Ingrid’s smirk fades, her mouth thinning into a thoughtful line instead.
“I have…heard of troubles. Nothing more than whispers when I’m unnoticed, but… Well, I know I’m only a human and I don’t belong to this world, but I don’t know how I can be expected to understand what is needed of me as queen when I haven’t been included in any of the reach’s operations.”
My silverware lays abandoned, the meal forgotten while I frown at my confusing bride.
“The problems of the reach are vast and complex; I didn’t think you had interest in—”
“In the duties of the role I’ve been assigned?” she challenges. “After Bright— After the incident with the ifrak, when you weren’t showing signs of recovery, I asked Valenar where the reach would be without you. Do you know what he told me?”
It would be better off.
“No.”
“He said it’ll have its first human queen. You might think you’re protecting me by keeping me at arm’s length, but I need to prove myself as much as you do, Your Majesty.”
And I see it now. The set of her shoulders, the way she lifts her chin, not a single quiver as she stares at me from the other side of the table.
She’s a queen. She may not see it, but I do.
Val and Hilduin do.
And soon the reach will, too.
“There have been ongoing disputes in the northwest mountain country—”
“The contested lands with Iron?” she asks.
And now she’s left me speechless for an entirely new reason.
“The classroom may suit you more than you think,” I answer with a nod. “Being so far from Crownwood, and with so little magic to go around, the Wilds have been particularly aggressive in their advance there. The high generals of Iron and I agreed to work together to dam the Aegis River, but progress has not been as fast as we hoped, and the encroachment is picking up speed.”
“Well, you can only build so fast,” she says, frowning.
“Wecan. Part of the agreement is that we build in accordance with Emerald customs, disturbing the land as littleas possible… The high generals would have us blast a hole in the mountainside to dam the river with a landslide.”
Ingrid’s eyes widen, and the horror on her face reassures a fear I didn’t know I’d been holding onto.
“But that’s… Aren’t there homes nearby? Farmland? They would destroy it all? It’s barbaric!” Her cheeks flush and her fist pounds the table, every bit the steward of the land she needs to be.
I nod. “I have been advised we may need to evacuate the neighboring villages if we can’t stop the incursion—or if the high generals take matters into their own hands. We have discussed both possibilities. I’ve also been encouraged to send more troops, to pull all the troops, to end the project, to rush the project, to shore up defenses, to cede the territory—”
“What?”Ingrid cuts in. “You can’t seriously be thinking of… Cede to whom? The high generals? Absolutely not.” She purses her lips and shakes her head as if the matter is settled.
Is it really so easy for her while I have wrestled with the dilemma for days?
“Having the cooperation of Iron Reach is a gift we cannot take lightly, though not one we can’t live without, correct? The Iron Generals are strong, undoubtedly, but theirs is a small, unproductive reach. If we cannot come to a continued agreement, Emerald is more than capable of proceeding without them, is it not?” Though she adds the questions in, they’re for my benefit, not hers. Her lessons have served her well, and now she’s said aloud the thing that no one else has dared to.
“We are,” I admit, the truth of it striking a chord deep within. Emerald is resilient. All death brings new life, and the leaves must fall for the blossoms to reappear in spring. I’ve letmyself believe in the lie of winter and its barren limbs for too long. Giving up has never been an option for me before, and it certainly isn’t now.
“Right,” Ingrid says with a curt nod, hands clasped atop the table. For so long I’ve only had Val to talk to like this, and he’s grown so weary of my doubts and indecision. Having Ingrid across the table and so engaged has thrown new fuel on my fire.
“So I know you’re getting all kinds of conflicting advice, and probably everyone has an excellent point about why their advice should be chosen above everyone else’s…buuuut,” she says, drawing out the word with that glint in her eyes that makes my heart trip over itself. “I think there’s one more advisor you should hear from.”
“Oh?” The sly grin she wears, coupled with the way she traces the rim of her glass with her fingertip makes me think she might be aware of something I’m not.
“Mhm,” she confirms, nodding, her grin widening.
Verysuspicious.
