Chapter 40
Beatryce hadn’t been this nervous since…perhaps meeting Dren for the first time. But showing Merylynn the vault was the right thing to do, she was sure of it.
They stood in her office, the light of the chandelier warming the space with its glow.
“What I am about to share with you is a secret you must take to your grave,” Bea said. “Do you understand?”
Merylynn, eyes wide, nodded. “Yes, my lady.”
“I mean it. If I discover you’ve told anyone, I will end you.” The darkness warmed within her, pleased by such a threat.
Merylynn shook her head. “I swear on my life and my family name, I will never tell a soul.”
“Good.” Bea paused, then went behind the desk, pushed on the wainscoting to pop it open, then pushed it wide to reveal the door beyond.
Merylynn inhaled suddenly, the sound barely audible.
Bea turned, pleased at Merylynn’s response. “My grandmother Leda Blackbryar’s private vault.”
Another soft gasp passed Merylynn’s lips.
“Come.” Bea stepped through as she pulled the key free from her bodice and unlocked the inner door. She didn’t glance behind her, just kept walking until she was near the big table. She waited until Merylynn was next to her, then said, “Lights.”
A third gasp left her friend.
Bea smiled. “It’s quite something, isn’t it?”
Merylynn looked around, mouth open. “I can’t believe this is here. I can’t believe this is—how did you find this place? Did your mother tell you about it?”
“No. Not even she knows.” Bea explained about the box Ishmyel had given her, about the letter and the key. She kept the portal ring to herself. Merylynn didn’t need to know everything.
“Oh, Beatryce, what a gift your grandmother has given you.”
“And you haven’t seen the half of it. There’s more.”
“There can’t be,” Merylynn said.
Still smiling, Bea walked over to the wardrobe and flung the doors wide. “There is, trust me. And it’s here that we’ll find the right gown for me to wear to this meeting.”
Again, she went through without waiting for Merylynn and spoke the lights on.
Merylynn shook her head as she took it all in. “This is overwhelming. But in the best possible way.” She put her hand to her heart. “I am deeply honored that you would share this with me.”
“Just remember what I said. Not a word to anyone.”
She pressed her hand more firmly to her heart. “I swear it.”
“Good. Let’s find me something appropriately royal to wear. There must be no doubt when Sparrow sees me that I am indeed the queen.”
“Black,” Merylynn whispered. “You should wear black. It’s definitely royal and it will convey seriousness. The right gown should also be slightly intimidating, if not a little fierce.”
“I almost never wear black.”
“And yet,” Merylynn said. “Your mother wore it frequently. And your grandmother wears a black gown in one of her portraits.”
Bea thought about that. “It’s so funereal, though.”
Merylynn gave her a pointed look. “Isn’t the end of Sparrow and her court the whole purpose of this meeting?”
Bea laughed. “I suppose you’re right. Black, then. If we can find something suitable.”
They started searching through the racks.
“These gowns are extraordinary, Beatryce. Your grandmother’s taste and style is unmistakable.” Merylynn pulled out an iridescent blue gown. “This shadow-weave would cost a fortune to recreate today.”
“Is that so? Perhaps I should add that gown to my dressing room.” Bea had brought Merylynn here for exactly this reason. For her fresh eyes, her knowledge of fashion, and her loyalty that would keep her opinions honest.
“I would if I were you.”
“Lay it on that bench and we’ll take it out with us.
” The meeting with Sparrow Meadowcroft loomed like a storm on the horizon, and Bea refused to walk into it dressed like anything but a queen.
“I need something that says I am there to fight for my kingdom. Something regal. Unforgettable. And if it’s also something that makes her a little uneasy, all the better. ”
“I understand completely.” Merylynn moved with purpose, sliding hangers aside and considering each gown until she paused at the far end of the rack.
She drew out a gown that seemed to drink the light rather than reflect it. “This is interesting.”
Bea came closer.
The fabric was midnight black, cut from some ancient silk that shifted like liquid when it moved, with subtle hints of deep crimson threading through the weave like veins.
The bodice was structured and severe, embroidered with tiny thorns that climbed toward a high, regal neckline framed by a collar of stiffened lace that flared like raven wings.
Long sleeves tapered to pointed cuffs, and the skirt fell in clean, dramatic lines that would pool like shadows when she walked.
There was a slit on one side just high enough to reveal the glint of a dagger, should she wear one sheathed on her thigh.
It would also give her access to that dagger.
Merylynn held the gown up, admiring it. “They don’t make gowns like this anymore,” she breathed.
Bea had to agree. “I’ve never seen one like it.
“It’s perfect. The cut is exceedingly powerful.
Commanding, elegant, impossible to ignore.
The black will make your skin glow like moonlight, and those embroidered thorns are so very Blackbryar.
I can’t imagine a better way to bring your mother and grandmother with you.
Anyone who stares too long might feel the weight of every queen who came before you pressing down on them. ”
Perhaps Merylynn was overembellishing a bit, but her words rang true.
Bea brushed her fingers against the fabric.
A faint chill raced up her arm, but it was not unpleasant.
More like the darkness acknowledging this was the right gown.
The knot of nerves in her stomach because of this meeting began to ease.
“This is it. This is what I’ll wear when I meet the Radiant queen.
Let her see exactly who she’s dealing with. ”
Merylynn carefully draped the black gown over the bench with the other gown, the fabric settling with a soft sigh as if it approved of its new destination. “The gown needs accessories that will match its power,” she murmured, already moving toward the jewelry cases.
Bea followed, her fingers still tingling from the gown’s subtle magic. “Nothing too delicate. I’ve got to have pieces with presence.”
“Indeed.” After going through a few of the drawers, Merylynn opened a long case and lifted a circlet that seemed forged from shadows and moonlight. “Oh, this might work.”
Delicate in its severity, it rose to a single central point like a stylized thorn that was flanked by smaller spikes that curved like talons. Tiny black diamonds and blood-red rubies winked along the band, catching the light in dangerous little sparks.
“I know that circlet,” Bea said. “Leda wears it in her portrait with that gown. It’s known as her Shadowthorn Circlet. I’ve always thought my mother had it hidden away somewhere.”
Merylynn held it out as she said softly, “It will sit perfectly on your head.”
Bea took it, settling the cool metal across her brow. A faint pulse of power rippled through her, not unlike the gown’s chill. The darkness seemed to close its eyes and breathe. “Yes. This is the one.”
Merylynn swiftly selected additional matching pieces with confidence.
Long drop earrings of black diamond and ruby that would brush Bea’s shoulders, a heavy cuff bracelet etched with the same thorn pattern as the bodice, and a simple but lethal-looking ring that doubled as a royal seal.
The final touch was a thin silver chain bearing a single teardrop ruby that would rest just inside the deep vee of skin below the gown’s high collar.
“Very regal, I think,” Merylynn said, stepping back to admire the assembled pieces. “Intimidating, yet undeniably royal. Sparrow won’t be able to look away.”
Bea allowed herself a small, satisfied smile. “Good. Let her feel exactly what she’s up against.”
They gathered the pieces, Merylynn carrying the two gowns with reverent care while Bea removed the circlet and added it to a small tray with the other jewels.
As they exited the smaller vault, Merylynn paused at the tall mirror across from the vault door. She gave her reflection a quick, approving glance.
Before Bea could move her out of the way, a face appeared in the glass.
Not Merylynn’s.
Queen Leda, her pale, imperious eyes burning with the same dark fire Bea sometimes saw in her own mother’s gaze, stared out at them, lips curved in a knowing, slightly cruel smile. The image was translucent but more vivid than ever before, as if Leda was somehow gaining power.
Merylynn gasped sharply and stumbled backward, nearly dropping the gowns. Her hand flew to her chest. “By the blessed moon—”
Bea’s heart lurched, but she held her ground, staring into her grandmother’s ghostly gaze. The apparition lingered only a heartbeat longer before fading, leaving behind nothing but their own reflections and the faint echo of low, satisfied laughter that seemed to come from the mirror itself.
Merylynn pressed a trembling hand to the wall, breathing hard. “Was that real? Did you see that, too?”
“Yes, it was real. Leda’s spirit resides within that mirror.” Bea’s fingers tightened on the Shadowthorn Circlet. She wasn’t happy that her grandmother had decided to amuse herself by scaring Merylynn. Her friend had done nothing to deserve that, but Bea understood.
Leda wanted Bea to remember where all these things had come from. Including the dark strength that now lived inside Bea.
As if she could forget.
She glanced once more at the now-empty mirror. “It seems Grandmother approves of our choices.”
Merylynn blew out a breath as she headed toward the office. “I hope that’s what it means.”
Bea said nothing more as she continued to stand there. Leda approved because she wanted the Radiant queen dead even more than Anyka did.
“Soon,” Bea whispered. Smoke danced across the glass and the faint echo of laughter carried through the vault.
Bea went after Merylynn. All they needed now was for Sparrow to give them a time and place.
Little did the Radiant queen know she was setting the date for her own execution.