by Effie Calvin
King Dietrich and Queen Saski arrived in Fenstell four days after Esofi’s final confrontation with Gaelle. Nobody had been expecting them, least of all Adale and Esofi, and so when they entered the citadel and knocked on Adale and Esofi’s bedroom door without warning, Esofi thought for a moment that she was dreaming.
But then Saski immediately launched into a rant about the condition of her heart and the years Esofi had taken off her life, and Esofi knew this was reality. In contrast to his wife, Dietrich merely stood there giving Esofi the same solemn stare she had only ever seen him give Adale.
Esofi waited patiently for Saski to be finished. Then she said, “Who is the priestess that has been arrested? I wish for her to be released.”
“Released!” cried Saski.
“Esofi,” Dietrich said calmly. “I know this is difficult to accept, but she has already confessed.”
“Then it was a false confession!”
Dietrich and Saski exchanged looks.
“Priestess Eydis is being held in the castle dungeons,” began Dietrich. “She—”
“Eydis?” cried Esofi in horror. “Have you all gone mad!? I know Eydis, she would never—she is the very last person in Birsgen who would—I cannot believe this. I must go to her immediately.”
“Esofi, you must listen to us,” said Saski. “We suspected the Temple of Talcia the moment that you fell ill. I know you hold the priestesses in high esteem, but many of them are wary of the Silence of the Moon. When your mother arrived, speaking openly of reinstating it…Eydis panicked. She has sworn that you were not her intended target, that the poison was meant for Gaelle, to frighten her into leaving Ieflaria before a Silence could be established. Nevertheless…she will stand trial for what she has done, and I expect she will be expelled from the temple as well.”
If not for Adale’s steadying hand on her shoulder, Esofi might have crumpled to the ground. She managed to choke out, “Have the twins brought the unicorn? Adale sent them—he can confirm—”
“Yes,” said Dietrich, looking displeased. “He confirmed Eydis’ story. In return for his aid, the twins promised him a title. And so now I must invent one unless the Order of the Sun manages to recruit him.”
“Did any of the other priestesses know about what Eydis did?” asked Adale. Esofi looked at her in alarm, nausea rising up in her stomach. She trusted the temple so implicitly she had not even considered the possibility.
“No,” said Dietrich. “Our…new truthsayer…confirmed that Eydis acted alone, though one of the acolytes confessed that she suspected Eydis was to blame when news of your illness reached them.”
“But she did not speak out?”
“I do not blame her for that,” said Esofi quietly. The acolytes were very young. To accuse a priestess of attempted murder was more than she would ever expect from them.
“There is something else,” said Dietrich. “Your waiting lady…Lady Lisette…she returned to Birsgen just before our departure. The healers wished for her to remain there and await your return, but—”
“The healers?” repeated Esofi. “What has happened to her?”
“She is waiting to speak with you.”
Adale and Esofi looked at each other. “Where is she?” asked Esofi. “I’ll go to her immediately.”
“In a moment,” said Dietrich. “I understand you’re keeping your mother’s ship in the harbor?”
“Only until she can be escorted far enough from Ieflaria that she won’t bother turning around to steal another hatchling,” said Esofi. “I’m sorry. I hope you weren’t planning to purchase white marble from Rhodia at any point in the next twenty years. I don’t think you’ll get a very fair price.”
LISETTE WAS DRESSED in a simple black gown and her hair was unstyled when Adale and Esofi found her waiting in one of the citadel’s only sitting rooms. When Lisette turned away from the window, Esofi saw that her face was bruised, one of her eyes so black it looked like it might have been painted. Esofi could also see signs of a recently healed split lip. Most notable, though, was the sling on her arm.
“Princess.” Lisette gave the shortest, sharpest curtsy in the world. “I apologize for my delay.”
“No, no, it’s all right,” Esofi soothed. “What happened?”
“I managed to locate the missing courier after I left your camp,” said Lisette. “She was deep in the forests, quite a distance from the main road. She told me she had been blasted from the sky by a mage wielding Talcia’s magic.”
“What?” cried Adale, but Lisette went on.
“An ordinary woman might not have been so badly injured, but those with Nara’s blessing are fragile. It was my intention to bring her back to Birsgen immediately, but Queen Gaelle charged a few of her employees with making sure she was truly dead. Thus our delay.”
“No, no, that…that is understandable.” Esofi swallowed. “I am very sorry. I am shocked she would do such a thing.” But really, was she? After everything she had seen Gaelle do over the last few weeks? “Nara is the Eleventh in Thiyra. When the temple finds out…”
For they would, sooner or later. Couriers crossed entire continents, carrying gossip as well as letters.
“She attacked a courier just so we wouldn’t be warned she was coming to Fenstell?” asked Adale.
“I imagine she wanted us to be taken by surprise. Especially since she was hoping to leave with Carinth.” Esofi rubbed at her eyes. “Lisette—I’m sorry.”
“Two Nightshades and several Rhodian mages are dead. I do not believe I can ever realistically expect to return to Rhodia now.” Lisette paused. “Fortunately, I do not think that will be any great loss.”
“Are you allowed to kill other Nightshades?” worried Adale. “They won’t throw you out for it, will you?”
“Of course not,” said Lisette. “We’d hardly be of any use to anyone if that were the case.”
“Don’t worry,” Esofi said. “Ieflaria is our home now—yours and mine and Mireille’s. We’ve no reason to ever go back to Rhodia. I’ll always be glad to have you in my service.”
IT TOOK NEARLY an entire day of begging, arguing, and promises to Dietrich and Saski, but Adale and Esofi boarded the Courser the next day at sunrise. From Fenstell, it was not far to the Isles, where they knew Releth was waiting anxiously.
Winter would be upon them soon, so they could not stay too long. Even if the temperature were not unbearable, Esofi did not want to miss her second midwinter in Ieflaria. Already she was looking forward to the celebration. Maybe they should invite a few dragons to come visit, to foster a bit more goodwill between their races.
Esofi leaned forward onto the railing, turning her face in the direction of the distant Isles. Already, she could see the first of them, small as it was. Behind her, over the roaring of the wind and the sea, she could hear Mireille’s laughter as Carinth and Etheriet tried to both fit onto her shoulders at once.
“What are you thinking about?” asked Adale. Esofi turned to see her wife standing there behind her.
“Everything,” said Esofi. Adale wrapped an arm around her waist. Normally Esofi would object to this public display of affection, but today she could not bring herself to care very much.
“What would make you feel better?” asked Adale. “We could break into the dungeons and set Eydis free.”
“No,” said Esofi. Now that the shock had died away, outrage and grief were beginning to gather in its stead. She had trusted Eydis, trusted her completely. Esofi had done so much for the temple, to restore both Talcia’s worship and the use of her magic. But not even that had been enough to assuage her fears of a Silence in Birsgen.
Why hadn’t it been enough?
“Do you think they’ll execute her?” asked Esofi.
Adale exhaled loudly. “Not if you really don’t want them to.”
“I…I don’t know what I want. But I don’t want her to die.” Eydis was young, and she had done something exceptionally stupid. Esofi was hurt and angry, but she did not hate
Eydis. Killing her felt like something Gaelle would do.
“You know it’ll be ages before it goes to a trial,” said Adale. “You’ve got time to propose a different punishment. If that’s what you want.”
“I’ll have to review some old cases. Search for precedents…”
Adale pulled her as closely as she could manage. “It can only get better now,” she whispered. “There’s nothing left to be afraid of.”
For now, thought Esofi, but she did not say it. Yes, there would always be new problems to deal with—some petty, some very much not. But knowing she would not have to face them alone was…comforting.
“I expect the priestesses of Dayluue will be bothering us again once we get home,” Esofi said.
“I’ll bribe them.”
Esofi laughed. “To say you’re infertile?”
“Yes. Or, no. Maybe I can hire two women who look like us to go in our place.”
“That sounds like more trouble than it’s worth.”
“No! It’s the best idea I’ve ever had.”
“You really don’t mind?” asked Esofi. “If we never end up having a child?”
“Well, it’s too late for that, because we already do,” said Adale. “I don’t care what anyone says. Carinth is our son, even if he is a dragon. But I meant it when I said I’ll never love something that doesn’t exist more than I’ll ever love you.”
Esofi brushed a stray curl out of her face. “I still don’t know what I want,” she said. “But…I’m a little bit less worried about being as terrible a mother as Gaelle was.”
“I don’t think you could be as bad as her even if you tried!” Adale laughed. “Besides, even if you’re too strict, I’ll make up for it by being too lenient. Between the two of us, it will come out perfectly balanced.”
“I am not certain that’s how it works.”
“It might be. You don’t know.”
“No, I suppose I don’t.”
Adale laughed. “I was expecting more of an argument than that!”
“There’s nothing to argue about,” said Esofi. “You’re right.”
Esofi turned away from the ocean to survey the upper deck. Instead of two small dragons on Mireille’s shoulders, there were now three. The third one was purple. Orsina hurried over to remove that one, speaking solemnly in Vesoldan even as Elyne wriggled uncooperatively in her hands.
“What did we decide to do for Elyne?” asked Esofi. “Are we giving her a medal?”
“For making the ultimate sacrifice, however temporary? I think it would be a nice gesture. Unless you wanted to build her a temple.”
“Do you think she’d want one?”
“No,” said Adale. “I don’t think she’s that sort of goddess.”
Esofi considered this. Adale was probably right. “We’ll think of something. But later.” It was impossible to come up with any good ideas when everything was so happy and peaceful, when Adale’s arm encircled her waist.
There was still work to be done, but the worst of it was over. And if Esofi could face Gaelle and not only live to tell about it, but emerge victorious, perhaps she had no reason to be afraid of whatever the future held.
About the Author
Effie is definitely a human being with all her own skin, and not a robot. She writes science fiction and fantasy novels and lives with her cat in the greater Philadelphia area.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @EffieCalvin
Website: www.effiecalvin.com
Other books by this author
Tales of Inthya Series
The Queen of Ieflaria
Daughter of the Sun
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