Storm Warned (The Grim Series) by Dani Harper Page A

Ellen Dillwyn, had been changed by it when Maelgwn led a hunt of his own.
    She doubted that a light whip had ever been used to bring order to the throne room before.
    All were once again kneeling, even Maelgwn, as Lurien’s words replaced the silence. Quiet and deliberate, they carried to every ear, and his tone was far more frightening than even the weapon he still held uncoiled in his hand. “You will remember that you are in the presence of your monarch, and you will receive her words,” he said, then bowed to his queen and moved to stand at the foot of the dais—next to a smoldering pile of stone rubble, where his supernatural whip had struck.
    Caris could swear that Gwenhidw looked amused, but the queen continued as if there had been no interruption at all, and her voice was solemn. “Our new territory lies across the Wide Waters. It is beneath rolling plains framed by two mountain ranges that mortals have named the Cascades and the Rockies. I myself have made the journey there several times, to determine that this land is suitable for all of my people—not just the Tylwyth Teg, or just the Bendith, or just the Gwyllion, but all . The earth beneath is rich with magic and raw materials, fed by the energy of living volcanoes and mighty rivers. Tir Hardd merely waits for our people to shape it to their will.”
    The throne room remained quiet as the monarch described a detailed plan for the transplanting of the faery kingdom. It would require a staggering amount of magic that could be achieved only if the many tribes put aside their differences and worked together. But it was when Gwenhidw explained how the new territory would be governed that the monumental room erupted with commotion once again. This time, however, it was with cheers and blessings upon the queen’s bold proposal.
    Only a few were displeased, and as Caris expected, the naysayers were all Tylwyth Teg, with Prince Maelgwn at their center.
    “You have said that we cannot build on old foundations,” he declared boldly. “If so, then I say that a new land requires a new ruler.”
    “And no doubt you wish to be that ruler,” said Gwenhidw. Her face was composed, her voice calm as a summer breeze, yet there was power behind her words like waves gathering before the wind. “You are quite free to bring your claim before a meeting of the envoys, Maelgwn. They will decide whether it has merit.”
    “What envoys?” he asked, clearly surprised.
    Her answer was directed not to him but to the assembly. “I call now for a delegation of envoys not only from each of the Nine Realms but also from every tribe and every clan in the kingdom. Mark me now, that all must be fairly represented. Send them to my courtyard when six suns have risen. But be certain,” she cautioned, “that the leader you select is the wisest and most trustworthy among you. And he should have at his right hand and his left those who are your most magically gifted. Because it is your chosen envoys who will work together not only to expand the Nine Realms but to ensure that each and every group receives a fair and generous share of the new territory. And it is your chosen envoys who will assist in governing it .”
    The queen rose from the Glass Throne then and motioned with her hands that all should rise with her. “My beloved subjects, we are embarking on a great adventure to a greater destiny. I foresee the day that Tir Hardd will be the envy of all fae nations. Those of you who wish to remain in our ancestral home may do so, for we relinquish not that which is ours. Those of us who imagine greater things for our peoples, however, will be traveling across the Wide Waters. I myself will go with you, and together, we will build anew.”
    To the shock and delight of her subjects, Queen Gwenhidw bowed to them, her palms outstretched as if in supplication.

    Magic must have revealed her hiding place, because Caris couldn’t imagine how else Maelgwn had managed to find her in the chattering