The Fate of the Tala

by Jeffe Kennedy

  “The important question is,” Rayfe cut in, voice cold. “How did Hestar discover this information as soon as, or even before we did in Annfwn? I suspect you have spies in your midst, High Queen.”

  She regarded him a moment, the gray of her eyes going flinty. “Of course we do. It’s a foregone conclusion among warring realms that they’ll spy on each other. I’d be a fool to imagine otherwise.”

  Her words hung in the air, inviting Rayfe to comment. She remained languid, but I knew she had a counterattack ready should he cross the line with her again.

  He moved, opening his mouth to speak.

  “Don’t,” I told him mentally, and his annoyance flashed back at me.

  “I mention this,” he said coolly, his accusing gaze going from me to Ursula, then around the table, “because Annfwn is now teeming with foreigners, any number of whom could be spying on us.”

  “Oh, for Moranu’s sake!” I burst out. “For that matter, the minions of Deyrr are perfectly able to spy on us from a distance using any number of sorcerous techniques. They’ve been inside the barrier for some time, and the high priestess at least is massively skilled with mind magic. She could walk among us and we’d never know.”

  Zynda gave me a thoughtful look but didn’t disagree. Rayfe fumed, but said nothing more.

  Ursula let the mood around the table settle. “Suggestions for next steps?”

  Everyone looked at me. “Send the missive. We need to tie that up, make it official. Zynda, Marskal—are you willing to take Jepp and Kral to the Hákyrling, then head to Windroven?”

  “I wouldn’t mind stretching my wings,” Zynda replied. “We can drop them off and bring Ami, Ash, and the kids back here.”

  “Can you carry that many people in dragon form?” Ursula asked, sounding more curious than challenging.

  “Three adults and a couple of toddlers? Sure.” She shrugged in the elaborate Tala style. “Kral in his armor weighs that much all by himself.”

  Kral scowled at her. “We’re not all so lucky to be able to grow scales naturally, shapeshifter.”

  She grinned easily, then looked to me. “Do we need to leave tonight?”

  I turned my thoughts inward, scanning the near future for Annfwn and Windroven. That took less effort as I’d studied these sequences the longest, so I practically had them memorized. Really I only needed to check that nothing had changed.

  Things had shifted, though, a fair amount in the short time since I’d last looked, and not to our advantage. No matter what Ursula said, even if she did make it a command and even if Moranu stopped shoving the visions down my throat, this was why I couldn’t stop looking. I lifted my gaze to find her studying me intently, reading it in my face. “Yes. Tonight is better,” I said.

  “Off we go then.” Zynda flowed to her feet, Marskal right with her.

  He looked to me. “Your Highness, past experience indicates that Queen Amelia will require considerable time to pack. If we return by morning, is that sufficient or—”

  “If Ami won’t cooperate,” Ursula cut in, “tie her up and throw her on Zynda’s back. Ash will no doubt assist.”

  “We’ll have to strap Willy and Nilly down to keep them from wriggling off anyway, Captain,” Marskal replied to her gravely, falling into the old familiar title from the Hawks. “Perhaps a wicker cage in case they shapeshift, that Zynda can carry in her talons. What?” he asked in the face of Zynda’s glare. “It was a joke. You know I wouldn’t cage the twins—not for long, anyway.”

  “Some things aren’t funny, Marskal,” she shot back, though her mouth twitched with a smile. “They’ll obey me.”

  “I know, I know. You are the shapeshifter-baby whisperer.” He smiled at her, undaunted. “Shall we, Lady Dragon, General, Scout Jepp?”

  Ursula lifted a hand to stop them from going, looking to me. “Marskal raises a good point, though. We need Ami, and I’m sure you all would like to have Ash back in Annfwn, but shouldn’t the twins remain at Windroven, where it’s safer?”

  “It’s not safe there at all,” I answered.

  A fine line etched itself between her brows. “I can send additional troops to Windroven if that’s—”

  “That’s not the problem.”

  “With the attack on the training ground, there’s a challenge to keeping even the Tala children safe here in Annfwn,” Kral pointed out.

  Ursula tipped her head at his point. “Children don’t belong in a war zone, Andi.”

  “Everywhere will be a war zone,” I replied, holding her gaze, letting her see my resolve on the subject.

  She sat back, clearly annoyed at not having all the information, but this I absolutely wouldn’t tell her. I shifted my attention back to Marskal and Zynda. “By morning is sufficient. We’ll reconvene our strategy session then, over breakfast.”

  “Thank you, Your Highnesses.” Marskal bowed to me and Rayfe, gave Ursula the Hawks’ salute, and offered Zynda his hand.

  She took it, giving him an intimate smile. “I have an idea. After we relay the royal command for my cousin to start packing, we can duck out of the line of fire and go stay at your house for the night. We can return to Windroven early in the morning, load them up, and be here in time for the breakfast strategy session.”

  He brightened, lifting her hand to kiss it. “You read my mind, quicksilver girl.”

  I wanted to look at Rayfe, who’d been oddly quiet since the argument about spies. I didn’t, however, because I felt a little too nervous about what I might—or might not—see. “Please ask Ash to bring Djakos, too,” I said.

  Ursula sat up straight again, abruptly enough that Harlan set a calming hand on her arm. “Who in Danu’s bright gaze is Djakos?”

  “The dragon we woke and released under Windroven,” Zynda explained for me.

  “It has a name?”

  “All living beings have names, Cousin,” Zynda replied with exaggerated patience. “It’s simply a matter of learning what they are.”

  “And you named this one Djakos.”

  “No, he told us his name, and Kiraka has visited him, too. He’s very nearly sane now.” She glanced at Marskal, their hands still interlaced. “We’ve been popping over to Windroven periodically to teach Ash how to work with Djakos. They’re shaping up to be a good fighting pair. Could be Ash and Ami will ride Djakos and I’ll carry the twins. Not in a cage.” She mock glared at Marskal, who only shrugged.

  Ursula transferred her bemused—and irritated—gaze from Zynda back to me. “How is it that I’m High Queen and yet I’m the last to know these things?”

  “Because you are High Queen,” I retorted. “You’re supposed to delegate details, remember?”

  She muttered something to herself. Harlan’s lips twitched in amusement, and he patted her arm. Jepp and Kral stood, exchanging quiet words. “We’ll send an update from the Hákyrling, Your Majesty,” Jepp said. “Maybe we’ll have word from your mysterious correspondent.”

  “We’ll see you off,” Zyr abruptly declared, flowing to his feet and pulling Karyn with him. “I’ve had my fill of meetings.” He hissed the words, throwing a glare in our direction, and they all went out, Zynda and Karyn tossing me exasperated and apologetic looks, respectively, over their shoulders. I waved it off, warmed by my affection for all of them.

  They departed, leaving the four of us alone in the council chambers.

  “There’s a ‘mysterious correspondent’?” Rayfe asked, sounding confused. That had caught my attention, too.

  Ursula let out a long breath and slouched back in her chair. “So, that’s a story, too. Is it too early for wine? It feels like it’s been a long day.”

  With a thought I sent a nearby staymach songbird to pass the message, and smiled at her. “I think wine is certainly called for.”

  “It may not be a good idea,” Rayfe cautioned me, giving me that worried look.

  “We’re not having a drunken festival.”

  “I meant if there’s an attack.”

  “I d
on’t think there will be this evening.”

  “Even you are not infallible, Andromeda.”

  “You needn’t remind me.”

  “I have many things to see to yet this evening,” Rayfe said, still sounding befuddled. “Perhaps I should leave you all to your chatting.”

  “You asked the question,” I reminded him.

  “Oh. Yes, but—”

  “Ah, thank you,” I interrupted him. A Tala woman dropped off a pitcher of wine and three goblets. A second followed her with a platter of cheese, fruit, pastries, and meats. My stomach growled, and I realized how hungry I was. A third woman came in, setting a pot of tea and my favorite flower-painted cup beside it.

  Rayfe looked from the tea to my face, chagrin wafting from him. “My apologies,” he muttered. Then he tried a smile, filling a plate for me. “Allow me to see that you’re fed.”

  I tried to smile back at our old joke, but the reminder only saddened me. He changed moods so fast I didn’t know what to make of him. Harlan had poured wine for Ursula and himself.

  “King Rayfe?” He inquired, holding the pitcher poised over the remaining goblet.

  “Please,” Rayfe said. “I’m afraid I’ve been a poor host.”

  “We’re all under pressure,” Ursula agreed easily, passing the full goblet to Rayfe. “It’s an unfortunate fact of life that we often behave the worst to those who love us best, simply because we trust that they’ll understand and forgive.”

  Harlan huffed out a laugh, shaking his head.

  She took a sip of her wine, sighed in pleasure. “Nothing beats Annfwn wine. It truly is ambrosia.”

  It was the right thing to say, because Rayfe relaxed. “The best grapes in all the world.”

  “Indeed. So, the short answer is we believe that I’ve been receiving coded messages from Harlan’s sister.”

  “His sister?” I repeated, searching my memory. “Did I know you have a sister?”

  “Why should you know when I didn’t?” Ursula raised her brows at me, and I realized this had been part of the argument that had led to her accusing Harlan of compromised loyalties.

  Harlan put his hand over hers, enfolding it. “It’s true. Kral and I have… sisters, who I’ve neglected to mention. Jepp met Inga and Helva at the Imperial Palace but kept certain information to herself at their behest.”

  I must have made a face because Ursula, relaxed back in her chair and holding her wine goblet, gave me a return look that spoke volumes. Truly, we were lucky she hadn’t simply gutted Harlan before asking questions.

  “Ursula has of late been receiving letters from someone claiming to be a friend of mine, giving warnings and information that seems to come from inside the Imperial Palace.”

  Rayfe and I glanced at each other, momentarily in solidarity in surprised interest over this information. “You think it’s Inga and Helva?” I asked.

  “Yes.” Harlan nodded, setting his goblet on the table. “Certainly Inga. I’ve read the missives and they have her style to them.”

  “Not her handwriting, though,” I pressed. “Because Karyn gave me to understand that she’s quite unusual among Dasnarian women in being able to read and write.”

  “That’s true, unfortunately.” Harlan stroked a finger thoughtfully along the back of Ursula’s hand, some deep sadness in him.

  “The letters are written in Common Tongue, excellently so,” Ursula explained. “We believe that she’s using a translator, probably a young Nahanaun man, Akamai, that Dafne sent with Jepp and Kral on the Hákyrling—and who they smuggled through the barrier and haven’t seen since.”

  “So, we do have spies inside the Imperial Palace,” I mused. “Have you tried writing back to this correspondent?”

  “How?” Ursula asked. “We’re not sure of any of this, much less how to contact them.”

  “There might be ways. I’ve been working on sending messages via staymach songbird and this would be an excellent application. Dafne will be able to tell us if it’s Akamai—you know how good she is at recognizing handwriting. If you brought some of those letters with you, she can look at them in the morning and verify that much,” I said, thinking through the ramifications. “Then we can decide which steps we want to take from there.”

  “I did bring some, but ‘in the morning’?” Ursula asked with a keen glance.

  “The baby must be coming tonight then,” Harlan agreed, holding up his wine goblet. “To the health of mother and child.”

  Oops. But, oh well, that slip shouldn’t matter much. I raised my tea cup as Ursula clinked her goblet to Harlan’s. Beside me, Rayfe had gone stony, white-knuckling his own goblet and holding it firmly against the table. Ursula and Harlan paused in their toast, uncertain.

  “The Tala believe it’s bad luck,” I explained, and Rayfe threw me a betrayed look.

  “As I said, I have things to do.” His chair grated as he pushed it back and stood. “If we’re done here?”

  “Apparently we are,” I agreed, also standing, though he didn’t help with my chair this time. “I’ll go with you.”

  “No need. Stay here and talk all night if you like,” he returned coolly.

  “In truth, we need to go see to some things, too,” Ursula said, she and Harlan finishing their wine and standing as a unit. “These are your council chambers, and Andi—don’t bite my head off—but you didn’t eat anything. I know you’re hungry, so take a moment for that. Please.”

  They left with enough alacrity that I didn’t think of a protest in time. But she was right in that I was starving, and I had forgotten about my plate. I sat again, rather heavily, weariness taking over, and put some food in my mouth.

  After a moment, Rayfe sat again, too. Also filled a plate. “I think we missed a couple of meals today,” he finally said.

  “Oh, are you still here?” I looked at him in mock surprise. “I thought you had important things to do.”

  He set his teeth, a muscle in his jaw flexing. “What are you angry about now?”

  I nearly choked on my food in astonishment. “Me?” I turned in my chair to find him right in my face, blue eyes turbulent with feral emotion. “You’re the beast who behaved like a total ass during that meeting. What in Moranu has gotten into you?”

  “I did not behave like an ass or a beast,” he snarled.

  I grabbed his hand, catching him more from surprise than better speed, and showed him his fingertips, the thick, sharp nails. “Claws.” I dropped his hand and swept mine at the table. “We’ve heard this story and it’s not important,” I mimicked him.

  “What should the Tala care for what happens at Ordnung?” He stabbed a paring knife into a slice of meat and tore into it. “For that matter, why should you? You’re supposed to be Queen of Annfwn, not a toady to your sister. When are you going to prioritize your own people instead of making plans to sacrifice them to a mossback cause? You’re Salena over again,” he added with a nasty bite.

  I regarded him in sputtering silence, unable to gather my tattered emotions into rational thought. That Rayfe, of all people, would accuse me of that…

  “I thought you agreed,” I spoke slowly in order to master the urge to howl at him, “that we all needed to work together to fight Dasnaria and Deyrr.”

  “I haven’t had any choice, have I?” he replied. “No, I’m just along for the ride. You make decisions without me, act without my consent, gather foreigners in Annfwn like it’s your personal garden, and you treat me like a pet dog.”

  I had no words, the sick feeling in my stomach crowding them out. Pushing my plate away, I propped my elbows on the table, putting my face in my hands, willing myself to think through this.

  “I apologize,” I said into my hands. “I thought we were in agreement, that you also—”

  “You don’t know, do you?” he said, cutting me off. “Because you don’t ask me.”

  “I thought I did.” I lifted my head, made myself look at him. “I’ll do better.”

  He studied me, jaw rigid, e
yes a cobalt blaze of emotions he had locked behind a shield of mental iron. “Do you remember, when you first came to Annfwn, and I confessed that you hadn’t needed to marry me? That you could’ve simply deposed me as king, and ruled alone.”

  “I never wanted to rule.” I still didn’t. A part of me wanted to saddle Fiona and ride her into the wilderness of the northern mountains. I could find a cabin to live in, hunt as a mountain lion, and be alone with no one to witness how the mark melted my mind into nothing.

  “Are you sure?” he asked quietly, the words hissing.

  For a moment I thought he meant about my plan to flee.

  “Because you seem to enjoy the power. I’m not sure I believe you,” he added. “You’re so like her, Salena, and more so every day. She lived for power like that. So did your father.”

  “Oh, so now all of this—” I dashed my hand against my plate, sending it flying to shatter on the floor. “This is all a result of my elaborate plan? Somehow I tricked you into tracking me in the Wild Lands, into chasing me in my dreams, into laying siege at Windroven so I had to come out and marry you. What an amazing strategist I’ve turned out to be.”

  His gaze came back from the shattered plate, his expression set. “I didn’t say that.”

  “No, you only accused me of being like my mother, a sorceress driven insane by heartbreak, and my father, a brutal tyrant who had to be put down like a mad dog by his daughters.” I shook with anger. “You can say Salena lived for power. I don’t know. It’s a great irony to me that you spent more years with my own mother than I did. I can tell you, though, she gave up everything to save Annfwn. She sacrificed shapeshifting, her wellbeing, her very life to make sure I’d be born and come to Annfwn to fight this horror descending on us. I’m going to do my utmost to do as she wanted, and I’m very sorry if your male pride gets bruised along the way.”

  Rayfe stared at me as if I’d become a stranger. Maybe I had. “Do you want me to abdicate as king, let you rule alone as queen?” he asked, his tone eerily calm. “I can get out of your way altogether.”