Page 16 of The Threadbare Queen

Some of the Grimwaldians could well be lying about what they knew.

Luc watched them from his position behind Ava, who was seated at the large table in the chamber off the throne room, where her aunt had previously entertained her favorite courtiers and visiting dignitaries.

It was a lavish space in the palace’s inner sanctum, and Luc could see the venue was not lost on the Grimwaldians. They were being given a level of trust that they surely had not earned.

The other assistant had been led away by one of Raun-Tu’s guards, babbling as he went that he had no idea what Janice had planned to do. He hadn’t even liked her.

He was probably harmless, but Luc was not going to risk Ava, so he had taken a moment to murmur in Raun-Tu’s ear to let the man loose outside the palace and make sure he was followed.

Raun-Tu’s eyes had gleamed as he gave a slight nod and beckoned one of his guards to him.

The three diplomats sat along the opposite side of the table, and all of them looked nervous.

“So, what do you know?” The general cut to the chase.

Luc knew she understood his urgency, his need to leave as soon as this problem was dealt with to intercept the Jatan.

Rafe was busy putting a unit together, sourcing supplies, but the main issue now was not how quickly they could be on the road, but what to do about Ava.

She thought she could come.

Wanted to come.

And Luc knew all too well that would be problematic.

They had only just taken Fernwell.

The queen could not abandon it now.

“You have to understand, when we left Grimwalt just over three weeks ago, we didn’t realize the Rising Wave had taken Fernwell.” Furte spoke first, and Luc wondered about the dynamics of the envoy. Furte had put himself forward every time they’d spoken as a group, but it was Guran Hur who’d been targeted by Janice, and Guran Hur whose words seemed to carry the most weight.

“You would have known before you arrived, though,” Luc said. “And even if you didn’t know we had been successful, you must surely have known you were walking into a war zone.”

“We were told we would be allowed in to Fernwell and would have the ear of the queen when we got here.” Guran Hur leaned forward, hands clasped together. The scrolls Ava had shown them lay on the table, unrolled, and Hur nodded toward them. “Having read the missives from our Speaker to the former queen of Kassia, I understand now why he thought we would be given safe passage by her.”

“Even so,” General Ru had decided to sit beside Ava, rather than stand, and she leaned forward herself, “how could you be sure Fernwell wouldn’t be surrounded by the Rising Wave, or your path blocked by us?”

“We couldn’t. We were prepared to wait at a safe distance until . . .” Renate’s voice trailed off.

“Until?” Ava asked.

“Until Kassia defeated the Rising Wave.” Renate ducked her head in embarrassment. “I am not sure why we were so sure that is how it would be, but thinking back on our reasoning now, that’s the only outcome we considered.”

“And when you reached Fernwell and found the one outcome you hadn’t considered had come to pass, you came in anyway.” Luc studied their faces. “And you asked to see the queen. But not the queen you were expecting when you set out.”

The three sat still and looked at each other in surprise, as if just realizing now how strange their behavior was.

“I can’t explain it.” Furte shook his head. “When you put it like that . . .”

“It’s like we were living in a strange bubble.” Renata rubbed at her temple. “I don’t know what to say.”

“The wagon driver.” Guran Hur said the words as if he were being strangled. “It was . . .” He swallowed hard, fighting for air, and eventually leaned back in his chair, weak with some invisible effort.

Everyone in the room had come to attention when they saw his struggles. No one touched him, though.

The old diplomat blew out a breath. “I can’t remember, but it seems I’m the only one who even knows what’s been forgotten, so perhaps that is why Janice tried to kill me.”

Because after the Rising Wave took Fernwell, the point was no longer to get money or influence from the old Kassian queen, but to take Ava back to Grimwalt.

---