Chapter 8
Queen Saskia of Kitvaria was feared across the continent for her vast magical powers, her notorious temper, and her unabashed wickedness.
So it felt decidedly unfair that none of the people who knew her best showed any compunction about interrupting her most peaceful moments.
“Ahem.” Morlokk, her majordomo, cleared his throat meaningfully as he loomed over her comfortable wing chair in her cozy library of magic. “I believe you’re wanted, Your Majesty, by Queen Ailana of Nornne.”
“Is that what all the buzzing was about a few minutes ago?” Frowning, Saskia set down the book she’d been studying and glanced across the room at the magical mirror-box she’d set atop a half-empty shelf.
She’d promised the other two Queens of Villainy only last week that she would go nowhere without it, in case any new developments arose in the Serafin Empire’s quest to make itself a nuisance and expand across their countries.
Still, when she was deeply absorbed in work, she often missed such inconsequential noises …
and she was far too close to success in her latest project to stop now.
“Never mind. She can wait until later. I’m almost certain, if I just take the time to piece together these two different spells—”
“Ahem.” This time, Morlokk’s throat-clearing was even more pointed—and when it came to the clearing of an ogre’s throat, no one could ignore the strength of that rumble. “I’m afraid Queen Ailana thinks it too urgent for that.”
Saskia rolled her eyes, entirely unimpressed. “Ailana can think whatever she wants, but we’re not in Nornne, so—wait a moment.” Narrowing her eyes, she looked up at her trusted advisor and surrogate father. “How do you know what she thinks? That box has been right here with me all afternoon.”
“That box, yes.” Morlokk gave a massive shrug.
“However, Your Majesty, the Queen of Nornne was kind enough to offer similar devices to me and Mrs. Haglitz, as well. We can use them to make our orders for the household far more easily, even from a great distance—and come to your assistance when a message might otherwise be missed.”
“Unbelievable.” Ailana had asked Saskia to enchant several of the devices—but she’d certainly never mentioned using any of them in that fashion. Closing the book, Saskia shook her head at Morlokk. “You, of all people, actually allowed her to trick you into accepting a bribe?”
From the moment she’d first fled into hiding as a child under his and Mrs. Haglitz’s protection, Morlokk had had the knack of looking down at her whenever she made a foolish statement with such weary patience that her shoulders hunched with guilt before he said a single word.
Now, he let the silence linger for a long, painful moment before replying, “As you know, no one in this castle would ever accept a bribe to cause you harm. However, Mrs. Haglitz and I agree that the Queen of Nornne was being sensible to lay multiple paths of communication. After all, she has been a useful source of urgent information in the past.”
“I suppose so.” Saskia sighed and looked across the table at her consort.
Felix had been keeping his head discreetly bent over his own reading material, but she glimpsed a rueful quirk of his lips as he looked down at the page.
Of course, the last time Ailana had carried a warning, it had been in regards to him. “I don’t suppose you—?”
“Forgive me, darling.” Felix finally looked up, eyes gleaming with amusement as he shook his head. “This is your kingdom, not mine—and you’re the one she wants to speak with. I’ll handle the research for both of us while you’re busy.”
“Now you’re just being cruel.” Saskia glowered at him as she stood up. “You know I love researching with you.”
“And I love you,” he murmured, reaching for her hand across the table.
His kiss was warm and soft against her skin; she couldn’t help returning his rueful, tender smile.
“Take heart,” he added. “If Lorelei’s still missing, at least Ailana can’t use any fae portals to arrive in person with her instructions. ”
“Instructions. Pah! She needs to learn, and soon, that we’re not members of her network of spies.
” Saskia had informed Ailana of that fact multiple times before—but the ice queen was far too used to being the cleverest, most strategic, and best-informed person in any room.
It took all the stubbornness that Saskia possessed to maintain her own power in their trio.
As she started towards the door, already planning her upcoming lecture, Morlokk bowed respectfully. “Would you prefer to contact her from your tower, Your Majesty? Or shall I ask Mrs. Haglitz to send you a tray of coffee in the parlor?”
“No trays,” she told him. “No coffee or treats! We are not going to settle into a friendly chat. This time, it will be a swift matter of business.”
Five minutes later, though, when she opened the mirror-box and caught sight of her ally, Saskia was startled into personal conversation after all. “Gods, what’s happened now?” she demanded. “I’ve never seen you look like this before.”
Termed an ice queen for more than just the strength of her particular magical powers, Ailana of Nornne was famed for her unmatched elegance, perfectly composed demeanor, and nerves of steel.
Only a few days ago, Saskia had stood at her side to face down Imperial armies at Kitvaria’s border, and Ailana hadn’t displayed the slightest anxiety about the outcome.
This time, lines of strain creased the light brown skin around Ailana’s eyes, deep shadows tugged at the skin underneath … and her response spoke volumes. “Lorelei.”
“Ah.” Sighing, Saskia sat back on the velvet couch she’d chosen, tucked beside a warm fire in the small second-floor parlor.
She should have ordered coffee, after all, to brace herself if their unpredictable fae ally was involved in whatever new crisis had arisen.
“Has she already popped up again, then? Felix and I have both been working to design a spell that might break through her defenses and tell us where she’s hiding, but if that isn’t needed anymore… ”
“Unfortunately, none of my spies have located her yet. However, the Golden Beacon has now been discovered missing by the Emperor—with evidence of fae magic at the scene.”
“Oh, darkness.” Groaning, Saskia shut her eyes for a long moment. “Lorelei, why?”
“She did promise to ‘deal’ with him as a problem,” Ailana reminded her. “She never actually told us how.”
“So she decided to restart the godsdamned war just when we’d managed to postpone it?
Argh!” Saskia felt her crows rousing worriedly around the castle, responding to her rising emotions; she forced herself to send a feeling of calm reassurance to settle all of them, but the cushions on the couch around her lifted from their positions, twirling in tight, anxious circles to let out her anxious energy.
Ironically, just as Saskia’s own peace was shattered, Ailana looked to be regaining her composure.
“The situation isn’t quite so dire, yet, as it could be.
There was no evidence of Lorelei, in particular, to anyone who doesn’t know her as well as we do.
So they’ll mount a manhunt within the Empire to begin with.
After all, it could have been any fae who took him—and they haven’t managed to expel every fae citizen from their vast borders yet. ”
“We don’t want any innocent fae put in danger,” Saskia said. “Nor would Lorelei.” Despite her maddening volatility, the Queen of Balravia had more than proven her loyalty to her fellow queens and to all of the magical denizens of the continent who were under threat from Emperor Otto.
“She would not,” Ailana agreed, “and that is what most concerns me. If she’d heard this news herself, she certainly would have made a public appearance by now to shower glitter on everyone’s faces and claim full credit for his abduction.
For all Lorelei’s quirks, she has never tried to shift the blame for her own actions. ”
“But if she hasn’t even heard the news … oh, no.” Saskia winced as the obvious explanation slid into place. “No wonder none of our spells have found her yet! We’re not only fighting her own magical shields—if she’s in the fae realm, none of us can reach her.”
“And if she’s carried him there with her, there may be no salvaging this situation …
in more ways than one.” Ailana’s lovely face tightened.
“Without General de Moireul taking his place in the Emperor’s private councils, there are no advisors left who dare even try to rein in Otto’s hubris.
The last Imperial high priest is currently awaiting trial for so-called treason, which will carry a sentence of death—and according to my spies, the new Imperial high priestess never speaks at all.
She only sits in smiling silence to lend divine blessing to every one of his plans. ”
“Ugh.” Saskia’s nostrils flared with distaste. “So much for piety! No, wait, I remember—isn’t she Otto’s own sister?”
“She is,” Ailana said tightly, “and all the other advisors in his council chamber now are unscrupulous toadies competing to enable his every whim. General de Moireul is the only one left with both the power and the courage to stand against Otto when he finally informs them all of his plan to adopt Purification as Imperial policy.”
“I still hate that name for it,” Saskia muttered.
Bigotry would have been a better title for that growing movement fueled by hatred.
Most archduchies in the Empire had already expelled their magical residents, leaving them to take refuge in the various independent kingdoms scattered around the Empire’s borders—but Purification, a cruel fanatic’s cause, called for magical creatures no longer to be allowed to survive at all.
If Otto had his way, he’d use it as his guiding beacon to spread his empire all the rest of the way across the continent, leaving death and destruction in his wake.
“How long do you think we have until they discover who was behind the Golden Beacon’s disappearance?” Saskia asked. “Or until they decide to use it as an excuse to start the war regardless?”
“If we’re lucky? I’d say a week. If we aren’t…” Ailana’s nostrils flared as she took a slow, deep breath. “Perhaps two days, given the circumstances.”
“Two days,” Saskia repeated and made it a vow. They had two days left to track down their incorrigible friend and save all three kingdoms; between them, she and Felix would find a way to do it. “Very well. It’s time to get to work.”