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Chapter 4
Dagen
Dagen had called togethera council meeting after the ball. It had been extremely difficult to get through the night’s festivities while keeping the fear and dismay off his face. Ever single fae in attendance had been jolly, though he couldn’t ignore the whispered conversations that had rippled through the crowd when they’d thought no one waslistening.
“Conlan. Branok. Ethne.” Dagen nodded at the two Lords and then gave a nod to Ethne in turn. And then he turned to Rafe, who had insisted on joining them, even though he had no place on the council. He was not royalty, nor would he ever be, due to his upbringing. “Rafferty.”
The shapeshifting fae crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. “Call me Rafe. No need to be all formal in here. A shit storm has broken out in this Court, and we need to get to the bottom ofit.”
“First things first,” Dagen said, wincing at Rafferty’s nonchalant way of addressing the council. While Dagen didn’t like to think of himself as stuffy, he was certainly one to follow the rules and keep every toe inside the lines. “Most of the fae put on a good show, but there is much unrest in the Court at the present moment, not even considering Taveon’s current state. They are...displeased by hisannouncement.”
“Unfortunately for them, they will have to stay displeased,” Rafe said with afrown.
Dagen sighed and ran a hand down his face. “You do not understand the ways of the Court, Rafferty. Now is not the time to alienate those who Taveon needs to align himselfwith.”
“He is their ruler. Not their friend.” Rafe raised his eyebrows. “That was certainly how Midas preferred to rule. Which you would be very much aware of, being his Hand of the King andall.”
“And yet Midas was careful enough to know which branches to bend, which to break, and which to leave firmly attached to thetrees.”
“Innocent lives are not branches, Lord Dagen,” Rafferty said quietly. “We may be Dark Fae, but we are not without our own kind ofhumanity.”
“That may very well be true,” Dagen said with a snap. “And I agree that all three realms would be far better off if we put an end to this Tithe. Nevertheless, the Court is displeased. They are concerned by what this might mean for our survival. Until we find a way to reverse whatever has happened to our King, we need to make sure the unrest does not escalate into something much worse than angrywhispers.”
Rafferty fell silent at that, pressing his lips into a thin line. Finally, Dagen thought with an internal sigh of relief, he understood the gravity of the situation. Because while there could be threats from outside of the castle, if the wrong fae learned of Taveon’s condition, the King’s announcement could do far worse than that if the council did not keep a handle onit.
The Court itself could break out into war. They could try to take down their newKing.
