44
The door of the war room was gold with an emblem of a crown, bisected by a sword, and three moons around the hilt, with a burning star in the pommel. Elements were repeated over the door, triads of moons, swords crossed, supernova stars, and broken crowns. The gilded doors were swept open and Valine entered to find the queen leaning over a table strewn with documents, Malik on the opposite side, pointing at writing in another while Alastair was sitting at the open window with Jacira, offering her a cup of tea.
It was a dark room, heavy stone and rich wood, the masculine lines a vicious reminder that Talloh had never been a queendom. The little light that shone through was from the window Jacira was haloed against, the dangling lantern over the carved map of Enneive cast shadows in the valleys of the world, deepest around the Muravo Mountain Pass, the Laskava Mountains and Valencya’s Triad. Rivers were wrought in lapis lazuli, lakes were sapphires, the sea was crushed pearl and turquoise.
“Before we begin, I want to make clear that Runell’s presence here was unwanted,” Amaris said. “I sent away the prince and told him I needed time to consider an alliance but truthfully, it is unlikely that I will accept.”
Malik inclined his head. “I appreciate your honestly, Queen Amaris.”
Amaris nodded back and Valine remained silent.
Malik had turned from the table with documents to trace a line on the map, tracing it from Adraali and through the pass to Selyndyr. He traced a second along the shoreline.
“These are the two routes my soldiers will take,” Malik was saying. “It will be a show of support on all fronts that matter, and everyone in the west will know that Adraali is with Talloh. Seeing your queendom fortified will dissuade any others from trying to usurp your throne while you reclaim your power. It will send a clear message that Luneth’s coup will not bring you to your knees and that Runell’s influence northward is, in no uncertain terms, unwelcome.”
“What is in it for you?” Amaris questioned, eyes hard. She was staring at Malik’s gold-painted nail hovering over her queendom. A queendom he could squash beneath that very hand.
“Power, influence, justice. It is the ability to right a grievous wrong before it’s committed,” Malik answered honestly, sprawling his hand over the whole of Talloh. “I have spies, as nearly every monarch does, and mine speak of rumblings in Gallae. Of works designed to take away rights founded in the very values of this queendom. They seek to control bodies under the guise of protecting life, seeking only more soldiers and more pieces in their machine to serve them. They seek to abolish marriages made from love simply because they do not fit the constraints of their customs.
“Queen Amaris,” Malik said soberly. “If this would come to pass, marriages of triads and same-sex would be outlawed in addition to those between couples of different skins. Gender identities aside from biological sex would not be acknowledged. Contraceptives and abortifacients would be illegal. Sex would be relegated only to the marriage bed and it would become a punishment and a duty. If I may be so bold to say, it would be the undoing of many countries’ freedoms.” Malik’s gaze turned hot. “I will not see our world turn back centuries on the whims of bored old men.”
“You have to understand my hesitation,” Amaris said, contrite. “You are asking me to open my halls to people who, according to my late husband were enemies. Adraali’s presence here will send a message, that a queen is so weak to need a foreign man’s help.”
“I do understand, Your Majesty, which is why I am offering two contingencies. My soldiers will travel two separate journeys and if you wish it, I can command them to don civilian garb. We can keep this quiet should you want to see the response from other kingdoms. Consider it a test of allegiance. With this you will understand who you’re up against.”
Amaris glanced at the map and her daughter, seeing the damage wrought in such a short time. From her understanding, it was a crown that had destroyed everything, that Pandora’s desire for a royal title stole her security and complacency. The queen bit her lip and cast her hard jade eyes heavenward. Valine bit back a gasp when she saw white mist across her eyes.
A tracery of stars flitted about Amaris’s head, bobbing in an orbit around her crown, carefully circling the golden queen. Her eyes remained white and glassy, open to the heavens. The eerie ability sent shivers of true fear down Valine’s spine.
She caught Malik’s shocked expression, one he hastily composed as he set his jaw and waited for Amaris to finish convening. His hands curled into claws over Talloh. He wanted the queendom, and he was doing everything in his power to take it by anything but force, but Valine knew that Selyndyr was vulnerable, and he would use force if he needed.
Amaris blinked and cleared the haze from her vision, eyes once again green. She steadied her gaze on Malik, levelling him with a powerful look. A look passed down from Nylantia.
“The stars have verified the whispers you have heard, but they could tell me little more. They have told me that Mrithun is blocking their ability to speak clearly.”
Valine felt a jolt of white-hot fear spear her. The queen was truly a powerful stellaemancer after all. She was not star-touched by insanity, she was star-touched by the patrons.
“Talloh accepts your offer, King Malik Jirani Amir of Adraali. I accept your offer of aid,” Amaris declared, inclining her chin regally. “Please begin the proper preparations.”
“At once, Your Majesty,” Malik conceded.
“I require you to stay until the morrow,” Amaris expressed flatly. “We will have public executions tomorrow and I wish for you to be present for them.”
“Of course. We will stand by you,” Malik proclaimed.
“In addition, I have another favor to request.” Her eyes darted to Valine. “The stars wish to speak to you. Alone.”
Valine froze in place, ice flooding through her. She glanced around at the others in the room, they too, were still. Amaris waved a hand and everyone moved for the door, departing the room. Malik paused by Valine brushing her hand with his own.
“I’ll be just outside,” he whispered, and then he too was gone.
The door fell shut and Valine turned to face the queen. Already her eyes were cast above, that milky glaze over the jade, eerie and ominous in the beautiful royal face. Suddenly, a voice spoke and it was not the queen’s.
“Daughter of Mrithun,” the Not-Queen began, slowly bringing Amaris’s face to Valine’s. The smile that took over the queen was positively daemonic. “You have been an infuriating creature for us patrons.”
“Nylantia,” Valine breathed.
“In the flesh,” Nylantia confirmed, a vision overtaking Amaris.
Nylantia appeared as a woman of night black skin, moon white hair, and nebulous, multi-hued eyes like two dying stars that stared out from beneath a brow of silver galaxies. She was shapely beneath a gown of darkness, her presence like that of the vastness of the heavens. She was overpowering, immense, and spectacular.
“Why did you want to speak to me?” Valine asked, her voice tremulous. She was truly and utterly afraid. She was in the presence of a daemon, the Patroness of Night and Stars, the child of Light and Darkness. She was the product of a saint and a daemon, the love between soulmates eclipsing all laws of the world. Charna and Lucian had disobeyed the restrictions of the universe, restrictions that Mrithun and Vitus—for all the love they shared—had never been able to bridge.
“Mrithun declared you under his protection, and we cannot whisper of your plots to our chosen ones. All we can do is warn them with promises of an undying queen and a deathless empire. But this is taken for prophecy and salvation, not the annihilation you represent. If we cannot take you, we will command you.”
“I don’t understand,” Valine quavered. “I am no queen.”
“Oh, do not play stupid with me, girl,” Nylantia spit, her visage flickering over Amaris’s. “Do you truly not see where your destiny is heading? Are you truly so blind to that ring on your finger? You will be queen one day. The king has already fallen for you.”
“That’s not true,” Valine managed, the consort ring heavy on her finger.
“Isn’t it? Did he not already offer you the option? And you did not take it?” Nylantia snipped.
“I cannot. He must choose a bride. He cannot overpower Runell without an ally’s aid.”
Nylantia stepped forward and leaned in, her cosmic eyes riveting. She tilted Valine’s chin with a frozen finger. “Your quest for vengeance is blinding you. He will invite the brides under a guise just like the one you have accomplished here in Talloh. He is not calling them for marriage, he is calling them for a scheme. Where is the continent’s tension meant to shatter Enneive apart next?”
Valine held the daemon’s eyes for a moment. “Valencya and Thycca,” she whispered.
“You are clever, daughter of Mrithun. Once the kingdoms are fully divided, he will make you his queen. It will be the only time you will accept him. If you said the word, he would do it tomorrow, but I have read the fates you have tied and you will not allow it. Even with my interception.”
Valine chose to ignore the queen’s proclamation; she did not believe the daemon. She had not signed up for ruling. She was an assassin and a necromancer. She was no queen. And Malik did not love her.
The thoughts soured in her gut.
“You have only two options now, and that window is closing. You can choose to leave your mage king behind and return to a life of dealing death for coin and doom your world, or you continue on your selected path to the throne. But once you find the Call of the Phoenix and claim it, it will be too late to choose—for it will choose for you. But be aware that when you do, you will experience indescribable loss.”
“The what? Doom? What are you talking about? What if I don’t want to play this stupid game? What if I choose my death instead?” Valine bit out, frustrated, that famous Desdemon temper flaring.
“That avenue may be more difficult to come by than you might imagine.” Nylantia patted Valine’s face. “Choose your fate and know that you are deciding the fate of more than just Enneive.”
“I didn’t ask for this.”
“That does not matter,” she replied, backing away. “Decide. We are watching.”
“Why do you care? And why does Mrithun care for that matter?” Valine pushed.
Nylantia clicked her tongue. “If you cannot figure that out yourself, I cannot help you.”
Nylantia flickered, those burning eyes capturing her. “Mrithun is stalling fate, but should you wait too long, certain threads may be cut. Other patrons do not have the power he does.”
Valine felt a gasp catch in her throat, and before her eyes, Nylantia disappeared, and the haze departed from Amaris’s eyes. The queen blinked several times and took in Valine. Her mouth opened in a small O, and Valine needed no mirror to know her face was a sketch of horror. She was shocked still, numb, and empty.
Amaris tapped Valine on the shoulders and still she remained still. She called her name. She did not respond. Amaris called for Malik and the king burst into the room. Valine sensed, in some distant part of her, the king’s presence and his dismay.
“The stars wished to speak with her alone,” Amaris explained. “I was not privy to the details. I allowed them to use me as a vessel to speak, and when I awoke, she was like this.”
“Valine. Valine, can you hear me?” Malik demanded, hands cupping her face. She felt the touch on the surface, and she struggled to meet it. Inside she was screaming, drowning within herself. “Valine, come back to me. Wake up.”
She clawed at her consciousness, dragged herself to her nerves. She felt a stirring and latched onto it, forcing herself out. Her hands tingled, her skin felt clammy, her eyes burned with pricks of tears, her jaw ached. But she could feel.
She inhaled sharply and sagged. Malik caught her around the middle and she clutched at him desperately. She found herself staring at him, at the King of Adraali. She was looking at the man that the patroness had claimed loved her. Did he?
Malik held her, hope and desperation burning in those gold-blue eyes, relief swelling from beneath those wondrous depths.
“It was Nylantia,” she whispered.
And then she fainted.