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:I don’t want that kind of blind, stupid loyalty. If I’m making a mistake, I want people to tell me.: Though the thought of everyone using tiny little forks for a giant steak did make me smile more easily.

Everyone took their seats. I quietly watched as Blood helped their queens adjust skirts and scoot chairs. Gina sat beside Mairead so I could easily watch her utensil choices if needed. Gwen sat a few seats down from Sorcha, with Lancelot and Merlin standing behind her. From past experience, I knew the knights would have refused a seat, but I could’ve included Merlin.

:Sorry, I should have asked if Merlin would like to sit with us.:

Her lips curved and she shook her head slightly. :This dinner is for queens. However, he is rather nosy and wants to know what everyone talks about.:

Merlin huffed in her bond so loudly even I heard it, though he only moved enough to twitch the long, heavily embroidered cuffs of his purple robes.

Several of the queens—including Mairead—didn’t have any Blood. Though of course several of my other Blood moved quickly around the table, helping any queen adjust their chairs as needed. Daire and Gerard were no surprise—though Rik had included them for different reasons—along with Gwen’s knights. Warwick was unexpected, especially given how little he’d interacted with the rest of my Blood. As a knight, he might be as honorable as Guillaume, but we didn’t really know. I hadn’t formed a deep enough bond with him yet. Most of the blood he’d taken from me had ended up spilled on the floor and absorbed back into my system.

:I figured it’d be easier to keep him close, my queen,: Rik said. :Especially since Sekh is occupied with the sphinxes. We haven’t armed Warwick yet, just to be safe.:

:I’d trust him with a blade,: Guillaume said. :Besides, any knight worth his salt could pick up a steak knife like Gerard did last night anyway.:

:Not helping,: Rik grumbled.

Guillaume radiated calm, confident serenity. :He won’t touch a strand of our queen’s hair without my sword taking his head.:

Waitstaff dressed in all black with a golden ankh embroidered on their chests began moving around the room, pouring wine and requested drinks. Harvey came to pour my cup himself. “Would you prefer red or white to start, Your Majesty?”

“Whichever you recommend, Mr. Renardet.”

He poured sparkling white wine. “We’re ready to begin serving at your command, Your Majesty.”

“I’d like to say a few words first. Five to ten minutes or so?”

He inclined his head. “Of course.”

He led the serving staff back toward the kitchens. A few quiet whispers and rustles filled the room but mostly everyone looked at me.

I met each queen’s gaze, matching names to faces. When I couldn’t remember, Daire quietly interjected their names for me so I could work on memorizing them.

“Thank you for being here,” I finally said. “Of course, I’m eager to hear how your visits to the other houses went this afternoon, but first, I wanted to fill you in on something that happened this afternoon. To be honest, I debated on how much to admit.”

I laughed, shaking my head ruefully. “But that’s not the kind of queen I want to be. I’m not Rosalind, the Dauphine, or Marne Ceresa. I didn’t come to Paris to claim as much power as possible for myself and my house while screwing everyone else. What happened today only solidified my determination to do things differently than my predecessors.

“I muted my bonds so it’s doubtful you knew exactly how dire the situation was. But while we were at House Valois, my Blood found something deadly in the attic. So deadly that we all died.” Despite my best intentions, my voice wavered. “My entire house. All of my Blood except one. We were quite literally dead in minutes. There was nothing I could do to save us.”

“But how?” Sorcha asked. “If Rosalind was gone… I don’t understand what could have attacked you. One of her staff?”

“We’re still investigating the details, but this trap was set centuries ago by the Dauphine, not her granddaughter. I would assume Rosalind knew the trap was there, but I don’t have proof of that knowledge.”

“What was it?” Mairead asked. “More of her former Blood?”

“It was pestilence created specifically to target Aima instead of humans. It spread in seconds and feasted on the Mother’s blood, destroying Blood bonds entirely. Luckily, we found the antidote in time to revive everyone, but it was a very near thing.”

Pausing, I reached for my glass, though my hand trembled. It took me a few seconds to calm down enough to take a sip of crisp, sweet wine. “I will not sugarcoat the situation. I suspect the pestilence was meant to kill as many Aima as possible. I don’t know that the house itself could have contained the contagion once freed. We might all have died today. Every single one of us. All it would have taken would have been for one of you to come to find me, and it would have jumped to you as well.

“What chills me to the bone is the fact that this was just one old, grand Aima house. What nightmares did Marne Ceresa commit in Rome and hide within her nest? She once imprisoned one of my Blood for a hundred years just in case she needed him. What horrors have been lingering for centuries, waiting to be unleashed on the whims of one power-mad queen determined to destroy everything?

“And for what? What reason could the Dauphine have wished to kill all Aima except her own selfishness to preserve her power above everyone and everything else? She was willing to kill everyone to retain her power. That’s obscene. Offensive. A desecration of the Mother’s gift we carry.

“We need each other. More, She needs us. All of us. This isn’t about holding a Triune seat at the expense of every other house or sending my Executioner to eliminate the competition. That world is finished. The old Triune queens are dead. Their blood is purged from the courts and returned to the Mother. They had their chance to make a better world, and they failed. Our magic thinned, our bloodlines died out, our Houses wiped from the face of the earth because of their greed and selfishness. But we can change that. Starting here. Right now.

“This is my commitment to you. You are my siblings, and I take such responsibility seriously. The people at this table are my family. You carry my blood. We fight for each other. We support each other. If any one of us calls for help, we all respond. Immediately. With our full might at our sibling’s disposal. We don’t seek out destruction of other courts but rather work together. This is the kind of alliance House Isador wants and expects to build with each of you.”

Sorcha started to stand, and Mairead immediately stood with her, their arms interlinked. Both wore soft, flowing, beautiful gowns in petal pink, but Sorcha had added the flower crown to her hair that I’d seen in the vision. Sage green ribbons woven with flowers, not hot-house roses or cultivated orchids but delicate wildflowers and colorful buds from nature. She lifted her wine glass before her. “The queens of Paris and France proudly stand with House Isador.”