by Lucy Roy
Once Gareth disappeared inside, she looked at Edmund in question. “You passed, then?”
“I did,” he confirmed, his voice dripping with superiority. “There will be a celebratory end-of-term party in our dormitory if you ladies would like to attend.”
Myria sniffed. “I’m sure Freya has her own duties to attend to.”
Ignoring her, she smiled graciously at Edmund. “As much as I would love to join you all, Myria is right.” She tilted her head toward Lea. “We’re expected at the palace once exams are completed.” Assuming I come out in one piece, that is. She gave Myria a curious look. “I was under the impression you would be as well.”
Myria sneered. “Yes, yes, I’ll be there with bells on,” she muttered. “Another time then, Edmund.”
They waited in silence for a few minutes, hoping Gareth would emerge from the class relatively unscathed.
Freya couldn’t help but wince when he stepped into the hall bearing a smattering of vicious red burns across his forearms and a boil the size of a golden sil on his cheek.
“I got the saithwater right, at least,” he muttered, wincing as he prodded the jagged edge of one of the burns.
“Freya Balthana!”
Freya felt a chill skitter down her spine at the sound of her name, but she refused to be cowed by a simple test.
That’s all it is, she told herself. A simple test.
Taking a deep breath, she sent a wave to her friends and tried to ignore her thundering heart as she walked through the door, running through her toxins one last time, from plant-based poisons to venoms found in all manner of fauna.
Lindberry root causes stomach pain or death.
Eitr will kill anything instantly.
Sintrial petals can be used as perfume or a paralytic.
“Lady Balthana, so nice to see you!”
Taking a deep breath, she met her professor’s eyes and dragged up every ounce of confidence she had.
You will not poison yourself.
You know all of these things. You’ve used half of them.
You’re going to be queen. You can handle a damn test.
Your father and Aer will never let you hear the end of it if you don’t score perfectly.
That thought alone was enough to shake some of her nerves.
Florian gestured toward a stool that sat in front of the table at the head of the classroom. “Please take a seat.”
Setting her satchel on the floor beside the stool, she casually wiped the seat with her sleeve and sat, then watched warily as the man who so casually poisoned his students on a daily basis sat across from her, a friendly smile gracing his lips.
“You get that sense of cynicism from your mother, don’t you?”
She let out a breathless laugh. “One of her finer qualities.”
“Indeed. Now, before we begin, do you have any final questions for me?”
Only about a thousand, Freya thought. Mainly, she wanted to know why he felt poisoning his students was the most effective method of teaching,
There was a tug of magic, then words slipped from her lips unbidden. “All of the students this semester—” Freya bit the inside of her cheeks and pulled her own magic forward, forcing her tongue to stay quiet.
He smiled, not seeming the least bit surprised she’d used her own power against him.
A test, she thought.
“Ah, yes.” He nodded. “The ones who so frequently fell victim to my whims. You see, Freya, those students have been raised in a world that doesn’t cause them to question their surroundings, protected by others but never protecting themselves. Once they arrive in my classroom, all certainty is removed, replaced entirely by uncertainty. Suspicion.”
“And the need for self-preservation,” Freya said quietly. She shook her head and grinned. “I have to say, I’ve been torn between horrified and impressed all semester.”
“And now?”
“Truthfully? I think it’s brilliant.”
“Interesting,” he murmured. He studied her thoughtfully for a few moments, and she was struck by the depth of his eyes. They were both ancient and sharp, cunning and curious, expressive yet vacant. She found herself trapped under his scrutiny, felt him inspecting her like a new purchase. Curling her hands to fists, she focused on the bite of nails into skin, waiting until he finally spoke.
After a few tense moments, Florian waved a hand and a half dozen vials appeared on the table, all small and seemingly innocuous. “The first part of your exam is simple. Identify these poisons and describe their uses.”
She let out a quiet breath. That was easy enough.
Stepping off the stool, she crouched down so the vials were at eye-level. Pulling her fountain pen from her bag, she touched the end to a few, shifting them so she could see how they swirled and danced in the sunlight that streamed through the windows. After a few moments, she nodded.
“Saithwater is a paralytic,” she began, touching her pen to the first. Then, she began moving down the row. “Hemlock will kill its victim instantly, as will ore powder. If administered in small doses over time, ore powder will also cause catastrophic organ failure that might appear as another, more common illness. Lindberry root extract can cause illness or death, depending on dosage, widow venom mimics death but doesn’t actually harm the individual,” she touched her pen to the last vial, then set it down. “And Eitr will kill anything that draws breath.”
“Good.” Florian waved a hand, causing the vials to disappear, then inclined his head toward the back of the room, where he’d set up a mannequin. “I’ve just given you a vial of eitr and a needle. How many pin pricks would it take to kill a creature of that size?”
She opened her mouth to respond, then let her jaw snap shut as she considered her answer more thoroughly. “None. Eitr would be administered orally. A fatal dose for a creature of that size—” she did a quick calculation “—would be two thimbles.”
Florian arched a white brow and folded his arms across his chest. “Incorrect.”
Freya’s mind raced over her answer and the variables in front of her. She knew she was correct because she’d used just that method to take down a huldra, a female seductress demon who liked to frequent the seedier parts of Watoria, not six months past.
Florian was tricky, though, and would very well dose her with a bit of whatever poison she seemed ignorant of, just to teach her a lesson.
Quietly, she eyed the mannequin, then walked over to it and gave the shoulder a small nudge with her elbow.
Hollow, not solid wood as she’d expected.
“A quarter thimble,” she amended. Turning her head, she looked to Florian for confirmation.
He nodded slowly. “Correct. I’m curious, Freya. You’ve done quite well in my class, but you’ve clearly come to me with an edge. Where did you come by such a thorough understanding of toxins?”
She sat back down on the stool. “My mother taught me a good deal when I was younger and we covered the basics in secondary school, but I’ve always found it to be a fascinating field. As I got older, I sought out any literature I could find on the subject.”
“Interesting.” He tapped his thumb on his sharp jaw. “Why is that, I wonder?”
“My mother… she was killed in the field after being poisoned with ore powder by a Jotnar separatist.” She pressed her lips together and averted her eyes. “He’d been a prisoner of Empress Lessia’s who’d escaped and thought my mother was attempting to send him back for punishment.”
“Was she?”
“According to the commander, no. She was willing to bring the Jotunn south, but he tossed a fistful of ore powder in her face.” She sighed and looked to the window, saddened as she recalled the day so many years ago when her father came to her, his eyes showing more emotion than she’d ever seen, to tell her that her mother had passed.
“Your mother was killed near the northern border,” he’d told her in a simple, brusque tone. “We’ve dispatched the person responsible.”
Not long after, Freya was informed she would no longer be summering in Iladel with him or the royal family. Byrric would continue to live in Iladel, and Freya would go live quietly with her aunt, unnoticed and relatively unknown on the other side of Lindoroth.
Returning her attention to Florian, she forced a shrug. “Ever since, learning all I could became a bit of an obsession, I suppose.”
Florian nodded, and Freya thought she saw a bit of understanding in his aged eyes.
“It’s good to take some things on yourself,” he said. “As queen, I imagine a thorough knowledge of all subjects will be of use, especially those that can be used against you.”
“Indeed,” she murmured, a bit horrified at the thought.
“Well, Lady Balthana, it is my honor to tell you that you’ve passed with flying colors,” Florian said.
Freya frowned. “Even though I got the dosage wrong on my first guess?”
A small smile played at his lips as the lines that framed his eyes crinkled. “Because you didn’t poison yourself in the process. You missed the firebloom serum, but your keen sense of suspicion saved you.”
“Fire—but there were only six vials!”
“Yes, and it would have burned straight through your skin had you touched them.”
He inclined his head toward the pen she’d used to prod the vials, which she’d set on the table.
Her eyes widened when she saw that the instrument she’d used to maneuver the vials had been reduced nearly to ash.
Chapter 35
As there was no final exam for Combat, Freya and the others set out for the palace right after she and Lea completed their Toxins exam.
“I’m going to fly,” Freya told Aer as they walked toward the carriages the palace had sent. Laz and Collin had already boarded one, and Iska was helping Lea in beside them. The second carriage behind them was loaded down with Freya, Lea, Laz, and Collin’s belongings, which would be taken to the chambers assigned to them by the royal family. Their parents would be arriving over the next few days, with Collin’s making the trip down from their home in Kildin, the capital city of Caelora, with Lazarus’ parents.
“Why don’t you ride with us for once?” Aer asked, taking her hand.
She shook her head. “No, I’m still too antsy to be cooped up in a carriage. I’ll meet you there.”
“Alright. Fly safe.” He leaned down and gave her a slow kiss. “If you happen across any marauders, give a shout.”
“I hope you realize how much of a possibility that is,” she told him, dismissing his nonchalantness.
Being away from the castle and unable to do any more investigating into what mysterious threat the human had been talking about had been bothering Freya all week, to the point where she was on edge with nearly everyone. She and Aer had decided not to involve the others for the sole purpose of plausible deniability on their part, but not telling their friends what they overheard was beginning to irk her. She’d also wanted to confront her father all week about the conversation she and Aer had overheard, but for once, he didn’t appear at school. As irritating as he could be at times, she didn’t necessarily dislike his presence. He was her father, after all, and had always done what he thought was best for her.
Whatever he was doing now, whatever he was hiding, she had to trust it was for good reason, whether it had anything to do with her or not.
“I’m sorry.” Aer held up his hands in surrender. “No more jokes, I promise. Be safe, though, please.”
Smiling, she kissed him one last time as she opened her wings. “Aren’t I always?”
“Would you truly like me to answer that?”
With a quick grin and a flap of her wings, she was in the air, blowing him one last kiss as she aimed for the mountains, Rissen and Cecilia running in their wolf forms beneath her.
The palace was abuzz with activity when they arrived, with servants rushing to and fro in their final preparations for the arrival of the first round of guests the following day. Freya and the others had decided to take the night to themselves, giving them a few final hours where they weren’t all required to put on their most poised and courtly facades.
This was the part of court life Freya didn’t miss. The occasional dinner here and there didn’t bother her, but the day-in, day-out manner of existing at court was exhausting. Between mingling with the guests and the final preparations for the wedding, their schedules were packed to the brim leading right up to the event. Had she and Aer wanted to continue their investigation of what they’d overheard in the tunnels, there would be little time for it, and even if there was time, it would be foolish to snoop about now that there were going to be so many guests in the palace. They could easily slip past a single guest unnoticed, but it would be foolish to think the same of the dozens of guests who would soon be filling the palace.
“Who’s turn is it to raid the wine cellar?” Laz asked, his eyes scanning the busy entry hall. The air inside had a heavy chill to it, as all of the windows and doors in the guest wings had been thrown open to let in some fresh air after having been closed up for several months.
“I’ll have three casks delivered to my chambers,” Aer said. “That should last us for the next week.”
Freya eyed him askance. “We do actually need to be presentable for our guests, Aer.”
“Trust me,” he told her. “You’ll be thankful for it.”
“Lady Balthana? Your Highness?”
Freya and Aer turned to the servant who’d addressed them, one of the queen’s personal attendants. He was average height, a bit thin, with a mop of brown hair that flopped across his forehead. His pointed chin was tilted up just a fraction, giving him a look of superiority.
“Yes, Oscar?” Aer replied.
“Their Majesties await you both in the queen’s solar.”
Laz patted Freya and Aer on the shoulders. “And the fun begins,” he said, grinning. “We’ll try not to drink all the wine before you’re released.”
Freya blanched and a sudden sinking feeling settled in her stomach as Lea, Laz, and Collin followed the servants carrying their luggage toward one of the guest wings.
“Lovely.” Aer sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Alright, tell them we’ll be along shortly.”
Oscar gave him a quick bow before turning and disappearing down the busy corridor.
“Why do they need to speak with us already?” Freya hissed.
“Because there’s a royal wedding in a week and we’ve still got a fair amount of preparing to do,” he replied, taking her hand. “Come on, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can hide ourselves away for the rest of the night.”
They wound their way through the halls, gradually encountering fewer and fewer staff as they neared the southern wing where the king and queen resided, far on the opposite side of the palace from the guest wings. Freya welcomed the silence and calm, knowing both would be in short supply in the coming days.
Aer knocked on Ordona’s doors when they arrived, and a few moments later, she ushered them inside.
“We won’t keep you long,” she promised, leading them to her solar. “We just wanted to talk to you both a bit before the guests start arriving.”
“Ah, good, you’re here,” Salazar said when they stepped onto the veranda, where one of Ordona’s enchantments was keeping the chilly air at bay. He gestured toward the empty seats at the table. “Sit.”
Once they were all settled, the queen smiled at them both. “There are a few things we need to go over before the guests begin arriving tomorrow,” she said. “Nothing extravagant, just some things we should be clear on.”
Aer arched a brow. “Such as?”
“The Jotnar will be arriving in the morning,” Salazar said, tapping a fat cigar against a glass ashtray. “The humans will be arriving later in the afternoon. I want you both to make them feel welcome. Take this opportunity to get to know your foreign neighbors now, because you won’t get a chance like this any time soon.”
; “Of course,” Freya replied. She gave the queen a curious look.
“Take tonight to brush up on who’s who one last time.” Ordona smiled. “Have you been studying the list of Dystonian and Jotnar royals who will be attending?” Ordona waited until Freya nodded, then looked at the prince. “Aerelius, you and your father will be leading a hunting party the day before the wedding with the higher-ranking males of each nation.”
Aer sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “I suppose that will be my opportunity to demonstrate my ability to lead a rabble-rousing group of royalty and nobility?”
“Consider it your bachelor party,” the king said dryly. “And I don’t think I have to remind you both, but I will anyway. Keep the jokes and snark at a minimum while we’ve foreign guests here. Your versions of propriety are much different than what outsiders would expect.”
Aer raised his hands in acknowledgement. “Not to worry, Father. I’ll only gaze upon my future queen with total adoration.”
Salazar sent him a warning look, but Aer’s response seemed to mollify him.
“And what will I be doing?” Freya asked.
The queen smiled. “You’ll be plenty occupied, don’t you worry.”
Fittings, Freya thought. More fittings and seating charts and tastings.
The king and Aerelius began discussing the planned hunting trip, so Freya and Ordana moved to the cushioned chairs in the sitting area and spent the next hour discussing menu options and the final details for the wedding.
“I have to be honest, Your Majesty,” Freya said, inserting a bit of regret into her tone, “I still feel a bit underprepared to meet the other royals. Your notes have been incredibly helpful, but is there anything else you feel I should know? Lessia doesn’t have much family, but it seems the Dystonian royal family is quite extensive.”
Freya thought she saw the queen narrow her eyes a touch, but it was hard to be sure because her face slipped into a lovely smile almost immediately.
“Yes, those humans do take advantage of their ability to reproduce like rabbits, don’t they?” Picking up a jug of wine from a nearby table, she poured a glass for them both. “What would you like to know?”