Queen Hydra, seeming to sense a shift in my countenance, pushes a plate of iced biscuits towards me, all of them shaped like snowflakes. ‘Tell me about your training,’ she says. ‘I believe you have been progressing well with your other water gifts.’
I clear my throat. ‘I’ve been working on my ice making and my wave carving, but I’m yet to learn how to simmer. Is that what you’re going to be teaching me, Your Majesty?’ I ask, glancing at the still-steaming teapot.
Queen Hydra shakes her head. ‘I’m afraid that won’t be possible. You are a Rain Singer. Your gifts are Melded, anchored to your emotions, and so in order to learn how to simmer, you must seek out the anchor yourself, just as you did for the others.’
‘You know?’ I say, startled. ‘About Melding?’
She nods. ‘I am one of the few who know the secret of the Singers.’
Yes, I think.You, me, River and the old man in the library.
The queen leans back in her chair, her slender fingers interlocking on the table in front of her. ‘Are you happy here, child?’
I blink, taken aback.
‘Forgive me,’ she says. ‘I only ask because I myself have never felt at home in the Imperial Province.’
‘I’ve never really felt at home anywhere,’ I say without thinking, then blush furiously. ‘I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I only meant that –’
‘I know exactly what you meant, child, and you are perfectly justified in feeling as you do. I confess I have thought of you often over the years, and when the invitation arrived from your grandmother, I knew I had to sail to the Firelands to meet you.’
Self-conscious, I look down at my teacup. ‘I remember thinking you wouldn’t come. I’d heard that you prefer to remain at the Court of Waves.’
Queen Hydra dips a biscuit delicately into her tea. ‘That is true.’
‘What’s it like?’ I ask, unable to help myself. ‘The Lagoon.’
The queen smiles. ‘Paradise,’ she says softly. ‘It will always be my haven, even when this crown is no longer mine to wear.’ She reaches up and touches the circlet of golden waves sitting neatly atop her head, then rises from her chair. ‘Come.’
I follow her to the large window and together we gaze out at Cor Caval, encircled by the yawning darkness of the Rift.
‘I think perhaps the reason I feel so ill at ease in this city is because I am cut off from that which connects me to my home,’ says Queen Hydra.
I frown. ‘What do you mean, Your Majesty?’
‘I refer to the Creek, child. You are aware, of course, that it flows through each and every province?’
I nod.
‘Well, here, because of the boy they call the Earth Cleaver, that is no longer the case.’
I tense up at the mention of Fox. I’d never really considered before that since he turned the Imperial Province into what is effectively a land-locked island, the glistening blue vein which connects every region across Ostacre is now severed.
Queen Hydra places a gentle hand on my arm. ‘Know, child, that when you leave this place, no matter what path you might tread, so long as you follow the Creek, you will always find what you are looking for.’
I find this strangely comforting, and am startled when the queen abruptly turns and walks away into the centre of the room.
‘Now,’ she says. ‘Shall we begin?’
I don’t have time to respond before a gigantic wave rears up in front of me, large enough to knock me flat. I brace for impact. Only none comes. I peer out from behind my arms and gasp. For the wave is suspended above me, completely immobilized.
I stare up at the motionless water, my hand passing straight through it as I reach out to touch the surface.
‘This is incredible,’ I whisper.
At that moment the wave comes to life once more. I stumble backwards, but it doesn’t break over me. Instead it changes direction, receding towards Queen Hydra, who, with a slight crook of her finger, reduces it to foaming surf that laps at my ankles. I watch it darken the soft leather of my boots. But when I try to move, I find I can’t.
I glance up at the queen, then back down at my feet, where a thick layer of ice now shimmers beneath them, freezing me to the floor.
