Page 28 of The Shadowed Throne (Midlife Fairy Tale #4)
A nyka sat tall in her chair, her back straight, her head up, and addressed the men before her. “In the simplest of terms, Sparrow must be assassinated.”
Shock filled the eyes of Ishmyel and Grylan.
“Yes.” Hawke nodded, but his enthusiasm was no surprise. He had already attempted to kill the Radiant queen once before.
Wyett, seated near her, said nothing and kept his expression even. Perhaps he’d expected as much from her.
Hawke rubbed his hands together. “What would you have me do? And how soon?”
“I don’t want you to do anything. What I want is to use Nazyr to get close to her, to lure her away from her castle so she can be ambushed somewhere.
But he is apparently too busy hunting wild mushrooms and delicate herbs to be here right now.
” She rolled her eyes, making no mystery of her displeasure with him.
“How do you imagine Nazyr will get close to the Radiant queen?” Ishmyel asked.
She stared at him like the idiot he was. “He is the father of her child, the crown prince. Do you really think if he reached out to her, she would ignore him? With the right story, she could be persuaded to give him an audience.”
Grylan cleared his throat softly. “Your highness, while this is an ingenious plan, do you really think assassinating the queen of Summerton is the right thing to do?”
“She would kill me without a moment’s hesitation if given the opportunity.”
Ishmyel frowned. “I doubt that. She’s shown no inclination toward that end. She’s talked of nothing but peace.”
“What she’s talked about and what she really wants are not the same things.
You’re all idiots if you think otherwise.
She stole Lady Cynzia’s grimoire from me.
How was that not an act of war? She clearly wants as much power and glory as she can get for herself.
I am telling you, she wants Malveaux.” The darkness nodded and dug its claws into her further.
Anyka stood up and stabbed her finger at them. “I will not let that happen.”
She stalked away, so angry she thought she might snap.
“Regardless of what anyone thinks,” Wyett said quietly, “Queen Anyka is our sovereign, and we are obliged to obey her. Personally, I need no obligation. I side with Malveaux, always, and as a result, I support the queen in whatever she chooses to do.”
Anyka exhaled in relief. She had been right to elevate him. She returned to stand behind her chair.
“Yes, of course,” Grylan hastily added. “Forgive me if I worry about the repercussions of such actions. I want our queen to be safe and blameless. Not caught up in something that might blow back on her.”
Anyka pursed her lips, aware that while Grylan was making a reasonable point, he was also attempting to save face.
“It could be designed with the intention that I remained blameless. I must be removed from any suspicion. Perhaps we could make it appear as though her new Wyvern friends were behind the ambush?” It was a stroke of inspiration, given to her by the darkness.
“Yes, that is exactly what we should do.”
“Let’s say you accomplish that.” Ishmyel’s eyes narrowed.
“Pray tell, how will murdering the Radiant queen put you in power of Summerton? How will you stop her son, who will then be king, from declaring war on Malveaux? Because even if you make it appear as though the Wyvern have done it, the truth will come out. It always does.” He leaned forward, shaking his head.
“These are questions that need answers before we move forward.”
She was momentarily speechless and not just because her uncle had decided to question her so boldly. She took her seat again. “Obviously, I must also take possession of Merediem. If I have the sword, the Radiant throne is rightfully mine.”
“And how will you do that? It’s a well-known fact that the royal sword is charmed so that only the one it sees fit can hold it.” He gestured into the air. “That’s how Sparrow became queen in the first place.”
“He’s right,” Grylan said. “That is something that needs solving before we can take this further.”
She glared at him. “You are the Vice-Minister of Magic. Figure it out. Create a counterspell. Or a way to replace the original spell so that it will accept me. Or give me a spell that makes the sword think I am Sparrow. Something to that effect. Then I will send a contingent of royal guards into Castle Clarion with that spell, and they will bring the sword back to me. Do I have to solve every problem on my own? Why do you think I summoned you all here?”
She growled softly, frustrated to no end. Once again, she had to do all the thinking. The darkness snarled in agreement. Was it any wonder the crown weighed so heavily?
Grylan swallowed. “I would either need the sword or something of Queen Sparrow’s to even begin working on such a spell. Since the sword is obviously impossible, do you have anything of hers?”
“Of course I don’t have anything of hers. What a stupid question.”
“Your highness,” Wyett said. “You have a letter from her.”
He was right. She did. Two letters, actually. She looked at Grylan. “Would that be enough?”
“I don’t know, but I can certainly try.” Grylan’s sudden hopefulness felt false.
“Go then,” she said, waving him off. “I’ll have the letter delivered to you shortly. By dinner, I want a report of what you’ve accomplished.”
“Yes, my lady.” With a nod, Grylan got up and made his departure.
She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
Ishmyel shifted in his seat. “My darling niece. Is there no other way to resolve things between us and Summerton? You are clearly feeling the weight of this conflict, and it burdens me to see you so.”
She looked at her uncle. There was something in his gaze, something like pity.
Or the burgeoning belief that his niece had gone mad.
The old fool. “What other way is there to resolve this? She means to do away with me. Are you all right with that? Because I am not . My only option is to do away with her first.” Her throat tightened at the idea that even now, Sparrow might be working on a plan to kill her.
Darkness edged Anyka’s vision. She blinked it away but just barely.
“I don’t doubt what you believe, but what proof of this do you have? I have seen nothing that’s led me to believe she means you ill.” Ishmyel shrugged. Shrugged . “All she’s spoken of is peace.”
Anyka’s hands clenched. The urge to strike him again was strong. Do it , the darkness whispered. How was he so blind? “How many times must I remind you that she stole Lady Cynzia’s grimoire from me? Was that thievery an act of peace?”
He exhaled as if frustrated but kept his voice calm. “No, it was not, and I am not defending the woman’s actions, but I believe she did it because she knew you were going to use the grimoire to do precisely what you want to do now. Overthrow her and take the Radiant throne.”
“For my own safety. And that of yours and Beatryce’s and everyone else in this kingdom. Although perhaps I should worry less about you.”
The muscles at the corner of his eye twitched.
“All I’m saying is could we not try reaching out to her?
To arrange some kind of … well, if not peace, then something like that?
An understanding that might allow us both to live as we wish, unbothered by the other?
She has the Wyvern on her side, after all. ”
“And we have the trolls. We are well-enough matched. It would be better if we also gain the neph.”
“Which is an unknown at this point. We can only wait for their response to your letter.”
Wyett steepled his fingers. His brows lifted. “A request for a meeting with Queen Sparrow, especially one to discuss peace, would be an easy way to get the Radiant queen out of her castle.”
Anyka realized what he was saying. She smiled. “Yes, it would be. And if that meeting were held somewhere that required some travel, there’s no telling what might happen along the way. Or there. I won’t be bothered by specifics.”
Wyett nodded. “It would have to be somewhere neutral. I don’t think she’d agree to meet here.”
“No,” Anyka said. “She isn’t the brightest, but I doubt she’d fall for that. I certainly wouldn’t meet at Castle Clarion. Where, then?”
“I don’t know, but there must be a place. I’ll research it and?—”
Pounding at the door startled them all.
Wyett jumped to his feet. “I’ll see to it.”
He came back from the door with a sealed letter. “Two things. None of the guards I sent out have found Nazyr yet.”
“And the second?”
He held up the letter. “Looks like the neph have responded, my lady.”
“Open it up and read it. What does it say?”
He did as she asked, then looked at her again. “They want to meet.”