Crown of Moonlight (Court of Midnight and Deception #2) - K.M. Shea Page 0,106
smiled at the Day King.
His returning smile was wan, but when he took a sip of his tea some of the tension eased from his shoulders.
“But, Paragon, I’d appreciate a hot tip, then—since you are knowledgeable,” I continued.
The Paragon scowled at me. “What?”
“Please share, are there regional fae wars that I don’t know about?”
“Ah. Good question.” The Paragon settled down—he must have thought I was about to out him to Solis. “At this moment there aren’t any wars between the various regions. Oh, sure, there are the deep rivalries and other such nonsense, but no one has declared an actual war.”
I turned to Chase, thinking the Paragon had finished.
“But…” he started and trailed off. He stared at a painting of the Original Creep on the wall, then drank a sip of tea.
“Yes?” I asked when he finished.
Aphrodite jumped from the Paragon’s shoulders and sat on the table just in front of him. The Paragon busied himself with adjusting her pink sweater she wore to combat the cooler temperatures.
“What I am about to say must remain in these halls,” he finally said. “Solis is aware of my suspicions because I questioned him when tracking information. The crux of the situation is, I believe Queen Nyte—the ruler just before you who essentially ruined the Night Court—had backers. That was how she had the means to wage war on the Drake Family.”
I nodded slowly. “That makes sense—the Court finances were terrible, and we’re still fighting to pay off all our debt.”
But the Paragon wasn’t done. “While it would seem the backers were intent on getting rid of the Drakes, I believe the real point in goading Nyte to attack Killian was to topple the Night Court.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Leila
I blinked. “Okay, now I’m not following you anymore. How could that topple the Night Court—unless the backers assumed Killian would wipe them out? But in that case they don’t know Killian. He’d rather blackmail them and keep the Court under his control. Then he could make them dance to whatever tune he likes and have an in with the fae.”
Everyone stared at me.
“What?” I said. “Hey, I consider him a friend, but I’m realistic about the guy.”
“It is an accurate portrayal,” the Paragon agreed. “But I don’t think they planned for Killian to kill off the Court. I believe they assumed that if they made the situation unstable enough, the next ruler would naturally escalate the Court’s situation, and eventually the Night Court would be torn asunder by internal fights and wars.”
Skye traced the rim of her clay cup—she’d already finished most of her tea. “Do you believe they have a grudge against the Night Court?”
“Not at all,” the Paragon said. “It merely is an easy target—and one with big results. Because if the Night Court fell, the Day Court would not long survive it.”
“This is true,” King Solis said. “We are too intertwined for it to be otherwise.”
“I don’t know about that,” I said. “You’re not giving yourself enough credit—the Day Court is doing great, even though the Night Court has been slumming it for a decade.”
“Perhaps, but day cannot exist without night,” the Paragon said.
“That’s one of those wise-old-man useless platitudes.” I winced when Indigo kicked me. “Ouch.”
“If both the Night Court and the Day Court fell, it would have resounding effects on the fae in the Midwest, and nationwide, given that they are the sole Courts of their kind in the USA,” the Paragon continued. “And not just for the fae. Though the various supernatural beings proclaim not to care about each other, the fact is that if the fae fell, healing potions, glamours, and all their magic would be a thing of the past.”
And that is a serious problem.
For the most part, the supernatural community barely edged into the human world, but we needed magic to survive. Not just for healing potions, but fae specialized in wards, charms, and all kinds of magic. Even when I was in my moody teenager stage and I most hated my fae bio father, I knew the fae were still needed for the rest of the supernaturals to survive.
“In my research of the shadowy operation that backed the Night Court, I found that they commonly preyed upon the weak and those who are easy to smite—the kind of supernatural that doesn’t matter,” the Paragon continued. “They target the weakest Packs, the most desperate Courts, the least respected Families—it is believed they may have also backed the wizard who attempted to take over House Medeis.”