‘Your Highness!’ Shapur said, taking a step towards Borin. There was a harshness in his tone he had never used with a member of the royal family before.
The prince spun to face him, finger pointed in accusation, but the sound of a portcullis rising stopped him in his tracks. He rushed to the edge of the wall and peered down at the port gate just as a circle of defenders marched through. They split apart, and Prince Becket and Queen Fayre entered the borough, coming to a stop and looking around.
Silence was heavy in the air as the merchants stared at their returned queen. Her sharp eyes took in the scene before her: the pinched faces, the corpses stacked against the walls, the defenders standing between the merchants and the arrows pointed at them.
Her spine lengthened, and her mouth flattened into a disapproving line as her gaze travelled up to her son. ‘What in God’s name is going on here?’ She was the kind of woman who could instil fear with just a few carefully selected words.
‘Mother,’ Borin said, suddenly sounding ten years younger.
She shook her head, her disappointment palpable. ‘Your father is barely cold and you stand there stoking the flames that caused his death.’
The prince’s face contorted. ‘I do thisforhim.’
‘You do this for your own childish pride!’ She took a few steps towards him, her guards moving with her like shadows. ‘Look at these corpses piled at your doorstep. Look at them!’
Prince Becket watched on, saying nothing.
‘They only have themselves to blame,’ Borin replied, pointing at the merchants.
Fayre’s expression fell. ‘You sentenced every merchant standing before you, every merchantdeadbefore you, without any evidence.’
Borin leaned over the edge. ‘They have blocked me at every turn—’
‘Enough!’
Borin straightened, his mouth closing.
Blake emerged from behind Harlan, keeping a hold of her sister’s hand as she eyed the queen.
Fayre turned to the defenders standing in front of the merchants. ‘Never in Chadora’s history have defenders taken a standagainsttheir king.’ The anger in her voice vibrated within the walls.
‘I am dealing with it,’ Borin called out to her.
She raised a hand to silence him. ‘You are the cause of it. Do you have any idea how far a man has to be pushed to disobey a direct order? To point an arrow at the men they eat, sleep, and train with every single day of their lives?’ She looked at the archers along the walls. ‘Weapons down! There is no enemy before you!’
The archers lowered their bows.
‘I give the orders now!’ Borin shouted.
The queen eyed him coolly. ‘Did I miss the coronation too?’
He did not reply.
‘Given the way you have handled things since your father’s death, I question whether you are worthy to wear his crown at all.’
Borin shook his head slowly. ‘I am the Crown Prince of Chadora. Evenyoucannot change that.’
She turned away and faced the defenders on foot in the borough. ‘Stand down, defenders. We are all on the same side.’
The defenders slowly returned their swords to their sheaths. Merchants sank to the ground or held tightly to loved ones. They were exhausted, depleted.Saved. Silent tears were brushed away as they murmured their gratitude.
‘And open the port gate,’ Fayre instructed, turning to it.
Those with enough energy cheered.
Harlan looked over at Roul. ‘Thank you, defender.’
The young defender nodded before walking away.
