Page 14

CALLYN

Queen Lia Mara is often busy, which is never a surprise. Her attention is in high demand, whether from advisers or courtiers or generals—or even her citizens. It’s part of the reason it took me so many days to realize that she doesn’t seem to be spending very much time with King Grey: she’s always with someone else .

I suddenly wonder if that’s on purpose.

I shove these thoughts out of my head. It’s the worst kind of idle gossip. I’d pinch Nora’s arm if she breathed one word of it to me.

Tonight, when I head for her strategy room, the guards inform me that the queen has retired early. I sigh and make a mental note to discuss Alek with her in the morning—only to find the queen in the princess’s sitting rooms. She’s playing a game of Wolf and Stone with Nora and little Sinna, a brightly colored array of painted tiles spread across the table between them. They haven’t seen me yet, and I’m struck by the image of my sister, still in her vest and trousers, sitting with the queen, playing a children’s game. A far cry from the girl in patched skirts who didn’t want to fetch eggs from the barn a few weeks ago.

“Careful,” she’s saying to Sinna. “You don’t want to give away what’s under all your tiles. Keep some of your wolves hidden.”

“But the wolves are so pretty.” Sinna turns over a tile, and she’s right. The game pieces are fit for a princess, each tile made from polished stone, unlike the old wooden version I used to play with Jax, and later, with Nora. On the tile in front of Sinna, the wolf’s eyes are set with blue jewels, the fur painted in shades of violet and gray that might not be realistic, but is rather lovely.

The queen smiles. “I’ve always loved the wolves, too.”

Sinna reaches out and starts turning over others. “Can I have all the wolves, Mama?”

“No, silly,” says Nora. “Then we can’t play.” She patiently starts turning them all back over.

Sinna giggles and fights to flip them back , and my sister playfully races to keep them all in order. Half the tiles scatter onto the floor.

“Well,” the queen sighs, “I suppose we can—oh! Callyn. Would you like to play?”

She looks up at me, and after the gentleness in her voice, I’m startled at the tension that seems to cling to her eyes. Her hair is usually plaited down over one shoulder, but it’s loose today, a long cascade of vibrant red that hangs down her back. She’s in the belted regal robes that she wears to meet with her advisers, but there’s something about her stature that just seems disquieted. I can’t quite put my finger on it. She doesn’t look worried, she looks . . . ?unsettled.

Nora and the princess have fallen to their knees, giggling as the tiles clack together in their scrambling, making a colorful mess.

“I’m not entirely sure anyone is still playing,” I say.

“Let’s put all the animals together,” Sinna says, picking through the tiles.

“I’ll start with the birds,” Nora says, easily changing tactics to accommodate the princess. She shifts to sit cross-legged. “I like the jewels on their wings.”

The queen watches them for a moment, and some of the tension slips out of her eyes. She reaches out to give one of Nora’s braids a gentle tug. “Sinna is never going to have a better playmate than Princess Nora.”

As soon as she says the words, she stops short, and her breath catches. It takes me a moment to understand why, and it’s a moment too long. Sudden emotion slams into the room, washing over all of us. The queen obviously didn’t mean to consider the baby she lost, but once the words are out of her mouth, they have an impact.

Nora looks up and offers her a smile—but it looks a little watery. Without warning, she rises up on her knees and all but throws herself at the queen to give her a hug.

“Nora!” I cry.

“Oh, Callyn, it’s all right,” says the queen, as if I’m the one being ridiculous, and it’s completely appropriate for my sister to fling herself at royalty. She holds Nora tightly for a moment, and another pulse of emotion flickers through the room, so powerful that it almost takes my breath away. It’s not just my sister’s acknowledgment of her pain. It’s Queen Lia Mara’s grief over what she’s lost, and relief over what she’s found.

Then it’s gone, and Nora swipes at her eyes and goes back to the tiles like nothing happened.

The queen swipes at her eyes, too, and I look away so it’s not obvious.

She says, “I’ll call for some tea. Callyn, would you like some? You were in the training arena late. Did you even have dinner?”

“Oh, no, I’m—”

She waves a hand. “Come sit with me while they play. I’ll send for food instead. I haven’t eaten yet either.”

I open my mouth to decline, because her eyes are a little red-rimmed, and I almost feel like I’m intruding. But I consider that the queen was sitting down to play a children’s game. I consider that she just let my sister clutch at her, how the feeling of anguish was so potent in the room.

I consider that she should be dining with the king. But she’s not.

I wanted to talk to her about Alek, about his potential threats, but just now, that moment in the arena feels so far away.

I don’t know what’s happening, but I know she doesn’t want to be alone.

I look into her tired eyes and nod. “Thank you, Your Majesty. Dinner would be lovely.”

The food in the palace is always quite decadent, everything brushed with butter or laced with honey, the pastries flaking so perfectly that I sometimes long to linger in the kitchen to learn how they do it—though I have no idea if I’ll ever return to my little bakery in Briarlock.

Tonight we’re served tiny glistening onion tarts alongside roasted chicken that’s been drizzled with an orange syrup, a combination that I never would’ve considered, but smells so good I can’t believe I almost declined dinner. Servants offered to stay, but the queen waved them off, so we’re alone again with the younger girls. Sinna has moved on to practicing braiding her doll’s hair while Nora plaits hers, and they’re sitting in the window of the next room, chattering like they’ve known each other for years.

The queen slices through a piece of chicken. “Nora is very patient with her.”

“I think she’s just happy to find someone who talks as much as she does.” I realize how that sounds, and I quickly add, “I mean—”

“Callyn. You must stop worrying so much.”

“Big sisters always worry.”

A smile breaks through the tension in her expression, followed by a light laugh. “True enough.” She picks up a bottle of wine and begins to pour.

The red liquid swirls to fill both glasses, and my eyes widen.

She meets my gaze across the table and stops before she sets the bottle down. “More?”

I have to shake myself. “Ah—no. No, Your Majesty.”

She picks up her glass, then gestures for me to do the same. When I do, she taps hers against mine, and the clink of the crystal sings through the room. “To big sisters,” she says, followed by a hearty sip.

So I guess we’re drinking. I’m drinking with the queen. I echo her words and take a sip.

But then she takes another, longer swallow, and for a moment, I think she’s going to drain the glass.

But she doesn’t.

“Forgive me,” I venture quietly, with a glance toward the girls, who are luckily oblivious. “Are you . . . ?all right?”

The queen meets my eyes, then nods, then sighs. “It’s a fair question.” She doesn’t say anything more than that, which feels very deliberate. “You looked a bit harried when you arrived after your lesson with Nolla Verin. Are you all right?”

I hesitate, wondering if that’s a loaded question—especially since Verin wasn’t even there today. It makes me think of what Alek implied.

Lia Mara picks up on my hesitation and adds, “My sister can be too aggressive. If Verin is being overly harsh, tell me.”

Verin has broken my nose at least five times now, but I don’t say that. “No—it’s fine.” I hesitate again, but I was coming to tell her about Lord Alek anyway. I might as well jump in. “Lord Alek came to the arena. I . . .” I bite at my lip. “He took me by surprise. I thought he was being held for treason.”

The queen frowns. “No. Verin said she discussed Lord Alek with you. His feelings about my husband’s . . . ? magic . . . ?are no secret, but we have absolutely no evidence to prove that he was conspiring against us. He truly was by Grey’s side throughout the Royal Challenge. Even you yourself said that you believed that the king was Alek’s target—not me. Is that still what you believe?”

I feel hot and cold all over. There are too many things in that statement to figure out. Verin did discuss Alek with me—but she didn’t say he was freed. Is this another one of her tests? Did I pass or did I fail by mentioning this to the queen?

And why did the queen hesitate over the word magic ? Or was she hesitating over husband ? Or both? What does that mean?

Maybe I look troubled, because the queen takes another sip and says, “You can tell me your thoughts. You don’t have to figure everything out on your own.”

She’s right. This is the whole reason I came looking for her to begin with.

I want to gulp my own wine. “It’s hard to talk about Alek,” I admit. “Because I feel like such a fool for trusting him.”

The queen is quiet for a moment, and the only sound is the distant giggles of the girls in the next room. Lia Mara glances at them, and then back at me. “When I first became queen, Alek’s older sister was one of my advisers. Ellia Maya. Their mother had been a general in the army, but like your mother, like so many others, she died in the early battles with Emberfall and that . . . ?that creature. But after I agreed to ally with King Grey, we attempted to stop the war with Emberfall. I thought all of my people were loyal, but Ellia Maya was caught selling information to the other side. She’d sold a weapon of Iishellasan steel to Prince Rhen, to be used against Grey.” The queen pauses. “She was later killed in battle as well.”

“Alek told me about his mother when we first met,” I say quietly. “And about his sister.” I frown, remembering the echo of loss in his voice when we spoke in the bakery that night. “Did he play me for a fool right from that moment? It was one of the first things we bonded over.”

The queen reaches out and puts a hand over mine. “His grief is genuine, Callyn. He lost his sister and his mother. Empathy doesn’t make you a fool.”

I stare back at her. “Aren’t you worried that he might plot against you again?”

She draws back her hand. “In truth, I’ve been worried that I haven’t been examining the actions of my people as clearly as I should be.”

I don’t know what that means. I don’t know what to say.

She picks up her glass and swirls the contents, but doesn’t take another sip. “I know my people are afraid, and they’ve been afraid for a while. Perhaps I haven’t been listening.” She pauses. “When Ellia Maya was killed, it was long believed that she was a traitor to Syhl Shallow—because she gave Emberfall’s prince the means to kill Grey. But Alek has always steadfastly maintained that his sister was not a traitor. That her actions were taken out of loyalty to Syhl Shallow. Out of loyalty to me .”

I can’t stop staring at her.

The queen finally drains the glass. “Alek is not subtle about his distaste for Grey standing at my side, and he rather openly hates Tycho for being a part of the battle that killed Ellia Maya. He hates Emberfall, and he hates magic, and I suppose I can’t blame him for either. Magic has . . . ? caused a lot of harm.” The weight in her voice is potent.

I swallow. I had my own reasons for hating Emberfall and hating magic. I think of the pendant that hangs over my heart, and it takes everything I have to keep from touching it. I wonder what the queen would think if she knew that magic flows through my veins now, too. I’m afraid of the answer, so I don’t ask.

Instead, I say, “He’s always said that to me, too. That he was loyal to you.”

She nods. “He’s never wavered on that, Callyn. So I don’t think you were a fool. And holding him for treason without any scrap of proof would not be viewed well by my Royal Houses. He has too many allies. This fear of magic has grown too quickly. There are already rumors of scraver attacks near the border, but I suspect that’s more deceit on the part of the Truthbringers, who were upset that their plan was thwarted.”

I gasp, remembering the scravers who arrived to help us in battle. One helped heal Nora’s wounds when she was nearly killed. “There have been attacks ?”

She winces. “I don’t know if they’re real. The Truthbringers tend to blame magic for everything. Spreading rumors that dangerous scravers have returned to Syhl Shallow would be one way to keep those fears alive. Especially since they also claim that the king uses his magic to silence his opposers. After what happened in Briarlock, the king has been interrogating citizens known to be associated with the Truth-bringers, but the outcry against his actions is growing loud. Locking up Alek would make him a martyr—and I’m still not fully convinced that he was a part of this uprising. His loyalty seems . . . ?steadfast. Does that make me a fool?”

“No! I would never—”

“Callyn.” She smiles. “Drink your wine.”

I take another gulp.

Then she adds, “Tell me what he said.”

“What?”

“You said he came to you in the arena tonight. Tell me what he said.”

I frown. “He might be trying to trick me again.”

“Maybe he is. But I’d like to know what he’s saying.”

I take a long, slow breath. This feels like standing at the edge of a cliff. It’s one thing for Alek to trick me . I don’t want to help him trick the queen. I bite at my lip. “He said he never lied, and that he had ample opportunity to attack the king, and there was no reason for him to be held in Emberfall.” I pause. “He says he had no involvement in what happened in Briarlock, and he implied that someone was working against him and you.”

“Does he know who?”

“No. Well—he didn’t tell me .” I hesitate.

The queen’s eyes narrow. “Out with it.”

“I just—” I wince. Alek is so diabolical. “He implicated your sister.”

“Nolla Verin?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.” She pours herself another glass of wine.

I nearly fall out of my chair at the casual way she says Hmm .

Then she adds, “Do you think he would tell you more?”

Now I want to drain my glass. “More?”

“If I arranged a private meeting, do you think Lord Alek would speak freely about his suspicions? Or do you think he would be wary?”

“I . . . have absolutely no idea.”

“He is clearly drawn to you if he sought you out in the arena.” Her voice softens. “And if he spoke to you about his sister and mother—if he bonded with you, as you said, I don’t think that was a trick. He may have manipulated you in some ways, but I do think it’s possible he felt a genuine connection. Would you be willing to see what else he would say?”

I almost can’t believe we’re having this conversation. It has gone nowhere I thought it would. “I’m not a spy, Your Majesty. He knows I hate him. I don’t think I could convince him that I was there out of genuine interest.”

“You misunderstand. I don’t need you to be a spy. I don’t want you to be a spy.” The queen shifts her weight and leans in against the table. “Callyn, I need to protect my daughter. I cannot be at war with all of my people. If you are willing to speak with Alek, and if he is willing to be open with you, then I would ask you to listen.”

I brace myself, and I cast a glance at the girls, then drop my voice. “But . . . ?what if he just blames your sister? Or what if he says that the king is a threat to you? What if he says that’s why he wants him dead?”

She frowns, and a bit of that pain from earlier flickers in her eyes. But maybe she’s bracing herself, too, because her voice is strong and clear. “Then I would like for you to convince Lord Alek that his queen is ready to hear everything he has to say.”