ESSA
The bydrune chambers were located off one of the larger dining halls. On our way, I was able to peek through a colonnade and see the noblemen, young and old, lining up for the ceremony, their voices tinged with nervous excitement and punctuated with raucous laughter.
Auntie squeezed my hand and we walked faster.
The bydrune suite consisted of three rooms. A dressing room, a sitting room, and the larger room for the ceremony itself.
We went into the dressing room first, where at Auntie’s instruction, I stripped down naked.
Maryn puffed me with a shimmery powder and Auntie spritzed me with perfume, then draped a sheer silk gown over me.
She and Maryn each put a flower in my hair—part of some old tradition, Auntie explained.
Then they both stood back, looked at me, and nodded.
“Now for the toast,” Auntie said with special emphasis, taking my hand again and leading me into the sitting room.
It was filled with flowers, colorful arrangements of all sorts lining the walls, snaking up the columns, spilling from tables and alcoves.
Kortoi sat amidst it all waiting for us, his black robes, dark hair and washed-out skin looking incredibly out of place among the bright colors.
Still, he smiled and stood as we entered, bowing low.
“Your Majesty,” he said. “I was just admiring all the flowers, but I must say, you are lovelier still.”
It would have been a good time to honey-coat my words—but even now, I couldn’t keep my sarcasm at bay. “Flattery doesn’t suit you, Prelate. You’re too honest,” I said. “Sit.”
Kortoi chuckled as he lowered back into his seat.
I nodded to Auntie. “Pour the wine, please,” I said, my voice low as I tried to keep a tremor out of it.
Kortoi drummed his long nails in the arm of his chair.
“While we’re being honest, Your Majesty,” he said.
“I’m surprised it’s just the three of us here at your toast—and that I was invited at all.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s such an honor. I hardly feel worthy.
But shouldn’t Hoatan be here? And Ollie?
Certainly, the noblemen are already lined up and eager, but what about the noble ladies?
Lady Natath, for example? Shouldn’t she be here to celebrate the future queen’s bridal bed?
” He arched an eyebrow, letting the question linger.
I glanced to Auntie to find her hand trembling as she poured the three glasses of wine.
“Perhaps the noblemen are here to celebrate,” I said. “But for me, this is more like a funeral than a wedding. Who better to share it with than a priest of the void?”
Kortoi nodded slowly. “Well said, Princess. You know, many in court have considered your chief strength to be your petulance—your sheer, bratty will—if I may say so. But I’ve always thought your oratory has been underrated.
I’m sure you’ll give some quite memorable speeches as queen.
Have you prepared your coronation address? ”
Auntie took a gold chalice of wine and handed it to Kortoi, holding it with both hands to keep it from spilling as she shook.
“Thank you,” Kortoi said absently, taking the cup.
“No. I haven’t given a thought to it,” I said.
“Well, you should. I’m sure Ollie and Hoatan would help you, but if you’d like me to give it a glance, I’d be honored. Some say I have a way with words.”
Auntie handed my goblet to me, then picked up her own.
She sat, and we all paused, looking at one another. Kortoi brought the cup to his nose and inhaled slowly. The smile on his lips curled tighter. “Lovely,” he said.
Auntie raised her glass. “To the future queen. May she live long and rule justly. And may her bydrune bed bear the fruit of a future queen.” To her credit, she kept her voice even.
Now, Kortoi raised his glass. “To the future queen,” he said. “May her sword be sharp, her dragon strong, and her wisdom vast. And may her bydrune bed bear the fruit of a future queen.”
I raised my glass. “Even so, may it be fulfilled. By the Earth Mother and the Star Father and all the scions of earth and void,” I said, giving the prescribed response.
Then I tipped my cup up and drank. The draught burned going down, a sizzle far more potent than mere wine would have been.
And when I lowered my glass, I felt it burning in my gut like the roiling of magma.
Kortoi lowered his goblet, too, and I saw that it was empty. The ferocious smile on his face grew as he placed one hand on his belly and gave a low belch.
“Pardon me,” he said, oozing gentility.
Auntie’s cup was empty, too, and her face was as pale as snow.
Kortoi gave a deep, wistful sigh. “Well, I feel truly honored to have been included in this,” he said, pushing up on the armrests of his chair and standing. “And now you get to go forth and—hopefully—conceive a future heir. What a day! If only your mother were here to see it.”
Perhaps he hoped to needle me with these words, but I was distracted by the state of my own body as the venom went to work.
The necessary, fatal dose was ten times what Auntie and I had been building our immunity with, and already I felt strange—hot.
My tongue felt swollen. A bead of sweat slid down my forehead.
Behind us, the door creaked open. “The bydrune is about to begin,” a voice said. I turned to find it was Ollie. As I rose, a wave of dizziness washed over me, but I managed to hold onto the back of my chair and steady myself.
Auntie stood, too—as slowly and gingerly as an old lady.
I turned to Kortoi. “Thank you. You may go,” I said.
He bowed low. “Your Majesty,” he said. When he straightened up again, I saw that he looked far healthier than Auntie did, and far better than I felt. His face was flushed rather than pale, his movements steady, not tremulous.
The bastard—he must have known the poisoning was coming, and he’d inoculated himself against it—far better than Auntie and I had.
Had Auntie warned him? Or told Natath, who had told him? Or had he simply seen the trap we were setting in his scrying? Regardless, I was disappointed, but not surprised.
Ollie stepped into the room as the Prelate departed and closed the door behind him.
I turned to Auntie. “You’re dismissed,” I said coldly.
“Nonsense… I must… help you prepare…” she said, but her voice came out a whisper. Her face was ashen.
“Dreya? Are you well?” Ollie asked, catching her arm before she could fall. “You look pale. Come, let’s get you a place to lie down,” he put an arm around her, guiding her into the bydrune dressing room.
“That’s not necessary,” I said, following after them. “I’m sure she can get back to her chambers.”
Ollie only gave me an incredulous look as he laid her down on the love seat. “Are you kidding? Look how sick she looks. What did she have for breakfast?”
“I don’t know—bread and berries,” I snapped. “I have a bydrune to get ready for—if you’ll excuse me.”
I tried to brush past him, but he grabbed my arm.
“Essa…” he began. “I’ve been thinking, and I must apologize. I know I’ve been distant. And I know you’ve been keeping your distance from me, as well. Perhaps you don’t trust me as you once did. It’s understandable with everything that’s happened. But I swear to you—”
“Ollie,” I interrupted him. “There’s no time. If you want to help me, stand outside and guard this door. See that I’m not interrupted as I get ready for the bydrune. Let no one pass. Can you do that for me?”
He looked hurt for a moment, then nodded. “Of course. However I can serve...” But he hesitated. “You know… This bydrune has always been a possibility. A duty. Part of your destiny. But still… the thought of all those men…” He gave a bitter laugh. “It’s crazy. You would think I was jealous...”
He looked almost as if he would cry. But I felt nothing—except the burning of the poison inside my stomach. I squeezed his hand. “I’m glad you’re here,” I said. “Now go. If you love me, trust me. And guard the door.”
He nodded, then pulled me into a tight hug. I endured it for a long moment, then squirmed free and nudged him toward the door. “Go!”
This time, he went.
Finally, I was alone to do my work. I glanced at Auntie, but found her already asleep, her breathing slow and shallow, her face a gray, waxy mask.
Gods, would she die? It suddenly came into my mind as a possibility.
I was younger and stronger. And Kortoi had all sorts of fell potions and magicks to protect him.
But Auntie—she was just a middle-aged woman.
Despite her probable betrayal, I suddenly wanted to kneel beside her and lay my head on her as I had done so many times as a child.
But there came a knock at the door. “Essa? They’re ready for you.” Ollie’s voice again.
“One second,” I sang—my voice more fake than I’d ever heard it.
Working fast, I took the jar of replacement lotion Maryn had given me and the bottle of scorper venom from Romia that I’d brought from my chambers.
Auntie had put ten drops of poison in the wine, and that was supposedly enough to kill a normal person.
I’d need far more than that. Still, my haste and my shaking hand made me spill far more venom than I’d meant to into the lotion—almost the whole bottle.
It sizzled as it went in, and for a moment, I panicked.
But what was the worst that could happen? I could die. It was a risk I was absolutely willing to take.
Another knock at the door.
“Essa? They’re waiting.”
“One second,” I snarled, stirring the lotion with my finger. Where the venom touched my skin it stung, but as it mixed into the lotion, the sensation cooled somewhat, making the burning at least endurable.
“Essa—”
“Coming!” I shouted—with enough ferocity, this time, that I was sure he wouldn’t ask again.
I took a handful of the lotion and stared at it for a moment, as if I were locking eyes with an enemy. Then I gritted my teeth, reached down, parted my silk robe, and rubbed the lotion between my legs.