Chapter 33 The Drowned Court #2
Kairos glanced at me. “I wanted to show you she’s alive. Thriving, even. So you can stop begging me to return her.”
“Thriving,” Vaeris drawled. “She looks terrified.”
Kairos peered at my face and shrugged. Then he patted my shoulder like I was a skittish pet that needed soothing.
Vaeris stepped forward, shadows pooling at his feet. Tendrils spread across the floor like oil. They climbed walls, darkening the room until it felt submerged in twilight.
“Enough.” Soren’s voice cut through the tension. “State your grievance formally or sit down. This is a diplomatic summit, not a territorial display.”
“He murdered my entire court and took one of my citizens.” Vaeris gestured toward me. “And now he’s parading her here like a trophy.”
Soren’s gaze moved between them. “You’ve been king for almost two weeks. Is this about the girl, or about Kairos undermining your authority while you’re still consolidating power?”
“Both,” Vaeris said tightly.
“Forgive me, but I’m curious.” Taressa’s chuckle echoed. “What makes this girl worth a potential war between two realms? There must be something remarkable about her.”
“She’s under my protection,” Kairos bit out. “That’s all that matters.”
“Protection from what?” Lysander snapped.
“From being sacrificed,” Kairos said flatly. “The Rite slaughters humans every year in Skalgard.”
Vaeris looked around the table, pained. “Barely two weeks, and everyone expects me to reform centuries of tradition. I am trying. I reached out to negotiate her safe return, offered protections, guarantees. He refused.”
“Because she’s not yours,” Kairos growled.
Soren blinked. “You’re planning reforms?”
Vaeris nodded. “I’ve already stopped the Rite.”
Is he telling the truth?
Vaeris sighed heavily. “It is a barbaric ritual that’s poisoned Skaldir’s reputation and my people’s souls. My mother was human. I watched her suffer under laws designed to dehumanize. I will not continue that legacy, no matter what it costs me.”
Taressa softened. “That’s admirable.”
“It’s also political suicide,” Lysander muttered. “Half your nobles probably want you dead.”
“More than half,” Vaeris admitted. “But some things are worth the risk.”
Murmurs rippled through the gathered rulers. Even Soren’s analytical mask had cracked slightly.
Kairos’s arm tightened around me. “Very moving, but stopping the Rite doesn’t fix everything. The nobles still profit from human labor.”
“I’ve begun negotiations.”
Soren stared at Vaeris. “Which specific practices are you targeting first?”
Vaeris hesitated. “The details are complex.”
“I’ve been studying Skaldir’s power structure for thirty years. I understand the complexity. Answer the question.”
“The southern houses have been more receptive—”
“Those houses have minimal influence over the Order. The High Cleric answers to the northern families who fund them. They control access to sixty-three percent of the runes. You’re negotiating with people who have no influence.”
A muscle ticked in Vaeris’s jaw. “Skaldir’s internal politics are my concern, not yours. We’re here to address Kairos’s massacre and negotiate terms to prevent further bloodshed.”
Kairos scowled. “You’re conveniently leaving out why I was in your palace to begin with.”
“What my father did was cruel—”
“Then you understand why I’m not apologizing for breaking free. And she’s not going back.”
Vaeris addressed Soren. “Soren, you’ve spent decades trying to change Skaldir. I’m offering you a chance to support reform, but I can’t do it if he keeps undermining my authority. Make him see reason.”
Soren turned to Kairos. “If Vaeris provides guarantees of her safety witnessed by all realms present, would you consider returning her?”
“No.”
“Why not? Specifically.”
Kairos hardened. “Because she’s mine.”
Vaeris laughed harshly. “You see? He’s not interested in diplomacy.”
“That’s right.” Kairos snatched a glowing fruit from a bowl. “You can debate diplomatic protocol all you want. I won’t let her go.”
“Even if she wants to?” Taressa asked.
Kairos’s smile was sharp. “She doesn’t.”
Soren leaned back, studying Kairos. “You realize this makes you look exactly as he’s describing you. A king who takes what he wants without regard for consequences.”
“I am that king,” Kairos said. “I’ve never pretended otherwise.”
Lysander slammed his hand on the table, and his wings flared. “Is this why we’re here? To watch two kings fight over one pathetic human? She’s a human. There are thousands of them. Why does she matter?”
“She doesn’t,” Kairos said mildly, peeling the fruit. “But he wants her. So I’m keeping her.”
Lysander’s face turned red. “That’s reckless. You’re willing to risk war across five realms over a petty rivalry?”
Vaeris’s jaw tightened. “It’s ridiculous.”
“You want her back? You can’t have her. You want reparations for your dead court? You won’t get them. You want me to acknowledge your sovereignty?” Kairos smiled. “No.”
“Then why are you here?” Lysander spat.
“To make my position clear. Sanguir answers to no one.”
Vaeris retreated from the table. “This is a farce.”
He stalked from the room, shadows gathering in his wake.
The hall erupted into noise. A nymph near the pools let out a high laugh. A Thalir lord whispered to his companion, both of them staring at me. Even the guards exchanged looks.
I wanted to disappear.
Soren set down his cup. “I’ve spent days organizing this summit. Coordinated schedules across five realms. And we just wasted it all on territorial posturing.”
I couldn’t look at him—at any of them.
I shouldn’t have come. Kairos had said bringing me was a risk, and I’d insisted, and now everything was ruined. I needed to talk to Vaeris. Alone.
“I have to go,” I whispered in Kairos’s ear.
“Damn it, Aelie. Now?”
I pulled myself free and stood. “Yes.”
He didn’t move, but I felt the fury rolling off him. Then he leaned back, his mask sliding into place. He waved a hand, dismissing me.
“Go.”
I pushed back my chair and rose. I made it down the hall and turned, and agony sliced into me.
Like a blade splitting me open. The roar of pain drowned out everything else. White-hot fire poured through the rune etched into my ribs.
I clutched at my side, gasping.
The rune.
Something was terribly wrong.