Some of it was even firsthand from Queen Grethe about how he treats her. I trust Oskar no further than I can fling his palace. I’m certain that he plans to try to blackmail me into his bed. It’s not going to work. I’m as devoted to Kenric as Kenric is to me. I’d rather bed Ellisar than Oskar, and I wouldn’t touch Ellisar with Taeryl’s lady parts, much less my own. Revalor isn’t known for being overly picky. His bar is set at consensual, but I don’t know that even he would be all that willing after what happened with my honor name.

  Then again, since Revalor’s only absolute criterion is willing, perhaps he’d be willing to bed Ellisar. Maybe I should suggest that to Revalor. I’m sure that he’d be willing to give it a go. I’ve never seen Ellisar with anyone, male or female. No one knows what his preferences are. There’s a vast and ancient betting pool on that in the Fey court. It includes just about any creature you can name, not just men and women. Over time, I think most everyone’s tried to guess, but no one’s ever uncovered the truth.

  He’s the king, so he’s expected to either pick an heir or make one at some point. Since neither thing seems to be in the works, there’s a lot of interest in our king’s preferences. When Taeryl found out Ellisar had revoked my honor name, she said that she hoped a rock troll fucked him hard and dry for at least a week. I should remind her to put that into the betting pool. I can’t say that I disagree with her assessment. Punishing me, even by revoking my honor name, makes it seem like what those Lawless lackwits were doing was permissible.

  That’s why everyone is so angry at Ellisar about it. His popularity has taken another nosedive because he’s interfered in my life yet again. Now it looks like he’s married me off and sent me away to Centis out of spite. I can’t imagine that’s helping his popularity at home since he did this so soon after revoking my honor name. The veterans and survivors started organizing protests that very day. The letters, the gifts, the shows of support all started arriving the very next morning.

  If anything happens to Kenric, I have everything I need to paint him as someone too petty, too capricious, and too vindictive to be king. We haven’t had an ouster of a king in a while. Perhaps we’re due for that. All the better if he doesn’t go quietly. There are a lot of us who wouldn’t hate having a more violent overthrow of Ellisar. Until then, I have a second wedding in this human kingdom to get through. I’ve considered consulting Queen Grethe about my wedding.

  I’m a foreign princess who’s marrying a viscount. While it is a state occasion, sealing the trade deal between Oskar and Ellisar, it’s also somewhat problematic from a rank perspective. My rank is so much higher than Kenric’s that no one is quite sure what to do with us as a pair. Had I come for a visit, I’d have been given rooms somewhere near the royal apartments. Had Kenric come to court on his own, he’d have been given rooms like the ones I’m in now. Oskar’s attempts to downgrade me to Kenric’s status seem like part of his push to try to bed me.

  If he can make me seem less important, it's easier for him to try to abuse me. What he fails to understand is that I’m here as Ellisar’s representative, his ambassador. No matter who I marry, in the eyes of the Fey court, I still maintain my own status. My friends at court were delighted with Kenric and happy for the two of us. Most went out of their way to tell me that they approved of him. Aside from the fact that he’s human, he’s quite the match for me. I’ll outlive him, and that’s going to be painful.

  In the middle of my musings, as Melina and the others are unpacking, Duchess Ina arrives. Sweeping in grandly, Duchess Ina takes in the rooms. “Víl?, these rooms are simply lovely. The artwork that you chose is stunning. Now that the feast hall has been selected, let’s look over the seating chart. We may want to move some people around to prevent any conflicts. Duchess Ina unrolls the scroll she’s carrying and weighs one corner of it with a vase of flowers. Kenric is coaxed into holding down another corner.

  With the confidence of a general arranging his troops, Duchess Ina lays out her seating plan. Pointing to the drawing, she explains it. “I’ve placed Kenric’s Barons over here. They’re well away from that snake Vellam. I’ve tucked Vellam and his cronies into the back together. Oskar, Grethe, and their retinue are here, next to the two of you. Hedde and I will be among them, so you needn't worry about that. I’ve placed the rest down the other side, with a few of the ambassadors from other kingdoms in the back. The commoners will be behind them.”

  “This all looks quite reasonable,” Kenric says, “I can’t think of anything I would want to change. Víl?, do you see anything you want to change?”

  I give Kenric a mischievous smile, and he laughs, “Stick to the seating chart, my treasure.”

  I heave a huge sigh and wave my hand at it. “I’m sure it’s fine. I’m not sure about the barbaric ritual that comes later, where your liegemen and their wives watch us.”

  Duchess Ina frowns at me, “There’s another bit of ritual you’re likely to disapprove of.”

  I gesture for Ina to explain. “At the ceremony, once it's done, he’s to put his boot on your shoulder.”

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “I wasn’t planning to do that,” Kenric explains.

  “What is the purpose of this?” I ask.

  “It means that you’ve accepted me as your master and I own you,” Kenric explains, “It’s ridiculous. You’re my wife, not my slave. No one really does that anymore.”

  Duchess Ina nods, “It’s not common anymore, but Oskar is insisting on it. He wants to be sure that you’re… compliant.”

  “No, he wants to bully me to see if he can get away with it,” I snarl back. I pinch the bridge of my nose and apologize to Ina. “I’m sorry, Your Grace. If Oskar were the last male in the world, I’d swim back to Imelenora to get away from him.”

  I stomp off to glare out the window. While I’m looking out the window, I’m trying to figure out what to do about this latest development and how I can end Oskar without getting caught or causing a diplomatic incident.

  Duchess Ina gives Kenric a weak smile. “That went better than I expected. This is what Oskar has said. It will impact your standing at court if you don’t do it.”

  Kenric nods. “He is the king.”

  “Hrmph! He may well be the king here, but he’s not my king,” I reply.

  “That’s why he’s demanding the gesture of your compliance to Kenric. You’re a foreign princess who’s marrying one of his lords,” Duchess Ina explains.

  “He’s not asking you to take oaths to his kingdom,” Kenric adds.

  I consider this for a moment. “I have oaths to my kingdom already. I can’t take oaths to Oskar. Very well. I’ll do this. I don’t like it, but I’ll do it.”

  What I don’t say is that I like it even less since he tried to pawn me off to his eldest, Jannick. I’m fit to be a queen but not fit to marry a viscount? There is no logic in this at all. It just makes it more likely that he’s trying to maneuver himself into a position to lord over me. I dislike it with every fiber of my being. Ellisar wisely put clauses in the contract that prevent them from asking me for any oath of any kind. They’re not allowed to even hint at it or the trade deal they need so badly is negated.

  Kenric smiles at me, “I think this is why Oskar is insisting on it. If they’ve read the trade agreement, he’s not allowed to ask you to take any more oaths. He’s hoping that he can order you about through me.”

  “It’s all just an illusion. You know that no one makes me do anything I don’t wish to do. Nor could you stop me from doing something I truly wanted,” I reply.

  Kenric nods, grinning, “Well, I know it, my treasure. Give the man his illusion.”

  I snort, “I think the illusion of my compliance is all anyone in Centis will ever receive.”

  Kenric laughs, and I look at Duchess Ina, “If anyone in that Cathedral mistakes the gesture for weakness... They will find out exactly what happens when you try to put chains on a Fey.”

  I am Fey. We’ll take your chains and choke you with them – slowly and painfully.

  Sensing the threat behind my words, Duchess Ina gives me a nervous, fragile smile. "Very well. The ceremony is tomorrow, and the only item now left is the bridal gift exchange. You will present your gift to Lord Kenric tonight, at the start of the Rehearsal dinner."

  Turning to Kenric, “I take you have her gift ready.”

  Kenric smirks, “That I do.”

  “Well then, I’ll leave you two to get settled back into the palace,” Duchess Ina says brightly before sweeping out. I turn to Kenric and chuckle.

  “A rehearsal dinner? This seems like a bad idea, given that we’re already arranging the seating chart to prevent fights from breaking out at the wedding. Why give them a second opportunity to fight? It seems that we’d be better off just sending them a small gift. What odd customs you have.”

  “It’s customary for those who have some small part to play in the wedding, and a way for Oskar to demonstrate his power,” Kenric replies.

  “I’m not so sure that this is a good idea. It still seems like we’re giving them a lower-risk venue to pick a fight than our actual wedding. The political maneuvering is going to be difficult at best. I hate it. At least in Ellisar’s court, I know the players and what to expect. Here, everything is largely unknown.” I reply. I shoo Kenric out so that I can meditate, bathe, and prepare myself for this foolishness.

  In any other circumstances, I’d have my way with Kenric and let him have his way with me. However, we’re in Oskar’s palace and he’s likely hiding behind the wall somewhere watching and listening. On top of everything else, Oskar is a peeper, I’m almost certain of it. I know that Kenric warned me to put up a screen when I bathe or change. Mostly I change clothing in my ladies’ area. I hate this place and everything about it, save one. The one saving grace I find in this place is Kenric.

  Kenric arrives sometime later to escort me to this rehearsal dinner. Inaba and the rest of my honor guard accompany him. My ladies fall in behind me as we go to step into this den of lions. For reasons I can’t quite put my finger on, I feel as if I should be wearing my armor and carrying Lantecari. My sense of danger has me on high alert. I present Kenric with the sword that I had forged for him in Imelenora. The blade shimmers like the aurora, shifting between greens and purples, as it lies nestled in the black velvet presentation box.

  “This is Fey Steel. It has an edge so sharp it will cut truth from lies, and it will only answer to you.”

  What I cannot tell him here in front of all these humans is that it will give him some of my speed. Its colors will also shift when someone’s lying. Kenric picks it up to test it, and his brow furrows in surprise. The sword feels almost impossibly light in his large hand, like a wooden training blade. He looks at me, questioning.

  “It is a weapon, not some trophy or ornament. This was forged by one of the finest Fey smiths currently living.”

  “It’s so light and I’ve never felt a blade with a balance like this,” Kenric replies, “It’s magnificent. I love it.”

  He sheathes the sword and grins at me. “I have a gift for you as well.”

  He hands me a box and carefully lifts the lid. It’s a small hand mirror. Most of the mirror is carved from obsidian, but the frame around it is Net Vine. It’s been arranged to look like lightning, but I know, before I even touch it, what this is for. It’s for scrying, and Net Vine is potent for that.

  “While you need no mirror to know your worth, it seemed like something you make use of,” Kenric says being equally cryptic for our audience.

  What's your favorite holiday tradition? Let me know in the comments...