Chapter 28
28
Saskia might not know how to magically find an Archduke she’d never met, but she knew exactly how to find her lover.
With all of her crows hovering anxiously around her, bags of supplies knotted into her belt, and enchanted combs pinned into her thickly plaited hair, she stood in her bedroom before an open drawer and held Felix’s poem in her hands.
“Shot through with glory…”
Mine, she thought with all of her magical might and certainty. Then she closed her eyes and leapt, with an exertion that drew on every resource she had.
Eyes closed, she hurtled through elements and space in a wild storm of magic that swept her across mountains and cities and countries in a shrieking, furious whirl. Frigid winds whipped past her skin. Branches snapped against her hair. Feathers brushed against her neck, and fae voices screamed and giggled at unnerving pitches, grating against every nerve. She set her teeth through it all and kept her focus on the link that pulled her forward.
All she cared about was the end of the magical line she’d cast, that soul still alive and pulsing with emotion, closer and closer until finally…
“Ahhh!” She rebounded with a physical snap that sent her flying, helpless and out of control, passing through walls without connection until she landed exactly where the laid trap had sent her.
The fae queen’s throne room.
Saskia forced herself, with agonizing effort, to twist just before her final fall so that she didn’t drop onto her hands and knees. Instead, she landed on her feet, panting and furious, on a pink-and-silver marbled floor, just in front of a delicately wrought silver throne sculpted to look as if it had been formed from twining roots and branches. The beautifully crafted floor-to-ceiling windows on every side of the octagonal room showed nothing but pitch blackness outside, but golden fae lights danced below the ceiling, casting a warm glow through the mostly empty chamber.
Mostly empty… but not quite. Lorelei was sprawled across the cushioned seat with her half-bare legs casually crossed over one branching silver arm. “Saskia, darling!” she caroled. “How delightful to have you pay me a visit. Why, I think this is the first time you’ve ever decided to drop by without an invitation!”
“You know why I’m here,” Saskia said flatly. “Give him back. Now. ” She was still short on breath, but she didn’t need it for this.
She wasn’t a wizard, to rely on spoken spells. She translated her power through her body and the physical supplies that she had already infused with deadly magic.
Lorelei’s eyes glinted gold at the challenge. “But why are you in such a rush? We haven’t even shared a cup of tea yet, to catch up. We have so much news to share! For instance…”
Tipping her head to the side, she widened her eyes in exaggerated shock. “Did you know that the elusive Archduke of Estarion has finally been found, after all our months of searching? I’ve taken him captive myself! Aren’t you delighted? Ailana will be here any moment now, so we can decide on the best purpose for him together, as allies. Still, I don’t mind chatting about the matter with you in private, first.”
“As allies ? You betrayed our alliance,” Saskia gritted. “Sneaking into my castle and kidnapping my staff without a single word—”
“Oh, darling, that is unfair. I used so many words to warn you that he couldn’t be trusted! Don’t you even remember all of our conversations?” Pouting, Lorelei pushed herself upright on her throne, golden curls falling over her eyes. She blew them out of the way with an impatient huff of air as she frowned at Saskia. “I said you really ought to find out more about him. And I tried to show you, that night in your library—”
“I’m not here to play your games, Lorelei. I never have been.” Saskia set her teeth together against her own surging temper, which wanted her to send that dainty silver throne flying and smash all of the pretty glass windows on the way.
Think of Felix. Whenever he’d stood by her side in the past, she’d felt his calming presence like a cooling salve, gifting her control. She could find that calm center again now, for his sake.
“Listen to me, ” she said, with all of the steady calmness she could summon. “I want our alliance to continue and grow stronger. I never want to be your enemy. But I will burn this palace to the ground if you don’t give him back to me now… and if you’ve harmed a single hair on his head, I will destroy you.”
Lorelei’s eyes widened as her lips formed a silent, startled-looking “O.”
Then the hoarse cry of a gryphon sounded in the night outside. “There, now!” Lorelei relaxed back into the seat of her throne, smiling. “Here’s Ailana. She’ll help you see sense.”
Darkness take it. Saskia could just about imagine defeating Lorelei on her own. Taking on both of the other Queens of Villainy at once, though?
Divine Elva, if You truly care for Felix’s safety, You’d better lend me Your aid now. It wasn’t quite a prayer, more a demand…
But Saskia could swear she heard the faint echo of a goddess’s throaty laughter in response.
It wasn’t reassuring.
Ailana strode into the room a moment later, peeling off long woolen gloves as her heeled boots clicked against the marble. Crystals of snow clung to her thick winter cloak and hat. Her cool, analytical gaze swung between the other two queens.
“I believe we have only eleven hours until Saskia’s wall is due to be demolished. Is there a reason you two are wasting time posturing like cats instead of working the plan we all agreed on?”
“I have a better plan,” Lorelei said smugly, just as Saskia snapped, “Lorelei kidnapped my librarian instead.”
“Oh, for…!” Cold swept through the room as Ailana shut her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose. Then her eyes flashed open, newly silvered with frost. Ice shot across the floor in a crackling rush that made Lorelei’s throne rattle and Saskia’s feet skid as she fought to keep her balance. “Are we all children?” the Queen of Nornne demanded. “Or can we possibly set aside a minor disagreement until—”
“It is not minor to me,” Saskia snarled. Darkness, if she even gestured too hard, she’d fall over! She’d have to deal with Ailana’s ice before she attempted any attack. Otherwise…
“It’s a major coup,” Lorelei said firmly, and the ice around her throne melted in an instant. The scent of summer, hot and lush with flowering blossoms, floated from her dainty figure like a challenge as she leveled her blue gaze at Ailana, ignoring Saskia completely. “This is the lever we’ve sought for months. Ailana, the Archduke of Estarion is in our hands at last.”
“Finally!” Ailana’s shoulders relaxed. “Did Saskia track him down?”
“Oh, no, Saskia’s been harboring him all this time,” Lorelei began in an intimate, gossipy tone, “but she didn’t even realize it until—”
“ Saskia, ” said Saskia through her teeth, “never gave you permission to steal him from my own home without warning, betraying the trust in our alliance.” She turned her hard, meaningful glare at Ailana. “If you care at all about maintaining that alliance, you will agree to release him to me before we speak more about the matter.”
The pouch of silversand in her belt would deal with Ailana’s ice, at least for a few minutes. Then, if she swept out with her own magic to attack Lorelei, while she used her other supplies to hold off Ailana for as long as possible…
“I don’t understand.” Ailana’s elegant brows drew together over her silvered brown eyes. “Are you saying that the Archduke of Estarion was hiding somewhere in your castle until Lorelei seized him? You’re angry over the breach of territory?” Shaking her head, she turned to Lorelei. “That was thoughtless. Why, in the names of all the gods, would you do that without warning Saskia?”
“Because he’d already seduced her by then!” Lorelei snapped. “Do you think I can’t tell when a clever woman’s been made stupid by a cunning man?” She lifted her pointed chin, glaring at both of them. “No matter what either of you may think, I care about my friends and alliances. I wasn’t about to stand back and let him make a game out of you!”
“He never did. You’re the one—”
“Wait. Wait, both of you.” Ailana’s mouth dropped open for a long, silent moment of revelation as the other two queens glowered furiously at each other. “By Idrin’s heart,” she finally breathed. “Do you mean to say that Saskia’s librarian was the Archduke all along?”
“Yes!” Lorelei crowed. “ Now do you see?”
“It’s true,” Saskia admitted. “But, Ailana, I swear…”
“Oh, thank goodness.” The ice queen’s shoulders slumped as she gave a small, satisfied smile. “Well, that’s all right, then!”
The other two queens stared at her. She shrugged, as if the answer should have been obvious to all. “That man has been head over heels for Saskia for months! Clearly, whatever his plan may be, he isn’t plotting against her.”
Breath whooshed out of Saskia’s tight chest with such force that she staggered on the slick, iced floor. Lorelei shot to her feet, face flushing, but Saskia spoke before the fae queen could. “Felix was held prisoner and brutalized for years by Count von Hertzendorff. I’ve seen his scars myself. He’s never had any control over Estarion’s policies. He fled to Kitvaria to offer himself as a hostage in exchange for personal protection, but due to a misunderstanding and an intervention from Divine Elva Herself…”
“I cannot believe you’ve both been fooled!” Lorelei spat. “If you knew what I do about men—!”
“I’ve never been able to slip any of my spies into the Archduke’s personal household,” Ailana mused. She tapped one long, brown finger against the embroidered sleeve of her floor-length woolen cloak. “They always said the Count rotated that staff on a surprisingly frequent basis—no servant was allowed to stay for long. I’d assumed that was due to secret irascibility on the Archduke’s part, but if von Hertzendorff wanted to keep the Archduke under his control and unable to make any helpful outside contacts…”
“How can you be so calm about this?” Lorelei cried. “Oh, I know he’s got Saskia fooled, but you don’t even care for men in your bed! So you can’t possibly have been softened by his eyes or his manners.”
“But I know something that you don’t.” Ailana gave her a faint, wintry smile. “I’ve seen them together several times now, Lorelei. I’ve watched his gaze follow her and seen the depth of that yearning, the way his body leans towards her like his personal sun… and unlike you, I’ve always known for a fact that true love does exist. That’s why I take such care to guard my heart against it, while you recklessly risk yours again and again.”
Lorelei’s eyes flared wide… and then she clamped her lips shut, slamming herself back down onto the seat of her throne and crossing her arms tightly. The scent of rotten vegetation filled the air.
Saskia ignored the sickly stench. “So, we’re agreed? Felix will be released immediately and—”
An explosion of magic rocked the throne room, cutting off her urgent words and sending her sliding on the ice. She flung out one hand to catch herself with a focused burst of her own power…
And a tall, masked figure landed just before her, making her skin tingle with the lingering force of his spell.
“Thank the gods!” Saskia flung herself forward into his arms without a second thought, barely even aware of the ice disappearing all around them at Ailana’s wordless command.
Felix’s arms were warm and firm as he pulled her close with a groan of pure relief. “It worked . I can hardly believe it!”
She eased back just enough to examine his face with ferocious care, patting his unmasked skin with hands that trembled uncontrollably. “You’re unhurt? She didn’t—?”
“I am fine, ” Felix assured her, eyes shining behind his mask. “More than fine, if you’ve actually forgiven me.”
“You’re mine, ” Saskia said fiercely, “forever. You know that! I only needed a moment to think everything through.”
“So did I,” Felix said. “Saskia…” Lifting one hand, he drew back his long hair to reveal a small hole at the tip of his left ear, where the cruel magical suppressant had been bound. “Because of you, I’m finally free.”
“Not only me,” she said. “You cast that spell yourself just now, didn’t you?” Pride rose within her as she curled one hand around the nape of his neck, beneath his soft, curling hair. “Of course you did. I knew I’d hired the right dark wizard for my castle.”
Behind her, Lorelei snorted loudly, but Saskia ignored the interruption. She tilted her head away from Felix but remained possessively tucked against him as she met Ailana’s gaze. “We will not be using anyone as a political lever,” she said in a tone that defied any challenge. “We three will defeat the Golden Beacon and his Gilded Mages together. Just let me quickly take Felix back to safety, and then—”
“No.” It was Felix, not either of the other queens, who spoke. He shook his head at her in emphasis when Saskia jerked back to face him. “My queen, I first came to you in search of protection. I love that you want to give it to me now. But I’ve been thinking, since we last talked.”
He gave a pained sigh. “My parents must have bound me with that earring for my own protection all those years ago, so I would never have to face the consequences of my power. But I think I know why Divine Elva gave that magic to me in the first place, when no one in my family’s history had ever shared it.”
Saskia frowned. “Whatever plans She may have concocted for you over the years, you aren’t required to follow them. I’ve told Her, and I’ll tell you, too—”
“I was the first royal heir born to Estarion after it joined the Empire,” Felix said implacably. “After my father agreed to institute harsh Imperial law, remove every magical child from Estarion’s families, and banish Elva’s other, wilder children—the trolls, the hags, the goblins—from their borders.”
Darkness take it. She knew that tone in his voice.
“It’s not your fault,” she began anyway.
“But it is my responsibility.”
“ Ugh, ” Lorelei groaned. “Now I’m even starting to like him. This is dreadful! Can we please go kill somebody?”
“We should make haste,” Ailana said calmly, “but I believe we can still take a moment to amend our plans.”
“Thank you.” Saskia felt Felix’s chest rise and fall against her with his breath, but his voice was as firm and confident as if he were discussing his favorite pens and inks instead of upcoming warfare. “As Archduke of Estarion, I would be honored to join your alliance.”