by Ann Denton
The pages didn’t provide proof. The couple sentences were vague. Until one phrase caught my eye.
“She oversteps. There will never be eight kingdoms—"
The parchment cut off.
Eight kingdoms. I glanced up at Donaloo. He’d mentioned eight kingdoms before. And I’d mentally dismissed him as foolish. I wanted to ask. But I wasn’t certain I’d get a straight answer.
Jorad interrupted my thoughts. “What way would you like to offend Rasle, Your Majesty? With your smell or your tardiness?”
Gods, I needed to smack that butler again.
“Bloss,” Cerena called softly. “If you don’t mind, could I try to help?”
I turned to her, where she shifted from foot to foot, a small smile on her face, as though the old woman was excited.
“Help?”
“With you … your gown,” she gave an embarrassed shrug. “Isn’t it every little hedge-witch’s dream to be a fairy godmother?”
Relief and warmth coursed through me. I gave a single nod toward Cerena. “Of course.”
She balled her hands into fists and waved them excitedly, before giving a miniature clap. “Yes. One princess-to-the-ball spell coming up!”
She scuttled around the room, yanking ingredients out of the vines that drooped leaves over her shelves. She pulled out salt, rosemary, her mortar and pestle, and the wing of a butterfly. She tried to climb to reach a high shelf but couldn’t.
Donaloo snapped his fingers and whatever ingredient Cerena wanted floated down in its box.
“Thank you,” she gave a sharp nod as she set everything out on her work table. Immediately, she set to mixing and muttering.
Every so often Donaloo would mutter some advice.
Cerena mixed every ingredient in the pestle and spit in it, making a paste. Then she opened the box and said excitedly, “Last thing we need!”
To my horror, she pulled out a human eyeball, complete with an optic nerve trailing off it.
I swallowed my disgust. “Is that really necessary?”
Both Cerena and Donaloo looked up at me.
“It’s an essential ingredient. It ensures all eyes are on you.”
With that, she took the pestle and smashed the eye into the mix. Then, a look of triumph on her face, she handed the mortar to me and said, “Eat.”
For a fleeting moment I wished Wyle was back in the castle. He’d never have made this for me.
But Cerena looked so proud. And Jorad looked so impatient. And I had a foreign queen waiting.
So, I tried very hard not to think about what I was doing as I stared at Connor, swiped my finger in the bowl, then put it between my lips.
The change was instantaneous. It was as if a small whirlwind surrounded me and then disappeared.
My hair was suddenly up. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel the massive jewels set into the crown I wore. Curls fell neatly down onto my neck. My dress was a deep wine color with tiny rubies lining a plunging neckline.
I sniffed. I didn’t smell skunk.
I smiled. If it weren’t for eating the eyeball, this would be a wonderful way to get ready each morning. “Thank you.”
Cerena glowed.
I swept past my men to take Jorad’s extended arm.
“Wait, can we eat that too?” Ryan asked. “I don’t want her going down there alone.”
He scooped a bit onto his finger, and I yanked Jorad to a stop to wait for him.
Cerena shook her head frantically but Ryan had already brought the mixture to his lips. He didn’t eat a full scoop like I did, or else the magic wasn’t as effective on his enormous size. But a wind whipped around him and a jeweled crown appeared on his head, inset with yellow topaz. Rouge appeared on his cheeks. And a bright yellow gown ripped right up the back seam as it tried to encase him. My general was left half-dressed in woman’s clothes.
I exploded in laughter. “I wish I had a court painter here to capture you in all your glory!”
Ryan bit his thumb at me.
I simply wiggled my fingers in a parting wave and left him to deal with the fallout of his choice. How he’d sneak all the way back across the castle without anyone seeing him in his current state was his problem.
My own problems were far far worse.
I had to look the woman who’d arranged to have my sister kidnapped, who’d sent a djinni that had tried to kill me. I had to face the woman who’d stolen my prisoner and might even now, have him. I had to face her, lie to her, and let her walk away.
Because I couldn’t prove a sarding thing.
My crown felt as sharp a knife. It cleaved me in two.
What I wanted to do and what I had to do had never been further apart.
Chapter Twenty-One
I strolled into the winter courtyard without a cloak, letting the cold air cool my rage.
The moonlight fell on the cobblestones and painted them a soft chalky white until a cloud passed overhead. I glanced up to see more clouds gathering. The sky looked dark in the distance.
Isla and her entourage were gathered, their winged bears were lined up and saddled in the background.
I strode up to her and grasped her outstretched hand. I gave the warmest smile I could manage.
“Thank you so much for being the first to welcome me to my throne. I look forward to working together for years to come.”
“I think you will settle into your new role nicely,” Isla patted the back of my hand. “Next time we see one another, I hope things will be vastly different.”
I caught the double meaning in her words but kept my face pleasantly neutral. She didn’t know I was aware of anything. It was best not to give away that small advantage.
I gestured behind me. “I want to apologize for my knights. They wanted to come say goodbye, but they ran afoul of the wrong end of a skunk.”
Isla pressed her lips together, smothering either a laugh or whatever she really wanted to say. “You do seem to have a bit of an animal infestation.”
I nodded. “Yes. We do. Perhaps they can sense that I’ll protect them.”
“From what?”
“From those who use magic to hurt others,” I replied, studying her features.
She simply raised her brow.
I didn’t have my knights here to hold me back, so I pushed further. “The animals who come to me are people who’ve been transformed and trapped by magic.”
Isla’s eyes darkened. “How interesting.”
“Isn’t it?” I smiled.
“Trapping and transforming others is a very, very unfortunate practice,” Isla responded.
She meant Avia. I knew she did.
My voice was thin and tight as I responded, “One I would never approve of.”
Isla’s face tilted as she studied me. “I almost believe that.”
“My mother used enough magic to bind me that I could not abide such methods.”
Isla raised an eyebrow. Then she leaned forward. “Never say never. When people are starving and revolting … a queen will do whatever it takes.”
“So, I should forgive my mother then?”
She smiled and pulled her fur-lined cloak tighter around her neck. “Bloss, I have so enjoyed our visit.”
Back to formalities and trivial lies? I thought. Fine. Two can play at that.
“As have I. Perhaps next time your daughter could accompany you,” I said.
Isla’s lip stiffened. That was her only tell.
I leaned toward her. “Isla?”
“Yes, that would be lovely,” Isla’s wide grin was back in place.
But I didn’t buy it. Isla was worried about her daughter. She should be. Unless their magical accomplice was able to wipe out an entire navy, Isla and Raj were probably in for horrific losses against Sedara. If Isla was killed, Queen Diamoni wouldn’t think twice about punishing her daughter. Taking away the throne would be the least of those punishments.
“Are you certain you want to leave things this way?” I asked.
<
br /> A long silence stretched out as Isla studied me.
“Whatever do you mean?” she finally asked lightly.
I opened my mouth to speak but a huge bolt of lightning zagged across the sky, drawing our gazes up. It was low enough that I could smell the charge in the air. Thunder followed shortly after.
Isla pulled her hand back. “We’d better hurry.”
“In such a storm? Surely, you can stay the night? For your own safety, of course.”
I could have Quinn’s people search your things, I thought as I smiled brightly and continued, “My duchesses would love to have the chance to visit—”
“It’s not a long flight. If we hurry, we can stay ahead of the storm.”
The storm was coming from the west. From Rasle. But Isla was clearly determined to leave.
“Isla, I look forward to working with you for many years to come. And I promise, I’ll work with Declan and his schedule, to help you in the most expedient manner possible.”
Isla’s eyes gleamed as another flash of lightning charged across the sky. I could see the jagged bolt reflected in her eyes. And for a second, I felt I got a glimpse inside. Not at the composed queen, but a glimpse at the raw, angry energy that fueled her. Isla was volatile. On edge. She thought she’d win. But she wasn’t quite certain. That made her desperate.
The realization sent a chill down my spine. I shivered.
“You really shouldn’t step out without a cloak, Bloss,” Isla’s maid handed her a pair of riding gloves and she pulled them on. “The cold can kill you.”
I felt the threat all the way down to my bones. My hackles rose and before I could think through the consequences my mouth spit out, “Not if you do so first, Isla.”
Her lips quirked, “What a sense of humor.”
Behind me I heard a noise.
Donaloo shuffled down the steps of the palace, Shiter cuddled in his arms.
“Your Majesty!” he called. “Your Majesty, wait!”
“Yes?” I turned, wondering what the befuddled wizard could possibly want.
Donaloo held up the bunny. “Queen Isla, a parting gift.”
“You can’t give her Shiter!” I said. The loon wizard was trying to give away a person!
Shiter shited. I thought that meant he agreed with me.
Donaloo shook his head. “This is not a rabbit. This is a heart in search of a match. I believe your daughter’s heart could use a protector?”
Isla took a step back, “My daughter is married, sir!”
I just stared at Donaloo in shock. Where had his ridiculous rhyming gone?
Donaloo straightened, fixing his one good eye on Isla. The lightning crackled again, and the wind whipped up. For a moment, I didn’t see the fool wizard. I saw a man who radiated power, a dark glow surrounding him. “Do you want to refuse my gift, Isla?” his voice boomed across the courtyard and one of Isla’s bears let out a whine.
The elder queen slowly stepped forward and took the rabbit from Donaloo’s hands.
Then she whipped around, marching swiftly to her bears.
I watched her mount. The bears wings extended. Then, with military precision, her entire entourage rose as one into the lightning-riddled sky.
“What the hell happened to your rhyming?” I asked Donaloo.
“There’s a time for rhyme and a time to speak clear. Time’s running out, have to face what you fear.”
“You do it to annoy me, don’t you?” I narrowed my eyes at the old wizard. “This whole senile bit is a ploy to amuse yourself.”
His eyes glittered with mirth, but Donaloo didn’t answer me. The wizard just straightened his red eye patch, clicked his tongue, and walked in a zigzag up the stairs.
I stared after him.
Gods, I hope the senility is a ploy, I thought.
I stepped into the main hall, glad to be rid of one enemy, only to be confronted by another.
Jorad sneered at me. “Your Majesty, I need a moment.”
The butler turned without waiting for me to answer, assumed I would follow, and strode down the main hall. He opened the door to the rose parlor.
I took a deep breath and stomped down on my inclination to smack him. Then followed him.
When Jorad had shut the door behind me, he turned on me in a fury. “You told him to sleep with Aiden!”
“What?”
Jorad pointed. Over in the corner of the room, Willard cowered. The sweating, fat, pig-of-a-noble spy widened his eyes and stared hard at me, willing me to back him up.
Oh, no he didn’t try to throw me to the wolves. My eyes widened in rage.
Willard pleaded silently.
I turned to Jorad and said, “I told him to keep an eye on Aiden. To stick with him. I didn’t tell him to stick the duke.”
Willard’s wobbly cheeks grew red with fury.
“You’d better have something useful for me,” I glared. I was furious Willard would try to use me to justify his cheating.
Jorad slammed the door as he went back into the main hall.
Willard, turned to me, red in the face.
I held up a hand. “Don’t. That’s your problem to deal with. Tell me what you know.”
Willard clenched his hands. He tried to calm his own temper. The entitled shite had expected me to fall on the sword for him.
“Donovon’s been snooping in the halls,” Willard said. “Even wandered toward the royal wing.”
“He’s been taken care of.” With any luck, Ryan’s men had already locked him in the dungeon. “Anything else?”
“Malia has plans to go out this evening,” Willard stuttered. “I-I-I … she said that the weather change was giving her a headache.” Willard swallowed and leaned closer, his foul breath far too close to my face. “Mother offered her a compress. She suggested mother feel the same shortly after the meal.”
“You were in the room?”
He shook his head. “Mother’s dressing room. I was selecting her dress for dinner.”
“Did she say anything else?”
“She said a bit of fresh air always helps her clear her head.”
Malia was a sympathizer at the very least. She could be more. She could be recruiting for Rasle and Cheryn. For this shite rebellion against Sedara and their navy.
I nodded at Willard, “Well done, Willard.”
Willard’s eyes widened at the praise. It must have been rare for the bumbling idiot.
I walked off wondering what the hell Malia was playing at. I turned to one of the guards that always followed me like a shadow.
“Everyone knows that Willard’s playing spy for me, don’t they?”
The young man nodded solemnly. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“The nobles, too?”
My guard nodded. “He’s not exactly subtle.”
“No, he’s not.”
I thanked the guard and turned back toward the stairs. As I climbed, I pondered what Malia was trying to tell me. Because she wasn’t an idiot. She knew Willard was his mother’s lapdog. And unless she lived under a rock, she’d heard by now that Willard was my informant. That meant her message wasn’t intended for Lady Agatha. It was intended for me.
She wanted me out of the castle shortly after dinner.
The question was, why?
The only way to know the answer was to go. Whether or not I went for an obvious stroll or went took an Invisibility potion was the question. I thought about that as I ascended the stairs.
I met my knights in my chamber. They had all cleaned up and gotten dressed for the formal dinner with the duchesses and Duke Aiden.
But Quinn looked stormy and the rest of the knights were arguing when I walked in.
“We can’t go! We’re expected to make an appearance,” Connor growled.
Quinn mind-yelled, I wasn’t saying all of us need to go. I can go.
“Where do you want to go?”
Quinn turned to me, his grey eyes flashing. One of my men says there’s a gathering in a pub down in the
capital. He’s heard talk against Sedara. I think it’s related to whatever Isla and Raj are doing. Gathering the troops. I think they’re recruiting even in Evaness.
“Then you definitely need to go. I want to go, too,” I responded.
That caused an uproar.
“No,” Ryan flat-out denied me.
“There’s no real reason for you to go,” Declan argued.
“You have to stay for the dinner,” Connor’s face was shocked. “I can’t just explain your absence.”
Sard. Sard, sard, sard, I thought.
My gut twisted. They were good arguments. Logical arguments. But Isla and Raj were trying to start a rebellion and trying to drag my people into it. Once they attacked, Sedara was certain to drag the seven kingdoms of Kenmare into the fight.
I couldn’t stand by. I couldn’t just let them actively recruit my people into what might be a death trap. What would be a death trap for so many. War always was.
And I’d been fighting my instincts since Avia had been taken. I’d stayed and met with Isla when I’d wanted to hunt for my sister. I’d sat through an idiotic meeting with my nobles that was a shite waste of time. I’d sat on my hands and followed the rules long enough.
The world was going to shite even.
And I was done doing what I was told.
“I’m going. We’ll have to figure it out.” My tone brooked no argument.
My knights ignored my tone.
“You’re not going!” Ryan marched forward and stared me down.
But I wasn’t going to cave on this.
Declan came to stand beside Ryan. And watching the two of them, side by side, I realized how I could go with Quinn and get them off my back.
A smile stretched across my face.
“I’m going with Quinn. But I’m going to the dinner, too.”
“You can’t be in two places at once!” Connor cried.
My eyes fell on Declan and he swallowed hard as he realized what I was about to say.
“Oh, yes, I can.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“You look amazing,” I gushed.
Declan pouted and my lower lip jutted out. A crease formed between my eyebrows. I was staring at a very, very unhappy version of myself. Apparently, taking a disguise spell to transform into me for sex was one thing. Dressing as me and pretending to be me in public did not have the same appeal. Declan was pissed.