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8

NERYS

“Are you ready?”

Rowan gave me a slight nod. He’d changed clothing, as I had, from training. He looked every bit a nobleman now, his deep-green tunic emblazoned with the heraldic emblem of Estmere: a cracked stone tower under a golden crown, the crooked key behind it symbolizing their origins. With Rowan’s square jaw set, the seriousness of his countenance was unusual enough to be slightly disconcerting.

I gestured to the guards, who simultaneously opened the great throne-room doors.

The first time I entered this room, my reaction was far more animated than Rowan’s. He stood stoic, head held high, his gaze fixed on the queen with a composure I had never seen before. I, on the other hand, was young when my parents first introduced me to Queen Lirael, and the memory still lingered: the queen seated on her throne of coral, a sheet of water cascading silently behind her until it struck the surface far below, flowing out to sea. Everywhere we looked, scenes of sea battles and creatures from their depths were etched into the walls. I knew each of the stories intimately, my knowledge of Thalassarian history necessary before entering the Stormcaller’s Rite.

As we walked toward the queen, I was surprised by the lack of guards. Typically, Queen Lirael was surrounded by members of her cabinet in addition to at least two guards, yet even the ones that opened the doors were gone.

She wore an aquamarine silk gown that, if she stood, would flow behind her in waves. As always, she wore elaborate jewelry made from pearls and sea glass.

Without the queen’s usual entourage to introduce him, that duty fell to me.

“My queen, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Sir Rowan of Estmere. He is?—”

“You may rise,” she said to Rowan, who had entered a deep bow, befitting her station.

“I will be directly outside,” I began, but Queen Lirael stopped me once again.

“You may remain.”

The queen, though not quite thaloran, was at least four hundred years old and spoke with all of the authority that came with her age and experience. As always, I tried not to bristle at her tone. It was simply… her way, to speak as such.

“I was given leave by King Galfrid and Princess Mevlida to share my information with your majesty alone,” Rowan said, his voice steady and firm, but kindly, as always.

Her eyes darted from Rowan to me.

“You will remain.”

The queen had no special love for me. Thinking quickly, I could only assume she required me to stay as a demonstration of her power. Or perhaps she wished to gauge my reaction to Rowan’s words.

“My message is for the queen’s ears alone,” Rowan pushed back.

I tried not to wince. Perhaps I should have warned him that the queen did not take kindly to having her decisions questioned.

“Nerys is a trusted member of my court,” she said. “As I am certain you’ve learned already.”

What did that mean? Had she deliberately delayed this audience as a test of my loyalty?

“I have learned,” Rowan responded, looking to where she sat above us, the queen’s throne perched on a dais four steps higher than where we stood. “She is a capable and intelligent escort, and I thank you for her care.”

Spoken like a true diplomat. My parents would have liked him.

“Your message?” she prompted, leaving Rowan with a choice. He could either share with us both or not share at all. That the queen would wish me to remain, when she’d never shown an interest in having me be a part of her inner circle, was curious. Especially given she had cleared the throne room, obviously anticipating the sensitive nature of his audience.

Rowan showed no annoyance, only patience. Neither did he spare so much as a glance at me.

“As you are aware from my earlier missive,” he began, clearly resigned to my presence, “I come on behalf of the Aetherian king and his daughter, who has returned to Elydor by way of the Gate which had previously been closed for nearly thirty years. I had an opportunity to assist in escorting the princess to her father?—”

“Since the Aetherian Gate,” the queen interrupted, her thin lips pressed together between speeches, “is in Aetheria, that she needed escorting back to it was because of Prince Kael of Gyoria, was it not?”

“Aye, it is true Prince Kael abducted the princess for the purpose of taking her to his father. He changed course, however, and she is safely ensconced in the palace with her father.”

If there was one thing that annoyed Queen Lirael more than being questioned, it was the Gyorian king. Most of Elydor had that in common.

“Do continue,” she said.

“As you may have heard, Princess Mevlida and Prince Kael are now partnered.”

She knew already. The queen did not appear a bit surprised.

“He has pledged his support to King Galfrid’s cause, which is, as it has been for these past years, to reopen the Gate.”

The queen’s brows raised. “Is it not reopened?”

“No, it does not appear to be so. Princess Mevlida, it seems, is an anomaly.”

The queen did not react to that news.

Rowan hesitated for the first time since we’d entered the throne room. He looked at me and then back up to the queen.

“As you and very few others in Elydor are aware, the Gate was both opened, and closed, with the use of each clan’s most revered artifacts.”

What did he just say?

I tried not to react, but struggled.

For her part, the queen’s nose flared in annoyance.

“King Galfrid formally requests use of, when it becomes necessary, the Tidal Pearl in reopening the Aetherian Gate.”

Impossible. How could the Tidal Pearl have been used to open the Gate? The queen would never have allowed its use by anyone but her. Even if she had, it was well known King Balthor closed the Gate, and the only way he could have gotten it…

“No king in Elydor will ever again make use of our Tidal Pearl,” she said, the queen’s voice as steely firm as I’d ever heard it. Her gaze darted toward me, her eyes narrowing. “It was stolen from us once. It will never be taken again.”

Stolen.

King Balthor stole the Tidal Pearl to close the Gate.

It explained everything. Including my parents’ death.

A rage like I’d never felt before consumed me. I could not see. Or think. Or even breathe.

The Pearl had been stolen which was why, when the seaquake struck, Queen Lirael was not able to quell it. All sensed it had been coming, yet she couldn’t stop it. At least, not without the Tidal Pearl amplifying her power. But instead of telling her people it had been stolen, she claimed to have used it, to no avail.

I cannot stay here.

Before thinking it through, my feet had begun a forward motion and even my queen’s command did not stop them. I fled the throne room, pushing open one of the two heavy doors, and ran and ran. Ignoring curious stares and my name being called, I ran until I was outside of the palace. Only then did I stop, contemplating my direction, and bolted toward the sea.

Once on the beach, I continued to run toward a spot that few visited. On the other side of a rocky outcropping, it had been a haven of mine for many years. Sitting in its entrance, I didn’t dare allow my mind to consider what I had just done. Fled the palace. Ignored the queen’s command. Suddenly, I was no longer the daughter of two nobles, a Stormcaller who had received an appointment in the palace. I was Nerys, the woman who lost her parents and had difficulty controlling her magic. An orphan, afraid of her own skills.

I stood, walked slowly to the water’s edge, and lifted my hand.