86

There was Giles from Dawnguard, a broad-shouldered man dressed in leather armor, with a scar over one eye. From Duskmoon, Isalde, a tall woman who looked remarkably like Fina, wearing an immense necklace of amethyst and onyx. Starcrest had sent an older woman, Marget, whose eyes were clouded with blindness, but not Ealric, and for that I was grateful. It would have been a little much to have to navigate sitting at this table with Ealric and Barion of Daybreak.

We took our seats at the head. I was between Barion and Elias, and anxiety was already crawling in my throat.

“Thank you all for attending,” Elias said, “and welcome to Efra. I trust your journeys were not too challenging.”

Around the table, murmurs of assent.

“If I may,” Barion said. “Before we start, I do believe it’d be best for me to speak on the recent happenings.”

He held my gaze as he said it, and he looked…beaten down. Terrible even. So unlike the gregarious man who had trained me all through my youth. His fine clothes were pressed and the bracers on his forearms were clean, but there were dark circles under his eyes, and new wrinkles on his forehead and around his mouth. Whatever had happened in Daybreak had worn him down, too.

Elias glanced at me. I nodded. “Please,” I said. “The floor is yours.”

“Rodthar’s actions do not speak for all of Daybreak,” he said.

“He was your alpha,” Giles said. “I believe he does speak for your pack.”

“He was,” Barion agreed. “He is no longer. He was not the man we—not the man I thought he was. The court has stepped in to lead for now but Daybreak, we—” He paused and squared his shoulders. “My pack is weakened now. I’ve come here as a show of loyalty to Nightfall, in hopes Daybreak can rebuild our friendship.”

Elias nodded. “It won’t be that simple,” he said, “but this is a good beginning. We will need all the wolves of Frasia to work together if we want to keep our nation safe from the Fae queen in Shianga.”

“Let’s get into that,” Isalde said, “I’ve heard rumors that Draunar was usurped in Shianga. But it wasn’t Nightfall that did so? You say it was the Fae?”

Elias moved to speak, but I held up my hand first. “Let me explain,” I said.

With all the eyes on me, I explained what had happened in Shianga—all of it. How my father had put the idea in Draunar’s head, how Draunar had demanded me as part of the treaty, and how he had kidnapped me and taken me to his hoard. I carefully danced around the fact that I had foolishly agreed to the terms myself. I didn’t want to undermine my own authority as queen, especially in such delicate circumstances.

Instead, I focused on the facts. Corinne had defeated Draunar and was rebuilding her strength in Shianga.

“This seems ridiculous,” Giles said. “What interest would the Fae queen have in our realm?”

“You may think so,” Marget of Starcrest said, “but my scouts have seen strange happenings at the border with Shianga. This explains many of the reports I’ve been receiving.” She folded her hands in her lap, her milky-white eyes fixed on me. “You believe Corinne’s desires for territory will expand beyond Shianga?”

“I know they will,” I said. “I heard her say it.”

“Frasia is not prepared to go to war with the Fae,” Giles said. “The soldiers of Dawnguard are well-trained for hand-to-hand battle, but magic users bring too many unknowns. Marching into Shianga could result in our deaths.”

“No one is suggesting we march into Shianga now,” Elias said.

“Then what are we suggesting?” Giles asked. “Do we wait like sitting ducks until the Fae queen decides to attack us?”

“Calm yourself, Giles,” Barion said. “The wolves of Frasia may not have a grasp on Fae magic yet, but we aren’t the only shifters in the realm.”

“Exactly,” I said.

Barion met my eyes and gave me a small nod. We were already on the same page—even without having much time to discuss it.

“You suggest we go to the other shifters,” Isalde said. “In preparation?”

“Askon,” Barion said. “We all know the stories.”

“They aren’t just stories,” Marget said. “And regardless of whether or not the jaguars of Askon have a history of magic use, it makes sense to ally ourselves with the other nations before Corinne decides to attack.”

“Even with an alliance,” Giles said, “or a few alliances, it’s still crazy to think we could stand against the Fae queen. Gods know how many she has at her beck and call in her realm. We could be doomed before we even begin.”

“I know that,” Elias said.

The discussion fell silent as the attention fell to Elias. I set my hand at his knee under the table.

“We won’t have a choice,” Elias said. “She is ruthless. She feels she’s been wronged not only by Draunar, but by all the shifters of her realm. She won’t be satisfied with just Shianga under her rule. She will come for all of us, sooner or later. If we want to have the smallest chance of survival, we need to work together now. Before it’s too late.”

Giles pinched the bridge of his nose. “Never in all my years as a general did I think there’d be risk of war with the Fae.”

“Someone’s got to keep you on your toes, old man,” Barion said.

“I’d like for you all to stay here in Efra,” Elias said. “I’ll send word to Askon inviting the king and queen to open a new round of peace talks.”

“I trust they’ll go better than the talks in Shianga?” Marget asked.

I was grateful Marget couldn’t see the sour expression I knew flashed across my face. Under the table, Elias folded his hand over mine.