Chapter Thirty-Four
WHEN THE HEAVY SNOWFALL TO THE RIGHT OF Malachi shimmered, Kadeesha immediately turned in its direction.
She called her aether flames closer to the surface but held back from fully manifesting them since this was supposed to be a peaceful parley.
Detecting the same disturbance in the space around them atop the Yunnas, Malachi angled his body so he faced the shimmering snow too.
A moment later, all four monarchs they’d invited to the meeting stood in the spot where the shimmers had been.
All of their stares swung between Zahzah at Kadeesha’s back—whom they surely hadn’t been expecting, since Sylas hadn’t been a king bonded to a kongamato—and Malachi at her side.
Kadeesha had barely made it to the count of three before the monarchs delved into their usual prick-measuring contest that occurred when they shared space.
And unsurprisingly, the kings really felt like they had to make their most impressive powers known to the new entities among them.
Vasra, the king of the Fire Court, snarled before crimson flames ignited in a ring at his feet, an instant barrier between him and potential enemies.
His eyes, the same midnight black as the sleek threads of hair flowing behind him, now sparked with red-hot fire too.
Tedros, the king of the Stone Court, growled as his dark brown skin hardened into gray stone.
Ahjay, the Water Dominion’s king, pinned eyes as blue as the sea on Zahzah first and then Malachi as he seized control of the falling snow; he shaped the precipitation into daggers of ice that he aimed at Malachi’s and Zahzah’s heads.
Sedrin, the Wind king, bared his teeth as a gust of wind slammed into Kadeesha, Malachi, and Zahzah.
While the gale was strong enough to drive her and Malachi a step backward, Zahzah was too massive a force to move.
Kadeesha would’ve been insulted that the Wind king was the only monarch among the lot that regarded her as a true threat alongside Malachi and Zahzah, but being underestimated by the other kings was a weapon in and of itself.
If they didn’t play their hands right and moved to attack, then it was their own folly if they ended up incinerated by her aether flames.
“Are you finished with your silly games?” Malachi asked, unaffected by the sight of four powerful fae displaying their court’s might.
Sedrin was the first to pull his magic back. He then raked Kadeesha with a disdainful glare. “If the news you delivered via message rune is true, it means you have forsaken your betrothal to Rishaud.”
Kadeesha shrugged and unflinchingly said, “I would note that when he massacred my court, he made that choice for me. But yes, I have. I’ve chosen to marry another.”
Ahjay, the Water king, assessed Kadeesha and Malachi coolly. “So the Six Kingdoms’ longtime enemy has successfully corrupted Sylas’s seed, I see.”
The male talking about her as if she was nothing more than her father’s progeny and not an individual in her own right infuriated Kadeesha.
Speaking the only language they’d understand, she let aether flames blaze at her fingertips.
For now, their only target was the snow covering the ground, which they rapidly vaporized, but her warning was clear.
“I have a name and a title independent of my father. I’d prefer that you use either,” she said, the result of not doing so apparent in violet around her.
Ahjay’s lips thinned into a line, yet he pierced Kadeesha with an appraising look.
Kadeesha hadn’t interacted directly with the monarchs of the Six Kingdoms very often, save Rishaud.
Sylas had refrained from involving her too deeply in any business he’d had with any among the lot, perhaps knowing that Rishaud would not appreciate his bride-to-be being paraded before other monarchs.
Therefore, it was natural for Ahjay to take her measure.
She stood her ground, however, giving the Water king the same treatment.
She raked a look down the length of the male and then projected a stare that let him know she found many aspects of him lacking once their eyes met again.
Ahjay hissed.
Kadeesha merely smiled, unflappable. “The answer to the Water king’s observation,” she said to all of the monarchs, “is no—neither Malachi nor anybody else is capable of corrupting me. I am my own individual with my own mind and own agendas. I am now the Aether queen by birthright, but it is not the only title I intend to assume. Malachi and I have come together because we have a joint proposal that may be advantageous to you all. More, this is clearly the will of the great Celestials.” She paused and laid a hand against her belly for effect.
Malachi, cunning in his own right, helped amplify the effect Kadeesha intended without her ever having to give him any signal.
Silently, he stepped closer to her side and laid a hand over hers, brushing his thumb protectively along the flat planes of her stomach that would swell in time.
Each of the vassal kings tracked the movement, and Kadeesha could practically see the wheels spinning behind their eyes about what this pregnancy meant—in terms of the prophecy, the future of Nimani, and the future of their own courts.
She didn’t mention any of that, however.
Instead, she pointed out, “As vassal kings who serve Rishaud, you assume the roles of lesser monarchs, submitting to his every whim, including whatever wars or campaigns or redesigns of trade agreements he wishes to pursue. Have you ever hungered for a different future for your reigns and your courts? Have you ever thought if a fully united Nimani under his rule will be better or worse than what you currently experience?” Again, she let silence linger, her and Malachi’s hands still cradling her belly achieving a more effective sway of the monarchs’ thoughts than any rhetoric could.
She simply waited, giving them time to fully reflect upon the prophecy Rishaud had exalted and peddled for so long—the one that said Kadeesha’s husband would be the divinely anointed high king of Nimani and her future firstborn son would be the ordained heir of a united Nimani.
She also gave them time to then reflect upon whatever old and current grievances they had with their asshole liege lord.
Fae monarchs were petty, scheming, and vicious to a fault, and she was counting on that here.
“To answer your unasked question, I am with child,” she eventually announced out loud.
“It is a child born of two royal lines, just as the great Celestials themselves handed in a vision to the Hyperion high cleric—a child that I will produce. Clearly Rishaud’s reading of that vision was a misinterpretation.
You see before you proof that the great Celestials will something different.
” She tipped her head toward Malachi, standing as imperious as ever at her side.
“The great Celestials have allowed a child of Aether Court and Apollyon Court blood to be conceived, and it is a portent that what was once whole and then fractured into two halves should be united again. You each have long supported the will of the Celestials as Rishaud had interpreted it. Will you each continue to do so under this new revelation, this indisputable proof of their true desires?”
When the monarchs’ expressions remained indurate, Kadeesha added, “Consider what it’s been like under Rishaud.
Consider, then, what it may be like to serve a supreme high king that does not rob you, but rather only asks for what is fair—a modest share of resources and gold from your courts as suitable tribute, in return for peace and accord throughout Nimani.
Who in turn does not demand that you contribute bodies and the blood of your folk to fight a war you may not even want or have any skin in.
Do any of you desire to be preparing for war against the Apollyon Court this instant, solely because Rishaud’s pride is wounded that he lost his would-be bride and his chance to accumulate greater power, wealth, and resources for his court alone?
All while presuming the will of the Celestials when he is now so obviously spouting false prophecy? ”
Evident tension rippled among the vassal monarchs at Kadeesha’s inquiry.
If she were in their place, she’d be enraged to be required to devote fae lives and resources to something so frivolous that didn’t affect her court whatsoever and that neither she nor her folk would benefit from.
Perhaps more, the idea of giving less of their court to the high king—whoever that might be—was something that certainly appealed to their more avaricious natures.
Still, the Wind king studied Malachi suspiciously. “You have been silent, Apollyon king,” he probed Malachi. “Do you have nothing to say on your own behalf?”