I almost cursed. Pressing her would do no good. Her words made just enough sense to confuse me all over again.
Maman once warned me,“Whatever happens, if Renaud ever crosses back over, make sure you aren't with him. You will not survive him if you do.”It was almost all she would say about him, or the home she’d left.
“We need to attack first,” Édouard said. He uncrossed his arms and approached, stopping when he was also at the head of the table. “This is the first access we’ve had to our Lord’s killer.” He paused, and I watched him meet the eyes of every person in the room, his intensity brimming. Only one or two looked away—most listened to him.
Of course they did. We were Faronne, and there was never a fight we sat out, even if against a several thousand-year-old demi-god—because certain-death odds are just more fun, right?
“He’s recently awake, he won’t be at full strength for a day, maybe two,” Édouard added, glimpsing my expression.
“Are you suggesting we attack the Prince directly?” one of our female squires said. Originally from Sivenne, she was life partner to a distant cousin. “That would be suicide.”
She said what we were all thinking, but I kept my words behind my teeth. I had to be careful what I said, period. My father was Lord, but I was Maryonne’s daughter and Danon’s Heir. Half the House would wait for me to indicate a preference and agree with it simply out of loyalty. I didn’t want that kind of power. I wanted each person to choose a path according to their belief.
The commander scented my hesitation like a bloodhound. “Would you not risk death to avenge your mother?” A murmur of agreement from the room.
I dug my fingers into my thigh to keep from punching him. “You ask me that question,here,now?” I waited a beat, until I could speak calmly again. “I would avenge her. But I don’t want to see my family die needlessly.”
I met Baba’s furrowed gaze briefly, then looked away. That was part of our reluctant deal after Danon's capture. My father assumed court and administrative duties but washed his hands of any fighting. He wasn’t a pacifist, but unnecessary war was anathema to him. My mother must have worked hard to win him over while her House was in the midst of a drawn out conflict.
“He may not even come to the field,” Lela, one of my Kikuyu cousins and one of only two human knights sworn to Faronne, said. “The Old Ones aren’t supposed to intervene in House wars.”
Several agreements, and one or two people dissenting. I braced myself on the table. They were talking themselves into this and I—I couldn’t blame them. I was just as willing to take the risk with my own life as they were with theirs.
I was a fool, too.
But it was my duty to at least attempt to be a voice of reason, even if a drowned out voice of reason. “Right. Forgive me if I don’t want to base our strategy on that presumption.”
Numair came up behind me, resting his hands on my shoulders. “He'll either cease all hostilities or obliterate us. If we wait—”
“So you’re a coward too,” Édouard said, brows drawing down in contempt. “We can hide under our beds, or we can attack now and reprimand them for this afternoon’s ambush. We can, at the very least, thin Montague ranks in preparation for future conflict.”
“That’s all we can hope to do,” Numair said, meeting Édouard's gaze stonily. “If the Prince chose to take the field. . .you’re blinded by your need for revenge, commander.”
“And you will spend your life crouched under Aerinne’s—”
“That’s enough,” I snapped. “Commander, if you can’t demonstrate a little more dignity in your discourse, then I’ll muzzle you and let Tereille do the talking.”
Édouard snorted.
“This wouldn't be the first time in Everenne’s history Prince Renaud leveled entire portions of the city to settle a dispute between Houses. It’s just. . .been a while.”
My elder cousin stared at me, unmoved. “He was fey on the field today, but he called for a ceasefire. His first instinct was not to strike. No High Lord leaves survivors unless he is weakened. He just woke—he isn’t at full strength. This is proof.”
“It’s speculation.”
Juliette leaned her elbows on the table, eyes broody. “In his shoes, I would have done the same thing—pummel everyone to a standstill, gather my forces and retreat toregroup and figure out what the hell was going on. He seemed sane to me.”
“Note what was just said,” the commander stressed. “He retreated to regroup. Retreated. No one with the winning position retreats. This is the time to strike.”
“If you tell us to stand down, Lady,” Numair said, “we will.”
For a blinding moment I hated him. He thought he was demonstrating support—what he was doing was blaming the weight of the decision all on me. A life and death decision I hadnoright to make for everyone. This wasn’t like executing a small strike. This was going up against an Old One.
“We don’t make a decision without our allies,” I said finally. “We'll need their warriors anyway. And let me be clear, this is not a decision any one person should make for others. Either we all agree, or we all stand down.”
“I've sent word,” Tereille said, entering the room from the side door leading to the hallway offices. He gave Édouard an oblique look, his expression absent mischief for once. “Wyvenne and Ramonne will join us shortly.”
“There’s also Sivenne,” Juliette said. “They betrayed us. If we don’t respond right away it will encourage future misbehavior. And all that misbehavior gets tedious after a while.”
