Page 3 of The Shadowed Throne (Midlife Fairy Tale #4)
Q ueen Sparrow Meadowcroft looked up as Gabriel Nightborne, her personal security guard and First Professor of Palace Security, entered her office. A guard pulled the door shut behind him.
“Pardon me, your highness, but a delegation of trolls has arrived in Dearth.”
Gabriel was also a man she trusted implicitly and cared for very deeply. She set her pen down on her desk. “You’re back, I see. And that troll business can’t be good news. How was the property?”
He’d been at Starfall all day, the estate she’d given him in order to grant him the title of Lord.
He was dressed in his usual leathers, daggers strapped to his person in abundance.
Although he seemed to be wearing a few extra these days.
He smiled. “Nothing short of amazing, Ro. I cannot thank you enough.”
She smiled back at him, truly happy he was pleased. “Good. I’m glad. I can’t wait to see it.”
“I can’t wait to show it to you. But first, these trolls.”
She nodded. She wanted to share her dream with him, but it could wait. “Tell me about them.”
“Malveaux has had a treaty with the mountain trolls for ages. It might be nothing more than a standard visit, but I doubt that, considering the timing.”
She sighed. “Agreed. Just like the Wyvern arriving here.” Although the Wyvern had come to help Ro achieve something momentous: The lifting of the curse on Malveaux that had kept the sun from shining on it.
“Except the Wyvern were here for good reason. The trolls are probably going to help her fight this war.”
“An accurate assessment.”
“Any word on how the citizens of Malveaux are reacting to the curse being lifted?”
A slight smile bent his mouth. “All the information I’ve gotten indicates it’s been very favorable.”
“Good. Any reaction from Anyka?”
“No, but I expect that to be forthcoming. It’s only been a day. She’ll have to say something about it sooner or later. If I had to guess, she’ll find a way to take credit for it. Or use it to paint you in a bad light.”
“Or both. Sit with me.” Ro got to her feet and walked out from behind the desk to the sitting area. She took a spot on the couch. “What’s our next move? I hate feeling like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
Gabriel sat beside her. “Do you want to be the aggressor?”
“No. But I don’t want to appear weak, either. Anyka will strike. Don’t you think?”
“Most likely. But I doubt she’ll start anything with the troll delegation there.”
“So we have some time?”
“I’d think so, but you should bring Professor Denwood in on this. He is in charge of defense.”
She nodded. “Agreed. I’ll talk to him after the meeting tomorrow morning, once the treaty is signed.”
“How long are the Wyvern staying?”
“I don’t know. They’re welcome here as long as they want, which I’ve already told King Ehlzar, but I imagine some of them would like to go home.
” The king and queen of Hythe had come with nearly a hundred of their citizens to enact Ro’s plan to lift the curse from Malveaux.
She shrugged. “Traveling is fun, but nothing beats home.”
“True.”
He looked like he wanted to say something else.
“What is it? You know you can tell me anything.”
He leaned closer, his fingers grazing her cheek, before he dropped his hand to the cushion. “War is a terrible thing. But I don’t think it’s what Anyka wants. Not truly.”
“No, what she wants is to take over the throne of Summerton in the easiest way possible.”
Gabriel’s eyes filled with a dark light. “That’s exactly what I believe, too. And my concern. There’s no telling what she’ll do to the woman who stands in her way.”
A chill went through Ro. “You think I’m still in danger? Here, in Summerton? With you at my side and royal guards all around me?”
“Underestimating Anyka is a mistake.”
She gave a quick nod. “I know.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “I don’t want to frighten you, but I worry that she’ll make some kind of attempt…” He exhaled as if finishing the sentence might bring his words to fruition.
Ro swallowed. “What do you want me to do?”
“Take no chances. Trust your instincts. Forget about being brave.” He attempted a smile, maybe to reassure her. “If something feels wrong, if your gut is giving you a warning, tell me.”
“I promise I will.” She took his hand. “But you do the same for me. If you think something’s off, that I could be in danger, tell me. Don’t just hustle me off to somewhere safe. Bring me into the discussion. You know I can handle it.”
“I do know that. You’re strong. More so than I expected you to be in the beginning.”
“Thanks.”
He stared at her hand wrapping his. “If you wanted me to, I could … take care of things.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Take care of what things?”
He raised his gaze to meet hers. “Anyka. You know what I’m capable of. It would take a few days for me to get to Dearth, then to access the castle and find her, but?—”
“ No .” She understood what he meant. He was unsycht , a fae born with the incredible ability to disappear and go completely unnoticed. A gift that was a death sentence in Malveaux. He was offering to remove Anyka from the picture before Anyka had the chance to do the same to Ro.
She dropped his hand to cup his face. “Gabriel, I know you could, but that would be putting yourself in grave danger. If you were caught, you’d be executed.
I know that without a doubt. And killing Anyka in that way, while it would certainly solve this problem, is not something I want a part of. Not while there might be another way.”
“You really believe that? I thought you beyond hoping for peace.”
“There might be peace yet. Through power and strength and diplomacy. What can I say? I’m not a quitter.” She gave him a quick smile. She wasn’t sure she believed all that, but she wanted to. She wanted peace more than anything. For both kingdoms.
Anyka didn’t. Ro knew that. But it might be possible to make the woman back down with the right show of force. “Tell me more about the trolls. What do I need to know? How much of a threat are they? How strong is their alliance with Malveaux?”
“The alliance is very strong. It goes back for centuries. Back before Anyka’s parents ruled, back to nearly the start of that line.
A long time. The trolls are bigger and stronger than the fae.
They have some powerful magic, but it’s different from what we possess.
Much more tied to the elements of their homeland.
Additional magic is a big part of what they get from the alliance.
Spells of protection and defense. There are Grym who live amongst the trolls to work magic for them.
Just like the trolls have shared their warhorses with the Grym and there are some trolls in the royal guard. Anyka’s personal guard is one.”
“But we have warhorses, too.”
He nodded. “All descended from the troll lines.”
“I see. So troll soldiers would be bad for us.”
“Yes, very.”
“But we have the Wyvern on our side now. They might not be as big and strong as the trolls, but they can fly and breathe fire. That’s pretty impressive.”
Gabriel nodded. “It is, but how many of them will actually become part of our guard?”
“Good question. Another one I need to talk to King Ehlzar about.” She went quiet for a moment, thinking about the dream she’d had. It was time to tell him. “I had a dream that felt prophetic.”
He sat back. “Tell me.”
She gave him every detail she could remember.
He stared at her. “What was the name of the book again?”
“ The Red Tome of Caer Wyld. But it was originally written in a language I didn’t understand.”
“And you checked the palace library to see if it really exists?”
“You mean Willow Hall?”
“No, I mean the Castle Clarion library on the fourth floor.”
Her mouth came open. “No. In all this time, I’ve never been in the castle library. What kind of queen am I?”
“A busy one. And you’ve only just been coronated, so it hasn’t been that much time. Especially when you consider that not long after that, we went to Willow Hall. And then the Wyvern arrived.”
She laughed. “When you put it that way, I don’t feel so bad.”
“Come on, let’s go have a look. If you’re not doing anything else.”
She got to her feet. “Nothing that can’t wait. Let’s go see.”
She turned toward the door, but he grabbed her hand, smiling. “I missed you.”
She grinned. “You were only gone a day.”
His brows arched. “Then you didn’t miss me?”
She pulled him close. “Lord Nightborne, I missed you terribly.”
He kissed her, long and slow.
When he broke away, she sighed. “Maybe you should go away more often.” Then she shook her head. “Forget I said that. I like you here with me.”
“I like that, too. But someday, we will visit Starfall together. You’re going to love it.”
“I look forward to it.”
“Library, then?”
“Yes, please.” She doubted the book would be there, but stranger things had happened.
“As you wish, my lady.” He offered her his arm, and they headed out of her office. She paused to lock the door with one of the keys on her belt, and he asked, “Have you eaten?”
“No. I wanted to go over that treaty one more time.”
He paused. “Perhaps I should leave you to it.”
“I was on my third reading. It’s fine.”
“Then after the library, would you eat with me? I’m starved, and I’m sure the kitchen can fix us something.”
“Absolutely. My quarters. We’ll let the kitchen know before we head up.” She took his arm.
Off to the library they went.