“She’s not receiving callers.”
“The king departed weeks ago,” I say. “My people tell me that his soldiers have withdrawn from Syhl Shallow. Yet the queen has not been seen.”
Verin steps closer, her voice turning low and vicious. “You are not in a position to make demands, Alek. The palace was subject to a brutal attack. The queen is recovering—”
“She was injured?” My eyebrows go up.
“No.”
“Then why is she recovering?”
Nolla Verin clamps her mouth shut.
This feels more like sparring than bantering— and I know the difference. Verin and I have had countless moments like this over the years. At one point my mother thought we might present a strategic couple— and on the surface, I might agree with her. I’ve never flinched from brutality, and Verin would never have put up with the attacks that King Grey and Queen Lia Mara have endured. Any plots against the throne would’ve been severely punished under her rule. If I were at her side, I certainly wouldn’t have stopped her.
Verin and I are too similar, and anyone who ever envisioned a romantic pairing was fooling themselves. We’re too distrustful, too ambitious, too aggressive, too unforgiving.
Neither of us should rule anything.
It shows now, because this feels like a standoff, and I know she won’t back down. I won’t either. A spark of aggression flickers between us, and knowing her, it’ll lead to a fight. I’m glad I’m armed.
My eyes narrow. “What are you hiding?”
“Nothing. I am protecting my sister from your prying questions.”
I take a step closer to her. “Are you certain?”
“I would die for Lia Mara,” she says. “And I willendanyone who means her harm.”
Right this moment, I’m not entirely sure I believe that. “Good,” I say. “So will I.”
She moves closer tome. “What do you really want, Alek?”
I want to know if magic is truly gone. I want to know if the queen is safe.
But that’s not really what I want to know. That’s not the root of my inquiry.
I want to know if Callyn is truly gone.
As I think the words, I discover I can’t speak them. I don’t want to know the answer.
I hate this part of myself. It feels like weakness. Magicshouldbe banished from Syhl Shallow. If Callyn shares the king’s power, she should be banished as well.
But a sliver of hope stings my heart with every beat, imagining she’s still here.
A soft voice speaks from the doorway. “Nolla Verin. What are you doing?”
The voice doesn’t sound familiar, so I look— and I’m shocked to discover the queen.
She’s always so vibrant, with long red hair and bright eyes and a regal bearing. Queen Lia Mara seems to have endless patience, and I’ve seen her sit at court for hours on end, listening to the pleas and complaints of her subjects. I personally don’t know how she endures it, because I’d be exasperated and ordering executions by midday, just to get everyone to shut up. But she’s always tireless, spending as much time on the last person waiting for her attention as she does on the first.
Today, however, there’s no vibrance. Her eyes are dull, her normally full cheeks a bit hollow. Her hair is lank and seems as though it needs a good washing. She looks as though she hasn’t slept in a week.
Or more likelytwo.
“Your Majesty,” I say. “Are you . . . well?”
“My husband is gone,” she says evenly. “I am not well.”
