Carefully, as if she might disappear at my touch, my fingers bury themselves into the silk of her hair. And then I am kissing her again, gulping her down like sweet, fizzy wine. Desperate to be drunk.
“As much as I hate to interrupt.” Another voice startles us both.
Mortification smears up my neck as I realize how close Laurel is standing, the three of us pressed together inside this tiny cell.
Cell.
“Wait.” Beyond the iron bars, the passage is empty. “How are you two here?”
Aurora grins. “After I decided you needed rescuing, I sent for Laurel myself. It was easy enough to summon a wisdom Grace while I was supposed to be considering my father’s offer.” Her gaze brightens with that mischievous glint that lets butterflies loose beneath my skin. “The rest was your own doing. You know the sleeping potion you gave me for my guards? You were right. A jab of my sewing needle did the trick.”
The draught I crafted when she first came to my Lair. Dragon’s teeth, that feels like years ago. I can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of this situation.
“Keep your voice down,” Laurel warns. “We don’t have much time. Here.” She fishes something wrapped in cloth out of a pocket of her cloak and presses it into my hands. “I thought you’d be hungry.”
Bread and cheese. I could kiss her. But I stuff the heel of the loaf inside my mouth instead, groaning as flecks of butter melt on my tongue.
Laurel doesn’t waste any time. “It’s been just over twelve hours since your arrest.” My stomach grumbles, arguing that it feels far longer. “The princess told me about the Briar King’s plan. He’s made no overt declarations, but the guards have increased in the palace. And I heard there was a secret council meeting. I imagine things will progress quickly.” She watches me, expectant. “Do you have a plan?”
“No,” I say through the crumbs. “Not yet.”
She squeezes the slender bridge of her nose. “Why would you? Fall in love with the king’s daughter, get thrown in the dungeons. But, by the dragon, don’t have a plan.”
“Yet,” I repeat, bristling. “My plan is to make sure Aurora gets her throne.”
Her fingers twine with mine.
“With you by her side?” Laurel asks wryly. “Because she could ally with her father and get exactly that—a crown and a throne. Forever, if he’s successful.”
“I will not,” Aurora answers, stiffening. “He let my sisters die. Wanted me dead, too, so that the realm would support his war. I do not trust him. And there will be no Briar if my father attacks the light Fae. My mother was right about that much—they will destroy us.”
Laurel considers her for a long while, her gift working. “Good. Then there is only one thing to be done. The queen must regain her full authority.”
“That’s impossible.” Aurora lets go of me. “The contract granting the Briar Kings their rights is ironclad. I’ve read the agreement often enough. The Briar Queen’s place at council is ceremonial. The only political power she retains is of delaying the council’s vote or swaying a member’s opinion—and my father has taken care of those who would be loyal to her.”
“There are some who care nothing for such contracts.” Hints of bronze in Laurel’s gaze leap and dive with the flickering lantern flame. “Those bound by word and word alone.”
Word and word alone? There’s only one creature I can think of who fits that description. “Do you mean the Etherians?”
“I do indeed. As they cannot lie, the verbal agreements of the Fae are as strong as any blood oath. And they did grant Briar a blood oath, in the form of the crown itself.”
I think of the statue outside the palace gates. Leythana’s crown dripping with golden paint. But it wasn’t paint when the Fae blessed it. It was blood. And not even Tarkin has dared wear the wreath of bramble and thorn, knowing the power behind it.
“The Etherians have never interfered with Briar’s affairs before,” Aurora argues, wrinkling her nose at the bed of straw when a rat tail swishes into view. “Catalina started giving away her duties centuries ago, and the light Fae did nothing to stop her. And my father says they’ve been no help with the matter of succession. They don’t seem the least bit concerned that I’m the last heir.”
“Honestly, did you two read the books you stole from the library?” When we don’t answer, she utters a low curse and exhales slowly. “As part of Leythana’s alliance agreement, the Etherians pledged to protect the rightful ruler of Briar. But she has to ask for that protection. The whole point of Briar’s existence is so the Etherians don’t have to meddle with the borderlands. They only come if they are called.”