Chapter 31 #2
“Plenty of truths aren’t being addressed. You didn’t bring any guards. You invited anyone who’d listen, including the Chains, whom your faction despises. And I have a feeling that, before you’re willing to offer any kind of assistance, you’ll request the same level of discretion that Jackie did.”
Róisín sat very still. Thinking. Considering whether taking the bait would offer something valuable enough to be worth the sting of the hook.
She decided for. “And why do you think that?”
“Because you aren’t here in an official capacity. Your Court didn’t want this meeting at all.” Maya leaned in over the table. “Tell me. Does your mother even know you’re here, Róisín Frost?”
Róisín didn’t react. Her face remained poised, her posture perfectly straight. But outside, the wind picked up.
Maya didn’t know why Róisín was doing this. Just that she wanted it done quickly, quietly, and badly enough that she would work with the Chains. A Court that Winter had lost territory to, and which Róisín had every reason to detest.
She’d shown up with no guards. With no soldiers. And her honest tongue had promised not to share this with anyone. That included her own Queen.
Going by Róisín’s long silence, she wasn’t pleased. But she wasn’t enraged either. Maybe it was just because of the grain of smoke in the air, but Maya was pretty sure she saw respect in Róisín’s eyes.
“Discretion would, indeed, be preferable,” Róisín said. “If you’re willing to promise it, I’ll assist for no additional cost. As long as the Chains move in fast.”
“I can promise it. And Aleksander is waiting by the border, forces in tow. If your wind and her wolves are ready, I’ll relay the message and the Chains will move at his word.”
Róisín turned towards Jackie. “If you agree to be discreet as well, how fast can your people get in position?”
Jackie looked between them, confused. She was still a few moves behind in the conversation and seemed more inclined to end it early rather than try to catch up.
“I’ll need an hour. And I’ll keep quiet.” She cleared her throat and looked at Maya. “I didn’t expect you to be this reasonable, to be honest.”
Maya dropped her smile. “I’m not. I’m here as the voice of my King. He’s the reasonable one.”
Jackie shifted in her seat, the smell of smoke intensifying. Maya’s reputation may have dulled among the Chains, but it still had teeth beyond their borders.
She really needed to thank Aleksander and Natalya at some point soon.
“Then it’s a deal,” Róisín said. “One I’m eager to see concluded. A somewhat rare occurrence.”
She stood from the table, Maya and Jackie following. Jackie all but ran for the door, rushing away from the bar the moment she got outside. She didn’t even look over her shoulder.
Róisín was more composed. She stepped away from the building and walked down the sidewalk, head raised and back straight. Her feet left no prints in the snow.
“Wait,” Maya said, making Róisín stop. “Since it’s just the two of us, we can speak more candidly. And something’s bothering me.”
She stepped closer to Róisín, lowering her voice. “You invited the Chains here. Why?”
Róisín’s expression stayed neutral. “Common courtesy? You’re an established Court, aren’t you?”
“That’s not what I mean. You could have set this meeting anywhere, but you put it basically within view of the border.
You wouldn’t have done that unless you knew Aleksander couldn’t leave, which suggests you did it to provoke him.
But going by your willingness to work with us, being insulting wasn’t your intention. So why? Why here?”
Róisín considered for a moment. Then a brief sneer graced her lips.
“I’m aware Aleksander follows his own laws. I just didn’t expect him to be so rigid about it. I assumed he would have shared my invitation with that fiend he rules with, and then either send her or would have snuck out to meet me himself. Instead, he stuck to his principles. He has integrity.”
She grimaced as though that last word tasted bad.
“This seems personal for you,” Maya said. “I’m guessing there’ll be consequences if your Queen finds out about this meeting. She isn’t known for being merciful.”
Róisín clenched her teeth. A slight tick of her jaw muscle was the only sign of the reaction.
“This Kieran went too far,” she said, voice icy. “There’s instability and then there’s disrespect. Losing a neutral zone was regrettable, but even the most unfortunate situations can be turned to your benefit. Kieran could have been a valuable tool. If he had any plans for longevity, that is.”
Maya stared at her. “You wanted to work with him?”
“No. I wanted to use him. But integrity and fanaticism are similar in some ways. They’re both hard to twist.” Róisín’s lip curled, her eyes darkening.
“Like I said. He went too far. My Queen thrives on information, and I have an extensive network of people who can get it for her. Courtless agents, some of whom I’ve worked with for decades. Some of whom lived in St. Louis.”
She took a deep breath. One that seemed to be even only because of impeccable self-control.
“When those wolves found them, they were all slaughtered.”
It was the first time Róisín’s voice had warmed at all. Hatred brought fire to her words, thawing parts of her perfect mask.
Maya almost said she was sorry by habit. Just like gratitude, apologies held more weight with the sídhe. They could be interpreted as an admission of slight, implying a debt towards the sídhe in question.
“That couldn’t have been easy,” she said instead. Róisín’s gaze briefly unfocused.
“You’re right. It was not.” The mask slipped back on. As cold as required by a daughter of Winter. “A question for you, then. To keep things fair. You wondered why I asked you to come here. And I’m wondering why you did.”
“I’m Aleksander’s representative.”
“Don’t play that game. I didn’t with you. You may have been ordered to come, but orders can’t produce the passion you showed in there.”
She had a point. Róisín had shared things she didn’t need to. That didn’t come for free.
“Kieran harmed someone close to me. He needs to pay for it.”
Róisín pursed her lips. “Right… I did hear stories of a certain human being tied up in this mess. She seems interesting. Pink suits her.”
She obviously said it to cause a reaction. Róisín had more experience with this game, so even when furious, she could maintain most of her composure. Maya hadn’t mastered that yet.
“How interesting.” Róisín cocked her head. “There might be some truth to those rumors. You’re charming, obviously. But there’s viciousness there, too. Makes me wonder which characteristic was the more convincing factor when the Chains let you join them.”
Róisín showed her teeth in a chilling smile. “Only, you didn’t really join. You weren’t given many options when you were taken from that warlock’s estate. When your thrall’s brand was exchanged for shackles.”
Maya stiffened. “How do you know that?”
“It’s my job to know things. I do my job very well. How did they convince you to stay? Threats? Or flattery?”
“Neither. They asked.”
Róisín laughed. A hollow, joyless sound.
“Regents do not ask. They command. You may be unique, but that does not make you immune to manipulation. The freedom your Court prides itself on is in name only. Unsurprising, for a Court whose symbol is Chains.”
That point contained just enough logic to turn needling. Just enough information to invite questions about how much choice Maya had in all of this.
When she first got to Chicago, she hadn’t been given the option to leave. Her joining the Chains happened in less than a day—without the normal ritual that accompanied it, too.
From Róisín’s perspective, it had been purely political. A way for Natalya and Aleksander to lock down a powerful asset before anyone else could claim her. It’s what Winter would have done. What most other Courts would have done.
But the Chains were different. They were a home to outsiders. The lost. The coveted. No Court had ever had a rarer collection of beings within its halls.
Yes, they made her stay. But only because her freedom would be forfeited as soon as she was alone.
If Maya actually wanted to break from them, the Regents would make sure she understood the risks involved.
They would probably be insistent about the foolishness of leaving. But they wouldn’t stop her.
Róisín was trying to sow doubt. Well, two could play at that game.
“Why did you join Winter?”
Surprise shined in Róisín’s eyes. She backed up a step.
“I was born into this position.”
“So you had no choice.”
“That is not what I said.”
“It was, though. In fact, it sounds like your role was there before you were. That your purpose was decided before you were even alive and you follow your Queen’s commands largely because you don’t have a choice in the matter.”
Maya gave her a hard stare. “You may doubt that my faction values freedom. That’s your prerogative.
But if I wanted to, I could walk away, and I doubt you could say the same.
If I’m wrong, counter my assumption. Tell me that if you ever wished to leave, you would be allowed.
If it’s true, it should be easy to say.”
Róisín didn’t speak. She stood frozen, an ice sculpture in a storm, as the wind whipped free a few strands of silver hair.
“You should run on home now, Ms. Novak. Before your immortality gets tested.”
She turned and walked down the snow-covered street. She didn’t move with the same controlled grace as before. Instead, she walked as briskly as was dignified.
“The Chains are open to new members,” Maya shouted. “Just letting you know. In case you ever need somewhere to flee to.”
Róisín slowed down slightly. Only for an instant, before she vanished around the corner.
Sticking her hands in her pockets, Maya headed back the way she’d come. Aleksander was standing in the same spot as when she left, though the crowd behind him had grown.
“How did it go?” he asked.
“Well. I think.” She ran through everything said at the meeting, favoring the practical details. “Winter’s ready to move. Just waiting for your signal.”
Aleksander looked up at the dark sky. The wind was stronger now, transforming the falling snow into frozen needles.
“Then we’ll give them one.” He put his hand on Maya’s shoulder. “But you won’t be here to see it. If I had known how this meeting would have turned out, I would have sent Harper home hours ago. This storm isn’t safe to drive in. Harper will be stuck here until it passes.”
An ache tightened around her heart. She hadn’t thought that far. That Harper would be at more risk from this plan unfolding. She had been too focused on making Kieran pay that she’d forgotten they hadn’t yet won.
“Can I go see her?” she said quickly.
Aleksander’s expression softened the slightest bit. “I was about to tell you to do just that. With her this close, you’ll be all but useless in a fight.”
She hadn’t ever seen his eyes look that warm. The King of Chains was supposed to be a hard, ruthless man. As hard as the steel that made up his Court.
She might not be the only person who’d learned a thing or two since coming out here.
“Thank you, Aleksander.”
“No. Thank you, Maya.” He gave her a gentle push. “Now go. Before I change my mind.”
She pushed through the gathered Chains, a choir of barked orders following her. As she broke clear of the crowd, the distant howl of a wolf mixed with that of the winter wind.