Long May She Reign(19)

“She isn’t well?” I asked.

“She hasn’t been for some time, Your Majesty,” Holt said. “It is always such a loss to the court when she retires to her estate. She is most dedicated to her charity work, and a lovely girl besides. But the country air is said to do her good.”

“How long was she gone? This time?”

“A couple of months, I believe. Is that correct, Torsten?”

“Yes,” Sten said. “That’s right.” He was watching me carefully. “Did Her Majesty not realize my cousin was away?”

“I’ve never spoken to her,” I said. “I didn’t know she was gone.”

“Do not worry, Your Majesty,” Holt said. “I am certain you will like her. She is a kind girl.”

A kind girl who just happened to be away from the capital during a mass murder. A kind girl now one step away from the throne.

“Speaking of journeys—I know this is a delicate subject,” Holt continued, “but we must discuss the funeral arrangements for King Jorgen. He must have a fitting ceremony. The funeral will of course involve the traditional rites, and the queen will travel alongside him. But it has been suggested that the other victims should be included in the service, too, in one show of respect for them all.”

“It has been suggested by you, Holt,” Norling said. She had a sharp, decisive voice. “And it is completely unsuitable. To let people share the funeral arrangements of a king—”

“It would make the queen seem gentle hearted,” Holt said firmly, “and it would be fitting, considering how they all died together. It creates a sense of unity in mourning—”

“It creates the sense everyone is equal,” Norling said. “Which is not what a new queen wants.”

I picked at the loose splinters underneath the table as they continued to argue. It wasn’t what was usually done, but that didn’t mean we shouldn’t do it. Everyone had died with the king. They’d probably died because of the king. And people like Naomi’s brother deserved just as much respect as he did, in the end. “I think it’s a good idea.”

“Then we shall proceed.”

“Your Majesty,” Norling said. “It is a good idea in theory, but you cannot understand Holt’s true meaning. He does not just mean the king and his relatives. He means all of them. The servants. Everyone who died.”

“They died the same as anyone else,” Holt said. “They deserve respect.”

“They deserve respect, yes,” my father said. “But at another time.”

I didn’t know what the wisest choice might be. But I felt like I knew the right choice, the thing that should be done, and that was all I had to go on. “We will do what Holt suggests. Everyone will be included.”

“Your Majesty—!”

“Her Majesty has spoken,” Holt said, “and we do not have time to delay. We still have to discuss the arrangements for our guests. Nobles from all over the kingdom will be traveling to the capital. I propose we offer them rooms in the Fort, to guarantee their safety—”

“And I say that is ridiculous,” Norling said. “They will not consider it suitable accommodation, and we don’t have time to improve things here. We will look poor. Weak.”

“We will look safe and secure,” Holt said. “Behind solid walls. We cannot expect our guests to live out in the city, considering what has happened.”

“We can make the Fort more inhabitable,” my father said, “if we dedicate the servants to the task. It would be inhospitable to do anything else.”

“It is inhospitable to invite them here,” Norling said. “We should move back to the palace and be done with this charade.”

“Unwise,” Thorn said. She leaned forward. “Our enemies may strike again.”

“And what use is security, if it makes us look weak?”

“It is better to look weak than to be weak.”

We should leave the Fort. This wasn’t where the court belonged. It was so dark here, so old. Fear seeped from the walls. But the palace wasn’t safe. It wasn’t designed to protect anybody. Hundreds of people had died there, and we still didn’t know how or why.

I didn’t want to die.

“We should stay here,” I said. “For now. Where it’s safe.”

Sten exhaled, a tiny beat of laughter. I stared at him. He had barely spoken in this meeting, but it was clear he didn’t approve. Was he laughing because he thought I was a coward, or because he thought it wasn’t safe?

His expression gave nothing away, and he did not speak.

“A wise decision,” Holt said, as Norling said, “Your Majesty—” But Holt plowed ahead. “A decisive break with the old court will do us all good. There is too much grief at the palace, and too many habits that are bad for the kingdom. A new reign, a different reign, will be what matters now.”

“A new reign?” My father frowned. “Things are already too new. We need consistency, so that people can feel safe.”

“The decision has been made, Titus,” Holt said. “Your Majesty, you will want to greet these nobles in proper fashion, of course. I think some sort of gathering the night before the funerals . . . and a speech of some kind. To introduce yourself. I believe most of them do not know you.”