“What you are about to witness is a closely guarded secret,” Queen Merecot said. “The queens of Semo have traditionally hidden the location of the Semoian grove, in order to control which heir was able to replace them.”
Naelin walked forward.This can’t be the grove.It didn’t have that same sacred feeling of the Queen’s Grove in Aratay. She turned in a circle, looking at all the tumbled arches.It’s just a neglected, old courtyard.
“You hide your grove?” Ven asked, disbelief and disapproval clear in his voice.
“Impractical,” Ambassador Hanna said with a sniff. “Queens cannot always predict their deaths.” Naelin agreed with that—history was full of examples. It was why the canopy singers were so important: their drumbeats could spread word of the queen’s death before too many innocents died.
Beside her, she noticed Ven was also scanning the area, watching for threats—half his attention on Merecot and half on the courtyard. There were shadows everywhere: in the corners, behind half-dead trees, beside the rubble.
“One heir at all times must know how to reach the grove,” Merecot said. “Unfortunately, at this time, I haven’t chosen which heir to trust, perhaps because they all hate me. And each other too, but mostly me.”
“Even more impractical,” Hanna said.
Naelin agreed with her again. So many innocent people depended on the queen. To keep the location of the grove a secret was bad enough, but for Merecot to have gone this long without a successor voluntarily, while Queen Daleina sent her champions out in a desperate search for suitable candidates... “Impractical and irresponsible.”
“I don’t criticize your country,” Merecot snapped. “You shouldn’t criticize mine. Besides, it’s because of the power struggles between the heirs that I was able to become queen, and that was the best thing for Semo.”
She doesn’t lack for confidence,Naelin thought. She wondered if they’d misread her—if everything about Merecot was a misread. This could still be a trap.
“What you’re about to attempt is dangerous,” Ven said. “If the spirits rebel and you are killed, and no one knows the location of the grove...”
“That’s why I’ve invited Ambassador Hanna to accompany us, at least as far as this courtyard,” Merecot said. “Ambassador Hanna, you will remain here as insurance against our failure.”
Naelin glanced at Hanna, who raised her eyebrows and said, “I assumed I was invited to ensure neither of you dies in this endeavor.”
Merecot dismissed this. “You don’t have the power to ensure that. But you can watch how we access the grove, and if my spirits start slaughtering everyone, you can ensure that the death toll isn’t overly catastrophic by guiding an heir here. Any of the nitwits will do. You can always poison them if they prove inept.”
She’s so casual about lives, Naelin thought. Real men, women, and children were at risk, and Merecot didn’t care. She thought of Erian and Llor and hoped they had enough guards around them. At least Merecot had promised none of the guards were spirits. However, it didn’t stop her from saying, “You’re sickening.”
“I’m practical,” Merecot said. “Vast difference. Not everyone who is born is meant to survive. I have a responsibility to my people as a collective whole, not to any particular individual. But maybe that’s the difference between you and me. I value all my people equally. You cherish a few above all others. That’s why I’m a better queen than you are.”
I never pretended to be a good queen, Naelin thought.But I’m better than Merecot.Merecot was immature and immoral, a combination with the potential to turn deadly.Potential? No—she’s already proved deadly.Innocent Aratayians had suffered and were still suffering from the invasion, and think of all the candidates she’d had murdered!“You only care about yourself.”
“Not true. I don’t care about myself at all. Everything I do is for the good of Renthia. You, on the other hand... Of the two of us, I think it’s clear which of us is the more selfish. I care about the fate of thousands of people, yet you would have given up all your power, abdicated the throne, left Aratay in danger, for the sake of your children.”
Naelin bristled.She has no right to judge me,she thought. “I love my children more than my own life!”
“You love your children more than anyone’s life,” Merecot said. “As my sister found out. But that’s not the issue, and who you love is not my problem—at least, I hope it isn’t. So long as you serve their needs, the excess spirits won’t care where your loyalties lie, and neither will I. Let’s do this, shall we?”
Naelin wanted to argue. This young girl playing at queen had no idea what it meant to be a mother. She’d never woken ten times in the night, just to check that her child was still breathing. She’d never worried about whether she was making her child too scared or not scared enough while she warned them to be careful, always careful. She’d never been aware—so aware that it made her skin prickle and her heart thump faster—of how little she could control in the world around them, of how fragile they were, and of how finite days were. “You don’t—”
And then she cut herself off as Queen Merecot summoned a massive earth spirit. Shaped like a giant slug, it burrowed up through the dirt in the courtyard. Broken flagstones spilled back from its bulbous body.
Naelin stepped back—she’d been so caught up in feeling outraged that she hadn’t sensed it, but here it was, looming in her consciousness. Its hate felt hazy and distant, as if leftover from a previous emotion, and she sensed no coherent thought beyonddown, down, dig deep, dig down.
“Creepy thing,” Ven muttered, hand straying to his sword. “Naelin?”
“It’s not attacking,” Naelin said.
“Of course it’s not attacking—I summoned it,” Merecot said, exasperated, as she climbed onto its back. “The Queen’s Grove of Semo is hidden within the mountains. Fastest way to reach it is to take tunnels. If the worst happens, Ambassador, this is the kind of spirit an heir must summon. It and its ilk know the way.”
“And I find an heir how?” Hanna said testily. “Since you’ve shirked your responsibility to choose one.”
“All the heirs attended the wedding. You’ll find them in the West Room. Choose whomever seems least annoying.” Leaning down, Merecot held out her hand to Naelin.
Naelin hesitated.Can I trust her?
“Not the time for second thoughts,” Merecot said. “Climb on board. I’ve got a whole country full of people depending on me who need this to work.”
