Crush the King

by Jennifer Estep

  We stopped at the opposite end of the bridge so Auster could give a few final orders to the guards. Then we left them behind and stepped onto the island.

  The plazas and the boulevard had been crowded during the day, but they were absolutely packed with people this evening. The sour smell of wine and other spirits filled the air, and the crowd was much more raucous than before. The winners of the day’s events were celebrating their victories, while the losers were drowning their sorrows.

  My friends and I kept an eye out for trouble, in case Maximus or Driscol had sent more assassins, but no one approached or seemed to be watching us, and we left the waterfront behind and climbed the steps to the top of the island.

  Captain Auster led us to the plaza that surrounded the Pinnaculum arena, then headed into a nearby series of gardens filled with flowers, trees, benches, and fountains. A few minutes later, we stepped onto a new path, and the gardens fell away, revealing a castle looming up from the landscape.

  “And this,” Auster muttered, “is the DiLucris’ not-so-humble home.”

  The DiLucri family castle was made of the same glowing white stone as the Mint, but it wasn’t nearly as large or covered with garish gold coins. This was a far more tasteful, elegant structure, with gleaming windows, fluted columns, and other bits of artistry. The floors and wings led up to several slender towers, each one topped with a white flag that featured a gold coined-woman crest. More flags were planted along the cobblestone walkway that led to the castle.

  We fell in with the steady stream of people heading toward the castle. Since this was a royal ball, everyone was dressed in formal jackets, gowns, and glittering jewels, although nothing too large or ostentatious. Calandre had told me that the jackets, gowns, and jewels would get more elaborate, colorful, and expensive as the Regalia went on, with everyone saving their most dazzling items for the third and final ball.

  Still, the lords, ladies, and jewels weren’t nearly as impressive as the castle. White marble floors polished to a high gloss. Paintings and mirrors in gold frames. Chandeliers made of sparkling crystals. Something glittered, glistened, and gleamed everywhere I looked, and almost as much wealth was on display here as there was in Glitnir, the Andvarian royal palace.

  But it was easy to tell that this castle belonged to the DiLucris, given all the images of the coined woman. The crest was carved, emblazoned, and stamped onto almost everything, from the floors to the walls to the frescoes that stretched across the ceilings. Something that was perfectly normal, as many royals, nobles, and merchants proudly displayed their crests, including myself with my own crown of shards. But the longer I stared at the symbols, the sorrier I felt for the woman depicted in them. It almost seemed like the coins in Lady Fortuna’s eyes and mouth were slowly growing larger and larger and threatening to swallow her up completely until there was nothing left of her features but a golden gleam.

  Paloma noticed me eyeing the furnishings. “The DiLucris really like their crest, don’t they?” she murmured. “Well, I think it’s creepy. That poor woman seems like she’s screaming and pleading with the gods to free her, only no one can hear her cries due to all that suffocating gold.” She shuddered, and the ogre on her neck scrunched up its face in displeasure.

  We walked on and eventually reached the grand ballroom. The large rectangular area was made of the same glowing white stone as the rest of the castle, although the ceiling was a round dome with milky panes of glass held together with thick golden seams. Banners featuring the royal crests of each one of the seven kingdoms dangled from the second-floor balcony that wrapped around the ballroom, while a single, much larger white banner bearing the DiLucris’ gold coined woman dropped down from the crystal chandelier in the center of the ceiling.

  A faint, steady tinkle-tinkle-tinkle caught my ear, and I noticed a white stone fountain in the corner. This fountain was a smaller version of the one in front of the Mint, and it also featured a golden statute of Lady Fortuna with her arms held upward. Only instead of water, gold coins spewed out of the woman’s lips, as well as dripped out of her eyes like tears. And not just Fortunan coins. I spotted dragon-stamped Ryusaman coins, as well as those bearing Ungerian ogres, Andvarian gargoyles, Mortan strixes, and Bellonan swords.

  Tinkle-tinkle-tinkle. The incessant sound of all those coins softly clattering together made me shiver. I’d never thought that was a particularly sinister sound until right now.

  My friends and I must have been among the last to arrive, because hundreds of people had already filled the ballroom. Some wandered along the buffet tables, picking and choosing various delicacies, while others stood in small groups, sipping champagne and other spirits while they gossiped. Servants moved around, fetching whatever was required, while guards stood along the edges of the room.

  It was easy to pick the other royals out of the crowd, given the clusters of people hovering around them. My gaze moved from one royal and entourage to the next. Eon, Ruri, Cisco, Heinrich, Zariza. All the other kings and queens had already arrived—except for Maximus.

  The Mortan king wasn’t here, and neither were Mercer, Nox, or Maeven. Maximus must be waiting to make a grand entrance just like he had in the arena. I wondered if he would plow one of his strixes down through the glass ceiling and land in the center of the ballroom. Probably, given his enormous ego.

  “So, highness,” Sullivan murmured. “Who do you want to attack first?”

  I scanned the ballroom. “Well, since the Mortans aren’t here yet, let’s go visit our esteemed host.”

  Sullivan grinned, and we headed in that direction.

  Driscol DiLucri was holding court in the center of the ballroom. He was wearing a short white jacket over a white tunic and sandy brown leggings and boots, just as he had been earlier, although these garments featured even more gold thread and buttons. Driscol was talking loudly and gesturing wildly with a glass of champagne, telling some story.

  Seraphine was standing beside him, also holding a glass of champagne, and looking vaguely bored. A long white gown flowed around her body like watery silk, and her only jewelry was the same choker of gold coins that she’d worn to the opening ceremonies. Her simple, understated elegance made her look as regal as a queen standing next to her garish jester of a brother.

  Driscol spied me heading toward them. He froze for a moment right in the middle of his story, then finished it with a rush of words and a weak laugh. He whispered something to Seraphine, who shrugged. She seemed as unimpressed by my arrival as she was by everything else.

  At my appearance, murmurs rippled through the crowd, and the nobles standing around Driscol fell back, although they watched us with great interest.

  “Queen Everleigh,” Driscol said. “I didn’t expect you to attend the ball, given the . . . unpleasantness in the plaza earlier.”

  I gave him my brightest, most dazzling smile. “Oh, Driscol. It takes more than a few assassins to stop me from attending a royal ball. I’ve grown rather used to people trying to kill me and my friends. The perils of being queen.” I let out a hearty chuckle, as though I found the whole situation highly amusing.

  Driscol glanced at Seraphine, who responded by taking a sip of her champagne. She didn’t offer him any help, so he focused on me again.

  “Well, I’m so glad that you could attend.” He waved his hand. “Please, get something to eat, drink, anything you like. The kronekling tournament won’t start for another half hour. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to greet my other guests.”

  Driscol gave me a tight smile, then hurried away, with Seraphine gliding along behind him.

  “Spread out and see what gossip you can pick up about the attack,” I murmured to my friends. “I’m going to speak to the other royals.”

  Being queen was about far more than just plotting to kill your enemies. I had come to the Regalia with a three-pronged attack in mind to accomplish three separate things: crush the king, advance Bellona’s fortunes, and manipulate Maeven. The first part of my strategy mi
ght be focused on assassinating Maximus, but the second part—showing strength and cleverness and securing alliances with the other royals—was equally important and what I needed to concentrate on tonight.

  Paloma, Serilda, Cho, and Auster all headed off in different directions, but Sullivan stayed by my side and offered me his arm again.

  “Allow me to escort you, highness. After all, it is my duty as your consort.”

  “Duty?” I sighed. “You make it sound exactly as miserable as it’s going to be.”

  “Well, there are other, private duties I enjoy far more.” His teasing tone and the wicked glint in his eyes made my stomach clench in anticipation, as well as cut through some of my dread and worry.

  I stepped closer to him and stared up into his blue, blue eyes. “Perhaps we can discuss those duties in greater detail later on tonight.”

  His eyes brightened. “Count on it, highness.”

  As much as I would have loved to drag him into some shadowy corner of the castle and kiss him senseless, I had my own duty to attend to, so I plastered a smile on my face and strode forward.

  My meeting with Driscol must have attracted more attention than I’d realized, because sharp whispers and sly comments surged through the ballroom, trailing after us like sharks racing after a school of fish.

  “Look! The Bellonan queen is here!”

  “Wasn’t she attacked earlier?”

  “I thought she was dead.”

  That last comment made me grimace, but I forced my smile back up into place, and Sullivan and I walked on.

  A few feet away, Eon and Ruri were talking and sipping champagne. Eon was wearing a short-sleeve, floor-length green robe, along with gold sandals. Gold bangles set with emeralds, rubies, and other gems were stacked up on his wrists, and a gold machete dangled from his wide gold belt. My nose twitched. The scent of magic wafted off each and every one of his jewels. Emeralds to increase his speed, rubies to augment his strength, and so on. The aromas swirled together into one thick blanket of power, but the strongest one was the scent of Eon’s own fire magic, which smoldered like a hot ember.

  Instead of a gown, Ruri was sporting black boots and tight black leggings that showed off her strong, slender figure, along with a ruffled white shirt topped with a knee-length emerald-green jacket covered with dragons done in gold thread. An exquisite gold ring shaped like a flying dragon stretched across all four of her left fingers, and her inner dragon’s face of emerald-green scales was once again clearly visible on that same hand.

  The Vacunan king and the Ryusaman queen were both loosely surrounded by nobles from their own kingdoms, as well as their consorts. Eon’s wife, Jari, was a beautiful woman with a shaved head, hazel eyes, and ebony skin who was almost as tall as Eon was, while Ruri’s husband, Riko, had silver hair, gray eyes, and golden skin. The dragon’s face on his neck had a combination of silver and golden scales.

  I tipped my head to the king, the queen, and their respective consorts. “King Eon, Queen Ruri. So lovely to see you again. As well as your stunning companions. Jari, Riko.”

  The two consorts smiled at me, and I returned the gesture.

  “It’s lovely to see you again as well, Queen Everleigh,” Eon rumbled in his deep, gravelly voice. “We weren’t sure whether you were going to attend.”

  “Especially after that unpleasantness down by the waterfront earlier,” Ruri added in a much lighter tone.

  I was getting tired of everyone referring to the assassination attempt as mere unpleasantness, but I forced myself to smile even wider. “Yes, well, it takes more than a bit of unpleasantness to keep me down for long.”

  Eon had one of his servants fetch a glass of champagne for me, as well as one for Sullivan, and we chatted with the two other royals, along with their consorts. We talked about the Regalia, the weather, and all the other usual polite, inane chitchat one would make at a ball.

  “I wish to extend my condolences on the deaths of Queen Cordelia, Princess Madelena, and everyone else who was lost at Seven Spire,” Eon said, finally getting down to business.

  Ruri murmured her agreement.

  “Thank you.” I drew in a breath to steady my nerves, then launched into my verbal attack. “I wanted to speak to you both about the massacre. Namely, how we can prevent it from ever happening again.”

  Ruri frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Maximus was behind the Seven Spire massacre. His relatives carried it out on his orders. In a single afternoon, Mortan assassins almost wiped out the entire Blair royal family, and Maximus tried to do something similar to the Ripleys in Andvari a few months ago. It wouldn’t surprise me if he turns his attention to Vacuna and Ryusama next.”

  Both rulers blinked in surprise. They hadn’t expected me to speak so frankly, so harshly, at a royal ball, but I didn’t have time to tiptoe around and follow proper protocol. I needed to secure their help as soon as possible before Maximus tried to kill me again.

  “Surely the attack at Seven Spire was an unfortunate, isolated incident,” Eon said, trying to be diplomatic.

  I gave him a flat stare. “I was there, Eon. I witnessed that horrible day, and there was nothing unfortunate or isolated about it. The Seven Spire massacre was a carefully planned attack on the Blair family, on Bellona. And for the most part, it succeeded. The Mortan conspirators and their turncoat guards slaughtered my cousins with no hesitation and no remorse. Men, women, children. No one was spared.”

  Eon didn’t have a response to that, but Ruri gave me a thoughtful look, as did the green dragon on her hand.

  “We’ve all heard about the Seven Spire massacre,” she murmured. “I imagine that’s one of the reasons why you tried to have Maximus killed right after he landed in the arena.”

  Even though I had been expecting one or both of them to mention the earlier incident, I still had to work very hard to keep from showing any emotion. The spectators might have thought that the arrow had been a lark, or part of some act, but Ruri and Eon knew better. Then again, queens and kings were more cognizant about people trying to kill them.

  Still, I had no alliance or friendship with either one of them—not yet—and I knew better than to be loose with my words and brag about what I’d done. Not that there was anything to brag about, since my assassination attempt had failed.

  “Maximus was attacked before the opening ceremonies, and my friends and I were besieged by assassins afterward,” I replied in a neutral tone. “You can both draw your own conclusions about the incidents and how they might impact your own safety during the Regalia.”

  Eon remained silent, but Ruri spoke up again.

  “My conclusion is that I might have done the same, should such a terrible tragedy have befallen my family,” she murmured, and the dragon on her hand peered up at me with what seemed like sympathy.

  She had given me an opening, so I stepped even closer to the two rulers, letting them see exactly how serious I was. “The Morricones have always been a threat to the other kingdoms. Maximus has always wanted more land, magic, and resources. At Seven Spire, he showed exactly how far he’s willing to go to get what he wants. He won’t rest until he has control of all seven kingdoms.”

  They didn’t say anything, but the scent of their collective worry filled my nose. They didn’t disagree with me. They couldn’t because they’d had the same dark thoughts themselves. Kings and queens always had to worry about someone trying to take their thrones. It was the only way they survived for any length of time.

  “What are you proposing?” Ruri asked.

  I looked at the dragon on her hand, then up at her face, speaking to both of them. “I want you and Eon to align with me, with Bellona. I want you to promise aid if Morta ever attacks or invades Bellona or Andvari.”

  Both royals frowned at each other, then looked at me again.

  “And why should we agree to such a deal?” Eon asked. “How does it benefit us? Bellona does not have a large navy, and Andvari doesn’t have one at all. So how can they
help us? We have our own problems. Pirates, sea monsters, and the like.”

  “I don’t have many ships, but I have other resources,” I countered. “Coldiron, timber, fluorestones, coal. Things your kingdoms have in limited supplies. You help me, and I help you. It’s as simple as that.”

  “Vacuna and Ryusama have helped each other for centuries,” Ruri pointed out. “And our two kingdoms have flourished together. So why upset that balance? Why should we help Bellona? Or Andvari?”

  “Because if you don’t, and Maximus continues on his current path, then he will conquer both Bellona and Andvari, and maybe Unger too. And when he finishes with us, he will turn his gaze to your kingdoms. You might think the sea will shield Vacuna and Ryusama from Morta. And it might, for a time. But that water is not nearly deep or wide enough to thwart Maximus’s ambition and greed.”

  Eon still looked doubtful, but agreement flashed in Ruri’s green eyes. Then again, Ryusama was much closer to Morta than Vacuna was.

  I sensed an opportunity to sway them, so I kept talking. “The Mortans attacked my queen, my family, in our palace, in the very heart of Bellona. And they will do the exact same thing to you the second they get the chance. The Mortans will slaughter you, your consorts, and your children without a second thought. So think about that when you lie down to sleep tonight—if you can sleep at all.”

  My dire warning delivered, I respectfully bowed my head to the king and queen, along with their consorts. Sullivan offered me his arm again, and the two of us strolled away.

  “What do you think?” I asked.

  He turned his head so that he could see the two royals. “They’re talking to each other. They both look worried, as do their consorts. If nothing else, you gave them something to think about.”