“You should get dressed now,” Evan said to Brody. “We don’t want to be late.”
His first mate was stripped down to his smallclothes, sprawled across a delicate velvet chair that looked like it might collapse under his weight at any moment. He was distracting, as always, but in a distant way, like a platter of sweetmeats after a feast.
“We should go home now, Captain,” Brody said. “You’ve had your meeting with the queen and her crew. She’ll decide what she decides. The longer we stay, the more likely it is that we’ll get into trouble. I don’t like being so far from the sea.”
Brody was right—they’d had their meeting with the queen and her small council that afternoon. Hadley DeVilliers introduced them without a hint of endorsement. There were several other mages present, including the High Wizard, Micah Bayar, and a healer, Lord Vega. The wetlanders had been polite enough, but they’d questioned and debated him on every detail. When he told them he’d seen Celestine’s ships off their coast, they shrugged and said that pirates had been a problem for years. When he warned them that the empress in the east had all but conquered the Desert Coast and was preparing to invade the wetland realms, they said they’d been fighting off invaders for decades. Besides, pirates knew better than to venture too far from the sea. Fierce, fearless, unstoppable desert horselords? They’ll freeze to death in the mountains.
One uplander in particular, Shadow Dancer, seemed convinced that Evan was trying to persuade the Fells to get involved in his personal feud.
They saved their deepest skepticism for his suggestion that the Fells seek peace with Arden so that they could join forces against Celestine.
“Captain Strangward,” Queen Raisa said finally, “we must direct our resources to the war we have. If another war comes to us, we’ll fight that one, too. As for suing for peace, you should be speaking with the young king in the south. We did not start this war, but we intend to finish it. We do not intend to bend the knee, and we do not intend to lose—to anyone.”
The meeting had been disappointing, to say the least. And then, hours later, this invitation to a reception. It had rekindled Evan’s hope that something had changed, that somehow he could come away with an agreement.
“The queen invited us to this reception,” Evan said. “It would be rude to refuse. It is in honor of the queen’s son, who has come home after a long absence, so it will be a chance to meet him. Maybe we can win him over. Anyway, parties are often where important business gets done at court.”
“What do you know about how queens do business?”
“It’s in books,” Evan said. “I’ve read about it.”
“You’re always reading,” Brody said, like it was an accusation. “I don’t trust the wolf queen.”
“That’s fair, because she doesn’t trust us.”
“If she intended to do business with us, she would have shown you more respect in the meeting.”
“You are the one who needs to show some respect, youngling,” Teza said. “Your job is to follow orders, not to argue with the captain.”
“It’s not that the queen doesn’t respect us,” Evan said. “I think it’s exhaustion, more than anything. They’ve been fighting this war for more than twenty-five years. The queendom is surrounded by enemies. They really don’t need more bad news. Their resources are stretched to the limit.”
“That’s not our fault,” Brody pointed out.
“No, it’s not, but that doesn’t make them eager to take on one more complication. The thing is, I don’t want to leave without a commitment from her. It’s not like we have an ambassador here who will follow up after we’re gone.”
“And if she won’t commit?” Brody said.
“She has to.” This was their best option, because it was their only option.
“She doesn’t have to do anything,” Brody said. “We’ll freeze to death while we wait.”
“If you’d put on some clothes, you’d be warmer,” Evan said.
“I don’t like wearing so many clothes,” Brody protested. But he levered himself out of the chair, retrieved his shirt from where he’d dropped it on the floor, and slipped it on.
“I’d like to go to a party,” Jorani said wistfully, smoothing the skirts of her silk dress. She’d been closemouthed and wide-eyed ever since they arrived at the palace.
“You can come to the next one,” Evan said. “Especially if Brody keeps complaining.”
They were met at the palace gate by a handful of the queen’s blue-coated guards, who escorted them to a small reception hall.
As soon as they were ushered through the doorway, Evan recognized several people from the meeting earlier in the day. As the queen had promised, this was an intimate, informal gathering. The queen herself was welcoming newcomers and directing them to food and drink.
“Captain Strangward,” she said graciously. “I’m glad that you and Brody were able to come and celebrate with us.” She stood on tiptoe, scanning the crowd. “I know Adrian is here somewhere, no doubt catching up with old friends. Ah. There he is. Come with me.” The queen led him toward the back of the room, to where the uplander, Shadow Dancer, waited with a tall, broad-shouldered young mage wearing an elaborately stitched coat and a scowl.
“Adrian, this is Evan Strangward, from Carthis. Lord Strangward, this is my son, Adrian sul’Han.”
But no, it wasn’t. It couldn’t be. Evan found himself looking into the icy blue-green eyes of the king of Arden’s gifted healer, Adam Freeman.
“We’ve met, Mother,” Freeman said through his teeth. He gripped his amulet. “Step away from the queen, you murderous bastard.”
Evan saw no point in denying who he was, or forcing the hand of the Queen’s Guard by refusing. He’d have to talk fast if he wanted to survive the night.
“Healer,” he said, taking two steps away from the wolf queen and keeping his hands at his sides. “I’m glad to see that you survived that unpleasantness at Ardenscourt.”
“What unpleasantness?” the queen said, looking from Evan to the healer and back again. “What’s this about Ardenscourt?”
“I survived,” Freeman said, still fixed on Evan. “And, unfortunately, you survived. But not everyone did.”
“Surely you don’t regret killing the king of Arden,” Evan said, taking a blind shot, hoping it hit home. “I can’t imagine that anyone is mourning him on this side of the border.”
“You killed King Gerard?” It was Shadow Dancer, his body rigid, his eyes wide with surprise.
“One thing confuses me, though,” Evan said. “In Ardenscourt, I knew you as Adam Freeman.”
“In Ardenscourt,” the queen said, as if she couldn’t believe her ears. She turned to the healer. “What is he talking about, Adrian?”
“I told you about Jenna,” the healer said. He pointed at Evan. “This is the man who murdered her.”
“You said that you met a girl,” the queen said, her back stiff with disapproval. “You didn’t mention that you met this girl in Ardenscourt.”
“As I told you, it’s a long story.”
A story that he hasn’t told, up to now, Evan thought. And that gave him an opportunity.
“The good news is that Jenna is very much alive,” he said. “In fact, I just saw her on the coast, near Chalk Cliffs.”
“Chalk Cliffs,” the healer repeated. Hope flickered in his eyes for a moment. “Why would she be in Chalk Cliffs, and how would she get there?”
“Apparently, Chalk Cliffs is the place to be,” Evan said. “We did not have a long conversation, because she was accompanied by a large and surly dragon. They flew off together.”
The hope in the healer’s eyes was crowded off by disbelief and hostility. He shook his head, dismissing Evan, and turned to the queen. “So. What story is this pirate telling you?”
The wolf queen folded her arms, as if to fend off lies from pirates and errant sons. “He says he came to warn us about an empress from across the Indio who may be planning to attack the Realms. He claimed that the entire east coast was at risk.”
“Interesting,” the healer said. “Just a few weeks ago, he was in Ardenscourt, negotiating with the king, and claiming to be the empress’s representative.”
The look in the wolf queen’s eyes was a familiar one—one Evan had seen on the healer too many times. He resisted the impulse to protect his throat.
Just then, Shadow Dancer gripped the healer’s arm. “Speaks to Horses,” he said. “What does this Jenna look like?”
Speaks to Horses? Evan thought. How many names can one person have? I’m a slacker next to him.
It took the healer a moment or two to tear himself away from the argument. He turned to the uplander and said, “Her hair was wavy, metallic-looking, streaked with copper, and she had golden eyes.”
Evan noticed that he used the past tense. He doesn’t believe me, he thought.
“A girl approached me in Middlesea,” Shadow said. “She wanted some leatherwork done. She said her name was Riley, but, from your description, it sounds like the same person.”
Now the healer’s full attention was on Shadow. “Riley? That was Jenna’s friend when she was little. She sometimes used that name herself.” He looked from Shadow to Evan and back to the uplander. “What kind of leatherwork?”
“She had drawn a pattern for it, but it was like nothing I’d seen before. It was a harness, but it was huge, and oddly shaped. She claimed she rode the gryphons and elyphants in the circus and needed new gear for a growing gryphon. Sparrow made it, and Riley picked it up in Fortress Rocks.”
“When was that?”
“A few weeks ago. I was on my way back from Arden.”
Evan was beginning to feel a bit superfluous, which was fine with him. The reception was apparently over, and the room had emptied out during their conversation. He began to edge away, but the queen noticed, and raised her hand to stop him.
“Captain Strangward,” she said. “We need to continue this conversation in a more private place, after I have spoken to my son, and to Shadow Dancer, and collected more information. I hope you will understand that we’ll need to confine you and your crew to your quarters under guard until we can sort out truth from lies.” Her jaw tightened, her eyes as hard and brilliant as emeralds. “Do know that if you came here intending to lead us into some sort of trap, I will deal with you with a hard hand.”
Evan could sense Brody stiffening behind him. Evan knew that his crewman wanted them to try to fight their way out before the healer shared his story and the upland queen ordered their execution. What Brody didn’t understand was that there was nowhere to run. Evan and his handful of Stormborn couldn’t keep on sailing while Celestine conquered the rest of the world. Even a pirate needs a port, eventually.
He needed to make a stand and somehow convince the wolf queen that they shared a common enemy. If she ordered him beheaded or incinerated (if he had to choose, he hoped for the former), it would likely be better than whatever Celestine had planned for him. It was some small consolation that, from the looks of things, the wolf queen intended to deal with her son with a hard hand as well.
So he stood, forcing his muscles to relax, meeting the gaze of anyone who chose to look at him. “I understand, Your Majesty,” he said. “But I beg you to move quickly. Once Celestine gains a foothold in the Realms . . .” He trailed off, because he could see that the queen was being distracted by a commotion at the door—raised voices, and a small crowd of bluejackets milling about.
“See what that’s about, Captain Byrne,” the queen snapped. Turning to another one of her guards, she said, “Clear everyone else out of the room. I think this party is over, anyway, and we don’t need a lot of tongues wagging before we get this sorted out.”
Captain Byrne wavered, as if unsure whether to leave the queen in Evan’s company to investigate. Finally, he crossed the room to the door as the room emptied.
Moments later, he returned, accompanied by a travel-worn soldier, who was still muddied from the road. She was a woman, but she dwarfed nearly everyone else in the room.
“Corporal Talbot!” the queen said. “What are you doing here?” A look of hope dawned in her eyes. “Did—did Captain Gray come back with you?” She looked past the newcomer as if she expected this Captain Gray to be right behind.
“Your Majesty,” the soldier said, saluting, her expression haggard and grim. “I bring bad news from Chalk Cliffs. After a fierce battle, the city has fallen.”
Queen Raisa went pale, her green eyes wide. “Chalk Cliffs . . . has fallen? But . . . how did this happen?”
“We were caught between an army from the west and warships from seaward. And clearly there were traitors within the walls that opened the gates to them.”
The queen glanced at Evan, then back to the distraught soldier. “An army? Was it Arden or—?”
Talbot shook her head. “They sailed for someone called Empress Celestine, and they fought like—like demons. Even if we hadn’t been massively outnumbered, they were all but impossible to kill.”
Evan’s heart sank like a stone. This was exactly the disaster he’d hoped to prevent. It was little solace that the empress’s arrival lent credence to his warning.
Queen Raisa straightened, clenched her fists, and lifted her chin. “What about survivors?”
Talbot hung her head, as if ashamed to be among them. “A small group of us took a boat out of the water gate, and we managed to get out of the bay and down the shoreline a bit. But one of the enemy ships gave chase and ran us down.”
“Captain Gray?” the queen said, her voice flat.
Talbot looked around, as if to see who was within earshot. “We need to speak privately, Your Majesty.”