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How the fuck did I not notice we've been matching since he replaced my clothes with some of his own choosing? I open my mouth to say something, but he holds up a palm to stop me, enraging me further.
"This is Raya's doing," he explains. "I assure you, I would not have chosen this color for you."
What color would he choose?
"Red," he answers my unasked question. His head sinks back against the headrest, and his eyes close, exhaustion written on every inch of him. "The shade of red your cheeks turn when you're angry. So dark it resembles wine, so fucking beautiful I want to drink in every inch of you."
"Well," I clear my throat, "it certainly seems that one of us is sleep-deprived, but it certainly isn't me."
He chuckles, languidly raising his head to look at me. "Please sit, Elva. Drink. Eat. We have a terribly long and boring day ahead of us."
"Long and boring?" I scoff. "Today is historic. All of our neighboring nations are meeting to discuss peace for the first time in centuries."
"Right, yes." He nods, condescension obvious. "Historic talks of peace. Sure. Just please, for a second, can we hold off on that? We'll be discussing it for the next several weeks."
"You can't really believe it'll take that long?" I pry.
A sleepy laugh escapes him. "You have no idea what kind of mess you've brought upon yourself, Elva. Everything between the rest of us has been fine. We've had our squabbles, and everybody has to remind Colm who he is every six months or so, but now that Rhyma wants to finally involve themselves, everyone else is going to want more out of the arrangement."
"What do you mean?"
"Fastid is completely landlocked. Rhyma is effectively landlocked, your shores being entirely useless. We have a few trades we agreed to with Fastid generations ago, but now that Rhyma wants something from us, Colm is going to think they deserve more than Rhyma because we've been friendly with them for longer."
"And Suva? Lermo?" I ask.
"Suva doesn't need anything from us. Anything their land can't naturally produce, the Fae can. And Prince Tirriel just likes to feel important, so he came along. Lermo does a lot of trade with the Fae. Loves them. And the Fae love to love them back."
"Fae and humans?" I cover my mouth, scandalized.
He looks surprised by my shock. "How do you think Maren came to be? Fae love to fuck mortals." He laughs. "Any mortal that sleeps with a Fae becomes utterly obsessed, and Fae soak up that devotion like mini gods."
"Huh." I nod. "Then why come at all? Why not just stay between themselves?"
He shrugs. "Maren is a good queen, always willing to do whatever she must, including travel just to babysit the mortals she must rule beside. Prince Tirriel probably wanted to see if he could get more for his country and fuck you while he does. Which, let me reiterate in case I wasn't clear enough, he can't."
Completely ignoring the thrill his possessive tone sends up my spine, I change the subject, "What about the president of Slawyth and his husband? I thought they were supposed to arrive yesterday."
"Shan alerted me that they sent a missive; something happened at their capital that required them to stay behind. They are very apologetic, but these things happen." He seems almost as disappointed as I am. "I know you really hoped for everyone to be here."
"Well, there's nothing that can be done about it, I guess. Is there anything they are asking for in the negotiations? Anything that Rhyma can provide?" I ask.
"Elva." He grins. "No offense, but Rhyma really doesn't have that much to offer other than weaponry."
"Everyone needs weapons," I argue.
He blinks a couple times as if waiting for me to laugh or finish some joke. "Right. Most countries are run by Zalig, and as such, the kind of power we need isn't really some metal contraption. Guns of any kind are really only used by Rhyma; the rest of our armies use swords and are led by those of us with power." His eyes narrow, looking right through me, before he abruptly stands and says, "I have to go."
"What?"
"There's something that I need to do before meetings begin," he tells me, gesturing toward me with his hands to stay put. "Finish eating; don't rush on my account. I'll see you this afternoon."
Just as the sun is about to reach its peak in the sky, Raya arrives to help me with last-minute preparation for the first of our official meetings.
"Are you excited?" she beams, grabbing that cream stuff for my hair.
I shake my head, using a comb instead to slick it all back so I can put it in a bun. "I am excited. His Royal Majesty seems to believe things are going to devolve into some kind of fight, but I'm confident that we can come to peaceful agreements."
A knowing grin fills her face, and her brown eyes beam. "I guess you'll find out," she says.
