“I’m open to discussion of creating a barrier of our own. It could hold back the wraith an extra year, giving us a chance to find a more permanent solution.”
“We’d still need flashers,” said Clint. “Unless you plan to use only Princess Wilhelmina. And given the punishment for using magic in the Indigo Kingdom, I can’t imagine others stepping forward.”
Certainly I wouldn’t volunteer Connor’s magic.
Tobiah shook his head. “The barrier was a kingdom-wide effort—”
“Which,” Lord Craft added, “they hid from the rest of the allied kingdoms, going so far as to send a false report. We should ban the remaining Liadian refugees from the Indigo Kingdom. They should all be arrested and forced to leave.”
“And where would they go?” asked Meredith. “Our world grows smaller every day.”
Lord Craft’s tone was dark. “Send them back to the wraithland they helped create.”
“No.” I curled my hands into fists. “That’s a death sentence.”
“Well,” Prince Colin muttered, “they certainly aren’t going to Aecor Territory.”
I turned to him, keeping my voice deep and even. “Aecor is my kingdom, and when I am in control of it, it will be a safe haven for flashers and refugees alike. Should the wraith one day overtake Skyvale, even you will not be refused shelter in Aecor.”
Meredith shot a tiny smile of support, but the rest of the room fell into death-like silence as Prince Colin stood and strode around the table, and finally stopped in front of me. He was taller, and broader, and so close I could feel his breath stir the air between us.
For a heartbeat, I was back in my room the other night when he’d been there. In the dark. Waiting for me.
My whole body shuddered with the memory as Prince Colin smirked down at me, a silent reminder of his threats.
“You don’t intimidate me,” I hissed.
Without a word, he turned and left the room. A pair of bodyguards went after him.
A quiet murmur filled the room, and it took everything in me not to slump with relief.
“I suppose the meeting is adjourned,” said Tobiah. “We will reconvene tomorrow to further discuss our own barrier. But effective immediately, I want those evacuation routes planned, and I want mirrors covering Skyvale once more. There will be no more removal of the homeless from the city. Everyone—foreign and domestic refugees alike—will be invited into the city and given jobs. We need those mirrors.”
The council members stood and offered their farewells, and soon began to trickle from the room. Francesca and Meredith were among the first to go, their heads bent together in soft discussion. “Over lunch, let’s discuss how we’ll decorate for your wedding ball. Your parents are meeting us at noon, correct?” The rest of the conversation fell under the buzz of other voices.
Tobiah warmed my side, barely a respectable distance between us. “You did very well today.”
My smile was shaky, but he pretended not to notice. “I’ll bring it up tomorrow, but I had an idea about where to get magic to fuel a barrier.”
Tobiah’s eyebrows raised. “Don’t keep me in suspense.”
“Perhaps you’ve heard that when wraith beasts die, a white mist flows out of them.”
“Yes.” Of course he knew. It was with Black Knife I’d first seen this phenomenon. “It’s wraith, isn’t it?”
“Perhaps. Or perhaps it’s something a little closer to magic. On my way to West Pass Watch, we fought a giant scorpion.” He’d been there, of course, but I couldn’t chance anyone knowing that. “When it died, the mist split and went into certain people—flashers in hiding, if I had to guess.”
Tobiah’s lips parted as he put all that together. He’d seen the mist go into me the night we fought a wraith cat together, but he’d had no way to know that wasn’t normal. It was unlikely he’d ever killed a wraith beast in anyone’s presence before. “I see,” he said at last. “You think we could harvest the necessary magic from wraith beasts.”
“I think it’s worth investigating, and perhaps offering a sizable reward for either the captured mist or live creature.”
“That would be dangerous, holding the creatures in the city.”
I nodded. “Perhaps a facility outside the city.”
“Indeed.” A faraway look fell over his eyes: he was already forming a plan. “I’ll have someone look into it.”
There was no doubt: Tobiah Pierce was meant to be king. Unfortunate aspects of his princely mask aside, he knew how to behave and make decisions. He knew how to reward people who earned it, and scold those who deserved it.
He would be a good king.
I offered a faint curtsy. “I’ll see you at this evening’s coronation.”
FOURTEEN
AFTER MEETING WITH the seamstresses for our coronation gowns, Theresa and I made our way to the Ospreys’ suite, Sergeant Ferris following at a respectful distance.
“It’s going to rain tonight.” Theresa’s announcement came out of nowhere. “I saw clouds when I looked out the window. Dark clouds.”