[Merry Gentry 04] - A Stroke of Midnight (25 page)

“You cannot steal that which is offered,” I said.

“And what does that mean, Meredith, with your Seelie eyes?”

I swallowed hard, and promised myself I'd think better before I spoke next time. “The ring gave Biddy to Nicca.”

“So you say, but I say that the guards serve only my bloodline. So how do you propose to satisfy both the ring on your finger and your queen?”

“You said any guard who comes to my bed is mine to keep, correct?”

“Yes, so Afagdu has reminded me.”

“Then I will take Biddy and Nicca to my bed. Nicca will still be my lover, but he will also be Biddy's. Will that satisfy you, Aunt Andais?”

“I have never found Nicca able to serve more than one person in a night.”

“I can bring him back to readiness with a touch,” I said.

“Can you really?” Her voice was thick with scorn. Her eyes had gone back to being angry.

I didn't like the look or the tone, but I answered her, because not answering was probably worse. “Yes, my queen, I can.”

“Is this some new ability that you have gained?”

“No, Aunt Andais, it has always been my gift.”

“I keep forgetting that you're a fertility goddess.”

“Descended from, yes.”

“I did not think you liked women, Meredith.”

My neck was beginning to feel strained looking up at her six-foot height from my knees. “I do not, as a rule, but if this is the only way to satisfy both the ring and my queen, then I will do it.”

She walked closer to me, forcing me to move my neck even farther back, as if she knew how awkward it was. “Would you do anything to see them make this potential child a reality?”

I saw the trap in her words and tried to avoid it. “Not anything, no.”

“But much,” she said, looming over me, “you would do much to have them fuck?”

I fought the urge to sit back on my heels, anything to get my neck out of the odd position. I did not want to answer this question, nothing good would come of it.

“Answer me, Meredith.”

“Yes, Aunt Andais, I would do much so they could make the child the ring promised.”

“Why do you care if they are with child?”

“Life quickens inside them. I saw it, felt it. It is a gift of the Goddess. How can I do anything but honor that gift? You wore the ring once when it was in its full power. You must remember how it felt.”

She grabbed me by the hair, jerked my head even farther back, as if she meant to snap my neck. She growled low and close to my face. “I am not a fertility goddess. I took the ring off my enemy's finger. It was a spoil of war, and it worked for me, but its magic and mine are not complementary. I never saw a phantom child. I saw sex, obsession, love, but children . . .” She lifted me off my knees, by my hair. I put a hand back to try to keep it from hurting so much. “I never saw any children.”

Our faces were almost touching now. It felt as if she was going to tear my hair out by the roots. “Why is it so important to you that Nicca and Biddy fuck?”

I spoke through gritted teeth, trying not to cry out. “Because I am a princess of this court and I have a chance to give the sidhe their first child in a century. It is my duty, my honor, to bring this child into being.”

She let me go so abruptly that I fell, and only Galen's arm kept me from smacking my face against the floor. She touched his face, made him look at her. “Oh, he is angry. He doesn't like that I've hurt you. I never tried him out. I always thought he would be like Nicca, too gentle in bed, but he doesn't frighten as easily as Nicca. A disaster politically, but brave in that ‘hero destined to die for a cause' sort of way.” She cupped his chin in her hand. “Is he any good as a lover?”

If I said yes, she might want to borrow him. If I said no, it would be a lie. He was too gentle for me, too, but when I was in the mood for gentle lovemaking, Galen was just about perfect. “I think he is too gentle for your tastes, Aunt Andais.”

“But not for yours?” She knelt down, making a pool of black silk in front of my downcast eyes.

“I have wider interests in the bedroom than you do, auntie dearest.”

“Why is it that any tender endearment from you always sounds like you're telling me to go fuck myself?”

“I meant no disrespect.”

“I have heard that you like it rough, Meredith.” She bent down, whispering, “Not as rough as me, or Cel, but rough enough.”

“Not every night, Aunt Andais.” I did not raise my face beyond her silk lap. I was in pain and tired of her insane games. It had never occurred to me that she would see all the new magic as a threat to her. So much had happened, there hadn't been time to keep her informed. But she was our queen, and I had made her look weak. Because she got her reports from others, the entire court knew I did not respect her enough to keep her informed or ask her opinion. If she was going this crazy about smaller things, what would she do when she found out that the chalice had returned and I had not told her that either? But that was something I would not reveal before the entire court. It was too dangerous.

“If you are not with child, you will never be queen.” She spoke into my hair.

“Keeping Nicca and Biddy from their child will not gain me one,” I said.

“Giving children to every couple in our court will not gain you my throne.”

“If I could bring hundreds of children to the Unseelie Court, I would not need to rule it.”

“Cel will kill you.”

“I know that.”

“Do you want to rule?” She said it as if it had never occurred to her to ask.

“I have no choice but to rule or die.”

She grabbed me by the shoulders, and Galen tried to hold me from her, a mistake that cost me bruises as she jerked me away from him. “Do you want to rule?”

“If it is a choice between giving the court to Cel or me, I choose me.”

“What if there were a third choice?” she asked.

“I know of no other choice,” I said.

“Don't you, Meredith? Don't you know exactly who would rule here if he could?”

I must have looked as puzzled as I felt because she yelled at me, “Barinthus would rule here if I allowed it. He was always after Essus to kill me and take the throne, because that was as close to the throne as his vows could get him.” She pointed to Barinthus, standing near the side of the steps.

“I told you that he and I have done nothing that could make him king to my queen. I will take whatever oath you wish. Who has whispered these lies to you?”

“Are they lies, Meredith, all of them?”

“I don't know what you have been told, but Barinthus making himself my king is a lie.”

“Then tell me what else is a lie, Meredith. The ring has chosen a couple, but I had to hear it from others, not from your mouth. You have imprisoned my son's guards without consulting me. You have a suspect in the murders, but you have not told me who. You have fucked my new captain of the guard and divided his loyalties from me. Darkness and others ran into the night, and I don't know why.” She stalked back to me, grabbed my arm, and screamed in my face, “I am queen here! Not you!”

I spoke quietly, too scared to be angry, too scared to worry about the bruising grip on my arm. “I came to tell you of all this and more, my queen, but you have given me no chance. You would not meet with me in private.”

“And what is it that you are ashamed of, that you need whisper in private?”

“I am ashamed of nothing, but there are traitors among us that do not need to know all our secrets.”

She jerked me up on tiptoe. “We have punished the traitors.”

“May I show you more traitors, my queen? The ones who attacked my men and me.”

“You said it was not another assassination attempt.” She pulled me in against her body.

“I said not on me. They tried to kill Galen.” I was close enough to watch her eyes, and see the flicker. She knew about the prophecy. That was why she'd insisted I bed vegetative deities when I entered faerie this time. It was all there in her eyes, and I saw something else there, before she could stop it. Fear. I saw it, and I think she knew I'd seen too much.

She threw me from her so hard that if my guards hadn't been there to catch me, I would have fallen. Frost held me for a moment, then passed me to Galen, and put both of us out of reach of the queen. She'd have to wade through some of my guard, her guard, to get to me now. I wasn't sure being so obvious was a good idea, but I didn't want her to keep hurting me either.

“May we bring the traitors before the queen?” Frost asked.

She nodded, and started back to her throne, not looking back. I think she spent that walk working on her face and eyes, so that no matter who we dragged in, she wouldn't let the surprise show. It made me wonder who the queen was expecting us to bring before her. Did she know something that we didn't know, and needed to? What had that tiny flash of fear in her eyes been?

Crystall came to my order. The guards with him helped Lord Kieran walk in, but they had to drag Lord Innis. They dumped him at the queen's feet.

Her face was empty, cold, and arrogant. It gave nothing away as she stood on the steps. Mistral was still kneeling behind her where she had left him. Barinthus was still standing where she'd left him. I think he feared drawing her attention back to him.

“Kieran Knife-Hand, your wife has been telling me evil things. Telling me that Barinthus means to take my throne and that I should kill him before he comes back into his full power. I admit the thought occurred to me when I realized he had been with Meredith. Barinthus is many things, but dishonorable is not one of them. He gave his word, I believe he will keep it. In fact, I allowed him into our court on that belief.” She moved down the steps until she stood just above him. “So why did I give such weight to your wife's evil words?”

After a moment she said, “Mistral.”

“My queen.”

“Rise, and come to me.”

He did as she asked, but kept his hair over his face, as if he didn't trust his expression. I couldn't blame him.

“Bring Kieran's wife before me.”

Kieran's house was led by Blodewedd, who was created from the spring flowers of oak, broom, and meadowsweet by Gwydion and Math to be a bride for Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Why would the Unseelie Court take in a woman who had betrayed her husband and her marital vows, and only failed to be a murderer because her husband was able to kill her lover? Because marriage by force is not recognized among us. She was created, then given as a sort of gift, like you'd buy a dog or a horse. Even in a day and time when women didn't always have the right to choose their partners, it was a little high-handed.

The one thing you always needed to remember with Blodewedd is if you're fair with her, she'll be fair with you, but don't betray her. Don't ever do anything she could take badly. She learned from her earlier mistakes. She does her own killing now.

Blodewedd stood as Mistral came for her table, and one of her people. Her hair was the startling yellow of the flowers that had formed her. Her skin was a soft, pale color that was somewhere between white and gold. She was almost doll-like in her beauty. The kind of woman men would create if they could, with high proud breasts a little bigger than was usual for the sidhe. Her eyes were huge and liquid dark, drowning and lustrous, owl eyes in that delicate face. Supposedly, she'd been cursed with them, cursed to be in the shape of an owl. If that were true, than she'd managed to cure herself of everything but the eyes.

“Madenn is mine to protect, Queen Andais. I would speak with her before you take her.”

“Is your house traitor to me as Nerys's was, Blodewedd?”

“I would never betray a fellow sister of the dark.” Blodewedd would go for years without uttering a word in court, then she'd come out with lines like that. “Nor would I tolerate such betrayal among my household.”

“You may speak with her,” Andais said, “but it must be publicly done. There will be no more secrets this night.”

Blodewedd gave a small bow, then turned to the woman in question. Madenn was a small woman by sidhe standards, barely five-eight. But sitting there in her black dress with her dark hair and eyes, she seemed smaller, as if she had shrunk in upon herself. Her normally pale skin was pasty. Her hands were very still on the arms of her chair. She sat there immobile, her face frozen.

“Madenn,” Blodewedd said, in a voice that carried through the hall, “your husband has been named traitor. What say you to that?”

Madenn licked her pale lips. “I do not know what to say.” Her voice was breathy but more in control than her face and body.

“You must say something, for the Queen's Ravens come for you. You must give me some reason to protect you. If you swear to me that you are innocent of wrongdoing I will fight for you even against the queen herself. But I must know now, Madenn. I must know how much I am to risk for you, and if you are worth that risk.”

I could not see Kieran's face, but even with his hands bound behind his back, he stood easier and more naturally than his wife sat in her carved chair. I watched what little blood was left in Madenn's face drain away.

“Fainting will not aid you,” Blodewedd said, and her voice held an edge of that purring darkness that Andais's could hold. “Can you give me a reason for defying our queen about this? Give me a word of defense for you, Madenn, and I will use it.”

Madenn looked up at her liege lord, and tears glittered in her eyes, but no words came. As admissions of guilt went, it was good enough.

Blodewedd bowed her head, and turned back to Mistral. “I cannot save her from her own actions.”

“Take her, Mistral,” the queen said.

Madenn did not move or speak until Mistral grabbed her arm. Then she held on to the arms of the chair like a child. She may have been delicate by sidhe standards, but she was still strong enough that making her leave her chair without hurting her wasn't really possible. She was saying one word, over and over again—“No, no, no, no”—in a high, thin voice.