic and the economy ran on favours and bargains. He had to know she could afford an endless supply of his money. And city repairs … blue magic, nothing else. Finding a dozen mages willing to take that upon themselves, in exchange for appropriate rewards, should be a relatively painless affair.

Which meant …

They had their deal?

Golden sunlight was pouring in through the stained-glass windows, the court was waking up around her, and she had what she needed to survive the day. The others might follow. They might not, and it would still be fine. The human isles had always been the court’s primary source of food; this would tide them over until spring, at the very least.

‘We can do that,’ she heard herself say, relief pounding in her ears. ‘We can absolutely do that. If there are no further caveats, I believe we’re—’

The hall abruptly darkened.