Chapter 742: Chapter 742: Ally Or Not

"Ahh, your husband," Annequin said. "You mean the one seated beside you on the dais because you obviously didn’t introduce him to me."

"Don’t play games with me," Seraphira warned.

The air in the room tightened instantly, pulsing with power.

"Fine," Annequin said, leaning in as well. Her tone shifted, losing its teasing edge. "I’ve had no direct interaction with your husband. But I have heard of him. He’s been trying to meet me and has already managed to reach the other court kings. That’s how you found members of the Summer Court on your lands. Those Fae have always been a little too ambitious for their own good."

"You expect me to believe that?" Queen Seraphira asked carefully, her gaze narrowing.

Annequin shrugged. "I don’t know much about the free Fae, but our kind?" She smiled. "We’re incapable of lying."

Then she added almost at once, amused, "Though we are very good at twisting the truth to our advantage. And omission, last I checked, is not a lie."

Queen Seraphira stared at the Fae with a small frown creasing her brow. Usually, she

read people’s aura, and the pulse of magic that revealed their intent and nature. But there was nothing on Queen Annequin. It was as if she stood there soulless.

Which was impossible. Everyone had a soul. There was something off and unsettling about the Fae. She just couldn’t tell.

Seraphira rose from her seat and walked slowly toward the shelves lining the wall, her fingers brushing along the carved wood as she spoke. "I’m sure you’ve heard the story of how the free Fae came to be. How we were separated from the others."

"All I’ve heard are fables," Annequin replied unapologetically. "Different versions told by different mouths." she tilted her head slightly. "But perhaps I might hear the truth from an authentic source."

"Every Fae child knows the story before they can even speak," Seraphira said. "It was a rhyme we grew up with. Repeated until it shaped our minds, and became the only truth we believed. The tale of the five primordial Fae gods. How the four sought to bind every Fae to a court and its respective magic. But the fifth refused."

She paused. "And to protect us, the fifth enclosed us behind barriers for thousands of years. Until the magic weakened and it finally fell."

Seraphira pulled a book from the shelf, its spine worn with age, and turned back to Annequin. "Because of that isolation, you could say we’re a little outdated."

She held Annequin’s gaze. "Of all the queens who ruled the free Fae, Queen Iskava was the only one curious enough to look outward. She kept records, preparing for a future no one else believed would come. The others?" Her lips pressed thin. "They planned only for extermination. Any outsider who stepped onto our sacred land was meant to die."

"And you, Queen Seraphira?" Annequin asked calmly. "Which are you? Remember the stranger, or reject them?"

Seraphira’s expression hardened. "I’m a rebel. The first of the free Fae to run from the cage we called home. As for strangers... that depends on the stranger." Her voice lowered. "I’ve been burned too many times to trust freely anymore."

Annequin was not offended by her words. The Fae Queen looked patient. Distrust was expected after all.

Queen Seraphira turned back to the book in her hands and began to flip through its yellowed pages. "Queen Iskava did her best to catalogue every known Fae court that she could."

She paused on a page and read aloud, her finger trailing the lines. "The Summer Fae—bright, volatile, creatures of heat. The Autumn Fae—clever, patient Fae. The Winter Fae—cold-blooded in both magic and temperament. And the Spring Fae, ever-renewing, beautiful, and deceptively cruel. The Day Court and the Night Court. Dawn and Dusk. The Sea Fae. The Mountain Fae. Even the Shadow courts that refuse sunlight entirely." Seraphira lifted her gaze to Annequin, eyes sharp. "They are all here."

Then she closed the book. "But there is nothing at all about Astaria. So pray tell me, Queen Annequin," she said coolly, "about your beloved Astaria."

"That’s only because your records are outdated," Annequin said lightly. "If your kind stepped outside those borders you guard so fiercely, you would have known about us. Astaria isn’t hidden. It’s simply ignored."

"Some already do know," Annequin went on, "Your husband, for instance. I think it’s just you—and those like you—who choose to keep a blind eye to what’s happening beyond your forests."

"You—" Queen Seraphira snapped. Power stirred in the room as the air tightened, reacting instinctively to her temper.

Annequin lifted a hand, unfazed. "I thought you wanted to hear about Astaria," she gestured towards the empty seat across from her. "So why don’t you sit because the Free Fae aren’t the only ones with fables, your majesty."

For a long moment, it looked as though Seraphira might order her thrown out, then with visible restraint, she closed the book and placed it on the table.

Slowly, Queen Seraphira sat. Then she clapped her hands once.

The doors opened immediately, and servant Fae glided into the room, dressed in flowing white gowns. They moved in silence, setting goblets and a decanter between the two queens.

"I thought you might be thirsty," Seraphira said.

Annequin inclined her head. "How thoughtful of you."

The tension didn’t vanish, but it was restrained, and wrapped in etiquette. The servants bowed and withdrew as swiftly as they had arrived, leaving the library empty once more.

Annequin reached for the decanter without hesitation. She poured herself a drink, lifted it, and took a generous sip without a pause, or even the slightest concern that it might be enchanted or poisoned.

Seraphira watched her closely.

Annequin swallowed and laughed. "That’s a strong one," she said. "If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to loosen my tongue."

Seraphira scowled as she lifted her own goblet. "You seem loose-tongued enough already."

"Ah," Annequin replied, eyes glinting as she drank again, "but now I’ll be more honest."

Seraphira was irritated by that knowing smile. Annequin knew far more than she was saying and has played it to her advantage so far.

The Astaria queen leaned back in her chair, one ankle crossing over the other, saying,

"We don’t have any stories of a fifth god. Not in Astaria. All we know are the gods we worship. Each court honors its own. In that much, Queen Iskava was right. Summer, Winter, Autumn, and Spring. The four major courts existed independently for centuries."

She lifted her glass, swirling the liquid slowly.

"That is," she continued, "until my grandfather. King Oberon. He was the first to dream of something different. He believed the Fae would survive longer if we stood as one. Stronger and united."

Seraphira said, her tone edged with sarcasm, "So in the end, the fifth god’s dream won after all."

Annequin’s eyes flicked up, unmistakably amused. "Woman," she said bluntly, "the unification of the four courts has nothing to do with your god or your myths. It’s simply politics."

Seraphira’s lips thinned. "Call it what you like. Her will will be done."

Annequin did not argue. She simply shrugged, letting the belief sit where it was. Some truths, she knew, were better left unchallenged.

"To achieve his vision," Annequin went on, "my grandfather married into each of the four courts. Strategic unions. Summer, Winter, Autumn, and Spring. With those bonds came loyalty, armies, and influence enough to begin weaving the courts together."

She paused briefly before adding, "Then came my father. Aldric. Of course, there are many stories between then and now. But that is the foundation and all you need to know. I now rule Astaria, while my parents enjoy the luxury of doing whatever they please with their lives."

Seraphira narrowed her eyes. "But you said the other courts are ruled by their kings."

"They are," Annequin replied easily. "Each court still observes its customs and keeps its ruler. I can’t be in four courts at once."

But I am their sovereign. They answer to me. I have the power to make kings, and unmake them."

The silence that followed was heavy.

"And what," Seraphira asked carefully, "have you come to do in my land? To force us into unity so you may rule over my people as well?"

Annequin groaned, rolling her head back. "Oh gods, no. I already have enough headaches managing four courts. I don’t have the patience to take on more."

Her tone sobered.

"Until recently, the only Fae we knew sealed behind barriers were the creatures of Tamry Forest. Their king—who, quite fortunately, is my uncle. But the Free Fae? You are uncharted territory."

She met Seraphira’s gaze fully now.

"Whether I like it or not, I need to know if you are allies or enemies. And if you are allies, I need to secure that bond before one of the vipers in my court decides to ally with one of yours and create a problem neither of us can control. I don’t know if I’m making sense, Queen Seraphira."

For the first time since the conversation began, Seraphira relaxed. The tension in her shoulders eased, just slightly.

"You make a great deal of sense now," she said.

And for the first time, the two queens seemed to have a shared sense of purpose.