The Queen Maker

by Kristen Gupton

  Danier managed to crack open one of his eyes enough to spot the old man standing before him. There were a number of others gathered around, including the asashis.

  The idea he’d allowed the women to come and witness his humiliation caused his resentment for the emperor to surge up. “I took strong action to do something while you have held our empire back since being crowned. You disgraced us, taking the Tordanian rat’s word over mine.”

  The emperor wasn’t accustomed to being talked to in such a manner, and he lost all of his remaining good humor. “That rat, as you say, was far more respectful and eloquent last night than you have ever been. I’ve always seen right through you, Ahman Danier, you self-serving reprobate. I stopped a famine by ending the war with the Ibianese and agreeing to trade with them. Now, I’m going to further our economic interests by trading with the Tordanians for coal. No more of your tribe’s ignorant, repeated attempts at annexation to get it.”

  “We do not trade with Tordanians!” Danier screamed out, his voice echoing through the courtyard. His mind swam, fury pushing him away from the men holding onto his arms as he lunged for the emperor.

  The audience watching on gave a communal gasp, and the guards quickly regained control over their prisoner before he was able to reach the old man. Danier was shoved down onto his knees, the impact driving a sharp pain up his legs.

  “I am glad your mother is no longer living to see what you’ve become, Ahman,” Betram said. He turned away from him and started to walk back toward the palace doors. “You are no longer a citizen of the Sador Empire.”

  Danier’s eyes went wide and he started to struggle once more, though enough men beset upon him to stop him from getting up. While he knew he was in trouble, the idea the emperor would have the gall to sentence him to exile hadn’t played into his thoughts.

  Danier screamed again as his right arm was grabbed and pulled forward.

  Chapter 10

  Thana opened her eyes, groggy from her sedation. She stared up at the canvas ceiling above her. There was a strong, throbbing ache in her right wrist, and she found it impossible to move that arm at all. She remained still for a long while, trying to push through the haze in her brain and remember what had happened.

  Something pulled Keiran out of his sleep beside her, and he propped himself up, appearing in her field of vision. “Do I need to get Arin? Are you all right?”

  Still confused and not aware of who Arin was, Thana gave a weak shake of her head, staring up into Keiran’s eyes. “Did we make it?”

  He offered her a faint smile, reaching up a hand to her cheek. “Aye, we’re out of the Sador Empire. We’re safe here.”

  Thana shifted as best she could to press in closer to him, feeling cold. The pain radiating up her arm seemed to worsen as she did, however, causing her to hiss between her teeth.

  Keiran continued to look at her, noticing in the morning light her complexion had taken on a gray hue. He grew concerned and slowly moved to stand up without jostling her.

  Her eyes opened wide, her left hand coming up to reach for him. “Don’t go!”

  “It’s all right. I’m just going to get Arin to check you over. She saved your life last night,” he replied, gripping her outstretched hand for just a moment before turning away.

  She whimpered and lifted her head, seeing her torso wrapped up to hold her injured arm in place. At once, the vision of her hand lying in the dirt filled her mind, and tears began to streak back from her eyes. The pain and trauma of the experience crushed in, her thoughts pushing clear of the drugs still coursing through her veins.

  Arin soon came over with Keiran at her side. She knelt down beside Thana, placing her left hand to the woman’s forehead. Pleased her patient didn’t seem to be running a fever, she turned toward Keiran to wave him back a bit. She was going to have to undo Thana’s bandages and wanted to offer her some privacy.

  Thana looked up at Arin, recalling some of her treatments the night before. Her fearful eyes then landed on Keiran. She knew the amputation site needed to be tended to, but the pain it would cause made her begin to tremble.

  Keiran kept locked in her gaze and saw the worry in her eyes. It made him nearly sick to his stomach, though there was nothing he could do about it. “I won’t leave.”

  Arin reached down and slid her left arm beneath Thana’s shoulders, helping her up into a sitting position. Thana closed her eyes, and her head instantly swam as she risked losing consciousness.

  The older woman reached around and pulled loose a loop of bandage, slowly starting to unwrap Thana’s upper body to free the bound arm from its overnight traction. Her movements were smooth and slow, every effort put forth not to hurt her patient.

  Keiran turned away when the last of the wrapping was removed, not wanting to stare. His eyes panned over to where Jerris was still flopped onto his back, snoring.

  Within a few moments, Arin had placed a clean robe around Thana, the bandaged remainder of her right arm passed easily through the loose-fitting sleeve.

  While the pain in her wrist was considerable, not being bound up anymore made it easier to breathe. Thana relaxed a bit and offered Arin a grateful smile.

  “I will make breakfast now. You eat before I change rest of bandage,” Arin said, leaning forward to kiss Thana’s forehead before she got up and moved away.

  Keiran turned around, relieved to see Thana sitting up and dressed. He returned to her side and tried not to focus on her right wrist as it rested in her lap. “Thana, I’m so sorry this happened to you. I didn’t know about the bracer.”

  She shook her head and looked down at her wrist. “No, you couldn’t have known. I didn’t know, and I was the one wearing it. When I left the castle, Corina ordered me to go north to hide, I was foolish…”

  “Why did you leave the castle? What happened?” he asked, leaning closer.

  She gave a slow shake of her head, sighing. “That sentry, Farin, came to me after you left, claiming he was a Church Knight. He said they were planning on killing me, and he offered to take me away somewhere, but I didn’t trust him. It didn’t seem right, and Corina and I decided I had to leave.”

  “Farin Edmund?” The vampire immediately felt the ache of his fangs threatening to appear. “There’s no way he’s a Church Knight, not with his record of laziness. He’s not a knight even on the most basic level.”

  “That’s what I feared. Perhaps he was working with my mother just to get me out of the castle,” she whispered back. “Mother… I suppose I need not call Sorna that anymore. How did I end up with her?”

  Keiran put his arm around her shoulders. He quietly told her what Kanan had said about her origins.

  She listened and gave a shake of her head, knowing it would be a long time before she came to terms with it. It all made sense.

  Thana drew in a long breath. Though there was nothing she could do regarding her origins, she felt guilty about recent events. “I caused so much trouble in following you, I deserved this.”

  “No, you didn’t. You didn’t know what would happen, nor do you know what would have happened had Farin gotten a hold of you. Thana, for all we know, he may have killed you,” he replied, frowning.

  “What good will I be like this, though?” she asked, staring at her right arm. “How will I do my job to justify staying in the castle?”

  “Thana, I don’t care if you work or not,” he said in earnest, leaning forward enough to look into her eyes. “You are invaluable to me for reasons far greater than cleaning out fireplaces, for God’s sake!”

  Her eyes widened, and despite her pain and emotional turmoil, a faint smile cropped up. “I will find something I can do. I suppose Arin manages. I noticed she’s missing her hand as well.”

  Keiran nodded and leaned to the side, picking up the bracer from where he’d left it the night before. “Indeed she does, and I am indebted to her for tending to you last night.”

  Thana recoiled from the bracer, the sight of it reigniting her memories fr
om the night before. “That horrid thing needs to be destroyed.”

  He looked at her again and shook his head. “No, Thana. Etras told me what this was last night, and though you may not be an asashi now, this damned thing will live up to its name.”

  She quirked a brow, not having heard a specific name for it. “Its name?”

  Keiran’s eyes narrowed and focused on the heavy bracer, his fangs actually showing with his next words. “Aye. The Queen Maker.”

  ***

  Thana spent much of the day asleep. She needed to be drugged to get relief from the terrible pain in her wrist. Arin removed the remaining bandages from Thana’s wrist after breakfast, telling her it would be best left to the air.

  In her moments of lucidity between doses of her pain medication, Thana couldn’t help but stare at what was left of her arm. The cut had been made just a short distance above her wrist, though the wound itself had been expertly stitched shut with black silk by Arin the night before.

  Thana initially feared what her arm would look like but was relieved to see the amazing work the other woman had done. Still, the sight of the sutures, surrounded by the dark bruising covering her entire lower arm, made her nauseated.

  Keiran, Jerris, and Etras spent much of the time talking, the Tordanians concerned about the Sadori guide’s future. Upon hearing of Keiran’s talk with Emperor Betram, Etras reassured them he would most likely not have his ability to move in or out of the empire impacted. At worst, he supposed he might be given a suspension from bringing in new customers.

  Still, Keiran made an offer for Etras and his wife to return with him to Tordan Lea. While the Sador Empire may not have wanted him as their Minster of Trade, Keiran knew he could use such an advisor.

  Etras had politely refused, though. While the idea intrigued him, his wife had an important job right where they lived. She received and treated amputees several times a week, and if she were to leave, people would die.

  The vampire understood and gave Etras and Arin credit for doing what they felt was right.

  By nightfall, Thana was stronger and even got up to go for a short walk with Keiran around the village. She wanted desperately to get back to the castle and begged Keiran to get her home.

  He wasn’t sure if she was up to traveling, but he was eager to get home, too. If word of his trip in pursuit of Thana had gotten back to the castle, there would definitely be worry and panic there he needed to alleviate. Whether or not Kanan had traveled back with that information wasn’t something he could properly speculate on. For the sake of everyone’s sanity, he hoped not.

  After dinner, Arin assessed Thana’s injury and overall health. She gave her permission for them to leave in the morning, but she warned Keiran and Jerris strongly about allowing Thana to take breaks as often as needed. The two men agreed, knowing a return to Tordania was in everyone’s best interest.

  Before they departed, she wrapped Thana’s arm again to keep dirt away from it. She gave Thana a small glass bottle containing an oily liquid to apply to the wound to ward off infection over the following two weeks.

  ***

  Ahman Danier survived his first night following his exile. He’d been sent from the palace after his amputation with only his horse and the clothes he’d been wearing. He’d fashioned a tourniquet for his arm from one of his belts that kept him from bleeding to death. With considerable effort, he rode his horse across the bridge and out of the empire, though he passed out and fell from the saddle three times in the process.

  Humiliated and not wanting to be near anyone, he’d not sought medical attention. He’d spent the night alone on the bank of the river. The sun woke him, blazing down by late morning onto his unsheltered camp.

  Flies buzzed around his wrist, the untreated wound turning black. He tried momentarily to take the belt off of his lower arm, but the pain caused by manipulating it halted his efforts. The general had never been keen on learning much regarding medicine, always able to rely on others formally trained in the field before. He didn’t have any idea how to take care of the wound.

  His horse remained near him all night, never freed of its saddle or bridle. The animal looked miserable, but Danier didn’t honestly care. Though he felt incredibly weak, he managed to pull himself up into the saddle. He sat there for a long while, no particular destination in mind. The act of staying in the saddle without movement was taxing enough.

  After a while, his mind started to clear a bit, and he found it easier to focus. There were people moving in the distance, heading north along the trade road. At first he suspected it might be a hallucination, but he narrowed his eyes and realized he saw the Tordanian men and Thana.

  Keiran was on his massive warhorse, with Thana sitting directly before him in the saddle. The guard was with them, riding along on his smaller mount.

  His vitriol for the trio started to twist his fevered mind. The idea his emperor had let the two men just walk out of the empire enraged the Sadori, and he gave a quiet growl under his breath.

  He wouldn’t dare confront them in the middle of a well-traveled road in his current state. With no home to return to, Danier knew he could afford to be patient. He reined his horse with his left hand awkwardly, intending to stay far enough behind them not to be seen.

  ***

  “So he actually had Danier dragged off?” Thana asked, resting her head back against Keiran’s shoulder as they rode.

  He’d related the story of their encounter at the palace, and Thana had taken great pleasure in the general getting called out for his bad behavior.

  “Aye, though I don’t know what happened to him afterward. The emperor didn’t seem to like him very much,” Keiran said, guiding Porter forward slowly.

  She outright laughed, letting her eyes drift shut. “Well, I’m glad for it. Perhaps he will learn something.”

  “Perhaps.” Keiran felt her slouching in the saddle against him and realized she was tired.

  Though they’d gone along at an easy pace with several rest stops, the trio had nearly reached the town where the men had originally met Etras. They could push for another hour to get there, but Thana didn’t seem up to going much further. Keiran needed to be honest with himself, too. It had been several days since he’d taken any blood at all, and fatigue had worn him down.

  With the road as traveled as it was, many simple shelters lined its edge, left by previous passersby. Jerris chose one with a small fenced area for the horses, and they settled in for the night.

  They ate a simple evening meal Jerris had purchased from one of the vendors found along their route. He’d gotten a bottle of wine to go along with it, but Thana ended up drinking most of it to help dull the pain in her arm. The two men offered up their cloaks to Thana, so she could use them as a makeshift bed, and she soon fell asleep.

  With the dark settling in, the air was cool enough to warrant a small fire in the pit of their chosen camp. They moved outside of the lean-to, not wanting to disturb Thana. She’d put on a good show all day long, but her fatigue and pain had become apparent as time wore on.

  Jerris finished off the remaining wine and sat beside Keiran, eyes fixed on the fire. “She’s doing a lot better with all this than I would have.”

  The vampire gave a nod, looking toward where she slept. “Aye, she’s a tough one. I hope Etras and Arin know how much we appreciate all they did for us.”

  “You didn’t ask for any of your money back from him, leaving him all that you’d brought. I think he knows,” the guard replied, chucking the empty bottle into the fire.

  “Good people. If this trade pact comes to fruition, we will have gained a good deal in going through all of this. It might not make up for what happened to Thana but still a shred of good news,” Keiran said, turning his gaze toward the clear sky. “And, I dearly appreciate you coming with me.”

  Jerris rolled his eyes and cast a deadpan look toward his friend. “I don’t want any of that emotional talk with you. We’ve had enough of it the past few weeks. I w
asn’t going to let you run off and get all the glory for yourself.”

  Keiran knew absolutely none of the redhead’s motivation came from the so-called glory of it. He shook his head as he pushed his way up to his feet. “I suppose. Regardless, we should get to bed ourselves. I’d like very much to get to Lodain tomorrow, so they can stop worrying about our absence.”

  “Ah, and would you like me to sleep elsewhere? I think she’s pretty well yours for the taking at this point,” Jerris said, a cattish grin materializing.

  “Honestly, Jerris,” he sighed, turning away and taking a few steps toward their shelter.

  Keiran stopped abruptly, certain he’d caught the sound of a horse pawing at the ground over the noise of the river. It very distinctly wasn’t from where Patrice and Porter were resting. He turned around and scanned the scenery. A white horse stood by itself a short distance away. The moonlight cast an eerie glow over the animal, and the back of Keiran’s neck prickled.

  The guard watched Keiran’s sudden change in posture and spotted the horse as well. “Did that crazy bastard follow us?”

  Keiran didn’t reply and simply held one of his hands out to his side, ordering Jerris to be quiet. He silently moved to where his saddle and belongings had been placed for the night and pulled his rapier from the pile.

  He walked toward the horse, uttering one terse order as he went. “Stay here with Thana.”

  Jerris gave a quick nod, going and retrieving his sword, too. He moved to stand before the shelter on the other side of the fire, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness.

  Week-long fast or not, Keiran’s eyes acclimated to the darkness in short order, and he continued to move closer to the horse. Despite his excellent vision, he didn’t spot anyone. Over the sounds around him, however, he zeroed in on a man’s frantic breaths.

  The river’s edge was punctuated by large cottonwood trees, and they offered the only real cover in the area. Keiran stopped beside the horse, looking it over. He was absolutely certain it was the same one Danier had been riding.