“I’m so sorry,” Sinatria repeated. “When I asked the faerie king for permission to visit you, he insisted on sending an ‘honor guard’ with me.”

“Very honorable,” Val observed.

Sinatria groaned.

Val rummaged in a cabinet. “They didn’t find the faerie wine.” She found two intact shot glasses and filled both, then handed one to Sinatria.

The faerie gripped the glass with both hands and sipped. Val knocked her wine back in a gulp, wheezing as it scorched its way to her stomach.

“It’s nice to see you in your true form.” Val smiled. “I know it’s only been a few weeks since you left the city, but it feels longer.”

Sinatria twirled for Val’s benefit. She spilled a drop of wine on her dress, and it scorched a hole in the grass. “I’ve missed you. The faerie palace is lonely and boring, to be honest.”

“I hear you.” Val righted a chair and flopped into it. “Is everything okay there, though?”

“Oh, yes. I’ve gained respect among most of the faeries at court, my honor guard notwithstanding.” Sinatria groaned. “I’ve got plenty to do since patching up faerie relations with the Eternity Throne is not easy, and no one has threatened me since you defeated the assassin.”

“Good.” Val grunted. “This is a social call, then?”

Sinatria fluttered to the table and sat cross-legged on the ruined wood. Claw marks stretched from edge to edge. “Not exactly.”

Val leaned forward. “I’m listening.”

CHAPTER TWO

Sinatria picked at the hole in her dress for a few moments before she spoke. “I have a favor to ask. It’s really big, but I can’t trust anyone but you.”

Val pushed her empty glass aside and leaned on the table. “Tell me.”

Sinatria cleared her throat. “It’s about my younger adopted sister. The one who sent the assassin.”

Val’s gut tightened. She extended an open hand, and her dagger zoomed into the kitchen from where she’d left it by the ottoman. Its hilt met her palm with a slap. “I will find her,” she snarled.

“Whoa, whoa!” Sinatria held up a hand, her free arm encircling the shot glass. “No need. We’ve found her. That’s...the problem.”

Val lowered her dagger. “Okay.”

“You’re not going to like this, but hear me out, okay?” Sinatria bit her lip.

Val sheathed the dagger. “Okay,” she rumbled warily.

Sinatria sighed. “It’s like this. Do you remember what I said when we discovered she’d sent the assassin?”

“Yeah. It was ominous.” Val frowned. “‘Failure is the greater sin.’”

“Exactly. My sister placed a target on her back by sending an unsuccessful assassin. She showed weakness.” Sinatria paused. “That is unforgivable in faerie politics.”

“So, your adopted dad went for her?” Val asked.

Sinatria shook her head. “He didn’t have to. Her supporters turned against her. I knew they would attack her in her suite and murder her if she couldn’t fight them off, so I did something stupid.”

Val leaned back. “You saved her.”

“How’d you guess?” Sinatria asked.

“You’re the least feral faerie I know.” Val shrugged. “Letting her die would have gone against who you are, even though she wronged you. How’d you stop them? Not to be rude, but they don’t seem to listen to you.”

“I called on the only person they would listen to.” Sinatria paused. “Queen Julia.”

“Oh.” Val blinked.

“Her Majesty sent a Special Forces unit to rescue my sister—we’ll call her Fourth, as in ‘fourth in line to the throne’—from her home before the other faeries could get to her,” Sinatria explained. “Her soldiers snatched Fourth away seconds before the other faeries reached her. Fourth is now safe and will stand trial and face Eternity Law instead of the law of the jungle, but calling on the queen was not a popular move with my people.”

“Uh-huh. I can imagine.” Val poured herself another shot of faerie wine. “People in the Iron Hills all love and support the queen, but they’re never happy when the OPMA meddles in our business.”

“Exactly. The faeries feel like the queen interfered with their customs, law, and traditions.” Sinatria groaned. “Many are now calling for war with the Eternity Throne.”

Val stiffened. “War? Between the faeries and almost every other para group out there?”

“Pretty much. It would be disastrous. Millions could die.” Sinatria ran a hand through her hair. “All because I couldn’t let Fourth die unfairly.”

“I see your problem.” Val delicately sipped her wine. “What does the faerie king say?”

“He’s not happy either. He believes faeries have the right to the justice system we’ve followed for thousands of years. Honestly, if he hadn’t served alongside the queen in the war, I think they would already have drawn up the battle lines,” Sinatria confessed.

Val fell back in her chair. “Shit.”

“Not my word choice, but yeah.” Sinatria groaned. “I was only trying to save my sister, but I’ve almost caused an all-out war.” Her face grew still. “I almost destroyed the peace the faerie queen and her daughters died for.”

“You’re new to this,” Val reminded her. “You didn’t expect those repercussions.”

“I didn’t want her to die, and I didn’t think beyond that.” Sinatria bit her lip.

“You did the right thing. We’ll figure out how to stop this war.” Val raised her eyebrows. “Maybe the queen should let him have Fourth and allow faerie justice to do its thing.”

“She’s not into capital punishment. The Eternity Throne never has been. That’s why the prison realm exists.” Sinatria rubbed the back of her neck. “Queen Julia is eager for a solution that doesn’t involve an execution, and she’s not the only one.”

Val tilted her head. “You think there’s another way.”

“I’ve been working with the Eternity Throne long enough to know there is another way. A better way.” Fire gleamed in Sinatria’s eyes. “I’ve seen a system that works with fairness and justice for all species and classes. A place where we look beyond ourselves and the power we want, more than mere survival of the fittest. That’s the future I want for my people, Val. It’s better than, well, this.”

A crash resounded from the spare room. Val winced. “That sounded like a curtain rod.”

“Yep,” Sinatria observed gloomily. “I think so. Look, faeries will always be faeries. We won’t become cute creatures who drink from acorn teacups. The ogres have that covered. However, I believe there is a way to preserve our cultural identity and treat our people better.”

Her words rang, and Val smiled. “You might feel like you’re inexperienced and make mistakes, but you’ll be a kick-ass princess.”

Sinatria flushed. “I want to make things better for my people. That’s all.”