Chapter 33
J ust a few days later, I met with Father, Juniper, Emberly, General Kellen, and General Simms in Kellen’s office. Emberly and Simms had just finished interrogating Lord Denenbaum, and they were updating us.
“He revealed his connections, though he doesn’t realize he did.” Emberly stated. “He was not very talkative, but his mind was completely open.”
General Simms interrupted. “Grubby bastard just kept taunting that I’d find nothing out. He really got on my last nerve, lucky to be alive.”
I smiled before redirecting back to Emberly. “What did he share?”
Emberly sighed, clearly frustrated with Simms. “He provided quite the clear picture of meeting with the Priests of Bel when he was last at Scoria Bay, and the plot that the King and God of Death shared with him to murder the Queen and use Ethan to get to the throne. Scoria Bay wants this land, and they won’t stop at anything for it. ”
“Do you know if he was the murderer, or did he just help the one who did?” Father asked. His face had tightened, his lips pressed into a thin line.
“He didn’t direct his thoughts to that night, so I don’t know yet. I know they planned to kill Lyla if Ethan wasn’t the heir. The God of Death stressed it was important to do that as soon as possible if Ethan wasn’t heir.”
“Are we able to trust his thoughts? What if he was intentionally misleading?” I asked.
A rapid knock sounded on the door, followed by royal guards entering without permission.
Normally this would be an egregious error on their part, and the guard that spoke bowed to show his contrition as he interrupted.
“Pardon me, we have an urgent matter at the front gate. A stranger, unable and unwilling to produce credentials, is demanding an audience with Princess Lyla. She calls her the Queen. She says that the Princess is expecting her.”
Everyone turned to me, but I didn’t know what was going on and shook my head slowly.
“I’m expecting no one. Did this woman travel with anyone? How big is her traveling group?”
“She came alone, on foot. She’s also wearing peculiar clothes, not from around here.” The guard answered.
I looked around at the others. “This is unfamiliar territory for me. I don’t know what to do.”
General Kellen spoke up. “Disarm her if she is armed and escort her into the meeting space next to the dining hall. Station four men inside and double up every door into the room. Have someone bring her warm food and water.”
General Simms nodded, motioned to the guards to follow him, and left. The guards closed the door behind him.
“We should postpone Denenbaum’s interrogation so that I can attend this meeting.” Emberly announced. “We don’t know who this is, and I will gather significantly more information than anyone else present.”
“I agree. I will not enter the room until Emberly confirms it’s safe. Send a guard for Spencer and for Zoya. Have them meet me in my chambers. If she’s calling me a queen, then I need my king around, and Zoya can help defend against any potential dangers.”
“Your chambers?” Father questioned.
“I am not dressed to meet a guest calling me a queen. Amyra and Ivy will help me look the part while Emberly investigates.”
Father smiled. “It’s those details that will make you successful.”
We stood and ended the meeting, agreeing to meet later.
In my chambers, Amyra and Ivy helped me find a dress.
We selected a honey hued dress with gold and brown embroidered ivy leaves around the bodice and down the upper half of the skirt.
Amyra braided some of my hair to pull it away from my face while still leaving it flowing down my back.
While she was working on my hair, Spencer and Zoya both arrived.
“The guards wouldn’t tell us what’s happening. Is everything ok?” Spencer asked, concern dripping through his tone.
“Yes, I’m sorry. They likely weren’t told themselves.
I was in a debrief from Denenbaum’s interrogation.
Someone walked up to the gates of the castle and asked for Queen Lyla.
She told them I was expecting her. Emberly went to meet her right away while I presented myself more like a queen before going to meet this woman. ”
Spencer nodded, like this is a normal, everyday occurrence. “Getting used to these events?” Amyra teased.
He offered a small smile. “I wouldn’t say I’m used to them, but they aren’t phasing me as easily.”
“Pardon, but why did you send for me?” Zoya asked.
“Truthfully, we don’t know who she is, but having you to help with defenses will make it much safer to meet her.
I need you.” I didn’t mean to sound so desperate, but with a magic wielding cult following the God of Death trying to kill me, it sometimes reached that level. Zoya nodded in understanding.
“What’s the plan?”
I ran down what I hope would happen and asked Zoya and Spencer to enter the room with me. We came up with what we hoped was a plan to cover any likely reason for this person to be coming to me .
After Amyra fastened a tiara to my hair, we hurried down to the meeting room where they were holding this person. I noted the locations of the extra guards and paused at the door to double check my appearance while Spencer reached out to Emberly inside the room.
I watched as his eyes widened and his skin paled three shades, then whispered, “She says it’s Mina.”
“Mina? I don’t know anyone by that name.” I said, my nose wrinkling in confusion.
Zoya elbowed me. “Goddess of Peace of Order? Surely you know the names of the gods and goddesses?”
I felt my stomach twist as my jaw dropped. “Are you sure, Spencer? How does she know?”
He shook his head. “She didn’t say, and now she’s not replying. Her guard is up. We should do the same before we enter. Who knows what this could be?”
Nodding, I took three breaths to compose myself and then signaled to the guards to open the doors. I walked in with all the authority I could muster as the queen of this land. This person might have claimed to be a goddess, but until we knew it to be true, I would not offer deference.
As planned, Spencer and Zoya followed behind me, and the guards closed the door. The stranger and Emberly were sitting at a round table in the center of the room. Emberly was facing the door as we entered, and the stranger had taken a seat that had her turned away from us.
Emberly rose, offering a bow to me, as offered to a king or queen when they enter the room. This caused the stranger to push away from the table and turn her body to face us. She notably didn’t stand. I stared at her and offered a look of disapproval.
“Ah, yes, finally, you are as you have appeared in my dreams, Queen Lyla.” The stranger offered.
I shifted my gaze to Emberly, wondering if she would share anything before I spoke. She offered a subtle shake of her head. I returned my gaze to the stranger. “And you are?”
With that prompt, the stranger’s lips turned up in a smile, and she finally stood, slowly walking around the table towards me. “I had assumed your delegate had already informed you just a moment ago. I have been known by many names, but your people know me as Mina.”
Mina wore a strange outfit including a skin-tight blue pants and a close-fitting gray shirt.
She had on what looked like it could have been a light blue overcoat, but it stopped at her hips and held a hood.
The coat lacked buttons. Her black hair was held back from her face, gathered into what looked like a pony’s tail by a string with no tie or end.
“Ah yes, my dress. It is a bit out of fashion for your current era. Curious that your kind regressed this far in fashion since I was last here.” Mina smoothed her coat down, then shoved her hands in the tiny pockets of her pants.
“I suppose you have some spare dresses and the like around here that you could provide, so that I can fit in more easily. We have a lot of work to do to prepare you.”
“Mina, is it? I’d like to invite you to sit and chat with me here. We don’t understand the nature of your visit.” I chose the seat closest to me, and Spencer helped to pull it out for me. Zoya sat between me and Mina, who also sat, while Spencer took the seat between Emberly and me.
Mina sighed, “Fine, we can sit here for now. Surely you know what I’m here for. These two look like priestesses. They must surely know the prophecy we shared to help you prepare for our arrival.”
I reached for Spencer’s hand under the table to help calm my nerves. I didn’t know what to expect, but if this stranger spoke the truth and a goddess stood before me, then I was astonished.
“Yes, yes, I am the Goddess of Peace and Order. Calm your britches. It’s not that shocking.” Mina sighed again, rolling her silver eyes, seemingly agitated.
“I’m sorry, four months ago, I didn’t know that magic actually existed outside of fairy tales, or this prophecy existed, much less was about–wait, I don’t need to explain myself to you. You are just a stranger and have offered no evidence that you are who you claim to be.”
Mina studied me intently for a bit. “Hm, fairly ok mind shielding for someone who’s just started.
I’ll have to help you get stronger. I noticed you’ve already had the displeasure of meeting Death, and he’s a pain in the ass to keep out.
Oh shit, you went out of order. You were supposed to be crowned before you were strong enough to trigger that volcano. Oh, we’ve got to fix this asap.”
I stood up from the seat indignantly. “Did you just dig through my mind? See my memories?”
My voice was barely a whisper, betraying me. I wanted to shout at her.
“Oh, you’re one of those. Yeah, sorry, I’ll ask next time.” Mina’s flippant attitude was just so infuriating.