Page 38 of With Wing And Claw

Inga’s expression didn’t soften.

‘All the same,’ Nicanor said, graciously breaking the painful silence, ‘it may be safer for the humans to move slowly. There are plenty of fae around who might take out their anger on you if they disagree with these changes.’

‘Ah.’ Inga scoffed. ‘How very convenient.’

‘I made a bargain to keep this court under control,’ Nicanor sharply retorted, his upper lip curling into an alarming sneer. ‘Convenient or inconvenient, I have no choice but to do my best for us all. If you prefer to spread the news before we have solidified our hold on the island, by all means, go ahead, but—’

‘I think you’ve each made your point,’ Thysandra interrupted, throwing Inga a warning glance. ‘Thank you. We’ll move as fast as we can, and in the meantime, we’ll keep these plans quiet outside this room. Does anyone have any objections to that?’

Nicanor sagged back in his chair, folding his arms. ‘Do you think it might be wise to make a bargain on our collective silence?’

‘I’m not making any bargains,’ Inga snapped.

‘I think we’ll be alright,’ Thysandra said, hoping this wasn’t a mistake, or at least no more than a small, easily fixed mistake. ‘None of us profits from leaking the information. Gadyon, please find a new head for the staff department and then instruct them to get wages for human employees set up. Nicanor, let your commanders know I’ll treat attacks on humans as punishable crimes from now on, and discuss enforcement with them. Is that enough for now, Inga, or is there anything else we need to talk about?’

It seemed for a moment that Allie’s sister would say something, but in the end she merely rose from her chair and snatched her blanket and bottle from the floor, her movements brusque and impatient. ‘If that’s all for today, would one of you be so gallant as to accompany me home?’ She turned, glared at Nicanor, and sharplyadded, ‘Not you.’

A biting smile curled his lips. ‘Don’t worry. I had no intention of volunteering for the task.’

‘I’ll come with you, Inga,’ Gadyon hastily offered, throwing uneasy glances between the other two. ‘Now that the preparations for this meeting are done, I have a few minutes to spare.’

‘That works.’ Her nod at Thysandra was strained, as if it took all she had not to throw a punch instead. ‘Thank you, I suppose. I’ll take that back if you disappoint me, though.’

‘I’ll try not to, then,’ Thysandra said wryly.

The next moment, the two archivists were gone – their footsteps echoing through the quiet archives as they removed themselves, hers brisk and impatient, his irregular and accompanied by the supporting slaps of his wings.

She fully expected Nicanor to say something, or worse, toasksomething. Surely this was the moment to inquire why she was going along with Inga’s demands despite the woman’s outrageous manners. Why she wouldn’t so much as consider the far more popular option of food raids over costly treaties. Why Naxi was still at the court and what in the world she’d been doing with a demon in her rooms all night …

But all her newly minted Lord Protector said, rising from his chair and sauntering to the door with effortless grace, was, ‘Let’s have a word about the Labyrinth.’

Chapter 10

The Crimson Court wasdrenched in fear.

It was a sensation not unlike the warmest summer days on Mirova, when the air had been so heavy with humidity that drawing in a breath felt like drowning … except that the weight existed only to Naxi’s demon senses here, and except, of course, that it would be blasphemy to compare Mirova in any way to this hell of a place.

She loathingly bounced down the stairs, glaring at every wall and window she encountered: stupid violent frescos, stupid pompous marble, stupid flashy gold. There was not an inch of this castle thatwasn’tstained with that hallmark fae pomposity. Hoarding treasures here, building this grand and glittering façade for the rotten core of the empire, while the world was left to starve around it – a game the Mother had played better than anyone else, but it surely hadn’t ended with her.

It wasn’t the disregard for life that bothered Naxi. She wasn’t much bothered with anyone else’s life herself, after all.

Rather, it was the arrogance of believing onlyfaehad the right to kill without consequences. The way they’d left thousandsdead in their wake, yet razed Mirova and murdered everyone on it after some islands took up arms against them and returned the favour.

It wasn’t unwelcome to her, the fear permeating every insufferable nook and cranny of this place.

But Thysandra wanted it sorted out, and she wanted Thysandra – so down the quiet corridors she dashed, scanning her surroundings for those telltale flickers of emotion that indicated fae were nearby. Unsurprisingly, the few of them she found were all moving rapidly away from her. The only exception was a presence in one of the bedrooms she passed, who was exuding more pain than fear; a moment of focus told her someone had cut out the poor sod’s tongue and broken their legs, then presumably left them to die in their bed.

Just another night of fun and games at the Crimson Court. Naxi shrugged to herself, skipping past.

No one else came near on her way down. No fae warriors stood guard at the ruined entrance of what had been the Mother’s bone hall. Either the magic had lured them into the caves, or they’d fled; whatever fate had befallen them, their absence was rather convenient.

The hall beyond still looked much like it had done the day before. Naxi tiptoed to the edge of the crater in the marble floor and peeked into the depths below – the glorious, deadly hollow Emelin had uncovered with a few offhand blasts of red.

The heart of the Labyrinth was as large as the hall itself, a gaping cavern shaped by rocks darker than ink. It might have looked bleak and ominous if not for the hundreds,thousands, of glowing gemstones embedded in those same rocks. Sparkling in all the colours of the rainbow and then some, they lit up the space like stars in a midnight sky.

It’s very friendly as long as you’re nice to it, Emelin had said.

So Naxi crouched down on that marble edge, smiled her sunniest smile at the flickering gems below, and cooed, ‘Hello, sweetheart.’