Page 26 of Consort's Glory
“A prisoner is still a prisoner even if the locked door is a pretty one.” She was a direct sort of woman, apparently, and Theodore found himself begrudgingly admiring her lack of obfuscation. Sophie Goode did not pussy-foot around.
“While I appreciate your concern for her wellbeing and understand the position this attack puts you in, it would be best for all parties involved if you turned her over to her kin immediately,” she continued, every word chilled with undisguised menace. “She should be with her family, where she will be cared for and protected.”
While the beast in him did not like the implication that Margot wouldn’t be sufficiently cared for by him and him alone, Theodore understood the urge to protect his people. That did not mean he was about to pull his punches, though.
Margot was his consort. That neatly overrode any claim Sophie Goode had on her.
“Madam, Margot was given the choice to return to the Collective land last night. She refused.” He paused, allowing his words to sink in. “Seeing as she wished to remain in my city, your granddaughter agreed to follow the laws of the Protectorate — which includes my own edicts. I declared her under my protection, and so here she remains.”
A chilly silence reigned for several long seconds before Sophie replied, “Margot is young. She doesn’t always know what’s good for her. Whatever game you’re playing, she has no reason to be a part of it. She doesn’t involve herself in politics.”
Theodore’s hackles raised. His claws, diamond sharp beneath the silver claw-caps of his gloves, flexed. “She seemed to know her own mind well enough to me, Madam.”
“Yes, she knows her own mind,” Sophie agreed, “but she is young, and out in the world on her own for the first time. Now she’s been blown up — nearly killed, if the reports are accurate. I worried something like this would happen to her if she left the Goodeland, but I allowed her to sway me because I thought she was unknown enough to be safe. Now I see that was a mistake.”
The witch, being the experienced negotiator and politician that she was, paused for just a moment before adding, “I know you of all people understand the importance of protecting one’s family. Would your sister not do the same for you if she were in my position?”
Despite his unbending stance on letting her leave, Theodore was willing to give his consort’s kin a lot of leeway, but mentioning his family’s bloody history and questioning his ability to protect her? Unacceptable.
The glass and sleek metal of his cell phone creaked ominously with the tightening of his grip. He made sure she could hear his reaction to such an insult in his voice, his tone dropping until it matched hers in chill and sharpness when he replied, “The Protectorate is the safest territory in the UTA.”
Was there panic when he first took his seat? Yes, but he held onto his power and kept the Protectorate from bloodshed. He would continue to do so until the day he died.
Sophie was soon to be his kin by consort, and she was a ruler in her own right, but he would not let her mistake him for being below her. He was Sovereign. He protected what was his, whether that was his family, his consort, or his territory. No one had the right to question that.
Baring his fangs at an enemy he couldn’t see, he grated, “Why did you think it was so dangerous for her? What threat are you concerned would follow her into my territory?”
A prickling sensation swept across his mind, his psychic senses on high alert, as Sophie Goode answered, “Margot is a beautiful young woman with extreme magical talent. There are many types of people who would take advantage of her at the first opportunity.”
Scenting something suspicious, Theodore felt his internal danger sensors ping an alarm. Dropping all pretense of civility — or what little remained — he said, “Madam Goode, if there is an active threat against Margot, I’ll hear it now. If you choose not to share it with me and she comes to harm because of it, I will hold you personally responsible.”
“My granddaughter is not your—”
“The threat, Madam,” he snapped, “or this conversation is over.”
“You.”
Theodore blinked twice in quick succession, too surprised to be offended. “Pardon?”
“You and your kind represent a threat to her,” Sophie answered, each word lodging hard and heavy in his chest. “Your kind used our finger bones as toothpicks. You savage your own for minor insults and upward mobility in the hierarchy. Your very nearness to her is a threat. I will not tolerate my granddaughter being used as a political pawn, and I absolutely will not allow a single one of you to lay a claw on her.”
Where an elf might have gone hotter, their voices louder, Sophie Goode only got colder, each word arrowing across the connection like shards of brittle ice. “You are a young ruler. Do not make the mistake of underestimating the Collective, Mr. Solbourne. Others have, and all of them have regretted it.” She paused to let her threat sink in. “There is no reason for us to be enemies. Return her to us now, before I am forced to make this ugly for the both of us. When she’s in safe custody, perhaps we can discuss the fight you’re picking with the Temple. I might even be willing to side with you.”
Again, the prickling. Whatever trust he might have had in Sophie Goode’s connection to her granddaughter perished under her refusal to tell him the truth.
He didn’t think that Sophie Goode was lying outright, but rather leaving out something crucial. It went beyond a gut feeling. It was certain knowledge, his gift shining through when he needed it most.
Whatever it was, Theodore would discover it. No threat against Margot would be suffered to exist.
Theodore kept his voice even when he replied, “Margot may leave if she chooses to go. If not, she remains with me.” Baring both pairs of fangs in a vicious grin, he added, “And as a parting note, Madam Goode: You should know that elves are intensely covetous creatures. We do not give up what is ours unless it is ripped from us by tooth and claw. Margot is mine. If you want her back, you’ll simply have to take her.” His fingers flexed and the glass screen of his phone cracked like brittle ice.“You are welcome to try.”
* * *
He made it to his private dining room a bare minute before Margot stepped through the doorway. It was lucky that every room on this floor of the Tower was connected by a series of hidden hallways and security exits, or else she would have seen him power walking from his suite like a fool.
As it happened, he slid through the discreet staff door hidden behind a great flowering plant and situated himself at the set table with forced nonchalance a few seconds before she arrived.
He wasn’t sure what he expected, but seeing her again, in the flesh, in his home, was a punch to the gut.
