He was tall and broad-shouldered, especially for a Skojare. They tended to be more petite in frame—Mikko and Kennet Biâelse aside. His blond hair was cropped short, and he was clean-shaven.
The uniform he wore was that of the Skojare guard—a frosty blue, embellished with the insignia of a fish on his lapel. Even without the uniform, there was something very military about him. He stood at attention, with his head high and his blue eyes locked on us.
“I’m Baltsar Thorne.” He greeted us formally but politely. He bowed his head slightly, and I noticed the thick black outline of a fish tattooed on the back of his neck. “I’m the new head guard for the Skojare.”
Already he looked like a vast improvement from their last head guard, and I’d only just met him.
“It’s really you!” Linnea squealed, and I heard her voice echoing through the main hall before I saw her. She dashed across the glass floor, her blue gown billowing around her, and she practically dove at me, hugging me.
When she let go, she stepped back to appraise me. Smiling broadly, she said, “It’s really you. The guards at the shack at the end of the dock called up and said you were coming, but I didn’t believe them.”
“Your Highness,” Baltsar said, carefully trying to wedge himself between us. “She has been accused of killing our Prince. It seems prudent to—”
“Oh, she didn’t do it.” Linnea waved him off, then she took my hand. “Let’s go inside and get out of the cold, so we can talk. And you bring your friends—”
It was the first time she’d stopped to look at who was with me, but as soon as she saw Konstantin, her jaw dropped and her already large eyes widened.
“It’s you,” she gasped and let go of my hand. “You saved my life.”
Konstantin lowered his eyes and shifted his weight from one foot to the other, already uncomfortable with her praise. Then she ran over to him and threw her arms around his waist, embracing him tightly.
For his part, Konstantin stood frozen in place with his eyes nervously flitting around. His arms were stiff at his sides, like he was afraid to even touch her.
“My Queen, it’s not advised to … hug guests before we have a chance to vet them,” Baltsar tried unsuccessfully to reason with her.
Incensed, she stepped away from Konstantin and glared at the guard. “This man saved my life! He’s a hero! He doesn’t need to be vetted! They’re all guests of the kingdom, and they’re all welcome inside.”
Baltsar sighed, apparently realizing the futility of arguing with her. “If it’s as you wish, Your Majesty.”
“Come in, come in, everyone!” Linnea motioned for us to follow her as she walked inside the palace, her platinum curls bobbing as she walked. Her dress was cut very low in the back, to just above her waist, and it compensated for that by having a long satin train that flowed out behind her.
Baltsar bowed slightly again and gestured for us to enter, so I smiled politely and followed Linnea inside.
“Just to let you know, there’s a couple bodies in the back of the SUV you probably want to take care of,” Ridley told Baltsar as he walked by.
“We already killed them for you, so it shouldn’t be that much of a problem,” Konstantin added.
“Pardon?” Baltsar asked, looking startled. “Who did you kill?”
“Don’t worry,” Konstantin said over his shoulder as we entered the grand main hall. “They were Viktor Dålig’s men.” When Baltsar still appeared puzzled, Konstantin elaborated. “The men that declared war on you.”
Linnea had been walking ahead, intent on showing us all in and seeming to ignore the exchange between Konstantin, Ridley, and Baltsar, but as soon as the word war was uttered, she’d stopped cold.
In the rotunda, sandblasted glass shaped like waves surrounded us—opaque, with a hint of light turquoise showing through. Below us, the floors were glass, windows to the pool. Chandeliers sparkled with diamonds and sapphires, casting light all around us. It gave the effect of standing in a whirlpool, and right now Linnea was in the dead center of it.
“Well, the Kanin actually declared war,” Ridley said, correcting Konstantin in a conversational tone. “If you want to get technical.”
“He seems like the kind of guy who’d want to get technical.” Konstantin pointed toward Baltsar.
“That’s true,” Ridley agreed. “But either way, Viktor Dålig’s men will attack the Skojare. They’re probably helping the Kanin, so it’s all the same difference.”
“Yeah.” Konstantin looked over at Baltsar. “The point is that we helped you by killing those men.”
Linnea still had her back to us, and she turned around slowly to face everyone. All the lightness and playfulness that usually enveloped her had fallen away. Her skin had paled even more than normal, and the translucent gills on her neck weren’t moving.
“Did you say war?” Linnea asked in a voice so soft I wasn’t sure that Ridley or Konstantin had heard her from where they stood several feet back. Tilda and I were right behind Linnea, and even I barely heard it.
“Didn’t you…” Ridley glanced over to me, looking for help, but I had none to give. “Didn’t you get the proclamation? From the Kanin?”
Linnea shook her head once. “No. We’ve received no correspondence from the Kanin since they told us of Kennet’s death.”
“I saw it yesterday.” Ridley motioned to me. “We both did. At the Trylle palace. Mina—um, excuse me, Queen Mina sent the scroll to the Trylle Queen declaring war on the Skojare.”
“That’s why we came here,” I explained. “We wanted to see if you needed help preparing for it.”
“Of course we need help,” Linnea replied emptily, and then she looked past me at Baltsar. “Our worst fears have come true. They’re going to kill us all.”
FORTY-FOUR
defensive
Marksinna Lisbet Ahlstrom—the acting ruler of the Skojare and Linnea’s grandmother—stood with her back toward the meeting room as she stared out at the dark water that surrounded us. Her golden hair was up, and her sapphire chandelier earrings hung past the high collar of her jacket. Wavelike designs were embroidered in the cerulean fabric, and the hem of her jacket just hit the floor.
We were in the meeting room underwater, where half of the room stuck out from the palace with a domed wall of glass, creating a fishbowl effect. The last time I had been here, King Mikko had been arrested. And now we were discussing war.
Baltsar, Ridley, Konstantin, and I sat at the end of the very long table. Linnea had been too shell-shocked to be of much assistance, and Tilda had feigned needing help to keep her preoccupied. For the past hour we’d been in the meeting room, explaining to Lisbet and Baltsar everything we knew.
While we spoke, Lisbet had paced the room, listening to us tell them about Mina’s relation to Viktor, her involvement in Kennet’s scheme, and her plot to steal the jewels now that Kennet and Bayle were out of the picture.
When we’d finished, she stopped and stared out at the lake. Night had fallen upon us, making the water too dark to see anything, but Lisbet kept staring out, as if an answer to all their problems would come swimming up to the glass.
“After he was killed, I realized that Kennet had to be involved in Mikko’s imprisonment somehow,” Lisbet said finally. “I wore black for three days until Kennet’s funeral, as is customary, but I haven’t worn it since. I mourned publicly because I had to, but I won’t shed a tear for anyone that tries to hurt my granddaughter.”
Then she turned to face us. In her sixties, she’d begun to show the signs of her advancing years, but she still carried the grace and beauty of her youth. She commanded the room like a Queen, even though she’d never really been one.
“What would you have us do?” Lisbet asked. “How do we stop this?”
Konstantin sat with his elbows on the table and his hands together in front of his face, almost like he was praying except that his hands were clenched too tightly. “You can’t stop this. Once Mina has her mind set, ther
e’s nothing you can do to talk her out of it.”
“What if we offered her our jewels?” Lisbet suggested, almost pleading. “We have so many, we must be able to spare a great deal.”
“She wants them all.” Konstantin lowered his hands. “And even that won’t be enough. Since she’s had to wait for them, she’s annoyed. And she’ll want you to suffer for that.”
Lisbet rubbed her temple. “Then what do we do?”
“I’ve been working as the Överste for the Kanin,” Ridley said. “And Tilda’s been acting captain. We can work with your soldiers and get them ready. We know exactly how the Kanin fight and what they’re skilled at.”
Lisbet laughed darkly. “You say that as if we have soldiers.”
“If Mina hasn’t declared war yet, that means you might have some time,” I said. “Time to gather people and get them ready.”
“Unless, of course, she’s planning a surprise attack,” Konstantin corrected me, and I shot him a look. “Well, it’s true.”
“You have one huge advantage, and that’s this palace.” Ridley motioned around us. “It’s an island fortress.”
“And we have the spires,” Baltsar said, referring to the five towers that rose from the palace. “I’ve been doing bow training with the guards, so they can man them and shoot at possible intruders.”
“It’s not a lost cause,” Ridley said, trying to sound optimistic.
“There’s something else I think you should do,” I said. “You should release Mikko.”
“Talk to that one.” Lisbet pointed at Baltsar. “I want to let him go. I’ve known he was innocent for a while, but it’s Baltsar and the Chancellor and some of the other royals that don’t want him out.”
Baltsar shook his head. “It’s not that I don’t want him released. There’s not enough evidence to set him free. I was a Markis and I stepped down—I gave up my title and my inheritance because it was more important to me that Storvatten be kept safe. I took this job to make sure it was done right.”
“You’re going to war. You need him,” I persisted.
“I’m the acting monarch. I have all the same power he has,” Lisbet said.
“But you’re not King,” I told her emphatically. “Linnea may be Queen, but she’s not strong enough yet to lead anyone into war. Mikko has power and presence. And he has a brother he needs to avenge. If it wasn’t for Mina, I don’t think Kennet would’ve ever done any of this. Mikko needs to be on the forefront, fighting for your kingdom.”
Lisbet seemed to consider this, then she looked past me to Baltsar. “Do it. Let him go.”
“Marksinna!” Baltsar protested. “I’m trying to bring order to this kingdom.”
“And there won’t be a kingdom to bring order to if we don’t do everything we need to do!” Lisbet shot back. “Let Mikko go. He needs to be the one to end this.”
FORTY-FIVE
valedictory
May 25, 2014
Dear Bryn—
Everyone’s gone and left, and it’s lonely without you all. Not that I blame Tilda and Ridley for getting out of here, especially not after what happened to Ridley. But with all of you gone again, the isolation feels so much more intense.
Thankfully, Delilah is still here. (She has become my rock, my light, my only salvation in this claustrophobic cage. Last night, I snuck into her room, carefully and quietly so none of the guards keeping watch would catch me. We went under the covers in her bed, hiding away from everything around us, and by the dim glow of the flashlight, we read poems by Gustaf Fröding, Karin Boye, and Pär Lagerkvist, and her Swedish is so beautiful to hear. Forgive me if I’m a little verbose today.)
I’m sorry for rambling on so much about Delilah. I could go on for pages and pages about the beauty of her eyes and the scent of her hair and the strength of her spirit and the warmth of her arms and the taste of her lips … But I’m not writing you to go on about her forever (though I could). It’s just the only time I feel even close to free anymore is when I’m with her.
It is so contradictory that life can be the worst it’s ever been and the best it’s ever been all at once. It’s strange how love can blossom even in the darkest places.
And it certainly is dark here in Doldastam, and not just because you and Tilda are gone. I know I could’ve gone with Ridley the way Tilda did, and maybe I should’ve. My mom would’ve preferred it if I had.
Four years ago, we left Förening to escape all the turmoil there. We chose Doldastam because my mom’s sister lived here with her husband, and it seemed like a quiet, safe place to live. My mom is starting to believe that there isn’t a quiet, safe place in the entire troll kingdom, and at night, when she thinks I can’t hear, she whispers to my dad about fleeing to live among the humans.
I wonder how you’re finding Förening. It’s been so long since I’ve been there. Are you sleeping in my old room? Finn says he hasn’t repainted my room yet, so I hope you’re enjoying the blotchy clouds I painted years ago.
Maybe I should have left with Delilah, gone back to my old room, gotten away from here. I’d certainly love to see Finn and Mia and the kids. But I couldn’t go.
Not just because of Delilah, or even Linus Berling. I’ve been training with him as often as I can, and while he tries harder than anyone I’ve ever met, I still feel like he can’t protect himself. And I know there’s other people like him here.
For every Astrid Eckwell (who is a star pupil under the Queen’s new paranoia campaign), there is a Linus Berling. And for every townsperson that screams about stringing up traitors like you, there is a Juni Sköld, disobeying the wishes of the town by still serving your parents in her bakery.(They have, unfortunately, been blacklisted from most of the shops here.)
There are still good people here, and they need someone like me to help them when it comes time to fight. I don’t know when that will happen, but I feel it’s gotta happen soon. I don’t know how much more we can take of this.
Every day things get worse. Yesterday, Omte guards started appearing around town. You know how huge the Omte can get—all of them are over six foot, some over seven, with big heads and muscles bulging out everywhere. Apparently, where they’re from is incredibly warm, and they’re having a hard time handling the cold, so they’re all bulked in winter jackets and hats and scarves even though it reached the forties.
Even with their ridiculous gear, it doesn’t make them any less intimidating. They stomp around the cobblestones like they own the damn place. I’ve actually seen children cry at the sight of them.
Queen Mina held another meeting in the town square after they’d arrived. She stood on the balcony of the clock tower, still wearing all black, including this odd birdcage veil over her eyes. The Omte had arrived unannounced, and by the time she called the meeting, everyone was on edge and scared.
In her grandiose way, with lots of arm gestures and her fake British accent that annoys you so much, Mina explained that the Omte had come here to help protect us. We have so many enemies we needed a stronger guard.
(Though she didn’t specify who any of these enemies were, and she hasn’t mentioned the name Viktor Dålig in quite some time—apparently he’s no longer a threat? Just you and Konstantin Black. And now the Skojare, apparently, but I’m getting ahead of myself.)
She assured everyone that the Omte are here for our protection. Your mom and dad were at the back of the crowd, and I saw the nervous glances they exchanged with each other. I wanted to look as uncomfortable as they did, but since I’m part of the army, I had to put on my best smile and pretend like I thought this was totally brilliant and not complete insanity.
When the King died, Mina wouldn’t even allow Kanins from other towns to come and mourn him. But now she’ll open the gates to complete strangers from another tribe, a tribe we’ve had very little contact with over the past century?
Obviously something bad is going on, but I haven’t been able to figure out what yet. It’s hard when there’s so few people I can talk t
o about this anymore. If I’m being honest, part of the reason I’m writing you this letter is just so I can sort it all out for myself. In your absence, you’ve become my sounding board.
After explaining the presence of the Omte, Queen Mina went on to announce that she discovered the culprit behind King Evert’s murder—Kennet Biâelse. When the crowd cheered, I actually cheered along with them, because I thought finally you’d be cleared.
But, no. She actually raised the accusations, claiming that you were a coconspirator with Kennet. You actually helped him with the poison or some nonsense like that.
Then she concluded that the Skojare could no longer be trusted. You’d betrayed us because of your Skojare blood, and all Skojare are inherently evil.
It was at that point that your parents quickly and quietly made their exit. Unfortunately, they don’t live that far from the town square, so I’m sure they could still hear all the vile things Mina was saying about the Skojare.
Later, after everything had died down, I brought a casserole over to them. My mom had made it for them with root vegetables, since she knows that the market has been refusing service to them. Your parents have mostly been subsisting on treats from Juni’s bakery and the kindness of strangers.
Your mom was in the bath when I arrived, and your dad answered the door. He says that your mom spends most of the time soaking now. His temples looked grayer than they were the last time I saw him, but otherwise he looked okay. He says he’s just been reading and trying to keep his head down.
They rarely leave the house, and they keep their thick drapes pulled at all hours since they caught some kids trying to peek in a few days ago.
When your mom came out of the bath, she hugged me and told me how happy she was to see me. I told them that you’re safe, hiding in Förening, and she started to cry. Your dad teared up too, and he spent the next five minutes thanking me for helping you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people look as relieved as they did then.
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