The Veil of Trust

by S. Usher Evans

  "You'll get them all back."

  "I have another idea," he said, backing up a step. "Guards!"

  "Oh, screw you, you giant asshole," I snarled, rushing him. But before I could get to him, three armed soldiers rushed in behind him. I didn't want to cause a scene, so I ran to the open window. And without thinking, I jumped…

  …too late remembering that the cloak around my neck was just a cloak, and not the specially made one I needed to break my fall. I couldn't help the scream of fear as I braced myself for the pain of falling three stories onto the hard ground.

  Except I didn't land solid ground—I landed in a pile of hay. It still hurt, but instead of broken bones, I just saw stars. Slowly, I pushed myself upward, shaking my spinning head.

  "See, I told you."

  I blinked and looked up at the grinning faces of Jorad and Felix. "W-what are you doing here?"

  "It doesn't matter," Felix said. "We need to get you out of here."

  "Not yet," I said, crawling out of the wagon and onto the floor. "I'm not done with Ammon."

  "There she is!" Ammon bellowed from above. "Surround her! In the courtyard!"

  "Brynn, we—"

  Like a swarm of insects, the Kulkan soldiers filled the courtyard, their weapons drawn and pointed at Felix, Jorad, and me. The younger Llobrega went to pull his weapon, but Felix held up his hand, shaking his head. He looked at me, nodding his head slightly.

  Out of the corner of my eye, a torch flickered on the barracks wall. And an idea blossomed in my mind.

  "Well, this was an exercise in idiocy," Ammon said, walking through the parting guards. "What were you planning on doing? Escaping? I have this city surrounded."

  "Sure you do," I said with a low, Veil-like purr. I reached into my slingbag and pulled out a small pouch, holding it between my two fingers. "But I've got something you want."

  Ammon's eyes widened in recognition. "You brought some with you?"

  "Of course," I said, inching closer to the torch burning against the wall. "I'd had a mind to come to an agreement, but clearly, you decided otherwise."

  "What are you—Get away from there!" Ammon cried, rearing back in fear as the bag came within a hair's breadth of the flame. "Are you trying to kill us all?"

  "Ammon, I don't want to do this," I said, holding the bag aloft. "There's a hundred people in this building. This would knock out your entire army."

  "And yourself as well," Ammon said. "You won't do it."

  I moved the bag closer. "Others would continue in my stead."

  "Your Majesty, don't!" Jorad cried, but Felix held up his hand.

  "Trust her," he said. "She knows what she's doing."

  "Does she?" Ammon said, fear creeping into his voice. "Or is she absolutely crazy?"

  "A little of both," I said with a smile. "It doesn't have to end like this, Ammon. All you have to do is yield and give me what I want."

  Ammon looked to his military advisors, all pale-faced and worried, then behind him to his soldiers. "You'd really kill your own people?"

  "I did it once before," I said, bringing the bag closer to the candle.

  "All right!" he cried. "All right. You'll get your soldiers and your ships. And my alliance. Just please, get that candle away from that bag."

  I straightened, blowing the flame out. "Excellent. I'll be sending a contingent of fifty soldiers to make sure you keep your word this time. They'll have ond with them. If you betray me again, you won't get a warning." I looked at Felix and Jorad. "Let's go."

  We walked by the Kulkans, who seemed too shocked to say or do anything. Wordlessly, the three of us climbed back onto our wagon and set off toward the rising sun in the east.

  "I have to ask," Jorad said, after we were out of the city. "Were you really going to blow us all up?"

  "I told Ammon I'd knock out his forces," I said with a sly look at Felix.

  "W…wait…" Jorad said, turning in his seat. "Was that…?"

  I lifted the bag of knockout powder and smiled.

  Chapter 45

  "Knockout!" Jorad cried to the vigilantes around him. "I couldn't believe it. I thought for sure she was going to blow us all up."

  "Give me some credit." I shared a wry smile with Felix. "I'm not half as reckless as I used to be."

  He, wisely, said nothing.

  Our vigilantes had met up with us shortly after we arrived outside the city. For all his complaining about not being helpful, Felix wasted no time in ordering half of our vigilantes to remain in the city and await the arrival of a backup contingent. I was content to let him fall back into his old behaviors, and even Jorad said nothing about it.

  Once I'd made sure Ammon had seen my soldiers, and impressed upon him that I was leaving them with plenty of bags (of what, I didn't say), the remaining vigilantes rode back to Celia's camp.

  No, not Celia's camp. My camp.

  "This will surely go down in the annals of Forcadelian lore. A princess vigilante fooled the prince of Kulka with simple knockout powder." Jorad hadn't stopped talking about it since we left. When he was barking orders and training cadets, it was easy to forget that he wasn't much older than I was. But all his boyish tendencies had come to the forefront.

  Felix, on the other hand, hadn't said much since we'd departed. I could tell he was tired, but I hadn't even received a single chastisement for jumping out the window. It was an odd change—first allowing me to walk into the city, and now this.

  "Thank you," I said to Felix, as Jorad continued babbling to anyone who was within earshot. "For saving my butt out there."

  "It was a combined effort," Felix said. "Neither Jorad nor I felt right about you going in empty-handed. And I had a hunch you'd be going straight to Ammon."

  "You don't want to lecture me?" I asked. "Surely, you've got an 'I told you so' in you, Felix."

  "I've long since learned that doesn't work with you," he replied with a coy smile. "Besides that, you accomplished what you went to do. Ammon won't test you anymore and you're getting additional soldiers and ships. Clearly, you know what you're doing."

  "Clearly!" Jorad said with a grin that made him look him ten years younger. "I still can't get over that knockout powder trick. How did you even think of it?"

  "Well, somebody told me to channel the person I used to be as The Veil," I said, casting a quick look at Felix. "And that person delighted in making people think they were going to die. Did I ever tell you about the Niemenian ship?"

  I amused the group with the tale of how I'd sunk a Kulkan vessel, but made everyone think it was a Niemenian one, which lasted the rest of the journey. By the time we got back to the camp, greeted, of course, by whistles of Welcome Back, Your Majesty, Jorad had taken over the storytelling, telling everyone about the recent events in Neveri.

  "Sounds like you were successful," Katarine called. She and Luard were there to greet us at the gates. Her sharp blue eyes raked over Felix but seemed to find him well enough. "On all counts."

  "Yes," I said. "Ammon will be giving me an additional hundred soldiers and five warships to help our cause."

  "Five warships?" Luard said, his eyes bugging out. "You must've scared him good."

  "She did," Jorad said, flashing me a smile. "He'd be foolish to betray you again."

  "He was foolish to try anything at all," Felix said, wincing a little as he dismounted.

  "You," Katarine said, pointing behind her. "To Nicolasa's. Now."

  "Yes, ma'am," Felix said, saluting her, and wincing as he bowed.

  "Did he fight?" Katarine asked.

  "He sat on a wagon," I said, deciding not to elaborate and save him a lecture. "Perhaps did a little more than he should've. But he was oddly restrained. I think he's really injured."

  "Perhaps," Katarine said with a knowing look behind her.

  "Has there been any word from Forcadel?" I asked.

  "Not a peep," Luard said. "But I confess I've been too busy planning the most beautiful wedding in the history of the four countries to pay mu
ch attention. Speaking of which, Katarine—"

  "I promise, whatever you come up with will be perfectly fine," she said with a tight, but patient, smile. "As long as Bea's happy."

  "But that's what she says about you," Luard said with a frown. "Fine. White flowers it is."

  I shared a smile with Katarine as Luard left us. Even from a distance, the camp had already been transformed, with garlands hanging from the houses and bouquets sticking out of the torch holders along the walls. I had no doubt that Luard had pressed every pair of available hands into service.

  "So when is the big day?" I asked with a grin.

  "Two days," Katarine said. "I asked for a small, intimate ceremony, but—"

  "I doubt Luard even heard," I said. "You know, it doesn't have to be so soon."

  She made a dismissive noise. "Well, with Beswick due back any day now, Beata and I both thought it would be less worrisome for you if we kept it small and short."

  "Oh, no," I said with a hearty shake of my head. "You, Lady Katarine, get the works. A long, boring ceremony. A huge dress that you can barely move in—"

  "I had all that once before," she said. "When I married your brother. This time… This time I'm marrying for love, not ceremony. And speaking of romances." Katarine wagged her eyebrows. "Clearly, Felix got his way."

  My face warmed. "How so?"

  "He practically insisted on going with you on this journey," Katarine said. "Well? Did you kiss? You have to tell me everything. Or else I'll just have to get it from him."

  "We didn't," I said, my face now as warm as the sun. "But I guess you could say we…flirted."

  "It's a start," Katarine said.

  "He seems different," I said. "Less insufferable, perhaps?"

  "To you, perhaps. But you don't know Felix as well as I do—not the boy he was before he assumed his responsibility. He was upstanding, yes, but he used to be so much more…" She sighed. "Fun. But that was mostly August's doing. He liked to stir the pot, and Felix was usually the one behind him, half-trying to keep him from stirring, half helping." She tilted her head to the side. "I think the Felix you're seeing now is one who's stared death in the face and realized he probably shouldn't take himself so seriously."

  "I think he still takes himself a little seriously," I said.

  "Oh, of course, and once we move closer to taking on Ilara, he'll come back to the serious man we both know," she said, nudging me. "But he's allowing himself to love you. And I couldn't have picked a better woman for him."

  At dinner that night, Jorad's retelling of my antics in Neveri had grown to epic proportions, and I finally had to step in.

  "There were twenty guards in the courtyard, not a hundred," I said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And all I had was a bag of knockout powder."

  "It was still brilliant," he said, flashing a smile at me.

  "You won't get him to quit talking about it," Felix said when I sat down next to him with my dinner. "He's never seen something so incredible in his life. Besides that, it helps morale."

  "I suppose," I said. "I just don't want them thinking I'm superhuman or something."

  "You aren't?" Felix said with mock surprise.

  I swatted him with my spoon. "Has Nicolasa chided you for leaving?"

  "Not as much as she probably wanted to. I do feel better—stronger, even. These ribs are the only thing that still give me trouble, but not as much as they did."

  "Good," I said. "Because I hear you've got a big job in two days."

  He flashed a smile. By virtue of his position in the royal guard, Felix was the only one who could under the Mother's teachings. Luard had said he could teach me how to do it, but my role in this ceremony would be secondary.

  "I've been looking forward to this for years," Felix said. "I knew the moment Katarine laid eyes on Beata that they were going to be something special. I'd never seen her look so terrified in her life."

  "How old was she?"

  "Fifteen," Felix said. "Three years away from marrying August. And August knew, too. Wouldn't let her live it down until she admitted she thought Beata was cute." He looked down into his bowl. "I wish he was here to see this. He would've been thrilled."

  I glanced at him, trying to picture him as the young, mischievous man Katarine had described. There were flashes of it, sure, but the man I knew had pushed me to be a better woman and queen. As much as Katarine may have missed the more fun version of Felix, I might've liked this one better.

  "What?" he said, catching me staring.

  "Nothing," I said, looking at my dinner and trying not to let myself blush.

  "Excuse me, Brynna," Beata said, holding a bowl. "Could I trouble you to bring this to Celia? I've got my hands full keeping an eye on the cake for the celebration."

  "Beata, you shouldn't be baking your own cake," I said with a frown.

  "I would have it no other way," she said, thrusting the bowl at me as if I'd mightily offended her. She stormed back into the kitchen, leaving me holding the bowl.

  "What are you going to do about her?" Felix asked.

  "Who? Beata? Nothing, I—"

  "No, Celia."

  I sighed and palmed the bowl. "I don't know. Right now, I'm going to bring her some dinner."

  "Evening," Celia said, yet again reading a book when I walked into her hut. "So the scullery maid is too good to bring me food now?"

  "She's a bit busy planning her wedding," I said, placing the bowl on the desk in front of her. "I suppose you've seen the activity."

  "I have," she said. "Seems odd to have such a happy celebration right before you go to war."

  "It will be." I stared out the open door, which had a clear line of sight to the front of the fort. "Everyone will be occupied. Happy. Excited. Nobody will be paying attention to you."

  "As if I care."

  "No, but I do," I said, turning to look at her. "Tomorrow night, I want you to pack up your things and leave the camp."

  She stopped and looked up at me. "Excuse me?"

  "Leave." I crossed my arms over my chest. "No one would be the wiser. Just take whatever you need—supplies, weapons, food—and walk out of my camp."

  "Your camp?" She leaned back in her chair.

  "You said you were waiting for me to fail," I said. "But I don't think I will anymore. And so if I'm not going to fail, there's no reason to keep you in camp."

  "You're willing to let me leave?" she said. "Why the change in heart?"

  "I thought I was too scared to do anything about you, but that's not really it, is it? The fact of the matter is…you saved my life. And not just when Ilara stabbed me. You gave me a place to stay, food to eat, and a purpose when I had absolutely nothing. For that, I will be forever grateful."

  She tilted her head up. "And now?"

  "Now, I have an army. I'm growing my ranks every day. And whatever you think you can throw at me, I can handle. It's time to stop being precious with my forces—and time for you to quit wasting my time. So you have a choice: leave or help me reclaim my throne."

  She sat back in her chair, looking honestly surprised. "You trust me that much?"

  "Not at all," I said. "But I trust myself."

  And with that, I slammed the door behind me.

  Chapter 46

  Katarine

  The morning of my second wedding, I woke early, the butterflies in my stomach pushing me from bed. It was hard not to compare this event with my wedding to August. Then, I'd awoken at dawn to bathe and prepare for the morning wedding. My dress had taken nearly an hour to put on, requiring sewing and adjusting as the servants overlaid petticoats laced with diamonds. I could still remember the faint sadness in my heart as I watched Beata curl and style my hair, wishing I could tell her how beautiful I thought her eyes. Back then, I hadn't been brave enough to say how I felt, too focused on my duty to Niemen and my newly adopted country.

  And now I was marrying her.

  Instead of layers of petticoats, I was wearing my hair loose and a linen dress my brid
e had made for me. On my feet, the same shoes I'd been wearing when I left Forcadel. The young children who helped around camp had done their best to rinse the blood and mud from them, but they were hopelessly stained. I wore them like a badge of honor.

  I did have one item from my first wedding, the beautifully sculpted brooch my sister Ariadna had given me to wear on my wedding day. It was one of the few things I'd refused to leave behind, and now I was glad for the foresight.

  I settled on the cot I'd claimed the night before, running a comb through my long hair and thinking, oddly, about August. Our wedding had been all ceremony and no romance. But even though it lacked any romance, our marriage had been something special to me. I'd genuinely cared for him, and he for me. It was why he'd pushed me to be more forthcoming with Beata.

  "All I want is for you to be happy here." I could still hear his low voice as we'd looked over the kingdom that we thought would be ours one day. We'd discussed our great plans for improving the infrastructure in Haymaker's Corner, and for relieving the tensions between Kulka and Niemen. About how we might parent our eventual children into becoming just and fair rulers, and once they took over, what we planned to do with our newfound freedom.

  But the Mother, it seemed, had had other plans.

  Still, there was a lot of August in Brynna. She had his tenaciousness, his fierce loyalty, and his rebellious streak. August would've made a great king, but he would've been comforted in knowing that his little sister was taking his mantle with pride.

  I shook myself from those thoughts when Luard's laugh echoed in the distance. He and Ivan came into the sleeping hut, not caring if they woke the soldiers who'd been out training all night.

  "Dearest Kitty-Kat." Luard's face was full of warmth and pride, his eyes brimming with tears. "You are the most beautiful bride I've ever laid eyes on."

  "Just wait until you see Beata," I said, coming to my feet. "I'm sure she'll outshine me."

  "As much as I love her, I only have eyes for you today," he said, taking my hand and spinning me around. He saw the brooch on the bed and made a noise, rushing toward it. "I remember this. Didn't Ariadna give it to you?"