“In the village,” Cassidy replied. “And that’s what I’m proposing we do here.”
“It’s not safe.” Half the Circle growled that opinion—including Ranon.
“This is what I had in mind.” Cassidy raised her voice in order to be heard above the growls and mutters. “Talon and Powell will reside here with me. So will Gray, Shira, Ranon, and Reyhana since a young Queen training in a court requires a chaperon, and that is one of the duties of the First Circle. There are several cottages on this street and nearby streets that look abandoned, and they’re all close enough to the stable we’re using for the horses. If the village elders have no objections, the rest of the men can take up residence in those cottages.”
“In Kaeleer, why don’t those men want to stay close to their Queen?” Gray asked.
“Most of them have families,” Cassidy replied. “For the First Circle, their work is the court. They’re paid from the tithes. They have families. They have expenses. They have a life just like everyone else in the village.” She looked around the table. “You’ve never seen this, have you?”
Talon didn’t respond, but the rest of them shook their heads.
“Ranon, you must have seen this in the Shalador villages where the Queens lived.”
“I can’t say,” he replied. “The Queens’ safety depended on the rest of us not asking too many questions.”
“A Queen is entitled to a private life too,” Shira said.
Suddenly no one was looking at Cassidy—or Gray.
Powell cleared his throat. “Well, if such living accommodations are customary in Kaeleer, we can . . .”
“I have a wife,” Shaddo said suddenly. He stared hard at the surface of the table. “I have two sons. There’s no formal marriage contract. We couldn’t risk it.”
“Risk it?” Cassidy asked.
“The other Queens used to hold a wife or child hostage to try to force a Warlord Prince to surrender and subject himself to being controlled by a Ring of Obedience,” Talon said grimly. “Half the time, if the man gave in, the woman or child was killed anyway.”
“Mother Night,” Cassidy whispered. No wonder these men had been so wary of her.
“My oldest son will have his Birthright Ceremony this autumn,” Shaddo said. “Soli wasn’t going to acknowledge the paternal bloodline.”
“But your son would be considered a bastard,” Gray said. “He’d have no social standing.”
“But he’d be alive,” Shaddo said.
“Where are they?” Talon asked.
“A village close to the western border. A little north of the western reserve, actually,” Shaddo replied.
Cassidy swallowed tears, and her voice was huskier than usual because of them. “Shaddo, your wife should not be without her husband, and your sons should not be without their father. Unless the village elders have some objection, there is no reason why they can’t be here with you.”
Twelve men studied her, and she knew they heard the tears she couldn’t quite hide.
“The elders won’t object,” Ranon said. “But this is one of the reserves. I doubt we can offer the kind of life they’re used to.”
“Any of those cottages is better than what they’re living in now,” Shaddo said.
“I have a sister,” Archerr said. “She has three children, two boys and a girl. Their village was burned during the landen uprisings. They survived because they weren’t home that day. They’d been out picking berries, and when they saw the smoke, they hid. She’s doing the best she can, but she needs some help to make a new start for herself and the children.”
And neither of you mentioned these women and children in the weeks since the court was formed? Cassidy wanted to rail at them for not speaking sooner. She couldn’t because she knew exactly what Lucivar and her cousin Aaron would say: defend and protect. For Shaddo and Archerr, the best way to protect the people they loved was not to bring them to her attention.
Until now.
“Shaddo, if you want, take one of your Brothers in the court to help you get your family packed and moved here. While you’re in the west, you can deliver messages to any of the Queens you can contact. Powell and I had sent messages about using the Queen’s Gift to help the land. The Ladies should be told where they can find me if they need instructions. That goes for you, too, Archerr. Powell, you’ll be responsible for converting the rooms the court needs for offices and gatherings.”
Cassidy took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. Now the fight began. “The rest of you will assist me.”
“To do what?” Gray asked, narrowing his eyes.
He was getting too damn good at sensing when she was about to throw water on a bag of cats, as her father would say.
“This is the growing season,” Cassidy said. “The land is in desperate need of help. The Queens need to do something to increase the harvest, and they need to do it now.”
“No,” Gray said.
“Gray—”
“No!”
His voice thundered in the room as he leaped to his feet, knocking the chair over.
Cassidy pushed away from the table and rose. Since he’d been sitting on her left, there was nothing but the corner of the table between them. So all they needed to do was lean forward a little to be nose to nose.
“Yes,” she said.
“Doing that almost destroyed you, Cassie.”
“I was careless. I won’t make that mistake again. But it is vital to take care of the land and to do it now. Gray, you know it’s vital. What the Queens can do will make a difference for everyone in Dena Nehele. And this is a ritual. This is part of the Old Ways you all said you wanted to learn.”
“Not at the risk of you getting hurt again!” Gray snapped.
“I’m with Gray,” Ranon said, starting to get to his feet.
“You sit down!” Cassidy pointed at him.
Ranon froze. Then he looked at Talon for instructions, which really pissed her off.
“Sit down, Ranon!” she yelled. “You too!” She gave Gray a push. It wasn’t much of a push, but the look on his face had Ranon reaching across Shira to clamp a hand on Gray’s arm.
“Hell’s fire,” said a voice full of biting laughter, “this sounds just like home.”
The men whipped around to face the doorway. Shira had a look in her eyes that made Cassidy wonder if the woman was preparing to use some of the Black Widows’ Craft. Reyhana looked fearful.
Strap some steel to your spine. Cassidy turned and stared at the black-haired woman who had delicately pointed ears and the handsome man who leaned on a cane.
Mother Night, what was Surreal doing here?
“Doesn’t it sound like home, Rainier?” Surreal asked her companion.
“It does,” he replied. “Although these two are clearly still novices. When Jaenelle and Lucivar used to go at it, they could make the glass in the windows shake—until their father had enough of listening to them and roared them into silence.”
“Yes, Uncle Saetan is very impressive when he lets his temper slip the leash,” Surreal said.
“Lady Surreal,” Cassidy said, hoping no one had been foolish enough to stand in Surreal’s way when she came through the house. “What brings you here?”
Surreal called in a stack of envelopes and held them up. “I’m delivering your letters. And I’m here to have a little chat.”
“Why don’t you and the Ladies go into the parlor for your chat while I stay here and answer the gentlemen’s questions?” Rainier said.
“There aren’t any questions,” Gray snarled. “Cassie is not doing this.”
“Not now, Gray,” Cassidy said. Then to Surreal, “Thank you for bringing the letters, but there is nothing for us to chat about. This is Terreille, not Kaeleer, and I don’t have to discuss anything with you.”