I unceremoniously dumped the three men who were still living on the council chambers floor. Most of the people present were confused or indifferent to my actions. But one woman was unable to hide her dismay.

Diarmuid Ua Duibhne.

I hadn't had any real interaction with her. The only thing I knew about her was that she was a Queen and was powerful enough to satisfy the Sithern when seeking individuals to fill the council seats.

I had no real interaction with her. It made little sense for her to target me, so I was unable to figure out her motive for this attempt at assassination or capture. She should have been neutral, even if she wasn't thankful for my actions.

I had helped repel the armies of Man from the shores of Sidhe land. I had opened new Sitherns that would protect our people, those Sitherns blessed with fertility buffs. I had founded safe areas for the Sidhe in undiscovered lands. And I had created an alliance with one of the most successful military tacticians in history.

I didn't believe her motivations aligned or meant she was working with Man. The only reason I could think of for her to take such action was jealousy or fear. Either she was afraid that my success would see me installed as High King, and that would harm her or her people in some way. Or she was envious of what I was accomplishing.

While true the return of [Fairy] and magic made my ascension to High King possible, it wasn't a goal of mine. Perhaps she feared I would be a different type of ruler than Lleu Llaw. I would be. I would never have escaped Underhill and left our great swathes of our people to their fate.

I may not have said what I thought of Lleu Llaw for forcing that [Geas] on the Kings and Queens he selected to rule Underhill. But my decision to work almost exclusively with Morgan once the [Council of Twelve] was formed made my contempt for their actions evident.

If Morgan was able to refuse to abide by Lleu Llaw's decision and refuse to accept a [Geas] and retreat, then so could the rest of them. They hid their choice behind excuses of coercion and protested they had found themselves forced to accept Lleu Llaw's edict said as much about their character and the worth they placed in our people as anything.

Or how much they cared about them.

"Do any of you recognize these men?" I asked, pretending not to have noticed Diarmuid's reaction.

"They are sworn to you, aren't they Diarmuid?" Puck answered after the room had spent a few seconds examining. At least I thought his response was innocently offered, but Diarmuid was still startled when her name was mentioned. "I remember Lord Simon was a favorite of yours from a few centuries ago.

"I’m surprised to see him without Lord Thad. Usually, where one goes, the other isn’t far behind. What did they do that has them tied and bound and slung around like so much baggage?”

“I can’t be certain who Lord Thad is,” I replied. “And although I’m not positive that they were ordered to assassinate or capture me, they had set an ambush to greet me when I left the World Tree.

“Not a stupid decision considering a stray magic attack might risk my own death. Unfortunately, they failed to understand that I am as well versed in martial skills as I am magical.

“I know there were more than these three involved. The others ran away in cowardice once I managed to kill one of them,” I said, answering Puck’s question. “I tied them up and brought them here to return them to their master.”

My words managed to garner a much larger response than tossing the tied-up men had. The feigned looks of apathy and indifference by a few of the Twelve were replaced with genuine interest and looks of disbelief. More than a few people looked to Diarmuid with incredulity.

“Diarmuid?” Morgan said, confronting her directly.

“What?” She snapped, the slightest tremor of fear lacing her question.

“Did you send your men to kill or capture Teigh Mac de Beleros y Cyronax y Cailleach y Arianrhod? The person standing in these chambers, known to all of us as the person who turned back Man's tides from our shore?”

“No,” she answered quickly.

It might have been strange that Morgan had used my full name or even knew it since most of it was recently gained. But she had and for a reason. When asking her question, as well as the other qualifiers, she was framing the parameters of the question. With the Sidhe, you had to be, or they could find a way to answer that might suggest their innocence.

If she had just asked and only used Teigh as the descriptor, Diarmuid could say ‘no’ and not technically be lying. There were other people named Teigh. There was sure even to be more than one Teigh roaming this planet.

“There once was a king,” I said, regaining the attention of those now wondering if Diarmuid was innocent. “A king that was sorely vexed by a priest who continued to confound his desires and plans to increase his authority at every turn.

“This king wanted the priest removed, but he couldn’t just order the man killed. He needed to be seen as innocent of any involvement. There could be no blood on his hands from the priest’s death.

“So, he asked, before a group of knights and retainers, ‘Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?’

“Four men heard the king’s words and understood them to be an order. A command to kill the priest, even though the king had not specifically commanded them to act.

“I wonder, Diarmuid. Did you say or infer in any manner, before people that are, or have been sworn to you, or those close to you, something that might have led them to believe that you wanted me killed, captured, wounded, or dealt with in any way?”

She refused to answer; her lips tightened in an obvious sign of that refusal. But her refusal was evidence enough of her involvement.

“I see,” I said, activating [Beleros Aura] and making it clear to everyone gathered that I would not ignore her treachery.

“I challenge you, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, to stand upon the field of battle and defend your actions. I invoke the Kelpie challenge ritual gifted to her people by the Goddess Belisama. I demand satisfaction for your betrayal and will only be satisfied once one of us is dies this day.”

“I claim the right to name a defender,” Diarmuid demanded immediately. She seemed almost giddy with joy, delighted to accept my challenge. And I found that strange and worrisome

“I call upon High King Lleu Llaw Gyffes to stand as my sword. I call upon my consort, Duke Nelag, to stand as my shield,” she replied almost as if she had rehearsed it.

“Do you agree?” I said, addressing my question to Lleu Llaw. His agreement would be tantamount to admitting his involvement in whatever scheme Diarmuid and her people had put in play. But his acceptance was necessary to activate the challenge ring Belisama had gifted the Kelpie.

I wasn’t worried if he would accept the demands Diarmuid placed on him. I had already proven I was more powerful than he was. I would regret the vacuum his death would leave as part of the ruling Sidhe if he accepted and died. With both him and Diarmuid dead, gaps in the power-sharing balance that the Sithern had created by fostering a [Council of Twelve] would be damaged.

“I agree,” Lleu Llaw finally replied reluctantly. Diarmuid had begun looking worried as he drew out the suspense, but her confidence was renewed once he agreed. She was confident that I would lose, and that made no sense.

I had already demonstrated my [Authority] when I had used the weight of my will to force the entire [Council of Twelve] to their knees. Certainly, they had had time to familiarize themselves with their magic, but it hadn’t been that long since [Fairy] was restored.

From the way Diarmuid was acting, my challenge had been anticipated and planned for. The only reason I could think that would make her so confident was that an artifact of power had been gathered, and they believed that artifact was strong enough to defeat me.

Unfortunately, they failed to factor in the limits to challenge Belisma demanded when fighting within her sphere of influence. No weapons, artifacts, or armor could be used that was not a natural embellishment of your spells and skill.

Any artifact they hoped to use would be rendered useless once the sphere of water we would be fighting in was conjured. And although the water was Lleu Llaw’s element to command, fire and ice were mine.

This fight would be a battle of control. Control of our element and magic, and how effective we could use it to fight.