Page 60 of A Frozen Pyre
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“You seem different.” Zita’s energy shifted as she surveyed her friend and advisor. A chill that had nothing to do with theweather descended upon her. She scanned Suley from top to bottom, eyes taking in the younger woman’s hair, her jewels, her clothes. Everything was the same, yet… Her posture, the way her forehead had relaxed, and the gentle upward tilt to the corner of her lips suggested that something was off. “Suley, what’s happened with you?”
Suley gave an aloof smile. “Do you recall me asking to live in the Raasay Forest?”
Zita offered a slow, careful tilt of her chin.
“I was on to something. I knew Raascot would be good for my health.”
Zita wasn’t sure how to explain it, but she felt her entire body frown, from the knit of her brows and the bunch of her lips to the tension in her shoulders. Hassain paused at their side, a distant worry creasing his forehead. She barely spared him a glance as she examined the young woman again.
Zita tried to stop Suley before the meeting room, throwing out her arm. “Suley, what do you know?”
“Everything, as always.”
“Do you know anything that might change the outcome of this meeting?”
“Yes.”
Zita’s fingers flexed at her side. She caught Hassain’s flashed expression from her peripherals as she focused her attention on Suley once more. In the distance, footsteps approached. They had fewer than thirty seconds before they’d be expected within the summit.
“And? Are you going to tell me what it is you know?”
Suley stared at her queen with unflinching neutrality.
“Suley! Does anyone else know what you know?”
“My friend, my queen,” Suley said quietly. “I’m not worried, because I’m here with you. Your first gift is that of shielding, is it not? Even your second gift… Well, today we won’t need that. Someone else will do it for us. If I were you, I would ready myself for chaos.”
***
“Ceneth, listen!”
The King of Raascot paused in the hall. He glared at Evander, gaze bouncing off the corridor’s stones as he searched for his other advisor. The distant sounds of voices bubbled from around the corner. Aside from the rugs, curtains, and windows, the hall was empty. “What? Where is Onain?”
“She met your medium.” Evander grimaced.
Ceneth glared. “She had no right meeting with the medium behind my back.”
“She has every right, Your Majesty. You trust her for her judgment,” Evander argued. “She would never do anything if she didn’t think it was in the kingdom’s best interest. And—”
“The medium doesn’t know anything Caris says,” Ceneth cut in curtly. “They’ve told me time in and time out that they’re little more than a conduit. They aren’t privy to our conversations. I don’t know why Onain would speak to them without my consent.”
“The medium went to her, Your Majesty. They said that every time you met with Caris, your late beloved has reiterated that the darkness drew nearer. The only thing that grew sharper was blackness. Those were your words, according to the medium. Their concern is with the fate of the kingdom.”
“Are you trying to tell me Caris’s wishes?” Ceneth bit, no kindness in his voice.
“Please, Your Majesty.” Evander’s pleas were reverent but desperate. He positioned his body in the middle of the hall. “What if this was the storm Caris foretold? What if the closer we drew to the meeting, the more certainty she saw surrounding its outcome? When Onain met with the medium, she came to the conclusion that there would be no peaceable resolution. She called for the meeting’s cancellation.”
“I will not cancel it.”
Evander clasped his hands tightly behind his back. “Six of your servants were murdered in broad daylight, Your Majesty. Your castle walls have been invaded. The lockdown has beenignored. The ambassadors and visitors have disregarded every precaution, each insisting they’re uniquely prepared to fight off a murderer. The killer roams free. Onain understands this, and it brought her deep regret. She wishes you would reconsider, but she knows you will not.”
“And so she stays back? Then Onain is a coward and not fit to be my advisor.”
Evander lifted his hands as if to push back against his king’s chest. He stopped just short of making contact, saying, “You trust her for a reason, Your Highness. If you were guaranteed to lose a battle, would you be a coward for refusing to fight? It sounds like wisdom.”
“Evander, this is the most times you’ve used my royal titles in more than a decade. Speak plainly.”
