97

Lunch went on undisturbed, but it seemed that wasn’t enough for the Fae Queen. She leaned forward in her chair, eyes fixed on the slave.
“You heard the allegation the princess made against you, didn’t you, slave?” Toreh looked up from her meal. “I did.”
“Do you consider them to be false?” Toreh swallowed. She thought the matter had died down. Why was she bringing these up now? Toreh remained silent. This made Avetha angry.
“I asked you a question, slave.”
“And I refused to answer,” Toreh shot back, earning gasps from the twins. None of the princes dared talk back to the Fae Queen, and yet a slave had done it, without fear. “See, I don’t know who you are or what you think you are, but if you can’t address me by my name like every other sane being does, then I am under no obligation to answer you.”
Avetha gasped. “How dare you call me insane, you wretched thing? Thjis, look at how your guest maltreats me.”
“I see nothing wrong with what she has done,” Thjis said coolly, his eyes fixed on Toreh. He hadn’t seen such fearlessness from a human before, especially a slave. Now he could see why Eloive was smitten by her. She was truly exceptional.
“Nothing wrong? Thjis, what have you become? First, you broke our code of conduct, I forgave you for that. Next, you allow such disabilities in your home!” Avetha yelled.
Yale glared at her. “My father is not a disability! You’re a disability with your pointed ears and little sense!”
Avetha gasped. “You little… Thjis! Say something.”
“What do you want me to say, Ave? You disrespected me and the boy’s father with your choice of words. It’s expected that he reacts, and he did.”
Avetha gasped again. “The House of Ruins must hear of this!”
“The only thing that the House of Ruins would hear of is your disrespect towards me and my household. Now get out. You’re ruining lunch for us,” Thjis snarled.
Avetha left angrily, and Thjis reclined back in his seat.
“You shouldn’t have been too harsh, father. She might be horrible, but she’s still the Fae Queen,” Ruarc said.
Heaving a sigh, Thjis rose and left the dining room.
“If you all are done with your lunch, you can as well leave,” Dogara said.
Nobody moved.
“Didn’t you hear me?” the queen asked.
“We heard you, mother, but your darling sons would like to know what should be done to Eloive,” Elvis murmured.
“Oh yes. He did say that he’s only friends with the slave, but I am not entirely convinced with his words alone. That is why I have decided that after this festive season, Toreh would teach Eloive how to write,” she paused, turning to Toreh. “You do know how to write, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Good. You will teach my grandson how to write. I will have you both supervised, and if any sign of intimacy is noticed, we’ll take it from there. What do you think about that, boys? Is it a good plan?”
“Every plan the queen makes is a good plan,” Dolan said, smiling.
“Good. Anything else before we leave?”
“Yes, aunt,” Wilhelm said. “I would just like to know why you’ve enlisted a criminal to teach your grandson.”
Dogara sighed. “Wilhelm, we would discuss the girl’s offense in the presence of your father after the festive season. Now all of you should go away except Sia.”
All but Sia and the queen left the room.
“Dearest son of mine, may I know why the wolf still resides in our palace?”
Sia sighed. “I can’t simply send her away. We have a bond.”
“Then have Eloive break it. Sia, her presence in this palace is a threat to us and our positions as leaders of this great kingdom. If the House gets to know that the code of conduct was broken, and we let a wolf among us, then everything we’ve worked for would be a waste. You must let her go.”
“And if she’s with child? I should let her go then?” Sia asked.
“Is she?”
“We remain uncertain.”
“That’s impossible. Wolves can’t beget our children.”
“But what if they can? Am I to let her go then?”
Dogara exhaled sharply. “Sia, when we get to that bridge, if we get to that bridge, we’ll cross it. But until then, you must let her go. She has to leave. Unless she becomes one of us, she can’t stay here.”
“Are you saying I should change her?”
Dogara smiled. “I am saying you should do the right thing.”
…
“Is he going to be okay?” Thjis asked, approaching an unconscious Cocci. Avetha laughed. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Thjis. The lad is unconscious but he’s still aggressive.”
“So he’s not okay.”
“He’s not.”
“Avetha, I understand that you have no reason to help me, but you said you would help.”
“I’ve made him unconscious…”
“I don’t want him unconscious! I want him well, Avetha. I need you to make him well.”
“I’ve tried. I need his mate.”
“He doesn’t have one. Avetha, you can help him. I know you can.”
“I can, but I’m not going to.”
“You said you would.”
“I thought it over and no, I’m not doing it.”
“Why? What’s with the change of heart?”
Avetha laughed bitterly. “What’s with the change of heart? Are you seriously asking me that, Thjis? Your family and guest insulted me, and you did nothing!”
“Why do you always expect me to do something, Avetha? They wouldn’t have insulted you if you didn’t insult them first.”
“So now it’s my fault for wanting to correct them? It is my fault for teaching your wife the rules?”
“Do not bring my wife into this. Never bring her up whenever we are having a conversation, Avetha. I don’t bring you up when Dogara and I speak, so I definitely don’t want you bringing her up when we talk. And I apologize on behalf of my family and guest.”
She sniffed. “Your apology is not enough, Thjis.”
He grabbed her shoulders gently, his eyes meeting hers. “I am sorry, Ave. I really am.”
Avetha sighed. “To cast the spell necessary for him to be well, we need a female in heat.”
Thjis stepped away. “You’re joking. Do you know what you’re asking of me, Avetha? You’re saying that I should let a female wolf onto my lands.”
“You did that before; you can do it again.”
“No, I can’t! The House is starting to talk. I can’t let another of those furry creatures here.”
“They don’t have to know.”
“Well, with you threatening me every now and then, they would find out,” Thjis murmured.
Avetha exhaled sharply. “I will not tell.”
“It’s still a no. A she wolf in heat? Avetha, you know what a she wolf in heat does to Icelanders. It awakens the beasts in us. I have fifteen royal Icelanders under my roof, seven royal wives, and a dozen concubines. And you also know what kind of beast that resides within Sia. I’ll hate for Sycamore to wake up on Christmas Eve. We have tourists around, Avetha.”
“Thjis, calm down. Fine, this is what we will do. We will bolt the doors and declare an emergency lockdown. The tourists will talk, but they’d have to abide by our rules. We’ll lock the princes up in their rooms with obsidian ore coating the locks.”
“I’m still not bringing a she wolf in heat here, Avetha.”
“You don’t need to. I’ll just make do with the one we have here.”
“How? She has already met her mate and been in heat.”
“I can make her be in heat, okay? We just have to get her here,” Avetha said.
“Why do we need a female in heat?” Thjis asked.
“You said so yourself. A female in heat awakens the beasts in Icelanders. And if we succeed in awakening his beast, the venom would neutralize, and we could easily flush it out with IV fluid.”
“We can’t use Crinka, Avetha. Sia won’t allow it.”
“But Sycamore will. Come, follow me.”