Chapter 11
While the women and I had been passing the time in our tent, the servants from all six nations had been scrambling like Cinderella’s mice to set up a place for their royals to sit.
Seats that were somewhat less elaborate than our actual thrones but significantly fancier than regular chairs had been positioned in a large circle in the very center of the grassy field.
There was a polite gap in space between one country’s thrones and the next, and flags and decorative bunting in each country’s colors had been hung from tent poles jammed into the ground between them.
Most of the nations’ places had only two throne-like seats, and Nalatria stood out with four in position.
“This way, sire,” Anders said as he led us forward. “Otto, Rubin, Reggie, and Francis will stand with you. The rest of the team and I will patrol the situation from a slight distance to keep an eye on the greater picture.”
“Are you expecting trouble, Anders?” I asked.
“No, sire,” he said in a plain tone. “But it’s never a good idea to let your guard down, not with so many people around.”
“Very true,” Serra agreed.
We reached our thrones, and I hesitated for a split second. I wasn’t sure what the social protocol was for this kind of event. Were we supposed to be introduced before we sat down? I took a casual glance around and was relieved when I spotted Enken and Doria in their seats already.
Doria spotted me and gave me a subtle wave. She tapped Enken on the forearm, and he smiled at me, too. The tiny show of friendship helped soothe my nerves, and I settled myself into my throne.
Tanell, Serra, and Yori took the seats on either side of me. Master Palchur, Master Vannesh, and Master Gelm stood to one side, and I realized the gap between the thrones was for our advisors and the members of our retinues to stand.
Carissa positioned herself on the side opposite my Masters, and folded her hands behind her back in a very ladylike posture.
She didn’t appear to be nervous at all, but I’d come to learn some of the more subtle microexpressions of her face.
Tension pulled at the inner edges of her eyebrows, and her lips were pressed a little thinner than normal.
Her hands were hidden from me, but I would have bet my new carriage that her fingers were tangled in a tight knot.
“Who will start?” Serra whispered to me.
“I don’t know,” I said.
Before I could say more, I got my first look at the democratically elected Prime Minister of Valnar, Eriz Hepper.
He was smaller than I’d expected, and I guessed he was only about five-foot-eight.
He had a lean and narrow frame, but he didn’t look gangly or unhealthy.
He wore a masterfully tailored dark blue suit that wouldn’t have looked especially out of place in a Manhattan boardroom, although that could have just been my lack of understanding of high-end clothing brands and fashion norms. His brown hair had a distinctive wave to it, and his eyes were clever and attentive as he looked around the circle of royals.
That’s when I noticed his throne sat all by itself, and I realized I hadn’t heard anything about a wife or partner of any kind.
“Is the Prime Minister married?” I ask Tanell.
“I have no idea,” she replied.
“I don’t believe so,” Carissa murmured from my other side.
“Even if he was,” I said, “would she sit with him during this? I mean, there’s not really the equivalent of a queen’s title when it comes to prime ministers, right?”
“Correct,” Serra said. “If he is married, she would stand with the other members of his retinue.”
“Like Carissa is,” Yori added with a playful glint in her eyes.
By that point, all the royals had gathered and were seated in their respective places. No one seemed eager to begin the meeting, and I was working up the nerve to stand and speak when Queen Doria rose to her feet.
She delicately cleared her throat and raised one hand. I was impressed at how effective the move was and wondered if I would’ve gotten a similar response if I’d done it first.
“Friends,” Doria said in a loud, clear voice. “Fellow rulers and diplomats. Thank you all for gathering here today to discuss the most imminent threat from the Haktorian Empire.”
“She’s not mincing words,” Yori snorted softly.
“No sense in beating around the bush,” I replied.
Yori’s dark eyebrows furrowed at me in confusion, but there wasn’t time to explain the Earth idiom.
“On the request of King Kenneth of Nalatria,” Doria went on, “we have gathered to hear what information he and his masters have collected on the man who has claimed power in the southern nation. We will have time for anyone else to contribute information and opinions.”
I watched the other leaders as Doria spoke, and almost everyone sat respectfully and attentively.
Queen Sybil had a look like she’d sucked on an especially sour lemon and was trying to fake her way through the unpleasant flavor.
Beside her, King Giles was focused intently on Queen Doria, and he nodded as she summarized the vague history we all already knew.
The man known only as Khorr had slowly and quietly built up an army of loyalists over the past several years, maybe longer, and he now had total control over at least four cities near the Haktorian Empire’s northern border.
No spies were getting in and out, Khorr wasn’t above using torture to get what he wanted, and the empire’s royal family hadn’t been seen in months.
“To the best of our knowledge,” Doria went on, “the royal family has been assassinated–”
Sybil snorted loud enough to disrupt the entire gathering.
Doria arched an eyebrow at her fellow queen.
“Do you have evidence that contradicts this, Queen Sybil?” Doria asked in a pointed tone.
“Apologies,” Sybil said, but she didn’t sound sorry at all. “Please continue.”
“Actually,” Doria said. “I’d like to pass this off to King Kenneth of Nalatria at this point. His Master of Spies has the information to support what I’ve said. Ken?”
My heart pounded in my chest with sudden urgency, and I took a breath to steady myself. I’d never been great at speaking in front of crowds, but I was confident that what we were here to do was vitally important.
“Thank you, Queen Doria,” I said, and then I addressed the group as a whole. “At this point, we believe Khorr has gained power over enough of the Haktorian Empire that no one there has the will or strength to oppose him. We should assume the entire area is either at his mercy or in his pocket.”
A rumble of unease moved through the circle for a moment, and I took another breath before I continued.
“As Doria mentioned,” I said. “It’s been nearly impossible to get reliable information in or out of the empire–”
“Then how do we know any of this is true?” King Manolito asked, but there was no venom in his tone.
“Your Majesty.” Master Vannesh was suddenly at my side. “If I may?”
“Please.” I nodded.
“Greetings to all,” Vannesh said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. “I am Nathan Vannesh, King Kenneth’s Master of Spies.”
I tried not to get too distracted by the fact that Vannesh was his last name. I’d assumed all my masters went by their first names. Maybe Vannesh was the exception, or maybe it was a personal choice.
“While it is true,” Vannesh continued, “it has been increasingly difficult to get reliable information in or out of the empire, I have collected a few snippets of incredibly reliable information.”
“What makes it reliable?” King Horus asked.
“Ah,” Vannesh huffed and smiled. “Terribly sorry, but I’m certain you’ll understand why I can’t reveal all the secrets of my network. The nature of my work is very… precarious and depends heavily on secrecy.”
Horus chuckled, nodded, and gestured for Vannesh to continue.
“I will say this…” Vannesh stepped a few paces toward the middle of the seating area. “Thanks to my network, we were able to apprehend and stop a potential spy, or possibly assassin, just last night.”
So many people gasped at once, it was like a perfectly coordinated audience reaction for a sitcom. Even I couldn’t completely hide my reaction.
“My apologies, sire,” Vannesh whispered to me. “I did not have time to inform you until now. I was confirming the information before I presented it.”
“I take it you have confirmed it?” I asked.
“Quite.” He nodded.
“Good work,” I told him. “Tell us now.”
“Palchur,” Vannesh said. “Bring it out.”
Palchur nodded once before he turned and disappeared through the crowd.
“I will warn you,” Vannesh said. “It may be a disturbing sight for some of our more delicate members… I do encourage you to look away if you need to.”
“Look away from what, exactly?” Prime Minister Eriz asked.
“The body,” Vannesh said in a heavy statement.
“God’s graces,” Eriz breathed.
Palchur returned with four soldiers in tow, and the four men held a stiff, dead body between them. The man was dressed in all black, and there was a dried trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. His eyes were glazed over in a very unpleasant way, and Serra gasped in horror behind me.
“Look away,” Yori whispered.
Many more gasps came from royals, advisors, and high-ranking servants alike as Palchur’s soldiers carried the man’s body toward the middle of the circle. One woman behind Queen Doria actually fainted.
“Goodness,” King Enken muttered and gestured for his servants to come over. “Help her, will you?”
A flurry of footmen and maids gathered around the woman, and they helped carry her away from the meeting to Basstrum’s tent.
“A dead man doesn’t prove anything,” Queen Sybil pointed out.
“Perhaps not,” Vannesh allowed. “But the document in his pocket is quite illuminating.”
“What document did he have?” Queen Lucita asked.
“A concise list,” Vannesh answered. “With accurate descriptions of each one of you.”
“I’m struggling to understand your point, Mr. Vannesh.” Queen Sybil frowned.