To The Ones Who Can't Dream

chapter 73 - You'll Find No Kindness or Compassion In Me

     Five humans entered and Seren knew they had to be the human queens. Even if they hadn't been wearing the crowns on top of their heads, they all walked into the room full of vicious fae with their heads held high and their backs straight. Seren had to hand it to them, they sure weren't showing any signs of fear. But even though they all looked perfectly calm, Seren could smell the undercurrent of fear radiating off of them. Seren smiled.

     The first queen looked the oldest, with wrinkles surrounding her eyes and mouth. But she obviously was the queen who was in charge, as she led the pack. The next queen was wearing all black, making her pale face appear even more pale and sickly. It seemed that her face was fixed in a permanent frown. Now the queen who followed this one though, looked to be the exact opposite. Her dark skin was offset by the white dress she wore. She appeared to never stop smiling. The fourth queen who walked in set Seren's every nerve on high alert. Her black eyes followed every movement in the room and she looked exactly like someone who you'd expect would stab you in the back the first chance they got. Finally, the last queen who walked in was unlike the other four in front of her.

     For starters, she was noticeably the youngest out of the five and had extremely curly blonde hair. With golden skin and amber eyes, she looked like Apollo's cousin.
When they sat down, Rhys spoke first, "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us."

     The queen who seemed to be the leader said coldly, "Why did you want to meet?"

     Damn, straight to the point. These queens didn't seem like much fun.

     Clearing his throat, Rhys explained, "As you may or may not be aware of, a war is brewing across the seas. Hybern has decided they want revenge for what happened all those years ago. Although I know you weren't around back then, I must stress that the war was horrid for all parties. I am hoping to prevent a full blown war and save the mortal realm. Once Hybern overtakes Prythian, the mortal realm will be next. The King won't stop at anything to rule both Hybern and Prythian."

     The queens sat there, stoically, and refused to say anything. Rhys continued, "There have been reports that the King of Hybern has the Cauldron. I am not sure how much you know about the Cauldron, but it is the center of Prythian's existence. It is the singular, most powerful, object ever created. Our only hope at combating this is to retrieve the Book of Breathings. Using the Book, we may be able to combat the King and his plans for domination. So, that leads me to why I invited you here today. Would you be willing to give us your half of the Book of Breathings?"

     The queens all exchanged glances but gave nothing away. The leader turned back to Rhys after a few moments, "No."

     There was a pause. "No?" Rhys asked,

     "Don't you know how much danger your realm is in?"

     "Our answer is no, we will not give you our half of the Book."

     Seren couldn't control herself anymore and let out a sarcastic chuckle, "I should have known that you would only care about saving your own skin."

     The Queen with black eyes wore a look of fury upon her face, "Excuse me?"

     "What's your name?" Seren asked the Queen.

     "Briallyn."

     "Well, Briallyn," Seren's voice was hard, "In case you didn't know who I am, let me introduce myself. I'm Seren, second-in-command of the Night Court. I think I should remind you that the Night Court fought with you humans in the last war. They risked their necks for you and could have saved themselves a lot of trouble if they had gone along with the other Courts. But they didn't. The only reason your side won was because of the Night Court. You sit in your chair, acting all high and mighty now. But what happens when Prythian falls, and Hybern comes for you next? Not even you five will be able to escape their wrath. High Lord Rhysand is kind and compassionate. He would still try to protect your realm, even if you refuse to give him the Book. But you'll find no kindness or compassion in me. I would leave you and therefore your whole realm, to rot. I have personal experience with Hybern. I've been held captive by one of Hybern's generals for fifty years. I've seen what Hybern's soldiers do to the priestesses of our temples. I'll give you one piece of advice, I would avoid Hybern at all costs. So, I would take the help the High Lord is offering. Because you can best believe you won't get this offer again."

     The room was silent when Seren stopped talking. After a moment, the youngest queen spoke up, "Does High Lord Rhysand have any proof of his kindness?"

     Feyre was the one to answer, "He has a city where he keeps many of his citizens. He has guarded it for many years and ensures that it is the safest city. All his subjects are happy and satisfied. He has eradicated crime and homelessness."

     Briallyn scoffed, "How do we know you aren't just making this up to get us to trust you?"

     Feyre's eyebrows furrowed, "I'm not making it up."

     "We will not step inside Prythian, but if you can find a way to prove to us that this city you speak of is real and is everything you say it is, we will give you our half of the Book," the leader concluded.

     Seren wanted to huff in annoyance but held it in. Of course the queens would come up with a way that was virtually impossible to deliver on.

     But Rhys only nodded, "Very well. Thank you for meeting with us."

     The five queens all stood to leave when Seren suddenly remembered something, "Where is the sixth queen?"

     All five of the queens in front of her stopped dead in their tracks. The leader eyed her cautiously, "She is ill and could not make it."

     Seren nodded, although it was suspicious that the queens had tried not to mention her at all. When Azriel had ensured that the queens had left, Rhys sighed, "How are we supposed to get them to believe Velaris is real if we can't bring them to it?"

     The group sat in silence for a while, trying to figure out an answer. "If only there was a way for us to take a live photo of Velaris," Seren said.

     Rhys snapped his fingers, "That's it! What if we use Veritas?"

     Feyre looked confused, "What's a Veritas?"

     "It will show the truth. Whatever the truth is," Rhys explained.

     "That sounds good, where is it?" Cassian asked slowly.

     At this, Rhys grimaced, "Keir owns it. It has been in Mor's family since the beginning."