A Caress Of Twilight   ::   Гамильтон Лорел

"Conan was the king's second wife. He had been a hundred years with this new wife, yet there was no child."

"And?" I took another long drink of lemonade.

She took a long swallow of rum and looked back at me. "I told Taranis no because I believe he is sterile. It isn't the women but the king who is incapable of making an heir."

I spit lemonade all over myself and Kitto. He seemed frozen with the lemonade running down his arm and sunglasses.

The maid appeared with napkins. I took a handful, then waved her off. We were talking about something that no one should hear. When I could talk without sputtering, and Kitto and I were both relatively dry, I said, "You told Taranis this to his face?"

"Yes," she said.

"You're braver than you seem." Or stupider, I added in my head.

"He demanded I tell him why I would not have him as husband. I said I wished to have a child and I didn't believe that he could give me one."

I just stared at her, trying to think about the implications of what she'd said. "If what you say is true, then the royals could demand the king make the ultimate sacrifice. They could demand he allow himself to be killed as part of one of the great holy days."

"Yes," Maeve said. "He forced me out that same night."

"For fear that you would tell someone," I said.

"Surely I am not the only one to have suspicions," she said. "Adaria went on to have children with two others, but she was barren for centuries with our King."

I understood now why I'd been beaten for asking about Maeve. My uncle's very life hung in the balance. "He could just step down from the throne," I said.

Maeve lowered her glasses enough to give me a withering look. "Do not be naive, Meredith. It does not become you."

I nodded. "Sorry, you're right. Taranis would never believe it. He would have to be forced to accept that he was sterile, and the only way to do so would be to bring him up before the nobles. Which means you'd have to find a way to convince enough of them to vote your way."

She shook her head. "No, Meredith, I cannot be the only one who suspects. His death would restore fertility to our people. All our power descends from our king or queen. I believe that Taranis's inability to father children has doomed the rest of us to be childless."

"There are still children at court," I said.

"But how many of them are pure Seelie blood?"

I thought for a second. "I'm not sure. Most of them were born long before i came along."

"I am sure," she said.