“You crawled into my—”
“But as for actually respecting me?” Remy interrupted, his voice louder but not with any kind of inflection. “You don’t. You must be disgusted by me, in fact, trying to keep me away from my child. You don’t even think I have the right to know she exists.”
Fleur let out a sigh. “No, it’s not like that at all. I realize that you’re hurt—”
“Stop,” he said. “Because I’m not anymore. That’s the thing. I’m done. You are not worth destroying myself for, and you’re definitely not worth destroying my kingdom for.”
“Yes,” spoke up Guillame, “and with that in mind, maybe we could talk about negotiations instead of whether or not there’s respect here or who’s an idiot. So, yesterday, there was some talk of Fleur possibly accompanying you to the battlefield, and in return—”
“I’m not giving her anything, no matter what she does,” said Remy. “She leaves this country right away. And my daughter stays behind with me.”
“Stop saying that,” said Fleur, sighing. “That’s something that’s never going to happen. I’m her mother. I won’t abandon her.”
“Yes, and I’m her father,” said Remy. “And you have robbed me of four years, four years I’ll never get back. I don’t even know her. Is there any way you can compensate me for that?”
“You don’t care about her,” said Fleur.
“How do you know that?” said Remy. “You don’t know what I do and don’t care about.”
“You weren’t the slightest bit interested in her this morning when she came into my bedchamber.” Fleur’s face was growing red again, and this time not from exercise outside.
“Wasn’t I?” said Remy. “Haven’t we just been speaking about a conversation we had in which you lied to me about who her father was?”
Lombardi cleared his throat. “Ah… perhaps, Dubois, we should leave them to talk amongst this themselves. I feel as though we are intruding on a family quarrel.”
A family quarrel that would affect the entire known world if it wasn’t resolved. “We’re not going anywhere,” said Guillame.
“There are two things that I am firm on,” said Remy. “First, you will tell me your real reason for coming to Dumonte, and second, you will leave the princess with me, because I am owed time with her.”
“I will not leave her,” said Fleur. “That’s preposterous.”
“Tell me why you’re here, and what you really want from me,” said Remy. “What is this all about?”
“I have told you,” said Fleur.
“I need to know what you’re really after,” said Remy.
“I want a safe place for my people,” said Fleur.
“No,” said Remy. “You truly expect me to believe this about you? Kingbreaker? You’re just altruistically ‘loving other people’?” He sneered at her. “I know you better than that.”
Lombardi turned to Guillame. “With respect, Dubois, we’re not getting anywhere.”
He was right. Guillame cleared his throat. “If Queen Fleur wants a safe place for her people, she’s going to have to compromise a bit. It is only fair for King Remy to want the chance to know his daughter. Perhaps you could allow the king to meet with the princess and—”
“Allow me to meet with her?” said Remy, shaking his head. “That’s preposterous. I don’t need to be allowed. And that’s one thing I’m not going to negotiate on. In fact, there’s no need to negotiate where the princess is concerned. I have taken that matter in hand.”
“You’ve what?” said Guillame. “What do you mean?”
A look of alarm crossed Fleur’s face. She looked to her left, where Solene was sitting, and she said, “Can you go and check on Margo, please?”
Remy laughed.
Guillame gaped at him. “What have you done?”
“She’s my daughter,” said Remy. “I deserve to have time with her.”
“Deserve?” said Fleur. “Why? Because you spilled some of your seed in my body?”
“That is how it works, Fleur,” said Remy, teeth clenched. “You wouldn’t have her if it weren’t for me.”
Solene looked at Fleur and then at the door and then back again.
“Yes, go,” said Fleur, her eyes wide.
Solene scurried off, across the room and out the door.
Fleur turned back to Remy. “Have you taken my daughter? What are you going to do to her?”
Remy looked pained. “I won’t hurt her, what do you think I am?”
“Your Majesty,” said Guillame in a low voice, “this is not the way to go about this. What are you thinking?”
The door opened and Solene was back. A woman that Guillame recognized as the princess’s nurse came in with her, wringing out her hands.
“She was on her way to alert us,” said Solene. “Musqueteers. With guns. They’ve taken the princess away.”
Fleur’s face twisted. All the blood drained out of her face.
“Remy,” said Guillame. “Let the girl go.”
Remy looked Fleur over. “I had to do this. You were determined that I never even know she existed, much less have any time with her.”
“Let me see my daughter,” said Fleur. “Who’s with her right now? She could be frightened. The musqueteers, they don’t know anything about children.”
“I can’t simply give her back,” said Remy. “You’ll keep her from me if I do.”
“No,” she said. “No, we’ll talk about it, just… please.”
“Remy,” said Guillame again.
Remy gazed at her for a long minute, and then he crossed the room and opened a door. More musqueteers began pouring into the room. Remy nodded at Fleur. “The queen and her party need to gather their belongings. Then escort them out of the castle and make sure they get on ships back to Islaigne.”
Fleur let out a noise, something horrified and pained. “You wouldn’t.”
“You leave me no choice,” said Remy.
Fleur seethed. “I won’t leave without my daughter, Remy.”
“You will,” he said, and he swept out of the room.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I had knights with me, but I hadn’t come with any kind of serious force. And I knew we were vastly outnumbered. Remy had half of his entire army nearby, and his army was huge, considering he’d just come from fighting. I could fight, but I wouldn’t get anywhere, and my people would die.
So, I let my belongings be packed up, and I went looking for Guillame.
He was apparently looking for me, because while I was arguing with one the musqueteers outside the wing where we’d been staying, he strode up to me.
I turned to him. “Please tell me you found Margo.”
“I have no idea where he put her,” said Guillame. “He knew I wouldn’t approve, and he’s cut me off from her entirely. I think he took her away from the castle.”
“But Guillame—”
“He’s gone off there, too, I think,” said Guillame. “And I don’t know where, and anyone who does know is under pain of death not to tell me or anyone, and people fear him, Fleur. You realize that?”
“Of course I realize that, I…” I hugged myself. “I need her back.”
“Fleur, listen to me. Don’t do anything crazy. Don’t attack us, please. I know that you have more firestarters than Remy could even imagine. We’ve been fighting for years against just one. You come in with ten or twelve of them, and it’s a massacre.”
My eyes widened. I hadn’t thought of that. The firestarters were all back on Islaigne, of course. I hadn’t thought to bring them. They were actually safe there. But with their power, and my ability to magnify their power, we actually stood a chance against Remy’s army. I could burn through all his men, and I would if I had to. This was my daughter. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for her.
“Fleur, you’re not answering,” said Guillame.
I turned back to him. “Did he send you to say this to me?”
“No, he doesn’t know I’m
here. He’s not interested in anything that I have to do or say. He’s gone insane.”
“If you knew where Margo was—”
“I would get her for you,” said Guillame.
“You have a son. So, you know—”
“Yes, I know.”
“Then do it. Get her back for me,” I said. “You convinced him to make your own child the doffine. You can convince him of this.”
Guillame’s shoulders sagged.
“Guillame, please,” I said. “If you don’t want me to attack, then you get her back.”
“I don’t know where he is,” said Guillame.
“And how do I know you’re not working with him?” I bit down on my bottom lip. “You and him together, against me. How am I to fight both of you?”
“I’m not against you,” said Guillame. “Look, I’ll try.”
“I’ll be sending for my army,” I said. “It’s a week’s journey for them to come from Islaigne. A week to send word. A week back. You have two weeks.”
* * *
It took everything in me to leave that castle. I didn’t really have a choice, considering there were musqueteers with guns to our heads and there was no way we could topple all of them.
We had rented carriages and horses to get to the castle before, and we didn’t have them going back, so we ended up taking boats down the river to get back to the docks instead of trying to walk over land.
I didn’t have any intention of going anywhere. I hoped that Guillame would find Margo for me, but I wasn’t counting on him to do so. I’d be doing everything in my power to find my daughter.
We rented rooms on top of one of the taverns on the docks. I sent Solene back to Islaigne to muster our forces and bring them back. Most of the court went back with her. They would rather be in Islaigne than here when I attacked.
There were beds, but I didn’t sleep. I paced in my room and tried to figure out how this had happened. Certainly, I’d always thought that Remy was despicable, but he’d never been that way to me. Even after I’d tried to kill him, he hadn’t turned against me, not truly. And last night, I could have sworn that things were going to be healed between us.
Why had this been the last straw?
If only I could talk to him, maybe I could smooth things over somehow. Maybe I could fix this.
But at this point, I wasn’t sure if I could forgive him. Did he even understand what he’d done, separating a mother from her child?
Bisset tried to comfort me. “He wants to know his daughter. He’s hurt to have missed out on her life. That’s his motivation, so he’s not going to hurt her.”
“She’s been ripped away from everything she’s ever known,” I said. “She’s in a strange place. She’s got to be scared. If he really cared about her, he would have thought about that. He’s only being selfish.”
“Maybe so,” said Bisset.
I glared at him. “But?”
“I didn’t say anything,” he said.
“I could hear it dangling there, waiting to be said.” I folded my arms over my chest. “Oh, you warned me of this, I remember. You said that it wasn’t right to keep a child from one of her parents.”
“I would never blame this on you, my queen,” said Bisset. “This is not your fault, not even remotely. The king has done this on his own.”
But it was cold comfort.
There was no way I could sleep that night. I wondered where they were. Was Remy with Margo? What was he telling her? For her part, Margo had never asked about having a father, but I supposed she must have been curious about it.
Maybe not, though. It was something I never gave any thought to as a small girl. Princesses of Islaigne did not have fathers. I never felt deprived. I simply didn’t care about it at all.
Would he be gentle with her? I knew he could be gentle. I hoped he was not shoving her into the arms of musqueteers if she was crying. I hoped someone was soothing her. I hoped someone was tucking her into bed.
What if she had nightmares?
She always needed me when she had nightmares. Her nurses wouldn’t do. It had to be her mama.
Thinking of that, I started to sob.
I hadn’t cried yet, and I couldn’t believe that. I tried not to cry too often, of course. Weak people cried. But, yes, Margo made me weak, and I didn’t care.
GUILLAME
Guillame spent days trying to determine where Remy was. Remy didn’t have any other castles or any other houses. There were no places where the royal family went to have a holiday by the seaside, for instance.
He didn’t think Remy was in the castle. He had the place searched, but he wasn’t sure if he could trust any of the musqueteers. They might be more afraid of Remy than they were of him. So, he searched the place himself, top to bottom, and he found nothing.
He went to the stable hands and bribed them to tell him what they’d seen. He got nothing, except from one stable hand who admitted that the king had left on horseback, but he didn’t think he’d seen a little girl with her. He was nervous, wanting to make sure his name was kept out of it.
During all this, Guillame met daily with Fleur, who wanted to know if there was any news.
He had nothing for her.
She demanded to be allowed to conduct her own search of the castle. He put her off for a day and sent Coralie and Beau off to Briganne. Just in case. He didn’t think Fleur would hurt Beau to hurt Remy. It didn’t even truly make sense. But maybe she’d think that if she had more leverage over Guillame himself that would sway him.
He couldn’t take any chances.
When Coralie resisted leaving, he told her they were going to war, that Fleur was going to burn the entire country down. Coralie went easily enough after that.
Guillame hugged his son hard before the little boy got into the carriage. He wasn’t sure when he would see him again. This war… if it was anything like the standoff with Fonte, it could be endless. And there was unrest in the country. If people who were unhappy with Remy rallied to Fleur’s side, it could get ugly.
Guillame had to stop it before there was bloodshed.
While Fleur was searching the castle, Guillame went to the docks.
Maybe Remy hadn’t taken a carriage, and maybe he hadn’t gone inland. Maybe he’d taken his daughter on a boat somewhere.
Where, Guillame couldn’t be sure. One could travel to Rzymn entirely over the water, but it wasn’t the usual route taken, given the activity of pirates. There were ports to the south, Dumonte ports. They controlled the entire coast, such as it was.
He assumed that Remy wouldn’t have advertised the fact that he was the king. He might have come in disguise.
He asked around, wanting to know in anyone remembered a man and a little girl boarding a ship.
No one did.
He was leaving the docks to check in with Fleur when someone called out his name.
Guillame stopped, because he recognized that voice. He turned, and he couldn’t believe his eyes. It was Atlas. The other man strode toward him on his long legs, scooping his feathered hat from his head.
“I thought it was you,” said Atlas. “I didn’t think it would be so easy to find you in Dumonte. I thought you worked at the castle.”
“What? You’re looking for me?”
“I…” Atlas cocked his head at him. “Yeah?”
Guillame shoved his hands into his pockets. He didn’t even know what to say. “Oh, hell, Atlas, I… Your timing is blazing awful, you know that?”
Atlas laughed. “Hey, it doesn’t have to be like that. I just… wanted to catch up. Maybe a drink. I’m, um, officially retired.”
Guillame was surprised. “You really did that?”
“Got together the money I need to buy myself some land,” said Atlas. “I’m going to settle down somewhere. I don’t know… maybe I’m crazy, but it just seems like things between us never did get quite finished. So, before I settle down, I thought I’d look you up.”
“That’s really amazing
for you,” said Guillame. “I know it’s what you always wanted. I…”
“Don’t even have time for a drink?” said Atlas.
“Trying to stop a war,” said Guillame. “Not really getting anywhere, though, I have to admit.”
“You could tell me about it?” Atlas put his hat back on his head.
“Over a drink?” said Guillame. He sighed. “Yeah, all right. Why not? Maybe if I go over it with you, I’ll think of something I missed.”
* * *
Atlas ran a finger around the rim of his mug of ale. “So, you get the little girl back to her mother and you avert a war?”
“That’s right,” said Guillame. “But I have no idea where he could be. And I have no trail to follow. Anyone I ask, I’m sure he threatened them within an inch of their life. No one’s going to tell me where the fire king is.”
“Well, here’s what I think,” said Atlas. “You say the only thing he’s ever cared about is being the king of everything, right?”
“Well, and Fleur.”
“Yeah, that’s obviously gone sour,” said Atlas. “I don’t know that there’s much there that you can use. But if you want him to come back, I would declare yourself the king of Dumonte and everything else he’s conquered.”
Guillame blinked. “That would make him crazy angry.”
“Right?” said Atlas. “And once he’s back, you convince him to give the girl back. He’ll probably be softened up, having spent time with his daughter, formed a relationship with her—”
“If he’s really formed a relationship with her, then there’s no way he’ll give her up,” said Guillame. “If someone tried to take Beau away, I would scorch the earth to get him back.”
“Who’s Beau?” Atlas raised his eyebrows.
Guillame let out a helpless laugh. “There is so much to catch you up on.”
“You have a kid, then?” said Atlas. “Not with the queen, right? She doesn’t have one each from both of you?”
“No,” said Guillame. “No, his mother… it wasn’t pretty, how the poor kid came into being, but it doesn’t matter anymore about that. Thing is, he’s the doffine.”
Throne Shaker (The Clash and the Heat Book 3) Page 19