Gwyn’s eyes narrowed. “You wish us to be at odds, wife?”
“Only for the hunt, love.”
Was that a public declaration they were holding it together or a more public declaration they’d fallen apart? Out here, with no shadow servants to pick up the fallen petals and leaves, they littered the ground. The decaying of Annwyn couldn’t be disguised.
“Very well, Lords verses the Ladies it is. Hawks verses hounds?” The King was almost smiling.
Curse it to the river; he hadn’t called the hawks. Not that it would take long, but he hated looking unprepared.
The Queen nodded. “Your choice.”
Everyone looked at the King. Hawks were the safe bet, as they’d bring a small kill. Hounds meant gambling everything on a deer to win. How secure was the King feeling?
The horses pranced as they got twitchy waiting to start. A couple of the Ladies giggled before being silenced with a glance from Sulia.
“Hounds,” Gwyn said. He voice clear and strong.
Verden signaled for the hounds to go to the King, then he whistled for the hawks. Three fine birds swooped in looking for an arm. The Queen held out hers, as did Sulia. The last hawk circled, and after some prompting from Sulia, Taryn held out her arm. She closed her eyes as the hawk landed. He could see the tension in her body from here. Maybe Taryn would have been safer with the King instead of the Queen.
That the Queen had favored Taryn with a hawk wouldn’t go unnoticed by the King. It looked as though Taryn was in with the Ladies. Verden hoped she knew what a fine blade she was walking on. He didn’t want to her to slip and cut an artery. She could lose favor with the King faster than she’d gained it. While the idea held appeal, Verden didn’t want to see her grieving over her parents. He wanted her to be happy.
Was there even such a thing in Annwyn, or was it all for show?
Verden acknowledged the King, then the Queen. “By the rules of the hunt, a clean kill wins. Should both teams return a kill, the largest will win.” Which meant the King would win if he managed to catch a deer. He had a bad feeling that the Queen was going to win this. And if someone was winning, there had to be a prize.
What were the King and Queen prepared to lose in this public battle? He was becoming glad he wasn’t riding with the hunt today. He couldn’t, as someone had to judge, and that would be his job. He forced a breath between his teeth. He was really starting to hate this, something he’d never thought he’d ever think. Yet his whole world was turning sour as winter crept closer.
“The winning team will get to choose their partners for the midsummer dance.” Gwyn smiled as he spoke, and for the first time in a long time, he looked like he was enjoying himself.
That should be enough of a warning that something was up. If Eyra won, the Ladies would get to pick a Lord. Who could Eyra pick without losing face? No one. As no one wanted to be her partner after Shea’s death and everyone knew it. But the King…Verden risked a glance at Taryn…he could choose her publicly and no one would bat an eyelid. Yet at the same time it would be a slight toward the Queen.
“Very well.” The Queen inclined her head.
Then the King and Queen shook hands; that was probably the most they’d touched in recent memory. There were a few murmured words, but no one was close enough to hear.
Something that should have been a good thing somehow felt like the end of the world was drawing closer. They weren’t reconciling; they were just shifting their feud to the next level. They were gambling against each other in public. No one would win today. But who would lose more than they could afford?
Verden raised his hand. “Ladies to my left, Lords to my right. There is plenty of forest and game for all. Foul play will not be tolerated. You all know the rules. Play fair; win well. Happy hunting.” He let his hand fall and the riders were off.
Horses plunged into the woods, hounds weaving beneath their feet. The hawks took flight, and too soon he lost sight of Taryn. Then he was alone. He crossed his arms. He didn’t know which team he wanted to win. With a click of his tongue, he turned and walked back to castle Annwyn. He needed those shadows to start bringing out cushions, food, and refreshments. He’d rather be hunting with Taryn.
The ride was exhilarating. Before coming to Annwyn, she’d never been near a horse and now she was riding through the forest as the hawks searched for prey. It was exciting and like reenacting history. People didn’t do this anymore. When the Queen had suggested Ladies versus Lords, she’d breathed a sigh of relief before disappointment had caught up. She’d been hoping to accidentally ride near Verden.
Now she was caught next to Sulia. “Many Lords are vying for your favor yet you seem to be ignoring them all.”
“I’m not here to date a fairy.” She shrugged, not wanting to be caught in this conversation. Beneath her the horse totted along. There was no rush when the hawks were doing the work and all they had to do was watch and wait. She was sure there were marks on her arm from where it had landed. She’d almost died when the Queen had insisted she hold out her arm for the bird to sit on.
“You prefer human men.” Sulia smiled as if they shared a secret.
“Men are men regardless of what they are.” That much was true, but Verden made her heart skip a beat the way no one had ever done before.
“Is that a polite way of saying they just want sex?” Sulia’s gaze flicked over her dress and back up to her face. “That is a beautiful dress…where did you get it?”
“I’ve had some made.” Discussing who had given it to her wouldn’t win her friends with the Ladies. “Do you prefer human men?”
Sulia raised one eyebrow but said nothing. She didn’t need to. Sulia was visiting the mortal world and not for sightseeing. Since the Queen’s Ladies weren’t allowed to take a lover at Court—because the Queen couldn’t—they were going elsewhere. Maybe some were meeting fairy men, but others were looking for humans. If the Queen knew about Verden and her, she’d be out of the inner circle faster than she could say “I slipped and fell on it.” Obviously most of these women thought celibacy was worth being the Queen’s friends—that or they were being super sneaky. Her bet was on the latter.
After a few moments of silence, Taryn decided to risk continuing the talk on men even though she was sure the ground was becoming less stable beneath her feet. “Why? I would’ve thought with all the beauty here, the men across the veil would be dull.”
“As you said, men are men. But mortal men…they are less troublesome. Their lives are shorter and they will do almost anything for the promise of immortal life.”
What was Sulia getting them to do?
There was only one thing a mortal man could do that a fairy man couldn’t—give Sulia a child. Her heart gave a thump as the realization hit, but she kept her gaze steady and expression fixed.
Sulia was trying to get pregnant. In this climate? Was she mad? The Queen would banish her and her baby would be a darkling, born of a banished parent. Or was she hoping that the Queen would be off her throne before the pregnancy showed?
“You go across regularly?” Taryn tried to keep her voice steady.
Sulia gave an elegant shrug as if it was nothing.
Maybe it did mean nothing. Maybe, but so far Sulia didn’t seem to do anything without it forming part of her plan—it was just a pity no one knew what that plan was.
“Perhaps I could ask the Prince for permission to go with you. I would love to see my parents again.”