The Queen of Mages (24 page)

She listened without interrupting as Edon
explained this power he’d discovered he had, and how at Gravensford
he’d been gripped by an iron certainty that he had been ordained
for a higher purpose: Garova would be challenged by a great evil,
and he would lead his people through that darkness, to a glorious
destiny that lay beyond. He said the Caretaker had spoken to him.
At the moment, Taya was in no position to doubt him.

Though she was astonished, she did notice
the vagueness of his claims of a higher destiny. But the power he
wielded was undeniably real. She waited until his explanation wound
down, then cleared her throat. “What is this evil we must fight?
Vasland?”

“No. Not Vasland. They are an ordinary
threat. But I don’t know for certain. I think it has to do with
that…” He trailed off.

Taya ventured a guess. “The noble lady you
brought here.”

Edon snapped his gaze up to her. “What do
you know about that?”

Careful.
She held up her hands. “Only
what palace gossip said. You brought a lady here, and she injured
you and fled.” Taya had been careful not to stare at the scar on
Edon’s cheek. And she did not mention the other parts of the rumor:
that Edon had tried to rape the girl, or that she had somehow also
killed Gaelan Thoriss, hero of a hundred battles. “Majesty.
Brother. We should work together! I have resources and skills that
you do not. I could never best a man in battle as you could, but
sometimes subtle words will get you what you want more quickly and
cleanly than any show of force could.”

Edon had always been one to stare, but now
his gaze pierced in a way that Taya did not remember from their
younger days. She felt relief when he nodded slowly. “You are
right. A king should make use of all the tools at his
disposal.”

Taya gave him her fondest smile. She
did
like him, even if he was a bit thick. “Thank you,
brother. Of course, I can only help you if I have all the pertinent
information.” She touched her own cheek, and looked at his.

Edon blinked, and touched his scar. “Yes…
this…” He told her the tale, how he had seen this lady Amira at the
receiving line. Taya remembered her. She had stood, staring dumbly
like a cow, making everyone behind her wait. Not the first
newly-raised noble to make a spectacle of herself, for certain.

Except Edon said that he had seen in her a
shining light, like molten silver. He had her brought to him the
next day, along with the count’s son who had accompanied her to the
ball, and their
valai
. Edon wanted to know what this silver
light was. No one else at the ball had seen it. Not Sir Thoriss,
not anyone. Edon had interrogated Lord Tarian and the
valai
,
but they all seemed to know nothing. When Amira was brought before
him, he saw the silver light again.

Here he hesitated. Taya sat on the very edge
of her seat, rapt. Edon was sometimes taken by fancies and
nonsense; even as a child he had often claimed that witches casting
spells on him were responsible for his misbehavior. But she
believed that he had seen this silver light as he claimed.

After a moment, Edon continued. This Lady
Amira had told him nothing, and then used her power to burn his
face. When Sir Thoriss came in at his shout, she killed the old
knight with her power and fled.

Then he refused to say any more about that
day except that father had banished him to Gravensford. To Taya, it
was plain that he and Viktor must have had a fierce argument.

“So after you… returned from Gravensford,
you sought out this Lady Amira again, in Hedenham?”

Edon looked away. He nodded and told Taya
about his journey there, and the Tarians’ efforts to conceal Amira,
and the pitched battle that had been fought at an old keep.

“Why not chase after her once she
escaped?”

Edon pursed his lips for a moment. “I had to
return here. The realm needs stability. I could have sent men after
her, but they would be no match. I must find her myself.” He stared
not at Taya, but through her. “I must know more of her. Of this
power we share.” He sat up a little straighter. “I captured her
vala
, hiding in the keep. She is down in the dungeon. I
questioned her, but she’s an idiot. She knows nothing. I should
have her head off.”

Taya’s heart leapt. “Let me have her,” she
said in a rush. “She may know something. You are so… intimidating.
I may be able to soothe her, as with a nervous mare.”

After a moment Edon nodded. “Very well. I
shall have her sent to your rooms.”

“No,” Taya said abruptly. Edon squinted at
her. “My apologies, your majesty, but let me handle this. I think a
delicate touch is required.”

Her brother’s eyes drooped. He seemed
exhausted, and dismissed her with a wave of his hand. Taya bowed
and went out, feeling a warm tingle in her chest. Edon had given
her exactly what she wanted.

She collected Juliet from the anteroom and
returned to her chambers. There was a great deal of planning to be
done.

Drip.

Sixty-four.

Drip.

Sixty-five.

In the pitch black of the dungeon cell,
Katin sat with her back against the wall and her legs drawn up
before her. There was no light here, and no sound save for seeping
water, gathering and splashing onto the floor somewhere. She had
counted—
drip—
sixty-six drips since she’d started. Or since
she’d last started over. Sometimes she lost count. Sometimes she
fell asleep between drips, and woke to find a blaze of light from
the cell door as a meal tray was slid in for her.

Eight meals had been delivered. Or was it
ten? Or twelve? Or maybe that was the number of times she’d
relieved herself in the corner, where a pipe let in air that was
foul, but at least not stale.

Footsteps scraped the stone outside in the
hall. Voices spoke, and she would have laughed when she realized
she could understand words, if her throat had not been dry, her
eyes sore from crying. “Is this it?” came a woman’s voice. What was
a woman doing down here?
A dungeon is no place for a
woman.

“Yes, your highness.” A man’s voice. The
door opened, and the light of a lamp dazzled Katin. She threw her
hands up before her.

“Oh dear,” said the woman again. “Oh dear,
oh dear, what has he done to you? Hush, it’s all right.” Soft hands
on her arms helped Katin to her feet and guided her from the cell.
Katin did not struggle.

She was taken to another chamber, still
within the dark, stained stone of the dungeon, but there were no
bars here. Only a table and some chairs, and a cup of water. The
cup was pressed into her hands, and she drank. A moment’s clarity
struck her. Why would the Caretaker do this to her? To Amira? They
had been safe, in their little manse, until that monster had come
along. Katin wanted to scream.

Her eyes had adjusted to the lamplight.
Across the table from her sat a young woman, perhaps the same age
as her. Beautiful, slender, a face that could heap scorn with only
a slight twist of the mouth, but that for now looked only gentle
and lovely. It took Katin some minutes to calm, and not until the
third time she looked at the young woman did Katin realize that a
silver circlet sat atop her head, with an emerald centered in it.
Katin at last recognized Princess Taya Relindos.

She gasped and fell to her knees. “Your
highness,” she croaked, and coughed.

Princess Taya laughed, a sound of warmth and
happiness Katin had forgotten existed. “Please, my dear, do not
strain yourself. You have gone through quite some trouble, as I
understand.” She sighed and looked up at another woman, who must be
her
vala
. The
vala
was severe, her arms crossed
tight, a freckled face below red hair pulled into a bun. “We will
take her to my chambers. This is no place for her.”

The
vala
’s frown deepened. “Are you
certain, your highness?”

Taya ignored her and looked at Katin again.
“Your name is Katin, yes? Listen to me. I have heard some of what
my brother, King Edon, did in Hedenham. I know he brought you back
from there. You are the
vala
of Lady Amira Estaile, is that
right?”

Katin froze. Why was the princess here? Had
Edon sent her? Edon had interrogated Katin each night when his
little army stopped on the road, but she’d played stupid, the same
as she had when he’d abducted them all the day after the summer
ball. She’d pretended to know nothing of Amira’s power. She’d been
terrified that Edon would rape her or kill her, but he had never so
much as raised his voice.

Katin had hoped that she’d be turned loose
when they arrived in Callaston, maybe sent back to Amira’s manse.
But instead they’d gone straight to the palace, and Katin was taken
to the dungeons. To await what fate, she had no idea.

And now the princess had come for her.
Play stupid.
“Where am I?” Katin whispered around a tongue
that still felt caked in dry saliva.

“In the dungeons beneath Elibarran,” Taya
said. “I think my brother did not know what to do with you.”

“That’d be a first,” her
vala
quipped.

Taya ignored her. “Katin. I need your help,
to undo some of the damage my foolish brother has done. I have
little power myself, but I can do this.” She nodded, so certain of
herself, and gestured to her
vala
. “We will take you out of
here.”

The frowning
vala
produced a
servant’s dress in roughly Katin’s size. She helped Katin remove
her own filthy dress, soiled with days of travel and waste, and put
on a fresh shift and the replacement dress. Taya nodded
approvingly. “You will pass for a servant until we reach my
chambers. The jailer has been paid. He will say nothing of
this.”

Katin had so many questions, but she held
her tongue. She would not do anything that would delay her leaving
this place of black spirits. The
vala
, who Taya introduced
as Juliet, led the way out, guiding Katin up narrow stone steps
until they emerged through a wooden door banded in iron. They
seemed to be back in the palace proper, and Katin almost cried
again when she saw sunlight, real sunlight, filtering in through a
high window.

Two guards joined them, appearing out of
nowhere and trailing along behind Katin as she followed Taya and
Juliet through the palace. The men had faces blank as stone, but
their eyes moved ceaselessly, watching for any threat to their
princess.

Taya’s chambers were high in the palace,
overlooking the gardens. The guards stayed outside as Taya took
Katin into the antechamber. Doorways led off to a sitting room, sun
room, and bedchamber, which had a wardrobe and a small cell
adjacent for the princess’s
vala
. A narrow corridor led to
the privy, tucked away in a corner.

Katin stood in the antechamber, shifting
uncomfortably in her servant’s dress. When Juliet closed the door
behind them, Katin let out a shuddering sob.

“Shh, it’s all right,” Taya said, coming to
her side. “You are safe here. Come, sit. We have much to talk
about.”

Katin was taken into the sun room and set in
a chair by the window. Bright sunlight flowed in, doing wonders for
her spirit. She still hadn’t said much; she wondered if she could
keep up the façade of stupidity. She would try, at least, until she
could determine what Taya wanted with her.

“Now, Katin.” Taya sat in another chair
opposite her. Juliet stood watch by the door. Katin had seen no
other servants in Taya’s chambers, but she appreciated the
vala
’s caution. “I have pieced together much of what
happened in Hedenham, but frankly a lot of it is quite hard to
swallow. I must know why his majesty is so interested in your
mistress.”

Katin blinked. “My… Lady Amira? Do you know
where she is?”

“I was hoping you could tell me. My brother
is very interested in finding her, but I don’t know why.”

Katin kept her face slack. “I don’t know
what you mean. Does his majesty know where m’lady is?”

Juliet glanced at her, disbelief on her
face. “She cannot be serious.”

Taya took a measured breath and leaned back,
steepling her fingers. “Once I found out that Edon had brought you
back from Hedenham, I went and did a little research. I know that
your lady was married to the late Valmir Estaile, and that they
were granted peerage last year. Lord Estaile was a cautious,
cunning, and thorough man, according to all who knew him. He would
never
have let his wife take a
vala
as stupid as you
seem to be, no matter how long you’d known her.”

Katin’s head jerked up a tiny fraction. She
was astonished at how much Taya knew, this princess who was
renowned only for her interest in casual diversions. But she kept
her face slack, and shrugged. “Have I upset your highness?” she
said in a small voice.

“I am not upset yet,” Taya said, but there
was an unmistakable snap to it. “But if you continue this
ridiculous game, I may yet become so.” She sighed and lowered her
voice. “I apologize. I do not mean to frighten you. But Edon is
clearly mad. If I am to help you, and help your lady, and help the
realm, I must know what is going on. Please. Let me help you.”

She seemed sincere, but Katin had known
women who could make a man they’d known five minutes believe that
they were deeply in love with him. Still, Taya did
seem
to
want to help…

After a moment, Katin straightened up and
took a composing breath. “I apologize as well, your highness. Your
brother is terrifying. This act was all I could think of to keep
him from… hurting me.”

“You’re lucky,” Juliet said. “He might have
done it anyway, had he suspected you knew something.”

“His majesty is preoccupied of late,” Taya
said over her shoulder. She turned back to Katin. “Thank you for
trusting me. This far, at least. Now, I must ask again: Why is Edon
so interested in your mistress? Is it because of this power they
share?”

Katin gasped, and tried to stop herself, but
it was too late. She turned her face away in a futile effort, then
sighed and turned back to face the princess.

She expected to see scorn or triumph, but
saw only compassion. If Taya already knew about the power… “Why do
you want to help Lady Amira?”

“Because my brother wishes to hurt her,”
Taya said flatly. “And that makes her my sister. I gather she has
the means to defend herself, with this power—which I confess I do
not even begin to understand—but she is only one woman, and Edon
has the whole strength of the realm to turn against her.” She’d
begun to turn red, and her voice grew clipped. When she finished
speaking, she turned her face away from Katin slightly, and her
nostrils flared. After a few moments she looked at Katin again. “I
want to find her before Edon does. I want her to know that she has
allies in this palace.”

She seemed sincere. Katin’s mind warred over
whether to trust her. “Could you free me, if I help you? Your
highness,” she added quickly.

“You bargain with a princess?” Juliet
snorted.

Taya waved over her shoulder. “Such a thing
could be arranged, though I cannot make extravagant promises.
This,” she glanced around, “is something of a sanctuary, but the
palace at large is not under my control.”

Katin stared down at her hands. What choice
did she have? If she refused to help the princess, she’d end up
back in the dungeon. She could lie to Taya, but the princess seemed
to know so much already. If Katin was caught out in a lie…

As much as it tore at her, she had no choice
but to trust Taya.
In for a copper, in for a crown.
“Amira
does have a power similar to E—his majesty. She is not nearly as
strong, though. He was able to tear down the walls of Foxhill Keep
with merely a thought.”

Taya raised an eyebrow. “You saw this?”

Katin nodded, remembering the great
thunderclap that knocked her down, the terror of a monster in the
dark smashing the walls of the keep with invisible fists. “He
destroyed the wooden gate with a single blast, and collapsed a
corner tower with another. My lady… my lady and Lord Dardan
escaped, after Count Asmus led a feint to distract his
majesty.”

There was no need to mention her own attempt
to escape alongside Amira. Katin had gotten separated from Amira in
the darkness and chaos, and then her horse had reared, and she’d
had to slide off or risk being thrown. The horse bolted, and Katin
had no choice but to scramble back down into the moat. She’d gone
back in through the gate, found her discarded clothes, and changed
back, knowing that if she were found in men’s clothes, Edon would
assume she’d been up to no good and probably have her head off.

She’d gone back into the keep and found
Calys hiding under a staircase. Katin joined her, saying nothing,
and waited for the inevitable. After near an hour, soldiers had
come into the keep, and soon found them cowering under the stairs.
They’d been taken out into the field and into a tent, one of many
that had already been erected. A short while later, Katin had been
taken alone to a much larger tent. Edon was there, and he
recognized Katin. He questioned her in the presence of several
Wardens and knights, but Katin played just as stupid as before.
Edon had asked where Amira and Dardan had gone. Katin had nearly
been overcome—they’d escaped! But she was terrified to be
surrounded by all these armed men, and by Edon himself, and she was
able to hide her joy. She claimed that she did not know where Amira
was; her lady had sent her back into the keep to hide with
Calys.

There was no one to gainsay her. Calys had
not been privy to their escape plan, and Katin overheard someone
say that every man who’d gone out on the charge was dead. She did
not hold in her tears at this.
Asmus. Old Ban. Liam.
She was
taken back to the tent, but Calys was gone, and she did not see the
girl again.

———

Katin told Taya what she could about Amira’s
power. The princess seemed disappointed that Amira could not tear
down castles as Edon could.

“Now. Do you know where she went?” Taya
asked after Katin finished her explanation.

Katin shook her head. “Count Asmus insisted
that she not tell us her destination. I only know that she and
Dardan escaped, because his majesty asked after them.” She’d seen
the rest of the bodies in the gray morning light, dumped in a pile.
Count Asmus. Guards and retainers. Liam must have been somewhere in
that pile. A nightmare of blood and death. The memory twisted her
insides. “May I ask… what happened to King Viktor?”

Taya’s lips set, and Katin was afraid she’d
made a mistake, but the princess spoke after a moment. She laid out
a story of vengeance and murder, Edon returning unheralded and
seizing the throne from his father, swiftly and brutally. The
princess could not hold in her own tears, and wept freely.