“Forgive me, Your Majesty,” Malin says, smoothly cutting her off. His tone is cool, but his expression is genuinely penitent. “I am sworn to Emberfall, and to King Grey.” He pauses. “I am not under your command.”
Half the people in the room suck in a breath. Alek surges forward. “You are speaking to thequeen—”
“The king has returned to Emberfall,” Malin says evenly. “She is notmyqueen.”
Off to my left, Callyn’s and Nora’s eyes are bouncing back and forth. I wonder how much of the Emberish they can follow.
“Insolence,” Alek snaps. He takes another step forward, and Malin draws himself up. Immediately, Tycho straightens, pushing away from the beam he was leaning against. The tension in the room triples.
Clouds above.I’m on my feet without even thinking about it, my hands already curling into fists.
“Jax!” Callyn hisses in surprise, but I ignore it. There was a time when I would have backed down from Lord Alek, but those days are well behind me.
For the first time, he seems to notice that he might be outnumbered, because he falters slightly. But it’s only for a second, once he evaluates his opponents. Only Malin is armed, and Tycho is clearly injured. Alek’s gaze narrows, and his hand falls on the hilt of his sword.
“Enough.” Queen Lia Mara holds up a hand, and we all freeze. Her voice is quiet and sure, but her eyes haven’t left Malin. The queen seems genuinely struck by what he said, because a flare of annoyance washes over her face, followed by a swell of anger, and finally regret. But then she turns to Tycho— one of the few who didn’t seem shocked at Malin’s response. “If he is not under my command, is he under yours?”
“Not really, no.” When her eyes flare wide, Tycho gives half a shrugwith his good shoulder. “He’s an army captain. His orders came from Grey himself.”
“And my orders,” says Malin, “are to protect the King’s Courier.”
Alek’s hand finds the hilt of his sword again. “Maybe we should remove your obstacle, then.”
Yes, I’m definitely going to punch him in the face. I take half a step forward.
“Jax,” cries Callyn, as if she can’t believe I’m even a part of this.
“Enough,” says the queen. She lets out a breath, and it’s a sound full of sorrow. “I know my husband. I know he would agree with your actions, Captain.” She glances at Alek. “You will be civil, Alek.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” He’s scowling, but he obeys, taking a step back.
Callyn leans toward me, but she glances between us. “What are they saying?” she whispers. “Do you know?”
I’m shocked to realize that Idoknow— and until this very moment, I didn’t quite realize they were only speaking in Emberish. But before I can answer, Alek turns to her and mutters in Syssalah, “The captain is refusing to obey the queen’s order. She intended to send him back to the Crystal Palace.”
Callyn’s eyes widen, but Nora shoots up from her spot on the hay bale. “I’ll go!” she says. “Your Majesty, I can return—”
“Nora!” cries Callyn. She grabs her sister’s arm as if she’ll yank her back onto the hay bale. “You can’ t—”
“Yes, I can! Your Majesty, I can—”
“You can’t evenride,” Callyn growls.
“Of course I can. I’ve been learning with Verin.”
That seems to draw Callyn up short.
Little Sinna sits up in the straw. “Princess Nora is leaving?”
The queen strokes her hair. “No. Not yet.” She looks at Nora. “Though I am grateful for your offer, Nora, I’m not willing to send you off alone.” She glances toward the scravers in the shadows, continuingin Syssalah. “We’ve all been awake all night. None of my people are in any shape to go riding back to the Crystal Palace.”
“We’ve been awake all night, too,” says Tycho. He glances at Malin, then back at the queen. “None of us are in any shape to take on the Truthbringers right now, especially if they’re working with scravers and they have weapons of Iishellasan steel.”
“I’m fine,” Alek snaps.
“So am I,” Malin says darkly, making it clear that he’s understood every word.
I fold my arms. “Me too.”
