Chapter 35
Thirty-Five
The queen (or king) always puts the kingdom first.
Arienna is my kingdom.
- King Richard
For the next three days, King Dravr follows us around the debates – staying to listen the first time, then walking about the cities with Deirdre and Echo until we finish. The forest is too dangerous for him to fly alone, so he still travels with our guard. And I use that to my advantage.
“If you think I am making all the wrong choices for Raza by opening our borders and making friends of our enemies,” I say as I address the people of Gilion, “then vote to end the monarchy.”
With every debate, the Court is losing more and more votes. I can hear the whispers in the streets, can see the glances between friends. For once, their hatred of me is a blessing.
But it is a delicate, dangerous balance, this game.
If I rile them up too much and then lose the vote, I will start a coup.
So I can’t remind them of every terrible act I’ve committed.
Can’t remind them of all the loved ones that have died under my name – some through war, others killed by me personally.
Otherwise, there’ll be hundreds of people charged with treason on the day my wife is coronated.
That fear keeps me up at night.
Especially since, in those dark hours, I can hear my wife whimpering beside me, locked in a nightmare about what she did to Stephanie. My heart racing, I push through debate after debate, desperate to free her from the chains I shackled around her feet by forcing her to be my bride.
On the fourth day, as King Dravr is getting ready to head back to Vyla, I escort him to the aviary, along with Echo, Jace, and the guards that’ll be leaving with him.
“You know you cannot prepare for war,” I murmur as we fly. “Word will spread that you’re mobilising your troops.”
“If you do not attack us, we will not move.”
I shake my head. “My people are looking for any reason to re-invade, and they’ll see that as an act of agression.”
“You wish us to stay defenceless?” the king scoffs. “Now I know this is a trap.”
“I wish to bring peace.”
“Peace comes in death.”
“Do not tempt me,” I say as we land on a branch near the top of the tree. It’s covered in crows and bird shit that our aviaryhands do their best to clean. But they cannot keep up with hundreds of birds.
“It is no temptation. It’s merely an observation of my experience.” He pauses. “I admire your fight for change, but I do not think your people are ready for it.”
Perhaps not, but I am, dammit.
“What if they vote to go back to war as soon as you’re gone? The hatred is still too fresh.”
“There will be a transition period,” I say calmly as we walk over to his crow – a majestic beauty called Odinson. He caws as he sees his owner and hops along the branch. “I will continue to lead until systems are put in place for the public to take my place.”
“And how long will that take?”
“Months.” I bury the frustration but not the truth. “Years maybe. Ample time for us to become allies they will not wish to invade.”
“Even so, what about the Alzans, Okahi, and Jokeni? Do you think it will go smoothly enough, they won’t get any opportunities to attack?”
“Are you worried about us?” I ask dryly.
We stop as Odinson reaches us and bows his head. King Dravr dutifully scratches his steed above his intelligent eyes. “Even when we were at war, we understood the barrier your kingdom provided. If you fall, we fall.”
“If you fight alongside us –”
He laughs. “Hel no. I am ready for this peace you have waved in front of me.” He pulls himself up onto Odinson as Echo and a hand-picked selection of her guards mount their own steeds.
“So am I,” I assure him. “I would not be pushing for Raza to change this quickly if I did not think she was ready for it.”
He studies me for a moment from up high. Then he nods. “I will keep my soldiers training, but we will not reinforce any positions near our border.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
With one threat currently handled, I head back towards the trunk of the tree as he flies off.
With the coup on pause until the vote comes in and Evangeline working to protect me until that time too, I only need to focus on one other person right now: Tory Deirdre.
Jace hasn’t had the chance to find out what she thinks she knows about me needing a necromancer.
She’s had a few days to turn over every word my queen said to her in the throne room, and I do not trust her to have let it go.
If she’s a threat to Fabia, she’s a threat to my queen.
In a few days, we’ll be in Vix, where she lives.
I could order her to the castle now, using the guise of wanting to debrief her about her time with King Dravr, but she’ll see right through that.
Then, to her, it will be all but confirmed that something went down.
Why else would I be wanting to make sure she knows nothing?
Best to give the illusion that I don’t care if she’s digging for our skeletons.
Four days later, we land in Vix, near the Okahi border. I don’t like my queen being this close to the fighting, but she doesn’t want me to spend my nights alone. The tall gorges housing our beetle-like enemies are but a few trees over, guarded by the fort at Fla’kre.
And just like I knew she would, Deirdre approaches us as soon as the debate is over. Whatever she’s found, tonight is the night she’ll try to blackmail us. “Why don’t you stay at mine tonight, Your Majesty?” she says. “We can have a game of throwing knives as we discuss... some business.”
“Really?” Arienna squeals before she turns to me. “Can we, my king? Please?”
I nod, then look back at Deirdre.
“Your hospitality is appreciated,” I say, electricity running through my skin. She might think she’s protected given her family name and the rarity of her necromancy, but if she so much as looks at my queen wrong tonight, she’ll not live to see the morning.
Our guards surround us as we fly to the upper branches of the tree. Peaking above the canopy, her house gives a clear view of the skies. It’s dangerous to be this open to the birds of prey, but Deirdre always did love playing with fire.
As we break through the foliage, Arienna gasps and twists her head around. “It’s so pretty,” she breathes.
I point to a twinkle of light relatively close to the fading sun, its brilliance a speck among the pinkening sky.
“That’s Konistra,” I murmur. It’s the only world of the Seven Planes that can be seen in our heavens, and yet, it is the one we know the least about.
“Everyone who goes there never comes back. Tales of monsters and madness surround it. Ancient texts claim it was cursed by the gods, though none ever say why.”
Leaning forwards, she squeals. “I want to go there. Fabia, look!”
My arms tighten around her as she twists to look over at her friend. Fabia looks at her suspiciously, and I reckon she is thinking the same thing I am. Arienna would come back with some horrible creature she claimed was adorable.
Thank gods all her pet wasps are gone.
We land in front of twelve wooden columns painted a stone grey.
They form a circular room open to the elements.
Small green vines wrap around the pillars and spread out into intricate arches at the top, connecting the gaps between them.
I place Arienna on her feet, and her neck cranes up, looking at the stained glass dome above us.
The awe stays in her eyes as we move through the house. The greys and greens follow us from room to room. They’re the colours of the Deirdre family, the green representing the power of necromancy, the grey the souls they bring back.
When Deirdre leads us into a games room, I nod for Fabia and the other guards, par Jace, to stay outside. As much as I do not trust her, Deirdre prefers making subtle threats, her power coming from her name and her magic rather than any physical skill.
Arienna waves at Fabia as she shuts the door behind us.
I head for the bar. A row of expensive bottles line the shelves, but my eyes are on the cabinet marked Kitchen.
A notepad and pen hang beside it. Writing down a full meal, I tear off the piece of paper, open the cabinet, and toss it inside.
When I close it, its handle turns red. Once green, the food will be ready, having been freshly cooked by the kitchen staff and transported into the cabinet.
“So, Your Majesty,” Deirdre says as she steps over to a table of throwing knives. Four sets of six are already laid out, with each set a different colour. Jace always plays with the lilac ones – the colour my sister’s eyes were. I’m black. Deirdre is green. And a new row of pink sits at the top.
Fingering a pink blade, she looks at my wife. “Have you ever thrown a knife before?”
Arienna shakes her head. “No. Is it hard?”
“Some find it easier than others.” She smiles, one full of calculation and subtle threats. “Would you like me to teach you?”
“Yes!” Before she can lunge forwards and put herself in harm’s way, Jace throws a bag of crisps at Deirdre.
Distracted, she drops the knife in order to catch them. Her eyes fly to mine as she opens the bag. Her chin lifts as she eats a few before holding the bag out to me.
“If I was going to poison you” –Deirdre chuckles– “I sure as hel wouldn’t put it in your food when you have testers. I’d put it on your toothbrush; no one would think to look there.”
“His toothbrush…” Arienna pales as she finally figures out how Fabia managed to poison me. But Jace’s already bolted across the room and I’ve jumped the counter, heading for my queen.
“I’m not –” Deirdre shouts as she steps away from the knives, her hands up.
“How did you know Fa–” Gasping, Arienna slaps both hands over her mouth just as I reach her.