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“I do not agree to marry you,” she said firmly.

“That's family,” he claimed. “That will be how I choose to think of you.”

“No. Moving on.”

He gave her a look that said he was humoring her, and then said, “The attack devastated us. We're down to breeding stock and it would be ruinous to eat them. We need food.”

She tapped a finger on the table. “The village can't supply you. The soil is poor and it's all they can do to feed themselves.” She had a plan to deal with it, but there was only so much time in the day.

“We need to import food. For that to happen, we need caravans to travel safely.”

Redbone frowned in calculation. “It's two days' hard travel, possibly three, to the next supply hub. And yet we are vulnerable here. We need people to protect our clan and livestock,” he said grimly.

“Most of the clan's wealth is in livestock, which was devastated last night. We will have to scrape together trade goods.”

“It must be done,” Uncle Tank said. “The supply run must be done and we must be fortified here.” He looked at Zelda.

“This is where the castle comes in. If you can open up a cavern where the clan can live and temporarily stash their livestock, you will help greatly.” He looked thoughtful.

“You might be able to coax the cavern to sprout mushrooms as well. That would help with the food.”

She thought about it. “Why stop at mushrooms? If I'm doing that, I may be able to route a stream with fish through the cave as well. If nothing else, it will supply fresh water.”

She frowned at them. “Mind you, I've never tried anything like this.”

“If all you do is make a cavern, that would help,” Redbone said frankly.

His attitude changed, became brisk. “Since we’re all friends now, I have another matter to bring to your attention. We captured one of the Beast Queen's men last night. He’s a creature handler, and he had a few useful things to say.”

Zelda straightened. “Do tell!” Anything she could learn about the Beast Queen would be useful.

“Why don't I have him tell you himself?”

The prisoner was brought in. He'd already been roughed up, and his green skin was swollen and cut under his facial tattoos. Despite that, he was still defiant. He met her eyes and launched a glob of bloody spit on the floor.

She grimaced. “Charming.” She appraised the injuries critically. “At least you left him alive.”

Redbone gave her a measuring look. “Did you think he would just spill his guts if I asked nicely?”

The prisoner let loose with a string of curses.

She sank him up to his ankles into the stone floor.

The prisoner shut up and stared at his feet in shock.

“Oh! She prefers psychological torture!” Redbone said, enlightened.

He exchanged a speaking look with Uncle Tank that seemed to say, “Well, she is a woman.”

Zelda ignored them. She smiled encouragingly at the prisoner. “I'm all ears.”

The prisoner was tough. It took sinking him all the way to his chin before she felt she had all the information she wanted. When she was done, she released him to Redbone's custody and they took a lunch break.

Redbone savored the meal. “Your cook is amazing! I haven't had a feast like this in ages. Did you know the Beast Queen can create animals from dust? My people tried to eat them after they attacked our herds, but they cook up like mud and taste like dirt. Anyone who eats them gets sick.”

Zelda wrinkled her nose, imagining being so hungry you'd eat dirt. His people must have been starving.

She looked at Steward, who was tidying his notes from the interrogation. “Would you mind reading me this summary, Steward? The prisoner was somewhat garbled toward the end, and I want to make sure it's clear in my mind.”

“Of course, my lady.” Steward looked over his notes.

“The Beast Queen thinks her talent is awesome and wants to breed a whole nation like her. She has pregnancy after pregnancy, with a different mate each time. She pairs the offspring together. The goal is to have them produce offspring who will then marry their cousins, slowly widening the breeding pool.”

Zelda wrinkled her nose, repulsed. “Does she not understand about inbreeding?”

“Unknown, my lady. Maybe she thinks it's an acceptable risk. Many of her offspring have her talent.”

Lovely, Zelda thought sourly. What a horrible individual! The world would be better off if they took her out.

Steward waited to see if she had any more comments before he went on, “In any case, she wants to take over these lands and needs to wipe out the natives first.”

“She will fail,” Redbone said grimly.

Steward nodded politely. “She has tattoos all over, facial piercings, and has split her tongue and dyed her eyes black. She's not going to leave her mountain because of the pregnancy, so any attempt to stop her will have to be brought to her.”

Zelda's lip curled. “How do you dye your eyes? More importantly, why would any man want to breed with that? She sounds hideous.”

Redbone shrugged. “It's become a cult. Breeding with her is a rite of passage.”

Horrible. Zelda shook her head to clear the images. “So how do you propose we deal with her? We don't have an army, and I can't march over there and pull down her mountain. I don't have any power away from the castle.”

“Assassination could work,” Uncle Tank said thoughtfully.

Redbone frowned. “It would be difficult to become one of her cult, though. They have mutilation rituals. First tattoos and piercings and eventually the eye dyeing. The tongue splitting is reserved for her alone.”

“That's just as well. Doesn't she have servants?” Zelda wondered aloud. She had not asked the prisoner about that.

“Only high-ranking cult members or her children. Those are often the same thing,” Redbone, who had more time with the prisoner, answered. “I suggest we take the time to think it over. I'll talk to my advisors and see if they have any ideas.”