A Caress Of Twilight   ::   Гамильтон Лорел

"It was agreed that my title in the Unseelie Court supercedes my Seelie title. Now that I am heir to the Unseelie throne I can no longer acknowledge my uncle as high king. For me to acknowledge the title might imply that he was also high king of the Unseelie, and that is not true.

Hedwick was clearly perplexed. He was good at following orders, flattering those above him, and playing errand boy. I was forcing him to think. He wasn't used to having to do anything that complex.

He smoothed his cravat again, and finally, looking a great deal less sure of himself, he said, "As you like. Then King Taranis commands your presence at the ball three days hence."

Doyle's gaze flicked up to my face at that. I smiled and gave a small shake of my head. I'd caught it.

"Hedwick, the only royal who can command my presence is the Queen of Air and Darkness."

He shook his head stubbornly. "The king can command the presence of anyone of lesser title than he, and you are not a queen yet — " He stressed the yet. "   — Princess Meredith."

Doyle opened the towel to see if my wound had stopped bleeding. Apparently it had, because he got some antiseptic to clean the wound.

"If I was King Taranis's royal heir, then he could command me, but I am not his heir. I am Queen Andais's heir. Only she can command me, because only she outranks me."

Hedwick flinched at the mention of the queen's true name. All the Seelie were like that, never invoking her true name, as if afraid it would call her to them.

"Are you saying that you outrank the king?" He sounded truly outraged.

Doyle began to clean the wound with soft gauze; even so, the little touches sent tiny shock waves of pain through my arm. I gritted my teeth a little and fought not to show it. "I am saying that order of rank in the Seelie Court has no meaning for me anymore, Hedwick. When I was merely a princess of the Unseelie Court, I could also have had the same rank at the Seelie Court. But I am to be queen. I cannot have a lesser rank in any other court if I am to rule."

"There are queens aplenty in the court who acknowledge Taranis as their high king."

"I am aware of that, Hedwick, but they are part of the Seelie Court, and they are not sidhe. I am part of the Unseelie Court and I am sidhe."

"You are niece to the King," he said, still trying to think his way through the political maze I'd thrown up around him.

"So nice of someone to remember that, but it would be as if Andais had called Eluned and asked her for acknowledgment as her high queen."

"Princess Eluned has no ties to the Unseelie Court." Hedwick sounded terribly offended.