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Rolfe fixed his sea-green stare upon the ain, the other lords following suit "And you are?"

"Privateer Rolfe," the pirate said smoothly "Commander in Her Majesty’s Armada And Heir to the Mycenian people"

The other lords straightened "The Mycenians vanished an age ago," Lord Sloane said But the on po up the Florine

"Vanished, but did not die out," Rolfe countered "And we have come to fulfill an old debt"

Darrow rubbed at his teainst the table edge "Well, we have the gods to thank for that"

Lysandra said, sie, "You have Aelin to thank for that"

The man narrowed his eyes, and Aedion’s te lethal But Darrow’s voice was exhausted--heavy, as he asked, "Not pretending today, Lady?"

Lysandra only pointed to Rolfe, then Ansel, then Galan Swept her arm to the s, to where the Fae royals and Ilias of the Silent Assassins tended to their own on the castle grounds "All of them All of them came here because of Aelin Not you So before you sneer that there is no Her Majesty’s Armada, allow me to tell you that there is And you are not a part of it"

Darrow let out a long sigh, rubbing his teain "You are disrowled

But Murtaugh cut in, "There is someone, Lady, ould like to see you" Lysandra raised her brows, and the oldher in Allsbrook alone Evangeline is in the northern tower--in hter’s bedroom She spotted your approach from theand it was all I could do to convince her to wait"

A polite, clever way to defuse the brewing stor Lysandra that she could stay, but Lysandra was alreadybehind her

When she’d left, Aedion said, "She’s fought on the front lines at every battle Nearly died against our ene to do the saroup of old lords froith distaste Yet it was Darroho shifted in his seat--slightly As if Aedion had struck upon a festering wound "To be too old to fight," Darrow said quietly, "while younger men and wolanced down, to the nameless sword at Aedion’s side "It is not easy at all"

Aedion debated telling him to ask the people who’d died if that wasn’t easy, either, but Prince Galan cleared his throat "What preparations are under way for a siege?"

The Terrasen lords didn’t see questioned, but they opened their hateful mouths and spoke

An hour later, the others seen to their rooms, then to baths and hot one not to the north tower and the aited her, but to the throne roos carved on theree had covered the i the past decade, soold Either for spite or quick coin

Aedion slipped through the doors, the cavernous chahost of an old friend

Howforced to dress in his finery and stand beside the thrones atop the dais at the far back of the pillar-lined roo an endless day of pageantry?

Then, the banners of all the Terrasen territories had hung fro Then, the pale marble floors had been so polished he could see his reflection in the and pris of Oakwald

Stags now butchered and burned, as the antler throne had been after the battle of Theralis The king had ordered it done right on the battlefield

It was before that e at the white marble as if she could see the throne that had once been there See the other, smaller thrones that had sat beside it

"I hadn’t realized that Adarlan wrecked this place so thoroughly," she said, either scenting hi the cadence of his footsteps

"The bones of it are still intact," Aedion said "For how er that will rereen eyes slid toward him, dim with exhaustion and sorrow "Deep down," she said quietly, "so here" She pointed to the dais, to where the antler throne had once been "Deep down, I thought we ht actually make it somehow Even with Morath, and the Lock, and all of it"

There was no hope in her face