Page 54 of With Wing And Claw

Knowing how she had ruled her court, it seemed thoroughly unlikely that she hadn’t.

Thysandra dropped the cursed sheet of parchment onto the low table, sagged in her chair, and closed her eyes. The room was far too quiet around her – a disconcerting thought, and yet there was no denying that she could really,reallyhave used Naxi’s ever-cheerful commentary on the situation right now. Not enough toneedit, of course. She was not going to need anyone, cheerful commentary or no. But it would have helped to have someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn’t accuse her or glower at her, someone who—

A knock echoed through the room.

She shot to her feet.

Had Naxi returned from the Labyrinth already? That would be early but not impossible – a thought accompanied by another disconcerting skip of her heart. Just as likely, though, it would be another aspirant murderer. No need to throw her doors wide open just yet.

She cleared her throat. ‘Hello?’

‘Oh good, you’re here,’ an unexpected voice said on the other side of the door – so unexpected that for a moment, she couldn’t for the life of her remember who it belonged to. Male. Northern accent. Calm, wryly amused tone. Then, just as it dawned on her, he added, ‘It’s your favourite alf here to deliver a message. Purely peaceful intentions.’

Tared fucking Thorgedson.

She hastily flipped the list of human casualties upside down, just in case those bloody alf eyes could read it from a distance, and strode to the door. It was unlikely he was here to conspire with fae assassins, wasn’t it? And there were no unusual sounds to be heard from the corridor, either, which was somewhat reassuring; if an entire horde of alves had stormed into the castle, it was unlikely the place would still be so peacefully quiet.

Indeed, he turned out to be alone as she cautiously opened the door – tall, blond, sword on his back as always. His only greeting was a mirthlesshalf-smile – an expression that said,I haven’t forgotten, I haven’t forgiven, but don’t worry, I’ll be civil for the sake of diplomacy this time.

She returned an equally forced twist of her lips. ‘Morning.’

‘Same to you.’ He pointed a thumb at the stairwell, one eyebrow crooked up a fraction. ‘And just out of curiosity, are you aware there’s a corpse lying practically on your doorstep?’

Good gods.

‘Oh.’ She shrugged, resisting the temptation to step out and take a look. She’d be damned if she allowed any alves to sneak into her sanctuary; as soon as Tared set foot inside for the first time, he would be able to fade back whenever he wanted. ‘I suppose they tried to stop Naxi on her way down to the Labyrinth.’

‘Ah,’ he said, his smile still wry but looking significantly more genuine now. ‘Glad to hear she’s feeling right at home already. I don’t suppose you’ll be inviting me in for cake and a cup of tea on this lovely morning?’

‘You guessed correctly,’ she said tartly, realising in the same moment that there was one small problem with that resolution. ‘I do actually have a few letters you might be able to deliver on my behalf, though, seeing as you’re here anyway. So if you could—’

‘Go get them,’ he interrupted, resting his weight against the outside of the doorframe and sticking his hands into his pockets like a male prepared to wait for a week. ‘I’m not moving.’

That seemed ridiculously charitable of him, but no matter how many times she glanced over her shoulder on her way to her desk, he appeared to be keeping his word. Perhaps he knew she might well get violent if he made the mistake of crossing that threshold. No one was ruining her last safe refuge at court, peace and Emelin’s threats be damned.

The letters to the other magical rulers lay on the edge of the desk, where she could easily grab them – a small mercy. And as little as she liked to admit it, the alf’s presencewasa convenient surprise. She’d written the messages two days ago and spent the time since figuring out how she was going to send them without any risk of their contents leaking – a series of humble apologies followed by a cautiousinvitation to discuss the possibility of treaties. Even Nicanor hadn’t been informed about the plan. There was little use in letting him know at this stage; they could discuss the opinions of the court once they knew whether other magical rulers would even be willing to talk.

Only Naxi had inevitably been around to see her agonise over every turn of phrase, offering unhelpful suggestions that had somehow made the process easier all the same.

‘Here you go,’ she told Tared as she returned, holding out the five sealed sheets of parchment. ‘Let me know if there’s anyone among them you won’t be able to reach.’

He pursed his lips, browsing through the missives. ‘The White City won’t be a problem. Nymph isles are fine, too. I’ll leave it to friends to visit the phoenixes and vampires, but we should be able to arrange that pretty swiftly, and …’ He paused on the last letter, which she had addressed toWhoever is in charge of the alves these days. His grimace was almost apologetic. ‘I’ll be keeping this one for myself, I suppose.’

It was twistedly gratifying to know she was not the only one unhappy with the title bestowed upon them. ‘So why is the apparent leader of the alf isles playing messenger boy today, if I may ask?’

‘Matter of efficiency,’ he said with a shrug, pulling another letter from his pocket. ‘I was visiting Agenor to talk about some other important but supremely tiresome matters. He asked if I could pass this on to you.’

Her heart stood still.

Agenor.

At once, the food treaties faded to the back of her mind. Even the damning list of human deaths on her table no longer seemed nearly so urgent anymore, a problem that could perfectly well wait until tomorrow; all that mattered for a shamefully eager moment was the folded parchment in that alf hand, coming with … Oh,pleaselet it come with information …

She all but snatched it from Tared’s fingers.

His chuckle barely made it through to her conscious mind, as did the words that followed. ‘An anticipated message, I understand?’

‘Yes, please,’ she mumbled vaguely. No, wait. Was that a coherent answer? ‘I mean, thank you for delivering it, and um, let me know if—’