Swallowing Darkness - Laurell K. Hamilton [75]
“We all did,” Mistral said.
“Not all,” Doyle said.
“Who did not?” Mistral asked.
“Whoever killed him. It had to be another sidhe warrior. No other could have stood against Prince Essus.” It was the first time I’d heard Doyle say out loud what I’d always known, that somewhere in the faces of those around me at court was my father’s murderer.
Doyle turned to me. “Who will you call?”
“I’ll call for help. I’ll say the truth, that the Seelie are trying to take me back to the king’s hands. That they do not believe his guilt, and I need help.”
“They cannot defeat the Seelie,” Doyle said.
“No, but neither can the Seelie defend themselves against human authority. If they do, they lose their right to live on American soil. They will be banished from the last country that will have them.”
The two men looked at me, then Mistral nodded. “Clever.”
“You put the Seelie in a situation that they cannot win,” Doyle said. “If they fail their king, he could have them killed.”
“They have the ability to bring him down as king, Doyle. If they are too weak-willed to do it, then their fate is their own.”
“Harsh words,” he said softly.
“I thought being pregnant would make me softer, but when I stood alone in the snow and realized that Onilwyn meant to kill me, knowing that I was with child,” I shook my head, trying to put it into words, “some terrible resolve took hold of me. Or perhaps it was Gran dying in my arms that finally made me realize.”
“Realize what, Meredith?”
“That I cannot afford to be weak, or even too terribly kind anymore. The time for such things must be over, Doyle. I will save faerie if I can, but I will protect my children and the men I love above all else.”
“Even above taking the throne?” Doyle asked.
I nodded. “You saw the noble houses when the queen presented me, Doyle. We have less than half the houses supporting me. I thought Andais was strong enough to push whatever heir she chose upon the nobles, but if the nobles of her court are conspiring with the nobles of the Seelie Court, she’s lost too much power over them. There is no way to be safe on this throne, unless we can find more allies here.”
“Are you giving up the crown?” Doyle asked, words very careful. “No, but I am saying that I cannot take it unless my safety and the safety of my kings and children can be guaranteed. I will not lose another person to assassins, and I will not die at their hands as my father did.” I put my hands on my stomach. Still so flat, but I had seen their tiny figures on the ultrasound. I would not lose them. “We go to the Western Lands, and we stay there until the babies are born, or until we are certain that we are safe.”
“We will never be safe, Meredith,” Doyle said.
“So be it, then,” I said.
“Be careful what you say, Princess,” Mistral said.
“I say the truth, Mistral. There are too many schemes, plots, enemies, or simply people who want to use me. My own cousin used our grandmother as a weapon, and set her up to be killed. So many of the sidhe care nothing for the lesser fey, and that’s wrong too. If I am to be queen here, then I will be queen of all, not just of the sidhe.”
“Merry…,” Doyle said.
“No, Doyle, the lesser fey haven’t tried to kill me and mine yet. Why should I keep being loyal to the very people who keep trying to hurt me?”
“Because you are part sidhe.”
“I am also part human and part brownie. We’ll need a guide to the phone room. It’s been too long since I was there. But we will call the police and they will come and get us out. We will be on a plane to Los Angeles, and the plane itself will be enough metal and technology to protect us.”
“It is not a happy thing for me to fly, Meredith,” Doyle said.
I smiled at him. “I know that much metal is a problem