"On our wedding day? Surely it can wait until tomorrow!" Ember bellowed. Filton quickly became submissive, dropping into a bowed position.
"Forgive me, my lord, but I fear it cannot."
Ember whistled through clenched teeth to stop himself from yelling. Filton could be more than a little frustrating sometimes.
"Who is so important that they cannot wait?" Asher, who had been lounging on a couch across the room spoke up, making Ember jump. He had almost forgotten that his brother was even in the room. Soon his other brothers would arrive and descend upon him as well. Whoever this person was asking for an audience, it was better to get them out of the way as soon as possible.
Filton glanced at Asher out of the corner of his eye before addressing his answer to Ember, "My lord, it is your soon-to-be father-in-law."
Ember's heart skipped a beat and sank deep into his gut. Never in a million years would he have guessed that would be his advisor's answer. Anger flared up inside him at the mere mention of the man who had traded his daughter into slavery.
Gritting his teeth, Ember waved a hand at Filton and ordered, "Show him in."
The advisor wasted no time. He bowed and scurried out of the room, only to return with an elder fae hobbling behind him. The man was so different from Iris that at first he couldn't possibly understand how she could be related to him. He was old and haggard with a twisted leg, and his little and ring fingers were missing from his left hand. Everything about him, from his dirty clothes to his missing appendages, suggested that he was a manual laborer. It wasn't until the man lifted his head and gazed at Ember with blue-purple eyes that he instantly knew the man was her father.
"King Ember, I have come to make a request for my daughter," the man announced immediately, "I have come to take her home."
Shock threatened to overwhelm Ember, but it was immediately replaced by anger. Trying to keep a lid on his temper, he calmly asked, "And why would I ever agree to that request?"
He is either very brave or very foolish, Ember thought. A man willing to come before a king and ask such a thing after all the terrible things he had done had to be at least one if not both.
"I have been distraught without her," the man practically cried, though there were no tears in his eyes, "She was taken from me against my will, against her own."
Ember's stomach twisted painfully. This plea was awfully similar to one he had heard only days before. Obviously, Pablo and Melia's story had begun to spread. Ember could only hope that they had listened when he had found them later that day and requested that they keep to themselves the part about the change in the laws. He had wished to at least keep his plan of announcing the good news at their wedding feast.
They must have kept the secret, Ember decided, why else would this man be foolish enough to come here with all I know about him?
Deciding that it was best to find out, Ember quickly came up with a cunning plan.
"Iris is free to leave with you if she so wishes," he stated, squaring his shoulders.
The older fae's face instantly grew pale. Had he been expecting Ember to fight for her?
"Unless there is another reason you have come?" Ember eyed the man closely. The glint in his eye suggested that there was definitely another reason for his being there.
"Well, you see, my lord," he began, at least having the decency to lower his gaze from the king, "I would be willing to part with her, it is just that she is needed back home. I struggle to make ends meet without her, you see."
Ember struggled still to contain his temper. That is why you are here, money!
Ember took a moment to compose himself, glancing around the room. His eyes met his brother's and as if Asher had sensed his plan, he pushed himself to the edge of the couch and asked, "What would you deem a fair price for a woman about to be queen? Ten gold coins? One hundred? One thousand?"
The old man’s head snapped up and the greedy little glint in his eye made Ember want to grab him by the throat and shake the life out of him.
"What would you deem a fair trade?" the king asked again, trying to hide his true feelings from the vile man standing before him. Ember couldn't help but see Perivale in him. The two were obviously kindred spirits, and it was no surprise that Iris had become a victim with those two as the men in her life.
"I...I... two hundred gold coins, three hundred, maybe," the man stuttered, his face growing pale as if he felt shame at his bartering but could not help himself. "She is very valuable to me."
"Hmm...I am sure that she is," Ember nodded. He stared at the man for a moment, wishing to keep him hanging before he turned to Filton and ordered, "Fetch a purse for the man."
Filton scurried off at once into the study beyond Ember's bed chamber, where a vault was hidden behind the bookcase nearest his desk. A few moments later, he returned carrying a red velvet purse that jingled with coins.
He handed it to Ember with a bowed head, who took it with a look of gratitude before he turned to the man who had sired his wife-to-be.
You do not deserve the title of father, he thought scathingly as he held out the purse and said, "Here. Take your payment and be gone."
The man glanced nervously around the room, only stepping forward when Asher offered him a nod of encouragement. He held out his hands beneath the purse and bowed his head low. Ember dropped the purse into his hands and held his breath.
"Do you accept this payment for your daughter, Iris?" he asked, breathlessly waiting for the man's response.