I stiffened. “Perhaps, but I am willing to prove to them that they have nothing to fear from me.”
“And how will you do that?”
“Well, I could start with not taking their children and using them as cattle,” I replied.
“Was Tawny used as cattle?” She gestured at the crowd with a jeweled hand. “Or any number of the Lords and Ladies in Wait in attendance tonight?”
“No, they will just be turned into creatures who will then prey upon others with little remorse.”
Her dark gaze slid to mine. “Or they will cull the weak from the masses.”
My lip curled. “You really believe that?”
“I know that.” She took a drink.
It took a lot to stop myself from knocking the crystal glass from her hand. “And the children taken during the last Rite? The ones that were hung beneath Redrock?”
“Serving the gods.”
“Lies,” I hissed. “And I cannot wait to see your face when all of those lies are exposed.”
She grinned as she looked out over the floor. “Do you think that I will allow your armies to lay siege to the capital like I have the other cities? Cities I don’t even consider a loss?” She turned her head to me. “Because they’re not a loss. But what has happened in those cities will not occur here. If your armies arrive at the Rise, I will line those walls and gates with newborns. And whatever draken you have left, whatever armies still stand, will have to burn and cut through them.”
I could only stare as I slowly realized that she was serious. My fingers dug into the arms of the chair as the Primal essence throbbed deeply within me. A faint tremor ran through me as I stared at the statue, but I only saw those mortals on Oak Ambler’s gates and the ones beneath Redrock. Beside me, Malik stretched forward as Millicent turned slightly. The couple standing before the statue frowned as they looked down to where the freshly dropped night-blooming rose petals…vibrated.
That was me.
My anger.
I was doing that.
Briefly closing my eyes, I reined in my emotions, and it was a lot like all those times I’d worn the veil and had been brought before Duke Teerman. When I had to just stand there and take whatever he dealt. It was also a lot like closing off my senses to others. Instead, I closed myself off from my emotions. Only when the eather had calmed in my chest did I reopen my eyes. The petals had settled on the floor.
“Smart,” the Blood Queen whispered as Malik relaxed. “I see you have learned to control that power to some extent.”
I forced my grip to loosen on the chair arms. “Is that what you wanted to talk to me about? How you will slaughter more children and innocent people?”
“It will not be I who slaughters those mortals,” she stated. “It will be the armies under your command who do.” Her stare was intense. I felt it tracking over every inch of my face. “Or it will simply be you who does it. So, if you want to avoid that, you will make sure your armies stand down.”
I cut my gaze in her direction. “Now we’re going to discuss the future of the kingdoms? Do you think I will negotiate with you when this is how you plan to proceed?” The words came out of me in a rush. “I won’t give you Atlantia. I won’t order my armies to retreat. And I won’t let you use innocent people as a shield.”
Her attention shifted to the Prince. “Malik, if you don’t mind, I need to speak with my daughter in private.”
“Of course.” Malik rose, bowing as his eyes briefly met mine. He walked down the short set of wide steps, passing Millicent as he strolled onto the floor and was immediately swamped by smiling Ladies and Lords.
“They are so very charmed by him,” the Blood Queen said. “He’d have to beat them off with a stick if he wanted to.”
The Handmaiden looked away from Malik, her attention traveling farther across the Great Hall.
“Do you know what has kept me alive?” she asked after a couple of moments. “Vengeance.”
“That is…entirely cliché,” I remarked.
Her laugh was soft and short. “Be that as it may, it is the truth. And I imagine the reason it’s become so cliché is because vengeance has kept many alive during the darkest moments of their lives. Moments that last years and decades. I will have it.”
“The vast majority of Atlantians had nothing to do with what was done to you or your son,” I told her. “And yet, you think that controlling Atlantia will somehow give you that vengeance. It won’t.”