King of Kings- Book 4 The Council of the Light Series.

Part 1

A single tear escaped from the corner of Elisa Blackember's eye. She caught it with a gloved finger and flicked it away. It betrayed her. 

So what if Silvan had broken it off with her when he came back from Gera? He had a wife and seven children of his own. He had his life. She was stupid to expect him to want her back. 

So what, they had been lovers since she was a child? Now she was fifty five, widowed, and alone. 

So what, the New World Order had taken everything from her? She still had Silvan, or so she had thought. But he returned from the war on that fringe world Gera broken and no longer wanting to find comfort in her touch. What had he said? 

"He was too worn down by her games." 

He was done. Finished and had already ordered his wife and their children to pack their belongings and make ready to leave the court.

She took a deep steadying breath, rolled back her shoulders and adjusted her cloak. Everment Castle on the World of Morningdew might have been the O'Leary Family ancestral home but they hadn't lived here for over two thousand years. Before they ran from Joining Earth, she'd only visited Morningdew three times in her life. The castle was pleasant, if a little drafty. Far more comfortable than her old home in the Blackember Dreadmount with her deceased Dragon Lord husband. She looked out over the city, holding her hood up to protect her hair from the wind. 

Even this late at night she could hear the building work in the town. Parts of it had been destroyed when her nephew's wife had attacked with the backing of the New World Order army. It felt like a long time ago, but it was little more than half a year since her defeat. Now the city at the base of the castle in the mountains was awash with Leprechaun soldiers. The surrounding lands garrisoned a standing army and all the neighbouring islands on this little world of islands paid tributes to keep that army comfortable. It was costly, but necessary.

An oak door opened in the turret and a cloaked figure made his way across to her. He gave a swift nod and leaned in close.

 "You picked a good spot, not easy to be seen here, is it?" 

His voice was nasal, it sent shivers down her spine, something close to revulsion. He held his hand out to her, she slipped her fingers into his palm and looked into his eyes, greenish, with a hazel tint. Tamlin of Heros, the Treasurer of the Leprechaun Empire wasn't a beautiful man, but at least he had those eyes. She wouldn't have been able to do this otherwise.

"Well, we don't want our plan to fail before it's begun," Elisa reminded him, stepping closer. He smiled, his teeth uneven and unclean, and he placed his hand on her stomach.

"No, we don't," he said, his eyes creasing as he smiled. "If your nephew finds out about us..."

"By the time he finds out, we'll be safe Tamlin." She tried to keep confidence in her voice but Clarence O'Leary had a network of spies rivaling no other. She did too, most of her spies kept watch on his spies and all of them kept watch on Grendal of Innis' spies who were the ones to be most feared. Elisa had confidence that tonight at least, they would be safe to speak. The Dragon Empires overlord had arrived a few hours earlier and everybody was preoccupied.

"You do realise that the only way to be safe is to kill him?" Tamlin whispered. "I could do it for you, you know, knife in the back right in front of all his subjects." He leaned in closer still, she could smell his breath. "The Emperor is dead, long live Queen Elisa and her unborn child. My child."

She pulled away from him, "Don't be absurd. We've had too many deaths in my family Tamlin and despite everything he's still too popular. We'd go the same way as his wife. Burned alive. He has a son too, remember."

Tamlin snorted. "P..p..poor P...p...prince Odwald?" He cupped her chin with his finger, raised it up and kissed her lips. "He's nothing to worry about."

"You let me do the worrying," Elisa studied those eyes, so much different from Silvan's, so much different from her first dead husband. How many times had she said the same exact thing to them? "This is my plan ,Tamlin, and we do it my way."

Tamlin looked like he was going to argue. She couldn't let him challenge her further so she leaned into him, brought her head up to his. He responded, muttering her name as she kissed him. It was going to be a long night.