“Then stop. Let me handle it. You spend your energy learning how to be queen, and if I’m able to stop Teague—”
“Lady Tassi told me that iron and bloodflower poison can hurt the fae, but I had an iron dagger with me when Teague accosted me. He grabbed it, and it blistered his hand, but the blisters disappeared in seconds. I don’t think regular iron weapons are going to work. He’s too old and too powerful. We have to gather every bit of information we can so that we can make a plan that works.”
He sighed, his breath catching on a cough at the end of it. “I’m not going to be able to stop you, am I?”
“When have you ever been able to stop me?”
He rolled his eyes.
“Now, let’s see what we know.” Ari got up and began to pace as she ticked off the items on her fingers. “First, Teague left Llorenyae, and rumors say he’ll have nothing to do with the isle. There has to be a reason for that. Maybe it’s something that can help us. We should develop some contacts on Llorenyae.”
“We’ll soon know the hunters who are bringing Ajax’s beasts.”
“Yes, we will, though I think it’s a bad idea to let those beasts onto the palace grounds. It just puts everyone around you in danger.”
“We have the barn with iron cages being built in the south pasture. Ajax says the hunters will train us how to control them. Plus he says they will be a deterrent to Teague.”
Ari tapped her finger against her lips as she thought. “We need to make sure we talk to these bounty hunters without anyone else around to see if the fae have any weaknesses besides iron and bloodflower poison. We can combine whatever knowledge we get from them with the history in the Book of the Fae once I have my hands on that. And we can keep looking into weapons. Sebastian has a few ideas on that front.” Ari turned toward the window that overlooked Kosim Thalas. The midday sun had settled across the city in a haze of gold that glinted against the white domed roofs like shards of ice.
“Who is Sebastian?”
Ari turned from the window. “Honestly, Thad, don’t you know your own staff? He’s your new weapons master. The boy who helped me hide the collector’s body. He’s also the one who rescued Cleo and me at the market. He’s my friend, and he’s been teaching me self-defense.”
“A princess—”
Ari whipped her hand into the air. “If you’re about to say that a proper princess doesn’t make friends with a servant, we are going to have serious problems. Are you going to tell me I can’t be friends with Cleo either?”
“Of course not. But this is a boy, and you need to think of your reputation if you’re spending time alone with him—”
“Learning how to put out a man’s eye or take him down at the knees. Very romantic stuff, Thad. Very romantic. Oh, and we also hid a dead body together, so we’re practically engaged. Now, let’s talk about what else we know about Teague.”
She raised her fingers again and continued. “He used to live on Llorenyae but won’t have anything to do with it now. He lives somewhere in Kosim Thalas, though it’s hard to find anyone who knows exactly where. That might be useful knowledge for Ajax. I wonder if there are property records at the city magistrate’s office.”
“I can check. I have a meeting scheduled with the top city officials tomorrow. I’ll order an audit of all property owners and ask to see the records so that it doesn’t look like I’m singling him out.”
Ari nodded. “Good. And I’ll write to the considerable amount of men who danced with me at your coronation and discreetly ask what they know about the Wish Granter and the fae.”
“I told you it was worthwhile to dance with everyone who asked.”
“A proper king doesn’t say I told you so. It’s unbecoming. Now we need time to get all this information—the Book of the Fae, contacts on Llorenyae, Teague’s home address, and information from our allies. We have to stall Ajax. We can’t risk a failed assassination until we know another proven method to either kill or control Teague. Tell him that you think it’s wise to slow down preparations since Teague is suspicious enough to send his collector to give you a warning. Get him to agree to wait at least a few months—”
“Do you really think we’ll have a solution in a few months?”
Ari held Thad’s gaze. “If we don’t, then we’ll stall him again. There’s a solution out there. We just have to find it.”
Thad smiled, though sadness lingered in his eyes. “You’re the bravest, most stubborn person I know. I want you to add ‘careful’ to your list of attributes. This had better work, Ari, because if my stupid decision costs me my sister, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“It will work.” Ari’s voice was firm. “I won’t accept anything less.” She sat at the edge of his bed and took his hand. “You and me against the world, right?”
His eyes were full of regret. “Always.”
SEVENTEEN
ALISTAIR TEAGUE STOOD across the street from Edwin’s spice shop, his pipe in his hands, and watched a cluster of shoppers enter the building. Beside him, a messenger stood ready, parchment in hand, to complete the list of tasks Teague was delegating to his head street boss, Felman.
“Raise the quota for art and jewelry procurement. I don’t care if they have to break into homes in the dead of night and kill the people inside, I want my warehouses full.”
The messenger scribbled on the parchment with a quill dipped in the tiny pot of ink strapped to her belt.
“And get someone to survey the merchant district for a shop we can use. We’ll be selling some of those stolen goods right here. If the shop we want is occupied, get rid of the owners.”
More scribbling. Teague lifted his face to the breeze and stared at the shop across from him.
“Finally, send a message to Jacob in Balavata. Tell him I want him back here immediately. We can’t let the position of head collector in Kosim Thalas remain open for long.”
The messenger finished her list and left for Felman’s headquarters in east Kosim Thalas, and Teague turned his attention to the matter at hand.
The sun blazed in the sky overhead. The streets were packed with people.
And the few city guards he’d seen had turned away the moment they laid eyes on him.
It was the perfect setting for an object lesson in what happened to those who defied him.
He took a puff of his pipe, turned it upside down, and gently tapped the bowl to discard the remaining tobacco. Then he pocketed the pipe and strode across the street.