He wore pristine armor and a cloak spun from the most expensive silk found throughout all of Tir Na Nog. The golden material fell to the floor, rustling around his booted feet. It was a statement, one that was impossible to miss. Subtlety was not one of Aengus’s strongpoints. Mariel made note of that.
“My guard tells me you witnessed the princess’s escape.” He leaned forward, eyes flashing with greed. “Tell me where she’s gone.”
Mariel frowned and glanced at the two guards on either side of her and then at the lords clustered around the Grand Alderman. “I am certain that what I wish to say, you would prefer to hear it privately. Without audience.”
Aengus gave her a thin-lipped smile. “I did not find myself in this desired position by being thick in the head. I am certain there are many who wish me dead. You could very well be one of them.”
“That’s very clever of you. However, killing you would result in the opposite of my aim.”
He arched a brow. “You mean to say that you have no intention of killing me?”
“That’s right.”
“Very well.” He nodded at the guards, and then at the lords by his side, accepting her spoken truths. “Leave us be.”
Several of the guards frowned but they did as they were bid by their “king” in command. They quickly exited the Great Hall, leaving Aengus alone with the former would-be queen. If only she could kill him now, hidden behind closed doors. There was nothing anyone could do to stop her. Aengus wouldn’t be able to fight her off if she jumped at him with blades. He wore that rapier, but she had a hunch it was purely ceremonial. Another statement, a symbol of the power he pretended to yield. In the end, he would fall, just like pretenders always did.
But no, she could not kill him. Her god did not look kindly upon kingkillers, even ones who weren’t blessed by seats of power.
“Explain yourself then,” he said, lounging back in his gaudy chair, crossing one leg over the other. “What couldn’t be said in front of the others?”
Mariel smiled and pushed back her hood, revealing her new head of cascading silver hair. Aengus, to Mariel’s great satisfaction, sat up straight, his spine as taut as a ship’s mast. He leaned forward, squinting. “Am I seeing this right? You’re a bloody ice fae.”
He didn’t recognize her then, even though they’d already met. Interesting.
“Wrong. I am an air fae. I’ve only made myself look like an ice fae. A princess, in particular.”
“You can glamour yourself? Does that mean you are a shadow fae?” Aengus asked curiously, and he did not seem the least bit alarmed. Not when confronted with the most dangerous type of fae in the world.
“I’m far more useful than a shadow fae. I simply dyed my hair.”
“To what end?” he asked, squinting some more.
“I asked to see you because I know where Princess Eislyn has gone. Straight back to the Ice Court,” she said.
“She hasn’t,” Aengus said with a frown. “She wasn’t seen leaving the Bay of Wind, and I’ve had my ships watching the coast further north. There’s been no sight of her. She’s gone somewhere else.”
“She’s gone far north. It’s what I would have done,” she said with a shrug. “It makes the journey much longer, but it stops you from finding her.”
Aengus’s frown deepened. “So, she’s gone to the Ice Court. That’s what you came all the way here to tell me? That’s why you’ve dyed your hair silver? Are you mad?”
Oh, Mariel was mad, just not in the way Aengus imagined.
“Eislyn will likely sail to Margaidh. From there, she will be able to send word to her father about what has happened here. The High King likely does not know the fate of his daughters yet. Once he does, he will march on these lands. And you have no army here to stop him.”
Aengus drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair. “That has occurred to me, yes. In part, that is why we’ve been so intent on finding her. She cannot be allowed to get word to her father.”
“She is far out of your reach by now,” Mariel said. “Regardless of what we do, she will get word to her father, but you have some time yet. Time to prepare, time to call the lords of the Air Court to your side. And their armies.”
“I’ve already tried,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Half of them were already here, and half of those got slaughtered at the coronation feast. The other half, they see me as their enemy. They’ve refused to come.”
“And that is where I come in.”
Aengus arched his bushy red brows.
“Hardly any of those lords will have met Princess Eislyn. The silver hair will be enough for them. The ones who are already here at the castle, the ones you’ve ensnared in your web…when they realize the plot, they won’t dare say a word of it.”
He barked out a laugh. “This is ludicrous. You want to pretend to be Princess Eislyn? What good will that do any of us? She’s an ice fae, not a beloved folk of the air.”
“She might be an ice fae, but she is far better than whatever you are,” she said bluntly. “I say with the utmost respect, of course, but surely you see that for yourself. None of the lords know you or care about you. You’re a foreign stranger with no titles, no family, and you’ve stolen the throne.” She took a deep breath and played her hand. “Eislyn is a princess and the daughter of a well-respected fae who has just become their ally. Thane, the High King, who they do love, was going to marry Eislyn before he vanished, and now she will be ‘speaking for him’ in support of you. She can gain their trust in a way that nothing else can, at least right now.”
Aengus continued to drum his fingers on his makeshift throne’s arm. “It is a very convoluted plot.”
“And it’s the only plot you have.” She smiled. “Sloane Selkirk sent most of your army into the wood fae lands. You don’t have much protection against an invading army. You need my help.”
He drummed his fingers ever onward, and then stopped, leaning forward. “I just have one important question.”
“Yes?” Mariel asked, trying her level best not to sound as eager as she felt.
“You are not Princess Eislyn. You cannot say you are because that would be a lie. How will your scheme ever work?”
Mariel smiled. “We mince our words. We’re fae. It’s an easy enough thing to do, especially when we’ve both had years of practice. You, of all people, should know that.”
Aengus pursed his lips. “Perhaps. I also know that fae do not offer favors. You’ll want something in return. What do you hope to gain from this?”
Should Mariel tell him the full truth of it? She had toyed with the idea the entire walk from Drunkard’s Pit. If he knew who she was, he would take her much more seriously. He would understand at once why she had come here to hatch this strange plot. But he would also see her as a threat.
Because Mariel was very much a threat.
“I want power,” she said instead of revealing her true name. “A seat on your council. A seat by your side.”
“I should have known.” Aengus nodded slowly. “All right then. You’ll have your seat. Let’s summon the lords.”