by Grace Draven
“You’re not accustomed to the Wild Lands yet,” Ash argued. “And your men are not schooled in the creatures there. It could have been something ordinary with—”
“With four legs, a pair of wings, and claws as big as a man’s head?” Harlan interrupted, then shrugged with an easy grin. “And we may as well table this discussion until we all sit down together, as the High Queen and King Rayfe will simply make us go over it all in detail again.”
“She’s not the High Queen,” I said, feeling I needed to. Might as well practice before facing the dragon herself. They all stared at me with varying expressions of consternation and shock.
Anger, on Ami’s part. “Who else would you have?” she demanded.
“Nobody else, Queen Amelia.” I kept my tone mild. “The point is that she isn’t High Queen until she’s crowned. Nor is she Her Majesty. By calling her that, you’re all letting her get away with ducking what she needs to do. There are reasons for these protocols, not the least of which are legal ones. With no one officially sitting on the High Throne, there is no Twelve Kingdoms—only thirteen kingdoms ready to go their own ways again. I’m astounded none of the kings and queens have cited this as grounds to secede. There’s historical precedent for this. We’d have to go to war, conquer them all over again to get them back. I, of all people, am no lover of Uorsin’s methods, but he did create peace. It’s irresponsible of Ursula to risk setting us back this way.”
Ash shook his head, laughing in his rough, voiceless way. “Do you promise to repeat that speech to Ursula where I can listen?”
“I prefer to be out of striking distance, myself,” Harlan said, implacable, but his eyes gleamed with amusement.
Ami sighed. “Dafne is right, but . . . there’s a lot you don’t know. Go a little easy on her,” she said to all of us.
Ash rubbed a hand up her back. “We all have our roles. You support her and Dafne can lay down the law. That’s why we need her here. Ursula will listen to her.”
I only hoped he was correct about that.
CHAPTER SIX
Ursula was holding court in the great hall. She wasn’t seated on Uorsin’s throne or her own, but stood before them—wearing fighting leathers and her sword.
The hole where Glorianna’s rose window had been gaped empty still, autumn air and sunshine filtering in. Always lean, Ursula now looked nearly gaunt, with shadows under her eyes. Queen Andromeda sat in her traditional throne as Princess of the Realm, but with King Rayfe beside her in the one that had always been Ami’s. Though I’d become accustomed to the Tala’s appearance, Andi and Rayfe with their loose dark hair streaming over the shoulders of their colorful silks, the crackle of magic about them, seemed wild and exotic in the harsher frame of Ordnung.
Ursula nodded somberly at the petitioner who spoke to her, then fastened her sharp gaze on us over his shoulder. She surveyed us all thoroughly, and seeing that none of us bore injuries, something relaxed in her face.
“Has she sat on the High Throne yet?” I asked Harlan as softly as I could.
“Refuses,” he murmured back.
I sighed mentally. We had a great deal to do.
Ursula finished with the petitioner, a man I didn’t recognize—more catching up for me to do, with so many who’d populated the court gone and new ambassadors coming in—held up a hand to the others waiting and beckoned us forward. She kissed Astar and Stella on their foreheads, raised her chin and her voice, announcing, “I welcome back to Ordnung Queen Amelia of Avonlidgh and her son and daughter, who I declare to be my heirs to the High Throne, Prince Astar and Princess Stella.”
That sent an ascending murmur of astonishment through the assembly, as the existence of Stella had been a secret until now. For myself, I clamped my mouth shut over the protest that she, first, couldn’t name anyone heir, since she wasn’t yet the High Queen, and second, that she couldn’t declare two heirs at once, especially one that didn’t officially exist as, third, Stella had yet to be named and entered into the records as Amelia’s daughter.
Ursula, never anything less than observant, caught my expression anyway, a line forming between her brows. “Welcome back, Lady Mailloux. You were missed.” At least she’d gotten the warning about making more declarations.
“Your Highness.” I curtsied, careful to observe protocol.
She narrowed her eyes at me, then greeted the rest of the Tala delegation, seeming especially pleased to see her cousin. With Harlan, she simply brushed his forearm with the tips of her fingers, but the look she gave him said everything—and went a long way toward easing my guilt over causing disharmony between them.
In light of our arrival, she adjourned court for the day, a move that sent another wave of reaction through the room, this time of disgruntlement. In future days, I would assume Derodotur’s duties—assembling, reviewing, and prioritizing petitions—and attempt to keep a reasonable timetable for Ursula’s decisions. Uorsin, especially in the last few years, had grown increasingly unpredictable and often canceled court on a whim, or didn’t show when expected.
If I had my way, we’d establish an orderly schedule that would allow for issues to be addressed, leave some room for unexpected crises, and give Ursula time and space to retain her humanity.
Perhaps to first regain it.
“I’ll have food sent to my rooms,” she said after the courtiers dispersed. “We can meet there and—what, librarian? Enough with the baleful gazes.”
Ah well, might as well start off as I meant to go on. “Your Highness, perhaps a more formal location?”
The scars high on her cheekbone whitened and her hand fell to the hilt of her sword. The end, where the cabochon topaz had been, was twisted with rough edges. Another broken thing. “I’m not using his study.”
“There are alternatives to the former High King’s study. The family’s private dining hall would make fine council chambers.”
She gave me long stare, took in the expressions of the others. Nodded. “Fine. I’ll ask Lise to—”
“Allow me, Your Highness.” Before she could stop me, I found a serving girl to notify the chatelaine of our plans and to see that the room I’d suggested be quickly readied. And to send me writing materials along with food. Coming back, I found the three couples in deep conversation, discussing the vandals and beasts Harlan and his troops had encountered on the journey to and from Annfwn, including the one he’d described to Ash.
“I’ve never heard of such a creature.” Ursula sounded dubious, frowning at Harlan.
“You saw odder ones in Annfwn,” he replied.
“Not ones like that.” Rayfe looked equally perplexed. “I wouldn’t know what to call it, even in my language.”
“A gryphon,” I supplied. “At least as how they’re described in the old tales.”
“How old do you mean?” Ursula wanted to know, brow furrowed.
“Old enough not to be able to date them accurately. Certainly before Annfwn sealed itself off.”
Ami nodded slowly. “I remember some of those. When Dafne and I studied the ancients and their wild magic.” During that long, snowy spring at Windroven, while she’d been pregnant.
“It puts some of the other rumors we’ve been hearing in a new perspective,” Ursula mused. “I’ve sent some of the Hawks’ scouts to clarify reports and get accurate information, but even more eyes and ears might help. I don’t like sitting here, blind and deaf. Maybe Jepp?”
Ash gave a slight shake of his head. “I’ve healed her as much as I can, but even with the barrier down and magic flowing out, it’s not the same for me as being in Annfwn. Plus it feels like the magic is . . . eddying in some ways. I couldn’t do as much for her as I did for Harlan inside Annfwn for example, and Jepp’s wound was equally mortal.”
“Jepp was mortally wounded?” I asked. I hadn’t heard that.
As no one else seemed inclined to speak up, Ash replied. “Uorsin nearly gutted her, but she’ll be all right. It took a great deal out of her and she needs to rec
over. She’s restless, yes, but better for her to stay close another day or two.”
I sighed. I liked Jepp, the boisterous and flirtatious woman who served as Ursula’s best scout. I’d have to go find her later. “Information is good, but we have important decisions to make on matters directly before us. Matters of protocol and precedents.”
Ursula grimaced, but banished her reluctance with a brisk nod. “I suppose that’s why I recalled you. Let’s get this over with, then.”
Ami and Ash went to settle the babies in the nursery, planning to meet us in the council chambers. Andi embraced me with a smile and with her back turned to Ursula, rolled her eyes. “Good to have you with us, Dafne.” She took Rayfe’s proffered arm and they strolled ahead of us. I walked with Ursula and Harlan flanking me, feeling very like a small cat trapped between two wolves twice my size.
“Are you managing me, librarian?” Ursula asked mildly. A tone that didn’t fool me for a moment.
“Somebody needs to,” Harlan commented in the same tone.
“Don’t start with me.” She shot him a glare over my head. “Just when I was feeling all sentimental over missing you.”
He grinned at her. “I love you, too, my fierce hawk.”
They made me laugh. This was home, something I’d forgotten in my time away. “I’m happy to leave you to your devices, Your Highness, if you don’t wish me to advise you. I’m sure the library needs extensive work.”
She huffed. “Every thrice-damned thing in Ordnung needs work. It’s like a battlefield after the armies have destroyed every last living thing and soaked the soil with blood.”
As it had been after Columba fell. Though it wouldn’t occur to Ursula that she evoked that image for me. It did to Harlan, however, and he set a heavy hand on my shoulder for a moment. There and gone. We stepped into the old family dining hall, which had fallen into disuse over the years—and then clearly pressed into recent service as sleeping chambers for many people at once during the crisis, when Ordnung had been packed tight with a population forbidden by Uorsin to leave. Servants were working to get up the worst of the detritus, but restoring the room to full functionality would take some doing.
How many of the people who’d made those blanket pallets on the floor had been turned into creatures of Deyrr and then burned?
Ursula surveyed the room with aggravation and disgust. “Still think this is a good idea?”
Her words were deliberately cutting, but under it lay a grief that haunted her eyes. No wonder they all danced around her. And yet that wasn’t what she needed. I’d known Ursula all her life, since Salena handed the indignant baby to me and told me I held the future High Queen. Ursula would cripple herself trying to take responsibility for the past, if we let her. Time to focus on the present and future.
As the servants had done what they could without hours more work—the open windows helping to freshen the room considerably—I sent them on their way and chose a seat. Andi, eyes stormy with concern, sat also while Rayfe restlessly prowled the room, examining the portraits that hung on the walls. All of Uorsin in various poses and life stages, his presence heavy both on and in the walls. Perhaps we should follow his example and tear down the castle, build another on its undead ashes.
Goddesses, I was in a morbid mood.
Ursula seemed poised to follow Rayfe’s example, but Harlan moved to the head of the table, holding the chair for her with steady, implacable courtesy. She capitulated, rolling her head on her neck and then folding her hands on the scarred table. Harlan took up position behind her, ever standing guard.
“I appreciate you answering my summons, Dafne. Though if you wish to return to Annfwn, I understand. I know you loved it there.”
“Thank you, Your Highness, but I’m here to stay, as long as you’ll have me.”
“It’s only us. You can dispense with the formalities.”
“All right then, along those lines, I need permission to speak frankly to you.”
Her gray eyes went steely. “I’ve told you before that I value your advice and wouldn’t censure you for your words.”
“Good. I already said this to Ash and Ami, so I’ll start there. Nobody should address you as High Queen or Your Majesty.”
It would have been funny, the astonishment on her face and Andi’s. Rayfe tossed me a look full of wicked amusement, shook his long hair back and leaned on the wall next to the open window, to all appearances like a man preparing to enjoy a spectacle. The wounded pain under Ursula’s quick return to composure stopped my own smile.
“You believe I should step aside for another then.” She nodded, confirming something to herself. “Face the rule of the law as a murderer.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
I managed not to scowl at her and lobbed the argument back in her lap. “Let me ask you this—who killed King Erich?”
She frowned, suspicious of my direction. “He fell in the conflict, but—”
“Will you be seeking his murderer to bring to justice?”
Sighing out an impatient breath, she tapped her fingers on the table, her nails ragged, with soil beneath. “I see where you’re going with this, but killing a man in battle is not the same thing as assassinating the High King in cold blood.”
“Why not?”
“Librarian, we don’t need to engage in a philosophical discussion.”
“Indulge me. Explain to me how these are not the same sort of battle, simply on a different scale.”
She scowled, gray eyes dark with troubling thoughts, and it seemed everyone in the room held their breath, waiting for her answer. Staying clear of the dragon’s breath. At last she unbent and inclined her chin. “All right. I cannot. Then why shouldn’t I be High Queen, according to your logic?”
“I never said that. You should be and will be. We need you on the High Throne—following an ostentatious coronation ceremony, sanctioned by the Temple, attended by as many witnesses as possible, as soon as we can arrange it.”
She brushed that aside. “That. I don’t have time to—”
“Let me lay it out for you.” I interrupted again before she could dig in on this with me also. In more detail than I had before, I explained the legalities and historical precedents. Ami and Ash arrived as I spoke. She seated herself quietly and Ash took position at her shoulder, leaving the four of us at the table. I understood their being careful of their relative rank and position in the conversation—though Rayfe arguably belonged at the table and simply preferred to prowl—but I didn’t exactly belong there either. Still, I needed the surface to make notes as I spoke. I broke off only when servants returned with food and wine, which no one appeared ready to touch, taking up my case again when they left. No sense spreading word of our tenuous position faster than it would speed anyway.
“So,” I wound up. “This is what I suggest be our order of priorities. One, get the pennants flying again, which means we need one for you as I’m assuming you don’t want to use your father’s.”
“But can I, if I’m not High Queen?” Ursula said it with some acerbity, not pleased, but at least convinced of my points and focusing on the issues. Better.
“Yes. We have precedent there. Uorsin did it before his coronation.”
“You remember that?” Andi asked with interest.
“I do, and I think we should replicate what he did as closely as possible.” I held up a hand to forestall the biting remark Ursula had nocked to fire at me. “Only as regards ceremony and precedent. I’ll get to that. Second, we need to polish up Ordnung. Fix the rose window, plant flowers, get every room cleaned. Create the illusion of prosperity.”
“People are starving out there, librarian,” Ursula broke in. “Some places in chaos. Magic setting off strange changes, on top of our already long-term crises of drought and starvation. Now we have this gryphon and rumors of river monsters and volcanoes rumbling. Not to mention Stefan calling for my head.”
“Which is why you need to present yourself and your rule as competent and f
lourishing. You are the savior of Ordnung and the Twelve. You’re our hero. You need to step up and be that, even if you don’t feel it.”
“I don’t feel it,” she snapped. Harlan touched her shoulder and she surprised me by leaning into his hand, closing her eyes briefly. Then opened them and fixed me with her hawkish stare. “But I see your point. Continue.”
She reminded me of Uorsin and Salena both as I navigated my way through explaining the rest of my plan. Sometimes by a flicker of her expression, she hinted that she recognized I used her own tactics against her, handling her as I’d so often observed her deft management of the former High King.
I finished summarizing—bring in people from the township if necessary, but get Ordnung in shape for the ceremonies. Stella needed to be acknowledged and named and it wouldn’t hurt to formally repeat it for Astar, as well. Coronation, with renewed treaties and vows of loyalty. Naming of one heir.
“You’ve been thinking about this a great deal,” Ursula finally said, with a slight smile. She had relaxed. Everyone had.
“I had a lot of time to read,” I answered.
“The window should not be Glorianna’s alone,” Ami spoke up for the first time since she’d come in. “Nor should the blessing at the Coronation. If you’re starting a new era, everything you do should reflect all three goddesses equally.”
“Why not?” Ursula returned with a wry grimace. “They got us into this mess, according to you. Fine. We’ll commission a new window today, as that will take some time for the glaziers to make, much as it grates on me to spend resources on something only for show. This window,” she pointed a long finger at Rayfe, who grinned lazily back, “you will not break. Ami, would you design it?”
“I’d be happy to.” She looked delighted, in fact. Perhaps the magic that made her inhumanly beautiful infused her talents also, because Ami had a decided gift for creating beauty. “And for your personal banner, a hawk. With a rabbit in its talons,” she added, mischief glinting in her twilight eyes.