The Wish Granter (Ravenspire #2)(38)

Especially when that memory was always followed instantly by her mother’s gruesome last moments, leaving Ari shaking and longing to curl up alone in her mother’s old bedroom and cry until she had nothing left.

She needed to be calm and in control for this conversation, because Thad wasn’t going to like what he was about to hear.

“It’s about time you stopped avoiding me.” Thad struggled to sit up, hissing in a breath as he moved his torso. “Cleo tells me that the two of you went to the market without Mama Eleni and asked merchants about Teague. And that Teague’s men accosted you.”

“Why would she tell you that? Is nothing sacred?” Ari glared.

“Because her loyalty to keeping your secrets means less to her than her desire to keep you safe.” He leaned forward and winced. “What were you thinking, asking questions about Teague in Kosim Thalas?”

“I was thinking that I was going to protect my brother.” She held his gaze.

“Ari, this isn’t something you can fix for me.” His tone begged her to believe him.

“Better me than your guard,” she snapped. “It was his carelessness that earned you a visit from Teague’s collector. Ajax is recovering well, by the way, and he sends his regards. Also, he’s still using his contacts on Llorenyae to bring some fae guard beasts for the palace—an idea that will either work brilliantly or will get all of us killed. And he’s still working on a plan to assassinate Teague, but since Teague already seems to know what Ajax is up to, I doubt he’s going to be successful, which is why we need a backup plan.”

His eyes narrowed. “This backup plan had better not put you at risk.”

Ari snorted.

Thad closed his eyes and tipped his head back. “Princesses don’t snort.”

“Princesses don’t kill criminals either, but there you have it.” Her voice was firm. “We have bigger problems than trying to curb all my unprincessy habits.”

“I have bigger problems. Not you. And I’m working to solve it—”

“With your guard, yes. And I hope he really can kill Teague, and that the beasts he’s ordering really can keep you safe. But if that plan fails, we have to be ready because your soul will come due, and I’m not going to stand by and let that happen.”

“That’s better than losing you to Alistair Teague!” Thad’s voice cut through the room. “Please, Ari. I got myself into this mess. I will either get myself out, or I will lose my soul to the Wish Granter. But you . . . you’re going to be safe. You’re going to grow old and happy, and if that means you have to rule Súndraille, then that’s what you’ll do. You and I both know that if you wanted to, you would make an excellent queen. You’re smart, you’re brave, you’re compassionate, and you don’t let anyone intimidate you.”

Ari leaned forward, her hands shaking as she wrapped them around her brother’s. “I’m not going to grow old and happy without you.”

“Ari, listen—”

“No, you listen. We’re a team. We always have been. You and me against the world, remember?”

He opened his mouth to argue.

“You’re the one who plays politics and knows how to be diplomatic. You’re the one who understand the ins and outs of the Assembly and what Súndraille needs to thrive. But me? I’m the one who plans. I’m the one who sees a wrong and relentlessly works behind the scenes to make it right. I’m the one who says what you can’t say because you’re the king. I’m the one who doesn’t pull her punches.”

He squeezed her hands. “This is different from figuring out how to stop boys from bullying me, or how to find the quickest way for me to accomplish a task Father set out to test me.”

She shook her head. “The stakes are higher, yes. But this is a problem, and, like all problems, it can be solved once we have the right information. Maybe we should just pay Ajax and call off the assassination attempt. We have nine and a half years to figure this out if we’re careful. I won’t haphazardly question everyone I know about the Wish Granter—I have no desire to have him sneak up on me in the garden again. And you won’t—”

“He did what?” Thad’s voice shook.

Oops.

“He was upset that Cleo and I were asking about him at the market. He made it very clear that if I didn’t stop, he’d hurt her to punish me.” She swallowed hard against the memory of his hand around her throat and drew in a deep breath to assure herself that she could.

“Then stop. Let me handle it. You spend your energy learning how to be queen, and if I’m able to stop Teague—”

“Lady Tassi told me that iron and bloodflower poison can hurt the fae, but I had an iron dagger with me when Teague accosted me. He grabbed it, and it blistered his hand, but the blisters disappeared in seconds. I don’t think regular iron weapons are going to work. He’s too old and too powerful. We have to gather every bit of information we can so that we can make a plan that works.”

He sighed, his breath catching on a cough at the end of it. “I’m not going to be able to stop you, am I?”

“When have you ever been able to stop me?”

He rolled his eyes.

“Now, let’s see what we know.” Ari got up and began to pace as she ticked off the items on her fingers. “First, Teague left Llorenyae, and rumors say he’ll have nothing to do with the isle. There has to be a reason for that. Maybe it’s something that can help us. We should develop some contacts on Llorenyae.”