Chapter 197
Chapter 197
A week later, at Pippin and Draven’s coronation
“You look a picture, Majesty,” one of my ladies in waiting said.
I hoped so. I had asked if Eloise, the seamstress who made my other dresses, could create my wedding dress, but apparently that wasn’t done. Instead, the royal seamstress had taken one look at me, shook her head, and told me I was no Queen Raina. She didn’t realise that was a point of pride for me and I didn’t dare tell her. Instead, I was trussed up in a corset so tight I could barely take a breath, in an attempt to create curves where there were none. I’d drawn the line at padding, the seamstress wanting to insert pads of fabric to supplement my bosom and ‘fill out the dress.’
It was a beautiful thing. I turned around and stared at the full length mirror, plucking the white satin folds, my fingers scudding over the queen’s fortune of pearls sewn onto the gown. If I was a bridesmaids at anyone else’s wedding, I would’ve gushed over the lines, the details of the dress.
So why didn’t I care for it when it was my own?
Perhaps it was because I had been given yet another wig to wear. My own hair was to my shoulders now, but apparently that wasn’t long enough. A blonde wig had been produced, and each long strand was combed and coiffured into an elaborate concoction, held together by pearl headed pins. It itched my scalp and felt too heavy, throwing off every head movement, forcing me to stand too tall, lest I dislodge it. That brought me to my shoes.
If you wanted to wear heels , Glimmer said from where she lay on a nearby table. Maids worked to oil her every scale, making sure she gleamed from head to toe. You should’ve worn heels.
Draven is merely a full head taller than me , I replied. Apparently that is the bare minimum for a queen. He can’t have a bride that stands eye to eye beside him.
She sniffed.
Humans are ridiculous.
They were, but I couldn’t agree with her, not even down our link. I had yet another duty to perform, and surely it was easier than what had happened at Blackreach.
“Take Her Majesty’s train and straighten it,” the Duchess of Skane ordered. “Don’t tread on it, you silly girl! Take each corner… Yes, like that.”
I turned around and watched the ladies arrange metres of beautiful fabric just so on the carpet behind me, despite the fact no one would see us here. My attendants, my dragon, and I were cloistered in here until we were called.
“Who can that be?”
A knock on the door had us all turning around, Duchess Skane marching forward and opening it, only to step back to allow the general inside.
“General!” the duchess dropped down into a curtsey belatedly. “What are you doing here? It’s most irregular, a man visiting the bride before the wedding.”
“Is it not customary for a father to speak to his daughter before her big day?” Was anyone fooled by his avuncular smile? I wasn’t. Rex never came to see me, not unless he wanted something. “In the absence of a suitable male family member…” I had some distant family members that were attending the wedding, but apparently they did not fit the bill. “I thought I’d have a chat with Her Highness. If I could have the room for a moment?”
All the women looked at each other, their confusion almost comical.
They are like chickens clucking when a fox sneaks into their hen house , Glimmer opined. I turned to face her so as to hide my smile.
And what are we?
Dragons , was her all she would say in reply.
The good women of the court couldn’t disobey a direct order, though. They swept from the room, no doubt to ready themselves to escort me down the aisle. When the door finally clicked shut behind them, Rex approached.
“Pippin—”
“Pippa,” I corrected, my jaw muscle already spasming at the prospect of talking to him. “Your Highness or, is it too early to call me Your Majesty?”
“Highness,” he acceded with a nod of his head. “Today is an important day, one you must’ve dreamed of your whole life.”
Was it? I’d swanned around the halls of Deepacre wearing one of my mother’s good lace tablecloths as a veil when I was young, just like my playmates, but I’m not sure I really dreamed of marrying anyone, let alone a king.
“When you walk out that door and into the grand abbey, you will make a promise.”
“To marry the king?” I couldn’t help but be waspish. I’d thought the general a solid, if somewhat hide bound, fellow before this, but after the fight in Harlston? I found him far too ready to sacrifice people for his aims. It set my teeth on edge any time I was forced to speak with him. “Yes, I know. Draven and I have talked about it at length.”
We had. Behind closed doors he had reassured me, reassured us, that nothing would change. He would install the wing in rooms at the palace adjoining to ours. Travelling through the secret passageways of the Duke of Harlston’s estate had reminded him that he had a similar network in the palace. My men could come and go from my room at will and no one would be the wiser.
No one could ever, ever be the wiser.
“Did you?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. “Then there’s no need to discuss this further. If you’d sign here, Highness.”
The divorce papers. I stared at them, unable to believe what I was seeing. Marcus had stolen them. We hadn’t returned them to the general. How…? When…? He smiled when he saw my face, my shock no doubt very evident.
“One set of the divorce decree papers went missing, but important documents like this? They’re always produced and signed in triplicate. One for the archives, one for the king, and one to be lodged with the court, to ensure everything is legal and above board.”
It felt like all my skin crawled as he took a step closer.
“Polygamy is legal within Nevermere,” he said, then wrinkled his nose. “Tends to be something the common folk indulge in. Those of us that are highborn know better than to indulge in something so… primal.” His tight smile forced my heart to beat faster and faster. “The queen of Nevermere, however? She does not enjoy the same freedoms as some lass in Cheapside.”
“The old queens did.”
I regretted my words as soon as I said them because I sounded more like a querulous child than a queen.
“The old queens.” He nodded, a dangerous light flickering in his eyes. “Thank you for bringing me to my next point. We had an era of queens with multiple consorts, and the country nearly fell into ruin as a result.”
Did it? That’s what I wanted to say, but instead, I smiled. My jaw muscle ached with the effort of it.
“We’re facing a period of upheaval. The former queen’s machinations and her brother’s treachery all cast some… doubt in the people’s mind about the king’s right to rule. If people weren’t aware of Queen Raina’s plots hatched with the duke before, Marcus Lighthands has taken care of that. There have been reports of unrest both in the poorer areas of the city and in some of the duchies.” He frowned. “We may have made a mistake installing a child as duke of Cantlyn, despite his mother acting as regent.” His eyes met mine. “Women are always so unpredictable when it comes to power. The gentler sex often struggles to wield it wisely.”
You are sure I cannot eat this one? Glimmer shook off her attendants and then dropped down from the table, the golden necklace she had been given bouncing on her chest. How did the general not hear her thoughts, particularly when she sat down at my feet and stared at him steadily. I don’t think he will taste very nice, but I will, just to shut him up.
His dragon might have something to say about that, I replied.
Herald will forgive me . She sounded so very sure of herself. Especially after I tell him what his rider was thinking.
What is he thinking?
She didn’t get a chance to answer me, because the general forged on.
“The country needs stability. We enjoyed hundreds of years of peace and we must return to that. The country follows the lead of the king and queen, and so they must be the ones to provide that model of stability.” He shook the paper like I was a recalcitrant child and he was my tutor. “You need to sign the divorce papers.”
That’s not all , Glimmer told me.
“Draven said that all record of the marriage would be removed and locked up in the royal vaults.” I hated the fact that my voice wavered as I spoke. “He said no one will ever know that Brom and I didn’t sign the divorce papers.”
“Yes, they will.”
This was the same man eager to use dragonfire to achieve his aims, I had to remind myself. He was not my friend, not anyone’s friend if I was truthful. I’m not even sure I knew what he was like as a person. My focus slipped to the many insignias on his dress uniform, the medals and honours pinned there. This wasn’t a man talking to me, a stand-in father figure. He was the establishment.
The same group that told me I couldn’t have the seamstress of my choice. The ones that refused to allow me to elevate some of the ladies of the keep to my court. It wouldn’t do to have common women mixing with highborn ones, as if they were two different species rather than women born in different circumstances. I was discouraged from going to the keep, from attending classes with the other cadets, from doing all the things I had done up until this point, because the role of a queen was a full-time one.
My hand went to my chest because it was heaving now, fighting to take a full breath. My head started to spin as my lungs burned. My hands shook as I reached for the lacing of the corset, but it was buried under layers of fabric. I was buried under this dress. I wanted to move, pace, something, but I couldn’t.
“The king is seeing what he wants to see, because he can’t bear the thought of losing the two of you. This is why I’ve approached you, my queen, not him. In some ways, he’s just like his mother. Headstrong, where he should be pragmatic. Ruled by his emotions.”
“His heart, you mean,” I rasped out.
“The heart has no place in the running of government.” His lips thinned. “In peace or in war. I’m sure you are feeling emboldened after the victory at Blackreach. I admit, I may have been a little overzealous in my desire to win the day.”
A snort escaped me. I stared at him, wondering at the labyrinthine logic he was forced to use to come to that conclusion.
“But you were lucky, Pippa.” He stared at me steadily, not even looking away as Glimmer let out a low growl. “As was Draven. All of you were. It could’ve all gone terribly wrong, and then it would be Stefan standing in front of the altar today, not Draven. You think you’ve won the day and all you need to do is live happily ever after, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Now is when the real work begins.”
He thrust the pen and the paper at me.
“You aren’t a child, so now is the time to put aside childish things. This marriage, the little… arrangement you have with the rest of the wing, it needs to come to an end.”
“No…”
“There are moves to give the Royal Riders greater freedoms.” Admitting this was almost painful for the general. “To allow them to live out on their own land and raise a family. The fact that was enough to sway some many riders’ loyalty has not gone unnoticed. If they are to become bannermen rather than a standing army, then…” One brow lifted. “Each one of the wing would be based outside of the capital.”
“No.”
“Able to pursue a relationship with a woman that could give him her whole heart.”
“No.”
My voice was getting firmer with each denial.
“One who could be a real wife to him. Have children, build a home.” I was shaking my head violently, threatening to dislodge this damn wig. “Live a happy and fulfilling life. Do you want to take that opportunity from them?”
“No…”
I barely breathed that one out, my eyes starting to ache abominably.
“Sign the paper, Pippa. Sign it and free the men from a miserable fate. Sign and keep the country safe and secure, otherwise…” Just a tiny twitch at the corner of his lips. I’d never have caught it if I wasn’t watching him so closely. “I may be forced to use that cache of dragonfire Stefan is now working so hard to return to the family estate. For the protection of the country, obviously. Marcus Lighthands thinks he can use the power of the people to change Nevermere, but he has no idea what he’s messing with.”
I couldn’t have felt more cold if Glacier had burst in through the balcony and turned me to ice. My body shivered then, able to see clearly what he intended. My father always said that if all you had was a hammer, everything looked like a nail, and that was the general. I wished like hell we’d never gone to Stefan’s estate, never brought forth Aisenbran’s blood. It was a curse that lay hidden for generations for exactly this reason. Men saw the raw power of the weapons and couldn’t help but think of how it could be used to achieve their aims.
No matter the cost.
“I need to go,” I said, grabbing my skirts and feeling the weight of them and the train, tugging at the fabric but not moving an inch. The dress was a symbol of wealth and royal status, beautiful but utterly unmanageable without the help of my ladies.
“Pippa—”
“I need to go. I need to find Draven.”
“The king will confirm?—”
“Let him tell me himself.” I stopped, heart racing so fast I could feel every beat. I felt like a deer caught in a snare and the hunter was approaching. The general didn’t have a bow or a sword to drive into my heart. Just a pen instead. “Bring him here and get him to tell me what you just said. That…” I was going to cry. That knowledge had my teeth clenching tightly as I tried to fight the urge with everything I had. “That everything he said was a lie.”
“Now, Highness, I’m not?—”
He was using that tone men use to mollify women, but I wasn’t having it. We’d had this fight before, and I was done fencing.
“Bring him…” I yanked hard on the train, finally breaking the grip static had on the fabric and then swept forward. “Or I’ll go find him myself.”
The women all looked up expectantly when I burst out of the doors, but I didn’t pause to acknowledge them. They were all trying to do right by me, but it wasn’t attendants I needed, but answers. The train threatened to tangle, snag on the flagstones of the abbey, but when I was jerked to a halt, Glimmer ran over and tugged the fabric free.
You’re going to them? she asked. You’re going to your mates.
Humans don’t have mates, Glimmer, I told her as I marched forward.
Yes, they do. My steps slowed as I turned to stare at her. They do. I’m the dragon seer and I have seen it. You’ve only caught brief moments of our history, but I know. My feet stopped completely. I’ve always known. We are of one heart.
Gods, the tears were coming now and I couldn’t hold them back.
Every girl that tried to impress themselves upon me, they made clear what they wanted. To walk down that aisle in a dress with all the sparkly bits on it. She eyed my dress. Though most saw more gold in the design. That would’ve been nice.
Glimmer!
But they all wanted to be queen. I was just an accessory, like a bangle or a necklace. Her claw lifted the pendant on her chain. A means to get them the crown, to make them queen, to get them a place standing beside Darkspire’s rider, but not you. When I felt your heart, it was a different thing entirely. You were just scared I would get hurt, wanted to protect me and I… She sat down with a sigh. It’s my turn to do the same for you.
I followed her gaze as she stared back down the hall. The ladies in waiting were all badgering the general, despite the fact he obviously wanted to chase after me.
If you walk up that aisle and perform the mating ceremony of your people, you will be forced away from your mates and… My heart felt like it couldn’t take another beat until she finished her sentence. And so will I. They’ll use the baby queens as bargaining chips. They will be allowed to live free because the wild dragons are protecting them.
But you’ll be forced to mate only with Darkspire, because of me.
Gods, how had I been so bloody blind? They didn’t get rid of queens altogether in Nevermere. We were too valuable to do that, so they bound us to the throne. Our babies formed a king’s power base, and without us, he would not be able to rule.
“Starting to see it, are you, lass?” I looked up to see Marcus stepping forward. He was almost unrecognisable, dressed now in the fine livery of a servant, the rakish eye patch the only thing that was unchanged. “I tried to tell you how it would go, but you weren’t ready, not then. How about now?” He held out a hand. “I can get you away from here.” His eyes took in my dress, my wig, and he frowned. “And out of that ghastly get up. What on earth were they thinking?”
That they needed me to fulfil a role, that was clear, and if they had to stuff me, strap me, compress me to fit it, then that’s what they’d do.
“I need to see Draven,” I told him.
“That way, lass, but… if he doesn’t tell you what you need to hear and mean it, I’ll be just outside in a carriage that can have you in Dragon Rest in hours.”
The sharp sound of a guard’s shout had me moving again, following Marcus’ direction to another set of grand doors. My hands came to rest on the handles, the brass cold against my palms. I sucked in one breath, followed by another, and then pushed them open.