1/Terreille

Three months. It had nearly been three whole months since Prince DeSade disappeared from the Hall and no one had heard anything of him since. Meredith was fed up with the incompetence of the witches in her coven. No Warlord Prince like him just vanishes into thin air. Someone had to see something.

Desperate to hear some news of him, Meredith had reluctantly decided to reveal that the Prince had escaped. The coven had been asking questions, anyway. So she supposed it was just as well. The only detail she left out was that she didn't know if he still wore his Ring of Obedience. Let them wonder about that for a while.

After the initial shock had worn off, the coven had been furious. It didn't matter that none of them had dared bed him in well over a decade. They were all livid that he was no longer available. And if not for Valinna's help, they would have threatened the stability of the court and her authority in Draega.

But between the two of them, they'd managed to keep the younger witches on a tight rein. She'd been forced to make an example of a few of the more vocal dissenters. Perhaps it was for the best, overall. The witches seemed to have forgotten that she commanded the Gray, and were used to thinking that they had only the Prince to fear.

Now they knew better. She'd given them a reminder of what the Gray was capable of doing. While not prominent members of the court, the two witches Meredith had selected for the demonstration had died in a manner none of their sisters would soon forget. She'd seen the looks on their faces as they'd watched them burn. Ettia and her cousin, especially.

Meredith had suspected more than once in the past month that something was going on with those two, but she never could find anything tangible to justify it. And since the two of them were of the few who weren't trying to tear apart the court over the Prince's disappearance, she couldn't afford to lose them. Not yet.

"What's the name of that cow ruling the northwest districts?"

Valinna's head rose from the book she was reading. She set it aside and thought a moment.

"Lady Olivia."

"That's her- what did she have to say in the last message she sent? Anything about the Prince?"

"I'm afraid not. She and her court haven't seen anyone like Prince DeSade in that part of the city."

Where in the hell had he gone, then? She'd never allowed him to leave Draega, and had always painted the rest of Terreille as a grubby slum unworthy of someone like him. So she doubted he would leave the city.

When he hadn't immediately come after her or her closest coven members, Meredith had expected him to go terrorizing one of the lesser courts. Picking off a few of her weaker allies and stir up trouble in the city seemed a sure plan. Apparently not, since the only chaos she'd heard of lately was the work of lower caste Warlords and Princes.

That thought lead to another train of thought almost as disturbing. Shortly after the coven realized their controlling rings weren't controlling anything, Meredith was receiving reports from her district Queens that none of theirs worked, either. Ringed males were openly rebelling all over the city. All over the Territory, in fact.

Inquiries revealed the horrifying truth: The days of using the Ring of Obedience in Hayll were over.

Meredith was sure that it was the work of that scheming bitch she'd caught just before the Prince disappeared. It all came back to that witch. The loss of the Rings- and then the loss of Prince DeSade. In just a few months that bitch had ripped away two of Meredith's biggest weapons keeping Hayll under her control. No amount of torture could make up for it. The rage boiled over and she couldn't keep silent.

"She's ruined everything!"

"The witch Prince DeSade killed just before he left?"

"Of course her- who else?!"

"I agree, the loss of the Rings has been a setback."

"A setback?! Valinna, we've searched everywhere to find where that bitch hid them and have turned up nothing. Without them, what options do we have to keep Blood males under control?"

"I have been looking for references in the old text for a way to create new ones."

"And you've been looking for weeks with nothing to show for it yet."

Valinna looked chagrined. "I had expected the Old Queens would have left more written records of their Craft spells. What little I have found is appallingly lacking. Almost as if it's been purged."

Meredith whole body jerked at the word purged.

"You don't suppose that the witchstorm that destroyed them might have done that, do you?"

"No, I don't think so. If that were true, why leave the other court records intact? And why leave the Protocol books?"

"If it wasn't that, what was it, then? Did they just figure there was no need to write it down?"

The other witch was silent. Meredith tried to keep patient, but she just wanted to strangle her. Why couldn't the witch just tell her what she wanted to know?

"No- it was there. I know I read about it once long ago when I first wanted to understand how the Ring of Obedience worked. But I can't find it now. And while I'm reading, the narration seems to skip a page or two, even if the sentence continues on one side and finishes on the other."

"But no physical sign of a missing page, I'm guessing."

"None at all."

"Someone deliberately stole the pages and repaired the rest of the text so it didn't look like anything was missing."

"That's what I'm beginning to suspect," Valinna agreed.

All the old texts from the Old Queens was heavily guarded here in the Hall. Meredith had kept it safely hidden from most of the coven, even. Only she and Valinna knew where they were, and consulted them rarely. So how could passages of those texts vanish? A thought came to her, unbidden.

"It couldn't be," she hissed in anger.

"Couldn't be what?"

"The only person who seemed Hell bent on hiding every Ring in Hayll. What good would that do if we could just make more?"

"You think that witch with the Sapphire Jewels broke into the archive- guarded by the Gray- and systematically removed all references in the Craft texts about how to make a Ring of Obedience?"

"You don't think so?"

"No Hayllian witches other than you wear the Gray, if you recall."

"Thanks to the Prince, we don't know for sure what the bitch wore or where she was from. I'm not even sure she was Hayllian. The Dhemlan bitches look so similar that it's hard to tell sometimes."

Awful silence filled the room as they considered what it might mean if Dhemlan was sending spies into Hayll to sabotage Meredith's court. Especially if they had witches who wore Jewels as dark as the Gray. Just thinking about what it would do to her plans of ruling Terreille made her want to scream in rage.

"The kindest thing Prince DeSade did for any witch was to finish the kill on that little bitch," she added nastily. "Even he couldn't devise a punishment as gruesome as I would have."

Valinna didn't respond, and picked up her book again. Annoyed by the snub, Meredith snarled low and paced the room. She passed a sumptuous couch and grabbed one of its decorative pillows. Without a thought to how much she'd paid for it, she shredded the costly material and feathers into pieces.

"Well? Don't you have anything useful to say about the situation?"

2/Terreille

Valinna sighed inwardly at Meredith's pique. Since the Prince disappeared, there was rarely a day when the Queen wasn't annoyed with her or someone else. If it hadn't meant that she was starting to act like she ruled Draega on her own merits instead of the threats of his, Valinna would find it intolerable.

But she had to admit that this new theory about the unknown witch worried her. Worried her more than she would even admit to Meredith. They had enough chaos to manage in Hayll without the other Territories deciding to intervene. Why start now? For centuries, no one had so much as stepped over the border into Hayll.

That's how Valinna wanted it to stay. She'd heard rumors of what was going on in Askavi and the other Territories. Blood males assuming power and establishing themselves in prominent roles in courts. That wouldn't happen here so long as she was living.

In truth, she was even more angry than Meredith that the Prince had killed their mysterious intruder. She'd wanted to be the one to pick apart the witch's mind and discover what she had been up to. Valinna knew it had to be more than just the Rings. If they hadn't caught her then, what more did she have planned?

No way of knowing that now, although she was certain that Meredith was likely right about the texts. The witch could have been in the Hall for weeks before stealing the Rings. If she was some spy and could get through a Gray shield, she might have had plenty of time to cull through the texts. That little bitch had known just where to hit them to cause the most damage.

"If Dhemlan is sending spies, return the favor."

"Send spies of our own, you mean."

"Exactly."

"And just who would we trust enough to send, yet are expendable enough if they get caught?"

The answer came to her easily enough. And it would solve another problem at the same time, no matter the outcome.

"Send Ettia and her cousin."

"Why them," Meredith asked.

"Because they are the best for the assignment. Think on it this way. Something's off about them lately that neither of us have been able to pin down. Am I wrong?"

Meredith shook her head and stopped pacing long enough to sit down.

"Go on. Where's the advantage in sending them if we don't entirely trust them?"

"If they are discovered and killed, you've lost no one important. If they side with our enemies in Dhemlan, then you know for certain that they were traitors, and they are no longer here to poison the court. And lastly, if they somehow manage to return with something useful, then maybe your demonstration yesterday has made the right impression and silenced whatever they were up to."

"Or they might be cunning enough to feed us what we want to hear so they can go undiscovered a while longer."

Valinna threw the Queen a dubious look. "Cunning? Those two? Bethaeny's head is so full of cotton stuffing that she needs a lead hat to keep it weighed on her shoulders."

"I agree that one doesn't have much in the way of brains. But Ettia has shown herself to be clever at times."

"Clever, but only if she's contributing to someone else's idea. She's no leader."

Meredith pondered her point for some time.

"I suppose I could do no worse than to send them, in any case. If I choose one of the younger witches, they're sure to get themselves killed. Any of the other senior members of the coven will be too costly."

"Especially now."

"I've made up my mind. They'll leave at the end of this week."

"For how long?"

"Two or three weeks. That should be enough time for someone of their experience to ferret out some information. Any longer and I'll expect they're either dead or turned traitor."

"I'm sure they'll look forward to having the honor of such an important mission," Valinna mused drily.

The room filled with Meredith's bitter laugh. She smiled meanly and pressed her hands together.

"Oh yes, honored. Why don't I call a meeting of the coven and bestow such a great honor on them right now so they don't have to wait?"

3/Terreille

"The two of you are in for it now," Fawne said breathlessly.

The witch had rushed into the room only a few minutes ago, face flushed and practically bursting with news for them. It had been Ettia's idea to have the servant witches act as spies in Meredith and Valinna's chambers.

At first, it had been difficult to convince any of the other witches to unite against Meredith. Bethaeny had been right, and most of them thought she was a tool to root out any dissenters. But they'd won them over in the end as Meredith's temper grew less and less bearable.

Witches were tired of fearing that the least offense would get them broken or worse. Without the Warlords as a buffer, the Queen had taken to torturing the coven. Her favorite game was dosing you with safframate.

Ettia had not yet experienced that particular punishment, but others hadn't been so lucky. Plenty of witches wept for days after being subjected to it. As the punishment became more common, she'd discussed the topic several more times with Bethaeny.

Her cousin was staunchly against using safframate on anyone- including Blood males. Ettia wasn't sure she agreed with her. It was an effective control. Almost as effective as being handed over to the Prince had been.

In any case, the worsening conditions in the Court had made a few of the other coven members reconsider how loyal they need be to Meredith or Valinna. So along with several of the servant witches, a group of them had formed a covert alliance. One of the first goals was to find out what was going on behind the closed doors of Meredith's suite.

As she expected, the servant witches were a perfect solution when it came to getting information. Neither Meredith nor Valinna paid them any attention when they came in to dust or rearrange the furnishings. Hell, they probably could have stood taking notes and no one would have been the wiser. It had been a sure way of eavesdropping on their secret meetings.

In the past month, the Queen and her pet Black Widow had plenty of those. Most of them about the loss of Prince DeSade. Ettia had been right- he wasn't in the Hall, and hadn't been for months. And from the hushed conversations between Meredith and Valinna, they weren't sure he still wore his Ring of Obedience. More than once, Kareal had heard that they expected him to come back to destroy the coven.

So what did Fawne hear today? From the sounds of it, nothing good. Ettia set aside what she was working on and turned to the witch.

"What are they planning now?"

"I hope you and Lady Bethaeny like travelling, because Meredith is sending you both to Dhemlan."

A collective gasp followed the announcement. No one in Hayll had been to Dhemlan in centuries, so it was unusual that Meredith would order it. When Ettia was recovered from the shock, she managed to reply.

"I'm guessing there's a reason?"

Fawne nodded. "They think that witch the Prince killed was a spy from Dhemlan, and decided that they'd send a spy of their own to find out what is going on there."

"And Meredith thought Bethaeny and I were the best to send on the errand?"

"Valinna's the one who suggested it. That bitch really has it out for the two of you, by the way. She may have made a few half-hearted arguments that it would be an excellent way to prove that you were still loyal to the Coven, but I think she is really hoping you're discovered as spies and killed."

It would be a lie to say she was surprised to hear that Valinna was against them. The Black Widow was proving to be more dangerous than Meredith. While the latter might have the power of the Gray behind her, Valinna was the more cunning. After all, hadn't she been the one to position Meredith as the Queen of Hayll in the first place?

"Well, I guess we'll just have to disappoint her and come back alive."

"Not just alive," Fawne replied. "If you don't come back with useful information for Meredith, you'll be branded as traitors. Stay longer than two or three weeks and it's the same thing."

Bethaeny looked at Ettia and shrugged.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later, I suppose."

"Later would be preferable, but if this is what we have to work with, there's not much to be done about it. Although," Ettia continued thoughtfully. "We could just go to Dhemlan, poke around, and tell Meredith what she wants to hear when we get back. How would they know otherwise?"

"Funny you should mention that. Meredith suggested it to Valinna, but she said you weren't clever enough."

That old hag could shove it up her ass for all she cared. Not clever enough, was she? Ettia swore that she would make Valinna eat those words before this was over.

"We'll see about that," she muttered.

The other two witches said nothing, but she could see Bethaeny thinking. Her cousin fidgeted with her sleeves and kept frowning over something. Ettia was tempted to ask her what was on her mind, but decided to wait. She'd get to it soon enough.

"While we're gone- who's going to keep things going here," Bethaeny asked at last.

Good question. Their circle had grown to about ten or twelve witches. It was a fairly even split between the coven and servant witches, but since the idea had been theirs, Ettia and Bethaeny were considered the leaders. Out of the others, not too many were cut out for it.

"I would say either Maeren or Danella."

"What do you think, Fawne?"

Why was Bethaeny asking Fawne? Granted, the girl was a useful tool to spy on Meredith, but she really didn't have much in the way of tactics planning. Might as well ask a fish what direction the wind was blowing. Ettia said nothing, wondering what kind of answer the servant witch would make.

"I would agree with Maeren as a choice, but wouldn't it make sense to pick someone to coordinate on the serving staff side? Sometimes it's harder for one of you to get a message to us about an opportunity and we lose the chance. If we had someone in the servant wing that was in on the planning, it might make things easier."

Not quite a useless answer, but impractical none-the-less. At least from what Ettia thought. It was dangerous to let one of them have any power or authority. Meredith was far more likely to choose a servant for one of her demonstrations. What if she chose their key member and she tortured their plans out of the witch?

That would never do. She sighed and shook her head in dissent.

"I'm afraid I would have to disagree."

"Why, cousin?"

"For their own protection. Think on this, Bethaeny- Meredith decides she's pissed off about something and wants to take it out on someone. Who does she go for first? The maids and housekeeping staff. So what happens to them if she gets hold of someone who knows our plans and our names? It will be the end of them and us."

"Why is that any different than if she chooses one of you?" Fawne insisted.

Ettia sighed, annoyed at having to explain herself.

"Her favorite punishment for the coven lately is to dose us with safframate and shut us up in a locked room for a few days. That is hell, but it's not the same as being methodically broken and tortured in front of an audience. We stand a chance of keeping a secret."

Bethaeny was reluctant, but she nodded. "I see your point," she admitted. "It might be too dangerous right now to share anything too crucial to the most vulnerable members of the group."

"But…"

"Fawne, it's dangerous enough that you know as much as you do. If Meredith ever suspected that you knew who in the coven was planning subversion, she would rip you apart to get the information- slowly and viciously."

"I guess so, but I still think we could use some better organization on our side of the Hall."

The witch looked determined not to let this go.

*Since you started this, you're in charge of satisfying the witch, cousin*

Bethaeny glanced at her and gave a small shrug.

*Fine, I'll handle it. I do agree that they need to be more than just errand runners and messengers, anyway*

*Do what you want* Ettia replied shortly.

*Why are you so irritated about this? After all, you agreed that we should bring in members outside the coven to make this work*

*I just don't want anything to jeopardize our chance to rout Meredith. It would only take one tortured confession to ruin us all*

*I think you underestimate their strength, Ettia*

*And I think you overestimate it*

A few minutes passed, and Ettia could tell that her cousin wasn't happy with the tone of their argument. Her annoyance simmered over their connection. With a slight inclination of her head, Bethaeny acknowledged her last message and sent one of her own.

*I'll leave this go for now, but when we get back from Dhemlan, we need to talk about this*

With that, she broke the connection and turned to the other witch.

"Why don't we look for opportunities to improve your network and we'll reassess again when my cousin and I return? In the meantime, I agree that Maeren and Danella should make decisions about operations here while we are gone."

"I'll inform them of the plan after Meredith and Valinna have broken the news about our departure to the coven."

Everything settled- at least for now- the three of them left the suite. Ettia wasn't sure what to make of her cousin's behavior today. She wasn't sure what happened, but lately Bethaeny seemed to be siding with the staff more than her own peers. Aside from Maeren, Ettia wasn't sure how much she communicated with them. So who was she spending her time with?

Yes, when they returned from Dhemlan, maybe it was time to reassess things. Ettia might have a few changes of her own to make.