7. Precipice
Precipice
W hat started as murmured speculation at the revelation of a dragon prince in our presence broke into a clamor of concern at this newest discovery.
My head swiveled around to stare at Lenn.
He looked as alarmed as I felt, his deep blue eyes wide as saucers.
The Hersir before my throne shifted nervously, grips tightening on their spears.
I looked back at the golden dragoness—Rensif Lightwing, as the wavering, overlapped voices proclaimed. “What is the meaning of this?”
The conversations in the hall died down, focusing in on me. My mind raced in a thousand directions as I tried to understand. And underneath my rising panic, the darkthread pulled ever tighter.
Lenn stepped forward, placing a hand on my elbow. I angled my head toward him, though my gaze never left Rensif. She was still staring placidly at me with a wide smile.
“Vor, may I suggest we go to the receiving room?” Lenn said, barely audible. “I don’t think it wise to confront her in this public setting.”
I gave him a subtle nod before turning back to fully face the dragons at the base of the dais.
The prince was watching me carefully, his face maddeningly unreadable.
All the others, too, didn’t seem the slightest bit perturbed.
All except Corbyn. His dark eyes darted between me and Rensif nervously.
The Shadow shuddered, but the pull on the darkthread gradually loosened.
I do not like this, she hissed.
Nor do I. What can it mean?
She rumbled softly. We must aim to find out.
I fixed the golden dragon with a hard stare, interlacing my hands at my waist. “I request you join me in my chambers,” I said. Then, my eyes locked with Corbyn’s. “All of you.”
Rensif smirked lightly. “Whatever Your Majesty desires.”
Lenn moved toward the dragons, signaling to the Hersir to escort them.
The spear-wielding women stepped forward to corral them as Lenn led the way out of the hall.
My feet moved of their own accord, carrying me to the far side of the dais and straight toward the Jarlum.
Everyone else in the room dawdled aimlessly, unsure of what to do next. This hadn’t gone at all to plan.
The Jarlum hastened forward to meet me. Their faces echoed my own uncertainty. I looked to Freya Anja first, noting the panicked expression on her face.
“What do you make of this?” I asked.
She stared into the air above my head, the green of her eyes hazy as she used her powers of divination.
After a moment, she shook her head, pressing her mouth into a thin line.
“I… I cannot say for certain, Your Majesty. I do apologize. There are too many threads to decipher them all clearly.” The dismay in her voice rocked my already shattered confidence.
“Gods-damn them,” Reynar swore viciously. “They’ve done this to rattle us.”
“But why?” Vilke cut in.
“I don’t know,” Reynar continued, “and that disturbs me.” He looked at me pointedly.
My gut clenched as the unsettling thought crept from the back of my mind.
They’d all convinced me to play it safe, but the dragons had just changed the rules of the game.
What reason could the most powerful dragons in all of AEldin—even more powerful than their king—have for coming here?
And with a prince as my new Talon, at that.
There was something else at work here, though I couldn’t fathom what it was.
I drew in a deep breath, meeting their expectant faces with as much courage as I could muster. This was new territory for all of us—I had to lead the way.
“We will hold to the course we set last night,” I said.
“Make them think we do not suspect any treachery. If some plot is afoot involving this prince of theirs, we’ll sniff it out.
Perhaps it will reveal itself before too long.
I beg you all to remain as calm as you can during this meeting.
” This last part I said for my sake as much as theirs.
“Of course,” Freya Vilke said. Ingvar muttered something unintelligible, and Anja nodded meekly. Reynar inhaled a sharp breath before nodding as well.
Lenn was suddenly behind me. I turned to face him, his agitation palpable. “They’re in the receiving room,” he muttered. “I’ve stationed the bulk of the Hersir in the hall. The rest will be ready, should we need them.”
“Thank you, Lenn.”
He leaned closer to me. “Are you alright?”
The part of me that was still just Vor wanted to fold into his arms and will this all away, as if his embrace was the safest place in the world. But the part of me that was Queen—the part that now had to prevail—reviled against that instinct.
I stepped back, fixing him with a determined stare. “I can handle this,” I said.
He hesitated only a moment before nodding firmly. “Yes, you can.”
The Jarlum entered the receiving room from the corridor, filing past the Hersir already posted there.
I motioned for Lenn to follow them. He seemed to understand my intent, giving my shoulder a light squeeze before complying.
Once he was inside the room, I moved further down the hall, followed by the curious eyes of the leather and fur-clad women of the Hersir.
“Your Majesty?” one of them asked. I looked over to find Johanna, a woman I’d known since childhood. She was the second-in-command for the group of forty women. A fierce and loyal warrior.
“I’m alright,” I assured her, glancing at the others as well. “I only need a moment.”
She nodded, though I still sensed her dark eyes following me as I approached the double doors at the end of the hall. My heart sank to my stomach and was replaced by the Shadow’s sorrow as I opened the doors to reveal the dim space beyond.
Hazy light filtered through a crack in the curtains, casting surreal shadows over every surface.
The smooth, polished floors, which only a week ago had been covered in blood and ash.
The now-empty bed frame, its mattress having been removed and discarded.
A high-backed chair angled toward the flagstone hearth.
A silver lockbox, placed solemnly on the table by the far door to await its retrieval like some neglected dog.
My eyes lingered on the box as a mix of emotion flooded my chest. I stepped into the room and closed the doors behind me, sinking the space into further gloom. The click of the latch reverberated hollowly through my chest. and a chilly draft stirred the errant hairs that had escaped from my braids.
It was so quiet.
I exhaled heavily, taking in the space. These rooms that should have been mine now. The suite I couldn’t bring myself to inhabit yet. There were still too many traces of her here. The echo of her memory permeated like a heavy fog, seeping into my senses and shrouding my heart.
A small collection of books sat upon the mantel, one of their company still lying open in the high-backed chair.
Flowers wilted in a vase upon her vanity, their white petals scattered atop her brushes and combs and porcelain pots.
There was a trunk at the foot of the bed and a section of fabric peeked out from under the lid.
The scarlet blood spatter against the blue silk caused bile to rise in my throat.
And although the floor had been cleaned and polished as much as possible, they had not been able to completely remove the char marks from the gray stone. The Shadow hissed quietly at the sight of them.
I stepped over the faded black scorches, moving toward the table and the silver box.
My gaze traveled over the polished bands engraved with runes that I only vaguely understood.
A small, iron key protruded from the lock, waiting to be turned.
The whole thing was so small. It was difficult to imagine how an entire person had been reduced to the confines of such a meager vessel.
My fingers ghosted over the runes set into the silver, then grabbed the handles on either side and lifted the box. It weighed little in my hands, but heavily on my shoulders. Steadying myself, I turned toward the door.
Mother was gone. I barely knew who I was without her. And now I had to face a roomful of potential enemies to hopefully find out who had taken her from me. My fingers trembled where they gripped the box.
It had to be done. As much as it hurt, I needed to know the truth. For her, and for me.
Are you ready? the Shadow asked.
As I’ll ever be.
Tucking the box into the crook of my elbow, I pulled the door open, squinting against the brightness.
Every eye in the receiving room turned to me as a heavy silence fell over us.
My gaze found Lightwing first. She seemed to be radiating her own light from where she basked in the sun by the window.
But her cold, unsettling smile clashed against that radiance.
“Your Majesty,” her layered voice rang out, floating across the vaulted chamber. She inclined her head the slightest bit, but that unpleasant grin faltered when she caught sight of what I held in my hands.
I stepped into the room, drawing the door to my mother’s bedchamber swiftly shut behind me. Lenn was already at my side with a hand at the small of my back. For that, I was thankful. My legs trembled beneath my skirts.
The four Jarlum were already situated on the far side of the table, facing me with their troubled looks and stiff posture. As for the dragons, they all stood to my left, congregating near the chair at the head of the table.
My chair.
A sneer pulled at my mouth, causing my cheek to twitch painfully.
“Please,” I ground out, doing my best to will pleasantness into my voice, “make yourselves comfortable.” Someone had ordered several chair-height stools brought in and placed along the side of the table opposite the Jarlum.
Probably Anja, always the thoughtful one. Thank the gods for her.