CHAPTER THIRTEEN #2
“I added rejuvenating properties to the water.” He watched me closely, then nodded. Turning to my sister, he said, “I don’t know Bora well enough to tell if it’s her, but she’s no duchess. Nobility doesn’t know anything about cows.”
“I do know my own sister.” Ysabel’s shoulders sagged. “Or at least, I ought to. I really am very sorry.” She hung her head.
“Aw, Yzzy, you couldn’t have known. You were only threatening the duchess because you wanted to save me. It means a lot to me that you’d come all the way out here to rescue me. Although you shouldn’t torture people.” I rubbed my neck. It didn’t even feel bruised.
Ysabel put her nose up in the air. “I’m not a torturer. I was going to stop them before they actually broke a finger—I figured the threat would be enough to make a spoiled duchess talk.”
“I wasn’t bluffing,” Kaine said.
“I know you weren’t—that’s what made you so convincing.” Ysabel laughed.
I wondered if I believed her. Ysabel was always good at putting on a facade of being an innocent little angel, but she generally did whatever she felt she had to in order to protect her own.
No matter. I didn’t blame her for trying to save me.
I’d let her put on a good face in front of her little sister.
“I told you, I’m not angry. Except why didn’t you tell me that you’re pregnant? I’m a bit angry about that.”
Ysabel frowned. “I did tell you. Then you passed along the information to our mother, who started nagging me to reconcile with her because she wanted to be a grandmother, so I stopped telling you things I didn’t want Mom to know.”
“I never got that letter! I had no idea!” I paled. “Mom must have been going through my mail. Please, Yzzy, you’ve got to believe me. I’m not a child any longer—I don’t tattle. I know you have valid reasons to be upset with both our parents.”
Ysabel smiled, a mixture of relief and joy. She pulled me into a hug. “I believe you.”
It felt nice to get a hug from someone after everything I’d been through over the last couple of days. Even though my sister smelled sweaty and slightly dirty, I still melted into her embrace. I sniffled. The tears snuck up on me, because after so much stress, someone was finally comforting me.
“There, there.” Ysabel patted my shoulder. “It’s okay. You can cry.”
Even after spending so long apart, it amazed me how easily I drew comfort from her.
We’d fallen back into the old pattern of how she used to comfort me after another kid insulted me.
I hid my face in her shoulder, a little embarrassed to show my tears with two other people present.
“It’s just been … it’s been so hard … ever since I accidentally got stuck in the duchess’s body. ”
Ysabel made a sympathetic noise in the back of her throat. “What a dreadful thing to happen to you. Where’s your real body?”
“I … I don’t even know.” I sniffled again. “The Blood Duchess ran off in it. For all I know, she’s already gotten me killed.” I started crying in earnest.
Ysabel hugged me tighter. “We’ll find a way to get your body back. Then I’ll take you on a lovely relaxing vacation back to Conollia. You might consider moving there. I don’t know why you’d want to live with Mom when she goes through your mail. Did she guilt you into looking after her?”
I chuckled nervously, still unwilling to admit to my sister how Falael had scammed me out of her money (purchased dearly with her own lifespan).
“Enough about me! I’m fine.” I took her by the shoulders, stepping slightly away.
“Let’s talk about you. I’m so excited about my new niece or nephew. Do you have baby names picked out?”
Ysabel frowned. “No, we’re still going to talk about you. How you ended up body-swapped is way more urgent.”
“Oh, right.” I bit my lip, trying to figure out where to even begin. “You know about the Blood Duchess declaring herself regent, right?”
Wrinkles formed on Ysabel’s forehead. “The last I heard, Duchess Hedri sent me a letter demanding I acknowledge her as Arahasnor’s ruler or she’d kill my sister. I assume you didn’t take yourself hostage.”
Kaine nodded. “Yeah, because I swore to chop off the head of whoever threatened my sister-in-law. Let me know if that was you so I can take it back.”
Alzira crossed her arms. “I, too, swore to murder whoever threatened Her Holiness’s sister, and I do not treat my word as lightly as this fool.” She gestured toward Kaine. “Even if you sent the threat, you still have to die.”
“It wasn’t me!” I shouted. “The Blood Duchess tried to arrest me. Donya helped me escape. I fled the city. I planned to ask you for help, Yzzy. There was a flash of light, and I turned into the Blood Duchess. Everyone has been trying to kill me ever since!”
Ysabel put her arms around me and glared at Kaine and Alzira. “Both of you, take two steps back and face the wall. You’re scaring my little sister.”
Hanging their heads, they obeyed.
Ysabel rocked me, stroking my hair. “Did you see anyone around who might have swapped you?”
“We know who swapped me. Princess—I mean, Queen—
Antonia did it by accident. She wanted someone kind to replace the Blood Duchess, who was beating her.”
“No wonder she ended up with you, then.” Ysabel tucked back a lock of my hair. “Does the queen know how to swap you back?”
“She doesn’t. We still haven’t figured out the price of her gift, so we don’t know how to trigger it. She did get tired and faint after using her power. She was out for a while.”
“For such a strong ability, it must have a higher price than mere exhaustion.” Ysabel raised her voice. “Kaine, have you ever heard of a body-swapping gift?”
His voice muffled from facing away, he replied, “That’s not one of mine. Sure does sound useful, though. I don’t know what price it has.”
Ysabel turned back to me. “We’ll figure it out. In the worst-case scenario, I know ways to alter physical appearances.”
“Actually, I need to stay in this body for now.” I swallowed. “It turns out the late king sold out our country to more than one group. The Guild of Slavers showed up next.”
My sister’s face transformed, her eyes turning glacial and her fingers whitening as she squeezed her hands into fists. She looked ready to rip out someone’s throat with her clenched teeth. I knew her well enough to see the hint of fear as well as anger lurking in her eyes.
I knew exactly what she was thinking. “We won’t let that happen, Yzzy.” I put a hand on her arm. “Donya came up with a plan. I’m going to act the part of a villainess to save Arahasnor.” In short order, I filled Ysabel in on everything that had happened.
When I was done, Ysabel touched her forehead as if dizzy. “Wait, you made the assassin who tried to kill you into your bodyguard?”
“It was only a small misunderstanding. Araceli is a wonderful person.”
“And you took over a country …” Ysabel swayed.
“I didn’t have any choice. I wanted to run away, but I couldn’t let the slavers take over.” I peered at my sister’s face through half-open eyes. “Are you angry?”
“Oh, I’m angry, but not at you.” Ysabel paced the basement, waving her fists. “I can’t believe that as soon as I take my eyes off Arahasnor, this happens. People think they don’t have to be afraid of me just because I moved to Conollia? They’re in for an unpleasant surprise!”
From the floor, Donya groaned, low and long.
Both Kaine and Alzira leapt away from the wall to tend to her. Alzira gasped. “Your Holiness! She’s stirring.”
Donya sat up and rubbed the bandage on her head. “What happened to me?”
Immediately, Kaine and Alzira pointed at each other and chorused, “It wasn’t my fault.”
Ysabel raised her voice. “Donya, how could you drag my sister into this mess by letting her pretend to be the Blood Duchess? I asked you to look after her! Not use her!”
“I’m sorry.” Donya hung her head.
“She didn’t drag me into anything,” I said. “Don’t shout at her; she’s injured. We didn’t have any good options. I couldn’t have left the city because the duchess is being targeted by the Twelve Avengers. I had no choice but to pretend.”
“They’re the Eleven Avengers, now,” Kaine said. “One of them accepted a contract on my life a few months ago. Honestly, not even the most skilled assassin I’ve killed.”
“Thank you for coming to save us, Ysabel,” Donya said.
Ysabel winced. “It was a rather more violent rescue than I intended. And I was too late. If not for the body-swapping incident, you’d have already been executed by the Blood Duchess.
” Her shoulders sagged. “I’m sorry. Bora is right—I have no right to criticize you for doing your best in a bad situation. ”
“I’m impressed you got here so fast,” Donya said.
Kaine raised his hand. “I can teleport short distances. I obtained the ability by figuring out how to merge three of my minor abilities.”
“He’s gotten even more indestructible,” Alzira muttered in a dissatisfied voice.
“The ability still has some kinks to work out,” Ysabel said with one eyebrow raised.
It was then that I realized how cold it was in the cellar. I couldn’t figure out why the temperature had dropped several degrees. My sister glared at her husband. He looked at his feet.
Ysabel put her hands on her hips. “You claimed you could get us through the city walls without needing to blow them up.”
Kaine mumbled, “I did, dear.”
“And what’s currently at the South Gate?”
“A hole in the city wall, dear. I’m sorry, dear.”
“Not to mention the smoking ruins of the gardens I carefully constructed around the gates!”
“I’ll buy you new flowers and help you plant them, dear. I’m sorry, dear. I love you, dear.”
“Why do you insist on destroying my carefully constructed city walls every time you come here?” Ysabel threw up her hands.
“I get it, plenty of local fools keep provoking you. I wouldn’t blame you one bit if you ravaged the city at this point.
Burn down the palace and slaughter the inhabitants if you must, but my walls were innocent. The walls did nothing wrong.”
My drama queen sister must be joking. Still, I found this whole conversation bizarre.
Anyone seeing the fear in Kaine’s eyes would have questioned who was the dark lord and who was the holy maiden.
What was so important about some granite walls?
But Donya muttered under her breath, “He damaged the walls again? He’s in so much trouble. ”
I coughed. “I hate to interrupt this riveting conversation, but Ar—people will be worried about me. Since you sort of kidnapped me.”
Donya shot to her feet. “How long has it been? What time is it? Oh no! The Dwarven Caves sent word that their delegation will arrive by evening! We have barely any time left to prepare.”
“Why would the dwarves come here?” I asked. Dwarves were notoriously insular and rarely traveled outside of the World Games.
“They’re the second group King Uctor sold the kingdom to.”
“Oooo.” I nodded. “That sounds bad.”
“The Dwarven Caves, huh?” Ysabel steepled her fingers.
“Now I wish I’d brought Ua’la’sur along.
They’re terrified of her. Kaine’s teleportation could carry three people at most—but no matter.
She already gave me certain inside information about the dwarven leadership.
It will be my pleasure to help you out with this one. ”
As my sister threw back her head and laughed evilly, I realized she’d definitely have been a better dark lord than her husband.