by Janeal Falor
“Those were your guards who attacked me,” I say. “What happened?” And I hope she wasn’t involved in this. I like her too much for that.
“It would seem they had an outside influence that corrupted them. I greatly apologize, Your Majesty. If I knew any of this was going on, I never would have relied on them to help guard you.”
“How do we know you aren’t in cahoots with them?”
“I’m afraid my word will have to suffice for now, though you can have your people check the facts after I relate the tale to you.”
“Very well. Go on.”
“It would seem some of my guards have been getting direction from an outside source. I don’t know who yet, though I’m trying to find out.”
Daros comes to mind, but I’m not so sure. Why would he be affecting a town all the way out in Wolta? And wouldn't he want to kill me himself? The situation doesn’t make sense. But then who else would it be? I brush him away to focus on the task at hand. “Keep going.”
“Whoever it is, they don’t like how you’ve bounced around the taxes. They’ve convinced my guards that, in doing so, you’ve weakened yourself in front of the people. They believe getting rid of you is the best hope for our country. Then a new queen will be chosen, and hopefully bring them stability.”
Does it always have to come down to those stupid taxes?
Nash shifts at my side, probably uncomfortable at the reminder of what I tried to do to save his life. I ignore him for now. As much as I want to, there’s nothing I can say in front of witnesses to make him feel better. “Where have you put my would-be assassins?” I ask.
“Those who aren’t hurt or have been tended to are in my dungeon. Otherwise, they’re waiting to be seen by a healer, under guard from those I still trust.”
“Very well. Thank you for this information. Julina, will you please escort Boplou out while I discuss this with my Head Advisor? Keep an eye on her for me. No offense, Boplou. I want to trust you, but until I figure out all the facts, I need to be careful.”
“No offense taken.” Boplou stands. “Please let me know if you have any other questions or think of a way I can help you.”
“I will.”
She leaves the room, and I wave Julina and Jaku out and close the door behind them.
I don’t wait. I throw myself in Nash’s arms, heedless of my injury. He wraps his arms around me, making soothing sounds.
“It’s going to be all right,” he says.
I pull myself out of his arms but don’t let go of his hand. “How do you know that? It seems like everywhere I go someone has a problem with me and is trying to kill me in order for the Mortum Tura to select a new queen. This country is full of mad people.”
“Right now, I have to agree with you.” His voice is calm. Reassuring.
“I’ve missed you,” I say.
He brushes a hand across my cheek. “I’ve missed you too.”
I sigh. There are so many things I want to ask him. I settle for, “What are we going to do about this?”
“I’ll check around and see if I can find any connection between Boplou and the attackers, but I’m inclined to believe she’s telling the truth.”
“So am I. Why else would she go to the trouble of gifting me a fila? Plus, she’s been so nice. Kindness can be faked, but my gut trusts her.”
“That’s a fairly good indication, but I’ll still check her out.”
“And what do we do if she’s guilty?”
“We’ll deal with that if it arises.”
That’s all we need to discuss. I should excuse him. Let him go to work. Instead, I give his hand a squeeze, enjoying the feel of it within my own. “How are you doing?”
“Surviving, now that I’m with you.”
Sweet, but not good enough if it means he’s still struggling other times. “Have you been getting any sleep?”
He lets go of my hand. “I sleep enough.”
“The dark circles under your eyes say otherwise.”
He stands. “I’m going to check around.”
That’s what I get for opening my mouth. “If you insist. I care about you is all. That’s why I say the things I do.”
He nods but doesn’t look at me.
As he goes out the door, I wonder if we’ll ever connect like we might have before he was taken. Not that it matters. Even if we do, we’ll never be together.
Chapter 29
The carriage comes to a rolling stop, surprising me. We weren’t supposed to stop again until tonight, but it’s midday. Nash comes to the open window, putting away a small knife and wooden token he had been carving in his pocket. “We’re going to have an extra place to visit. I wanted to let you know. The owner of one of the mines we were looking at purchasing got a hold of us and said he is interested in a meeting.”
Butterflies flitter around my stomach. “Thanks for letting me know.”
We take off again, and I wonder why my nerves are getting the better of me. Perhaps it’s because I want this to work out.
“This is good news,” Inkga says. “Isn’t it?”
“I hope so.” If he will sell to us. I can’t be sure they will. Then again, there’s no reason for them not to.
It doesn’t take long to reach our destination. When I step out of the carriage, the first sight that greets me is a surly-looking man in his fifties, dressed in fine things.
“I didn’t realize the person looking to purchase my land was the queen,” he says in a hard voice.
No bowing. No Your Majesty. This man clearly doesn’t like me. Why? “You didn’t know it was the government wanting your mine?”
“No.”
He turns and heads to the nearby mansion. It’s an elegant house, fitting someone who’s made a lot of money, but having money isn't what I’m worried about. It's whether or not I can purchase the mine for the government from him.
I hurry to catch up to him, my entourage surrounding me. “I would like to discuss purchasing the mine.”
“No.”
He increases his pace until we’re almost to the door.
“Can you at least explain to me why you’re no longer interested?” I ask.
“No.”
Chatty fellow. “Please give me one reason you’re not willing to sell.”
He whips around. “I’m willing to sell. Just not to a group who doesn’t take care of their own people. Not to someone who can't see the needy right in front of them.”
I open my mouth to respond, but he’s at the door. It opens before he touches it, and a woman about his age stands inside. She’s plump, with long, dark hair mixed with graying strands and eyes that are far too familiar.
The woman who taught me to read.
“You.” Venom laces my word. The woman who taught me to read. She’s the one who was going to take me away from Daros but never came back for me. I have a wild urge to smack her across the face. To hurt her like she hurt me. “You left me in the hands of a madman when you said you’d save me.”
Her face goes pale. “It can’t be.”
“What can’t be?” Irritation clings to me.
“It’s you.” She cries and steps outside, holding out her hands like she’s going to touch me.
Before she can get to me, the man reaches out and gently guides her away. When he speaks, the gruffness is gone from his voice. “This is the queen. If you touch her, you’ll be killed.”
Her eyes go wide. “The queen? How did you become queen? You were under the influence of that man.”
I cross my arms. “Didn’t you hear the rumors? The Shadow Wraith became queen. Daros outed me. I sent him to prison, and he escaped.”
“You are the Shadow Wraith? Did Daros put you up to becoming queen?” Her face is still pale, though color is coming back to it.
“No. I ran away, like you were supposed to help me do years ago. I did it myself. I wanted to die after the life he put me through. The life you were supposed to save me from, but you never returned.”
&nbs
p; “This is the girl?” the man asks the woman.
She nods, now more green than pale.
I hold my arms tighter against me as if that will keep the hurt in. Though I fear I know what they're talking about, I ask, “What girl?”
“I wanted to save you.” The woman’s voice is shaky. “I tried. I came back for you, ready to run with all the supplies I could gather, but he was waiting for me. Had me beaten within an inch of my life, dropped me off in a far away village, and told me if I was ever to return, he’d torture you in front of me and then kill me in front of you. I wanted to save you, but I believed him and didn’t know how to rescue you from such circumstances. I didn’t want you to have to be tortured and witness my death.”
I’m feeling a little green myself. “No. You ran off without me. You left me with him after giving me hope.”
“Darling girl, I would have done anything for you.”
“She tried to go back for you,” the man says, looking much kinder now that his features have softened. “I stopped her. Said it was too dangerous.”
I shake my head. “It can’t be.”
“I’m afraid it’s true.” The man pulls her closer as tears stream down her face.
She says, “I never forgave myself for not getting you out. I’m so sorry I failed you.”
“I need to sit down.”
She hurries to the doorway. “Forgive me. Please come in.”
I head forward, but Jaku whispers, “Do you trust her?”
“It’s difficult to say. At one point I did, and then I didn’t. Now I’m uncertain.”
He nods and motions for several guards to go in the house after the couple before allowing me to follow. The foyer we enter is a blur as we pass through it until we reach a sitting room. I collapse into the nearest chair.
The woman picks the chair closest to mine while her husband stands behind her and the rest of my party spreads out around the room.
“I’m so sorry,” the woman says again. “I didn’t want to leave you to that fate.”
“You mean it? You didn’t want to leave me there?”
Her expression somehow grows even more serious. “I promise you I would never have left you if I had any choice.”
I swallow and grip the arms of the chair with my hands. Can I believe this? It falls in line with how she treated me before she disappeared. The story also fits Daros’s personality, but I always thought she ran away without me. Or perhaps that she went home and forgot about me. That she didn’t want me. Didn’t love me the way she said she did. That she was one more person in a sea of many who didn’t care. “I never even knew your name,” I say.
“Kapeni. My name is Kapeni, and I’ve always wondered what happened to you. What your name was. You only ever told me it was girl.”
I wince. “That’s what he called me. The only thing I was ever called until I picked a name for myself. You may call me Ryn.”
Tears course down her cheeks. “Ryn, I can’t tell you how much it means to see you again. How happy I am to see you are well and thriving.”
I don’t know about thriving, but I’m doing better than I was when I was in Daros’s hands.
“And you are the queen. I never thought my cherished one would become queen.”
“I never expected it either.” My words are faint.
“You said Daros was on the loose. Is he… after you?”
My voice is stronger. This is something I can answer. Something I know how to deal with. “He is, but I have a lot of protection now. He won’t be getting to me if he’s still around.” My voice is stronger.
Her shoulders slump with relief. “Thank all of Valcora. I'm beyond thrilled you are safe from him.”
As am I.
“I’m so glad you stumbled our way,” she says.
“I’m not sure we stumbled as much as this man requested for us to come.”
“I am Coplo,” the man says. “And about the mine...”
The mine was the furthest thing from my mind. “What about it?”
“I may have been hasty, not wanting to sell it to you. Kapeni has always talked of your goodness, even in the home of that monster.”
I glance at Mother and Father, who haven't spoken. If Kapeni knew Daros was evil, why didn’t they? It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done.
“I may be willing to enter into negotiations with you,” Coplo continues, “but I’ll want some reassurance that it’s not for greedy government fingers. That you are using it to help the people.”
With Nash’s help, I lay out the idea for buying the mine and using it to give citizens jobs while any profits will be invested into the country's infrastructure. The entire time, I keep glancing back at Kapeni. I can’t believe I’ve found her.
“I like the sound of your plans,” Coplo says. “I need safety measures to make certain it doesn’t get abused in the future, but I believe we can come to an arrangement.”
Kapeni beams. I can’t help but grin. This is what I wanted, and when we arrived, I didn’t think we’d be able to get it. “Thank you for your generosity. I’d be happy to add safety measures to the plans. Why don’t you come to the capital when you’re ready, and we can hash out the details? You can stay as guests at the palace.”
“We would love that,” Kapeni gushes. “We’ve always talked about going back to Indell, but never did.”
I glance at Coplo. He says, “We would be delighted.”
“That settles it, then,” I say. “I look forward to seeing you at the palace as soon as is convenient for you.”
We talk for several hours about her life and mine along with any little thought that comes to mind while the rest of my group except the guards are shown a place they can relax. Once we've talked a while, I introduce her to my parents, who don't seem to understand how much she means to me, but that's all right. As long as I know, that's what matters.
Kapeni invites us to stay the night, and with little hesitation, I accept. It’s wonderful talking with her until late into the night. She’s everything I remember and so much more. The next morning, when it’s time to leave, the couple sees us out.
“I wish I could give you a hug,” I whisper to Kapeni.
“I do as well, cherished one. But we will stay in contact. I promise you that. I won’t disappear from your life again.”
I grin. “I’ll hold you to it.”
Chapter 30
After the long journey home, I have the strangest urge to jump on my bed. Instead, I assist Inkga in putting away clothes from the trunks.
“You don’t have to help,” she says. “I can manage.”
“It’s still weird to have everyone do everything for me all the time.”
“I can’t imagine what it would be like, to go from doing everything myself to having someone wanting to do everything for me. Don’t worry—I don’t actually mind the help. Just know you don’t have to do it, if you don’t want to.”
As we put things away, I say, “I’m so excited we met Kapeni.”
“I can’t believe she wanted to save you all this time, but Daros scared her off.”
This was one of the things we talked about on the way back, but I keep bringing it up because I’m so thrilled to find another person from my childhood that actually cared. “I can’t, either. Yet another reason to not trust Daros, if I needed one.”
“That man deserves to be executed.”
I pause midair before putting a shirt in the closet. “You think so?”
“Don’t you?”
Slowly, I put the shirt away. “I do. It’s just I promised not to kill again. I’ve already killed so much, I don’t want to do it again.”
“You don’t have to do it.”
“It would still be under my orders.” More blood on my hands.
“Maybe, but how many will die if he isn’t executed?”
Something to ponder.
We continue to chat as we work when there’s a knock on my sitting room door.
“I’ll ans
wer it,” Inkga says.
A moment later, she comes back with a stack of letters. “These all arrived for you while we were gone. Why don’t you go through them while I finish up here?”
I’d rather help her than do paperwork, but it has to be done. “All right.”
I sit in the middle of the bed, making piles as I read through them. Most are thanks for visiting a ruler’s town. Some are notes from people, thanking me for other things that should be standard. A few are complaints. I get to one down toward the bottom, and my hands still.
It’s speckled with blood
I grit my teeth.
Whatever it says, I can deal with it. I have to.
But please, please don’t be another person I care about, being taken or hurt.
“Inkga, get Jaku.” He’ll want to see this.
She hurries from the room while I break the seal of the letter and read.
* * *
We're resuming control of the country. We won’t stand for what you’ve done. The attempted poisoning was a warning, to show you how much power we have. The tax change Fulla made under the direction of Queen Deedra was because of our influence. The guards’ attack was orchestrated by us.
Lower our taxes, or there will be more of this to come.
Last warning.
The Kurah
* * *
I swallow past the thickening of my throat as I reread the letter. How dare they? My hands shake, but with rage not fear. Had they come to me in a more civil manner, we might have worked this out. But this? This is declaring war on me as a ruler. They’ll throw my country into chaos.
I have to do something.
Jaku hurries in the room, Inkga behind him, brows furrowed into a frown that mars her features.
“What is it?” Jaku asks. “What happened?”
I hand him the note.
He reads it and swears. “Sorry about the language, Ryn.”
“I’m more worried about the Kurah’s control over the nation. Do you think they are as deeply involved as the note says they are?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out the hard way. We’ll have guards on you like when we were touring the country, keeping someone with you at all times, even in your quarters.”