Khollie followed her inside.
“No,” Cassidy said. “I can do this by myself.”
Khollie wagged his tail and didn’t move.
“Out.”
He didn’t move until Vae grffed at him.
She closed the door in their furry faces, but as she prepared to use the toilet, she could sense them—
Vae, Darkmist, and Khollie—standing right in front of the door and knew those keen ears would be pricked to catch every sound.
“Back off,” she growled.
She’d bet they didn’t take more than one step back. And she’d bet a season’s income that those ears stayed pricked.
She wasn’t going to win this argument, so she pretended she had privacy and took care of business.
*Your males want to talk to you,* Vae said when Cassidy opened the door.
She wasn’t sure she was ready to talk to them. Not that she had a choice. Darcy and Lloyd took point.
Keelie and Khollie blocked her on either side. Vae and Darkmist were behind her in prime herding position.
Cows and sheep must be terrified to see even one of them coming, Cassidy thought as they escorted her to the big meeting room. They escorted her all the way in, then turned and trotted out, closing the door behind them.
Her whole First Circle was there, along with Gray and Shira, but Reyhana was not.
Reyhana had the kind of strength that would attract strong males, the kind of strength that would cause Kermilla to see the girl as a serious rival in a couple of years. Would Kermilla take steps to eliminate a potential rival? It was a possibility.
And another reason to show my teeth, Cassidy thought.
A place at the table had been left for her—on the far side, away from the door, and smack in the middle.
A not-so-subtle way of telling her that she wasn’t getting out of the room without going through her men.
She found that comforting, and she realized Vae was right. This wasn’t confusing at all.
Gray came up to her and brushed a hand over her hair. “You feeling better after getting some rest?”
She smiled at him. “Yes, I am.”
He studied her as if he’d been prepared for one kind of mood and was faced with another. Then he smiled in return. “Come over here. We have some things to show you.”
He led her to her place at the table, but she felt too restless to sit down. And she wasn’t sure how to interpret the men’s hard eyes and grim faces since Powell had seemed so dismissive earlier.
“Powell told you about the letter,” she said.
“We saw that piece of shit,” Talon replied. “It pissed off the rest of us, but if it knocked your legs out from under you for even a little while, I guess it was a good ploy for Kermilla to use.”
“Ploy?” Cassidy stared at her Master of the Guard.
“You bluff well enough when we play cards. I’m surprised you couldn’t see this for what it is.” Talon leaned across the table toward her. “Direct question, Cassie. You give us a direct answer. Are you walking away from us? Yes or no.”
“No, I’m not walking away from you, but—”
“ ‘But’ wasn’t one of the choices,” Talon growled.
“—my contract ends in two months.”
“Only if you choose to end it,” Powell said. “The provisional contract was a way for us to save face if you chose not to stay with us.”
That hadn’t been her impression of what that contract meant. “Kermilla says she’s going to be the Queen.”
“Not without a fight,” Ranon said.
Fight with words. With Protocol. By taking this challenge before a tribunal of Queens, assuming she and Kermilla both had an official court. That’s what Ranon meant. Didn’t he?
She looked at the men again. Warlords and Warlord Princes. Warriors who had already survived years of battles, a lifetime of fighting in one way or another.
They weren’t going to fight with words or with Protocol or by arguing before a tribunal to decide who would rule their Territory. They would meet their challengers on a killing field as they had done before.
“If this turns into a fight, some of you could die,” she said, chilled by the possibility.
“Some of us might die either way,” Ranon said. “We’re not going to submit to a Queen who cares nothing about our people or our land. We’ve seen what that kind of Queen can do to a Territory. And over these past few months, we’ve seen what a good Queen can do. We’d rather fight for you than just fight against Kermilla, but one way or another we’re going to fight—and some of us will die.”
“No,” she whispered. For a moment, she felt grateful when Gray slipped an arm around her waist. Then she looked at him. Really looked at Prince Jared Blaed.
No longer a boy in a man’s body who would be tucked away with the other young boys. This time he would stand on a killing field with the rest of the men.
“Besides,” Ranon said, “just before we helped James Weaver and the other landens relocate here, he told me flat out that if Kermilla became Queen, there would be another landen uprising. So there’s going to be a war one way or the other.”
No. “If it has to be physical confrontation, it would be Kermilla’s court fighting against mine to settle who ruled. It wouldn’t be a war.”
Talon made a rude noise. “Witchling, it’s not going to stay between the courts. There’s too much at stake.
More at stake than we’ve had for a lot of years.”
“You’re going to give in just because some bitch tells you to go?” Shaddo growled at her.
“No, I’m not giving in, but you’re talking about war.”
The thought of empty chairs around the table kept her arguing. “When Theran leaves it will break the court. We’ll have an unofficial court going up against an official one.”
“You don’t know that,” Talon said. “He needs to convince eleven other men to serve Kermilla, and I don’t think that’s going to be an easy task.” He nodded at Gray. “And we’ve already got his replacement.”
“Remember the lessons I was taking at the Keep?” Gray asked her. “I was training to be a First Escort.
To be your First Escort. I’m qualified, Cassie. The High Lord, Daemon, and Lucivar all agree I can serve you and the court in this way. And the High Lord gave me this.” He called in a sheet of paper and handed it to her.
She read it and landed in the chair. Hard. “Mother Night, he’s not hiding his teeth, is he?”
Not a dismissal that would allow Theran to honorably accept another contract, but a kind of demotion that would have made Queens in Kaeleer take a wary look at the man if he came looking for a position of power in one of their courts.
“That letter is a well-phrased kick in the balls,” Talon said. “It will be even more impressive once Powell copies it over and it bears your signature and seal. And the day after Theran gets that letter, you can count on every Warlord Prince within Dena Nehele’s borders and in the Tamanara Mountains knowing that Jared Blaed is now the First Escort to the Queen of Dena Nehele.”
Gray sat beside her. “You’ve shown us what’s possible. We’re going to fight to keep what you’ve given us.”
Cassidy pushed away from the table, needing a little space, needing to move, to think.
She’d thought her men would step aside for Theran’s choice because he was the last Grayhaven. But they were going to fight. Not just for her. She never would accept a war and the loss of life just to keep her in power. But this wasn’t about her anymore. Not really. This was about holding on to the very things the Blood had said they wanted when she first came to Dena Nehele—a land that lived by the Old Ways, that held itself to the Blood’s code of honor.
Weren’t those the same things Lia and Jared had fought to keep in Dena Nehele for as long as possible?
A Sceltie fights for the ones who belong to her. So does a Queen.
She turned and looked at them. All of them.
Everything has a price. But, sweet Darkness, don’t let this price be too high.
“All right,” she said. “We fight.”
Fierce pride filled their eyes, and she hoped with everything in her that she would remain worthy of that pride.
Her legs suddenly felt shaky, so she returned to the table and sat down. Clasping her hands and pressing them against the table, she gave Talon a pleading look. “Isn’t there some other way?” Would they even consider bringing this to a tribunal of Queens if she could arrange to get one?
“None of us are afraid of fighting,” Talon said.
“There may be an alternative to war,” Powell said quietly. “Especially since Kermilla has conveniently given us justification to act.”
Cassidy looked at the men, who all seemed to be weighing Powell’s words on some internal scale. “I don’t understand.”
Talon rubbed his chin and said thoughtfully, “I doubt Theran knows Kermilla sent you that letter. Poor tactics. We’ve known since he met her that he wanted her to be the Queen, but I figured he wouldn’t make it an official challenge until he had the men who would form her First Circle. And he wouldn’t want that court made public until close to the time when the contract he signed with you was finished because that would give you less time to respond and find someone to take his place.” He gave her a fierce smile.
“Kermilla made the first move without having sufficient backing. Now we can hit hard and fast.”
Leaning back in his chair, looking like a predator at ease, Talon said, “Powell, what’s your alternative to war?”
“Secession,” Powell said.
Silence.
Cassidy looked around the table and saw shock on everyone’s faces.
“The Shalador reserves don’t have enough land,” Ranon protested. “We wouldn’t be able to support the people without getting some of what we need from the other Provinces. Not for a good many years yet.
And three reserves mean three battlegrounds. We don’t have enough trained warriors left to lead anyone else willing to fight. Not against the rest of Dena Nehele.”
“I wasn’t referring to just the Shalador reserves, Ranon,” Powell said. “You’re not taking into account the influence Lady Cassidy has had on the southern Provinces. I think given the choice of living in a Territory called Dena Nehele that is ruled by Lady Kermilla or living in a newly formed Territory ruled by Cassidy, they will be more interested in who rules the land than what the land is called.”
“You have a map of Dena Nehele in your office?” Talon asked.
Nodding, Powell called in the map and spread it out on the table.
“I had some time this afternoon to consider a few things the rest of you may not have thought about yet in terms of incentive,” Powell said as Talon studied the map. “The loan Gray acquired from Prince Sadi is a loan specifically to Lady Cassidy’s court, not the Queen of Dena Nehele’s court.”
Cassidy jerked in her seat. So did several of the men.
Powell smiled a tight smile. “Exactly. Prince Sadi was very precise in the wording of that loan. It doesn’t transfer to another Queen. If Cassidy’s court dissolves, the loan ends, and the Prince is within his rights to demand immediate repayment of whatever funds were used. However, the loan was not specific to Dena Nehele in terms of a name or boundaries. So if Dena Nehele is split between the Queens, any Provinces still under Cassidy’s rule could continue to request help for their people and businesses. Provinces under Kermilla’s rule could not make use of the loan and benefit from Prince Sadi’s generosity.”
“Oh, but . . .” Cassidy began.
“No!” several male voices replied.
“Everything has a price, Cassie,” Gray said. “The Blood who want Kermilla to rule can’t have you taking care of them.”
He was right. She knew he was right, but she thought of the letters she’d read that morning from the northern Queens and wondered what dreams might be crushed under the weight of Kermilla’s wardrobe.
“The Heartsblood River is the natural border between two Provinces,” Talon said, running a finger along the map. “It begins in the Tamanara Mountains and runs all the way to Reyna’s Lake on the western border. That would give us five Provinces, plus the Shalador reserves. Plenty of fresh water. Some small lakes and lots of streams and creeks for fishing. Farmland and pastureland. Some woodlands that can be nurtured and allowed to grow back. That will help rebuild the deer herds and other meat animals.”
Feeling dizzy, Cassidy leaned against Gray. “Everything south of the Heartsblood River? That’s almost a third of Dena Nehele!”
“Seems fair to me,” Talon said. “That’s enough land to stand on its own as a Territory, but not so much it would feel like a grab without the honesty of a fight.”
“It will be important to emphasize that we’re doing this to avoid a civil war,” Powell said. “We don’t want our families or the people we have promised to rule and protect to live under Kermilla’s hand. Instead of embroiling the Blood in a devastating fight, Lady Cassidy is relinquishing her claim to Dena Nehele and establishing this new Territory for the Blood who want to live by the Old Ways and want her guidance in order to do it.”
“Hell’s fire,” Shaddo said, breaking the silence that followed Powell’s words. “I’d be ashamed to fight against men who wanted that.”
“I hope you remember what you just said,” Talon told Powell. “I think we’re going to need something in writing.”
“I’ll draft something,” Powell said. “With the Lady’s permission.”
Feeling a bit battered—and wondering why they were bothering to ask her permission when they were barreling forward with a speed that left her breathless—Cassidy nodded.
“If Jared Blaed and Ranon are agreeable, I’d like them to show my draft to the High Lord and get his opinion,” Powell said. “In confidence. He has a way with words, and we’re trying to avoid a war, not start one.”
“We can do that,” Gray said, glancing at Ranon. “Once we’ve declared ourselves independent of Dena Nehele, I’d like Lucivar to come here for a day or two to give his opinion about what kind of defenses we need and where. No offense to you or your ability, Talon, but . . .”
“No offense taken,” Talon said. “Lucivar Yaslana has been feared for centuries for what he does on a killing field. We’d be fools not to take advantage of his experience and listen to any suggestions or advice he wants to give.”
“I think Jared Blaed and Ranon should meet with the Warlord Princes in the five southern Provinces,”