The Wish Granter (Ravenspire #2)(56)

Thad’s knees buckled, and he slid to the floor as his gaze locked on Ari. She could read the fear, the regret, and, most of all, the desperate plea for her to do what he’d been preparing her to do all along: take the crown and rule in his place.

The wound in Ari’s heart that had opened the night her mother died ached fiercely, and tears blurred her vision.

She was going to lose Thad if she didn’t do something.

“Get to your feet, you worthless boy.” Teague stalked toward him, and Ari started moving, Sebastian on her heels. “You didn’t care what the price was as long as your sister was safe. I held up my end of the deal, and what have you done? Sent your sister into the market to ask questions about me and to buy poison for the monster killer you hired to assassinate me. Purchased beasts from Llorenyae to fend off my just attempts to get you to honor your debt. I’ll bet you didn’t expect me to be able to control them, did you? You see, I speak fae, and I read runes. I am nearly immune to iron, and you’d have to fill me with bloodflower poison for it to kill me. And I am out of patience with you.”

“You’re making a mistake.” Thad’s words were slurred, and he seemed to be having trouble focusing his eyes. He needed medical attention, but if Ari didn’t find a way to stop Teague from ripping out her brother’s soul, none of that would matter.

“No, you made the mistake! We had a bargain. A mutually beneficial relationship that was supposed to last for ten years. I offered you the desire of your heart.” Teague’s voice rose, shaking the floor. “And you took it. You took it, and now I will take what is owed me.”

Ari’s chest throbbed, and desperate fear drove her forward as Teague put the contract into his coat pocket and unstoppered the glittering vial.

She was never going to see him again. Never going to hear him laugh at her crazy plans or list all the things a proper princess didn’t do.

He would be gone, and she would be left wearing a crown she’d never wanted.

Alone.

The pain in her heart stabbed deep, a fierce ache that felt as if she was already grieving him.

She was going to lose her brother, and Teague would get away with it because Ari didn’t know how to stop him. Thad would die, and she would be left alone in the palace to pick up the pieces of a life she didn’t want to live without knowing that her brother was safe.

Her mind skipped from one desperate idea to the next. She knew a myriad of details about his business. His life. There had to be something she could use.

He hadn’t just wanted Thad’s soul. He’d wanted unimpeded access to the city.

He’d wanted immunity from the consequences of his actions.

He’d wanted to be the unrivaled power behind a puppet king.

He wanted power, but if he took Thad’s soul, he’d be giving that up.

In a voice that shook the room, Teague said, “Ghlacadh anam de Thaddeus Glavan agus—”

“Wait!” Ari threw herself at Teague, an idea born of furious, desperate love taking shape inside her head. He wanted power. He wanted immunity from his actions. He wanted puppet kings on paper thrones dancing to his whims.

If she could give Teague that long enough to buy herself time to uncover the key to stopping him, maybe she could save Thad and free him to be the just, fair ruler he wanted to be.

“If you take Thad’s soul, you’ll be squandering the opportunity of a lifetime,” she said as she held Teague’s gaze.

He glared. “I think not.”

“His soul isn’t what you’re really after. You want freedom to run your business as you please.” Her words were rushed and desperate, her fingers knotting together as if in supplication. “You want power. And a man like you—an ancient, powerful fae—wouldn’t be satisfied with the kind of power that keeps Kosim Thalas under your thumb. That’s just one city out of thousands. You’re the Wish Granter. You deserve to have entire kingdoms to answer to you, and Thad can make that happen.”

“Ari,” Thad mumbled. She ignored him. So did Teague.

“He’s a seventeen-year-old who’s only been on the throne for a few weeks,” Teague said. “He can’t deliver kingdoms to me.”

“It doesn’t matter how long he’s had the throne.” Her voice shook. “It only matters how many powerful allies he has in other kingdoms.”

Teague paused to study her expression for a long moment, and then said, “Go on.”

“I’ve been looking into your affairs,” she said to Teague.

His golden eyes narrowed, and pressure built in her chest. She rushed to get the words out.

“You’re highly reliant on your brokers in Balavata to move all the product you don’t sell in Súndraille. That means you have to raise your price to pay their commission and still make the profit you need to pay your employees and keep supplies coming in.”

“A necessary inconvenience.”

“Not if Thad can get you a direct distributor in the kingdoms where he has strong allies. If he can introduce you to the most powerful and influential royals and nobles he knows.” She could barely stand to hold Teague’s feral gaze. Her teeth chattered, and she clasped her hands together tightly to keep them from trembling. “Imagine if you promised each of them the desire of their hearts in return for absolute immunity within their kingdoms. Or in return for consulting with you on every decision. You wouldn’t just be the power behind Súndraille’s throne. You’d be the power behind the thrones in seven of the ten kingdoms.”