“. . . More soldiers by the end of the turn.”
And for reasons she couldn’t have explained, she slowed her ascent. After another moment, she stopped entirely and listened.
“How long will it take before all the houses have met the new quotas?”
“That I don’t know. It could take as much as half the year. But when they’ve done so, we’ll have more than doubled the size of our force.”
“What of the challenge from Dantrielle?”
“I don’t imagine it will cause the regent much trouble. Dantrielle is but one house among many, and not even the strongest.”
“She could have allies.”
Both voices sounded familiar, though Kalyi couldn’t place them at first.
“The regent seems to believe she’ll stand alone.”
“The regent is wrong. The last I heard, Tebeo was speaking with Orvinti. If he can convince Brall to stand with him, that might bring Tounstrel, Bistari, and Noltierre to his cause as well.”
The other man whistled softly through his teeth. “Taken together, they would make a formidable opponent.”
“More than the royal army could overcome?”
“Perhaps, Archminister. Perhaps.”
Pronjed, of course. And the other voice belonged to Tradden Grontalle, Solkara’s master of arms.
“If this proves to be the case, what will you counsel the regent to do?” the archminister asked.
“I’d have to give that some thought. As you know, the king had long sought a full military alliance with the empire. It had been, in his mind, Aneira’s only hope for waging a successful war against Eibithar. We’re so close to realizing his dream, I’d be reluctant to abandon this opportunity.”
“But?”
“But if opposition to such an alliance includes the houses you mentioned, we may have no choice. Against such a force, the Supremacy itself might be at risk. Surely the alliance isn’t worth that.”
“That’s not the answer I wished to hear, Tradden.”
“Forgive me, Archminister. I’m being as honest with you as I can be. Indeed, I’m not entirely certain that the regent would approve of this conversation were he to know of it.”
“Leave that to me.”
“Archminister?”
“Let me think on this a moment.”
A long silence ensued. Kalyi didn’t dare move, fearing that she might be punished for listening to a conversation between two adults that was clearly none of her affair. But she had stopped with her feet on different steps, and her bottom leg was beginning to tire. And she couldn’t help but think that she had a right to hear what they were saying, even if they wouldn’t have thought so. She was queen. This was her realm, her castle, her army. The war of which they spoke would be fought in her name, regardless of who led the soldiers into battle.
“You said that if all the houses meet their quotas, it will more than double the size of Solkara’s army. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, Archminister.”
“If we add only the men from Rassor, Mertesse, and Kett to the army we have now, would that force be enough to stand against the other houses?”
“It would be a close thing. Too close. Mertesse is still weakened from the failed siege at Kentigern. And if the other houses band together, Kett may well stand with them.”
“But our army would be greater than theirs, even without Kett.”
“Greater, yes. But you must understand, Archminister, the point is not to prevail in a civil war but to prevent one. If the renegade houses believe that they can engage House Solkara in a war without being crushed they’ll do so, and so accomplish their aim, which is to keep us
from the alliance with Braedon. We must find a way to allay their concerns about this war. We might even—”
“Enough.” The archminister barely raised his voice enough for Kalyi to hear, but Tradden fell silent immediately.
“The regent listens to you, does he not?”
“Yes,” the armsman answered, his voice abruptly sounding odd.
“If you tell him that we can defeat the renegade houses, even if Kett is with them, he’ll believe you, won’t he?”
“Yes, he will.”
“Good. Then that is what you’ll do. You now believe—”
She didn’t think he’d hear her, not while he was speaking. But when she tried to move her leg, she scraped her foot on the stone stair. Not for long, not loudly. But still it was enough for the archminister to notice.
“Who’s there?” he called softly.
Kalyi said nothing. But then she heard him say, “Remain here,” to the armsman, and take a step down the stairs.
She pressed herself against the stone wall of the stairs, holding her breath and closing her eyes, as if that might help her blend into the shadows.
Pronjed took another step.
Kalyi opened her eyes again and retreated down the stairs as carefully and silently as she could. She had in mind to leave the tower entirely, but it occurred to her at the last moment that as she went through the doorway, she would cast a shadow. And the truth was, she didn’t want to leave. She wanted to hear the rest of Pronjed’s conversation with Tradden. So instead of leaving, she slipped around to the base of the stairs and hid in the small space there, holding herself as still as possible. The archminister took another step down the stairway, and yet another. But after what seemed an eternity, he ascended the steps again.
“You now believe that we can prevail against Dantrielle and his allies,” he began again. It was harder for Kalyi to hear now. The distance was greater, and her heart was pounding so loudly in her chest that she feared it would give her away. But she strained her ears, listening to every word.
“It will take all the men the remaining dukes can spare,” the Qirsi went on, “and the entire royal army. But Solkara can defeat them. Can you say that?”
“We can defeat them,” the master of arms repeated dully.
“Good. You need to tell this to the regent. You need to make him see that traitors like Tebeo are not to be tolerated.”
“Yes.”
“The alliance with Braedon will make Aneira the greatest power among the six. Next to the empire, ours will be the preeminent realm in the Forelands. We mustn’t allow the renegade houses to destroy this opportunity. Can you remember that?”
“Yes, I’ll remember.”
“And you’ll tell the regent.”
“Yes.
“When do you meet with him next?”
“In the morning, with the ringing of the bells.”
“Good. In a moment, I’ll speak to you of another matter, and you’ll respond as you would at any other time. You’ll remember nothing of what we’ve just discussed.” There was a pause. Kalyi heard feet scuffling on the steps above her and once more she feared that the archminister was approaching.
A moment later, however, she heard Pronjed’s voice again.
“Tradden? Are you well?”
“I—I’m sorry, Archminister. I seem to have lost the thread of whatever I was saying.”
“You were telling me that if the houses meet their quotas, we’ll more than double the size of our army.”
“Yes. Yes, that’s right. We should begin to see the first of the men here in Solkara by the end of the turn.”
“That’s fine news, Commander. I know the regent will be pleased.”
“Thank you, Archminister. Good day to you.”
She heard footsteps once more.
“And to you,” Pronjed called from far away. Apparently he was climbing to the next floor.
A moment later someone came down the stairs and left the tower. Peering out from the shadows under the stairs, Kalyi saw the master of arms walking across the courtyard. Still she waited several moments before leaving the tower herself, in case Pronjed or someone else was watching for her.
Thinking back on what she had heard, Kalyi couldn’t help but feel uneasy. She was quite certain that Pronjed had ordered Tradden to lie to her uncle Numar. Under most circumstances, she would have
thought that the master of arms would refuse to do such a thing. But from all she had heard, it seemed that he had agreed. Or rather, that he had been forced to agree. She shook her head. That wasn’t quite right, either. And how could the archminister expect the man simply to forget that the entire conversation had taken place? It made no sense to her. She needed to speak of it with someone. But who?
When she felt certain that it was safe, she stepped out from under the stairs and walked to her mother’s chamber. Chofya was very pleased to see her, holding her close for a long time, and then kissing her forehead.
“I’m sorry I hurt you, Kalyi,” she finally said. “Truly I am.”
Kalyi looked down at her shoes. “I’m sorry I frightened you by hiding.”
“It’s all right. Nurse told me you fell asleep.”
Kalyi laughed and nodded. “I did. On top of the tower.”
Chofya smiled, cupping Kalyi’s cheek in her hand and gazing at her for some time. “If you want to talk about your father, we can,” she said. “I know I said some mean things about him before, but he had some fine qualities as well.”
“Maybe later,” Kalyi said, feeling uncomfortable. She really wanted to tell her mother about what she had heard in the tower stairway, but she was afraid of making her mad once more.
“All right,” her mother said. “Tell me about your lessons.”
They spoke for some time—longer than they had in several turns. Eventually they walked down to the great hall together to have their evening meal before returning to Chofya’s chamber for a while longer.
When at last Nurse came to put Kalyi to bed, it was well past dark.
“It’s good to see you and your mother laughing together again,” Nurse said as Kalyi climbed into bed. “She needs you, Your Highness. You’re really all she has left now that . . . well, you know.”
Kalyi nodded.
Nurse kissed her cheek. “Good night, Your Highness.”
“Good night.”
Nurse blew out the candle by Kalyi’s bed and crossed to the door, leaving a second candle burning near the wardrobe, as she always did.
“Wait,” Kalyi called to her, still sitting up.
“Yes, Your Highness?”
She hesitated, afraid now to speak of what had happened. After a few moments though, her need to speak of it overmastered her fear.
“I overheard something today.”
Nurse arched an eyebrow. “Overheard?”
“I was in one of the towers, and I heard two men speaking on the stairs above me.” She looked away, her mouth twisting briefly. “And I listened.”
“Kalyi!”
“They were speaking of soldiers,” she said quickly. “And since they’re my soldiers, I thought it was all right.”
“It’s never all right to eavesdrop, particularly for a queen.”
Kalyi kept her eyes fixed on the second flame. “I know,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“Who did you hear speaking, child?”
“The archminister and the master of arms.”
“And what was it you heard?”
“That’s just it. I don’t really understand it.”
“Well, you shouldn’t feel badly about that. They were probably speaking of alliances and quotas and such things. I wouldn’t have understood it either.”
Kalyi shook her head. “It wasn’t just that. The archminister told him . . .” She trailed off, unable to find the words to describe what she had heard. “I don’t know how to describe it.”
“Did he sound angry?”
“No. He sounded like . . .”
He sounded like a sorcerer
. It came to her suddenly. She had heard tales of Qirsi who could control other men’s thoughts and though she had always dismissed such tales as nonsense and myth, she realized that it was the only reasonable explanation for what she had heard earlier this day. Which brought to mind other tales she had heard, these about a conspiracy of sorcerers who were trying to destroy the kingdoms of the Forelands. Was Pronjed a traitor?
At last she knew who to tell about the conversation she’d heard.
“Your Highness?” Nurse said, looking worried.
Kalyi flung off her blanket and jumped from the bed.
“Where are you going?”
“I must speak with Uncle Numar.”
“You can speak with him tomorrow. It’s very—”
“It can’t wait, Nurse.”
“It will have to.”
Kalyi tried to look as stern as possible. “I’m the queen of Aneira, and I wish to speak with my regent right now. You may take me to his chamber or you may remain here. But either way, I’m going.”
Nurse gave a small smile. “Very well, Your Highness. I’ll take you to him right away.”
Numar had finished with the last of the fee accountings, a task he found tiring, but which he refused to delegate to anyone else, particularly the archminister or one of his Qirsi friends. He had yet to eat, and he had received a perfumed missive from one of Chofya’s ladies earlier in the day. He had every intention of thanking her in person for the kindness of her note.
Hence, he did not welcome the knock at his door just as he was putting on his waistcoat. He strode to the door and flung it open impatiently. Finding the queen there, with her nurse in tow, did nothing to improve his mood.
“Your Highness,” he said, managing with great effort to smile. “Shouldn’t you be asleep at this hour?” This last he said with his eyes fixed on the nurse, who merely shrugged and looked away.
“There’s something I must discuss with you, uncle.”
“I’m certain it can wait for morning. I promise to seek you out first thing.”
“No,” she said, though he read the uncertainty in her dark eyes. “It can’t wait.”
“I’m afraid it—”
“It’s about the archminister.”
That caught his attention. Numar narrowed his eyes. “What about him?”
She glanced back at the nurse, who nodded encouragement. “I overheard him talking to the master of arms today.”
By itself that didn’t seem overly strange. Numar knew that the archminister didn’t trust him, that if he wanted information about what the regent had in mind for Solkara’s army he would be best served by asking Tradden. Still, he could learn a good deal about Pronjed’s intentions by knowing what the two of them discussed.
“Would you like to tell me what they said?”
“Yes, but it’s more than that. I think the archminister . . . I think he used magic on him.”
Numar stared at her a moment, not quite understanding what she meant. “Magic.”
“I think he used magic to make the master of arms say things, maybe even do things.”