The Cursed Queen (The Impostor Queen #2)(79)

“He’s unpredictable,” says Nisse. “Kauko controls him, but you shouldn’t get too close.”

“What’s wrong with him?” I ask. “He’s treated less like an apprentice than a prisoner.” Or a caged animal.

“When the temple was overtaken, many atrocities were committed,” Nisse says. “And apparently Sig was nearly burned alive when his magic was turned back on him. Kauko saved him, but he couldn’t heal him for hours, so Sig has been left with his scars. Kauko says it has affected his mind and memory, and that Sig does not know friend from enemy right now. The elder seems devoted to the boy, though.” He bows his head and speaks very quietly. “And apparently he has fire magic in abundance, and he is a good ally to have when we invade. Between the elder, this fire wielder, and you, there is no chance the criminal wielders who hold the temple now will triumph over us. They’ve put an impostor queen on the throne, but she has no power of her own. However, the wielders around her are very powerful, and they are the ones we will face on the battlefield.”

“We have a month of winter left.”

“But we don’t want to give them time to prepare for our attack. There are rumors they are raising an army, and that means warrior lives will be lost if our victory is not decisive.”

I bite the inside of my cheek as I look out the window at the gray sky. “I . . . I heard a rumor that there are many warriors who have sealed themselves up in a different part of the city.”

Nisse’s green gaze turns decidedly cold. “I wonder who you’ve been talking to.” But then he sighs, and the ice melts. “Truthfully, I fear for them. They’ve been holed up for weeks, and though I’ve supplied them with food, it’s not all they need. With so many people packed into such a small space, with inadequate drainage, I’m afraid disease will come to visit them.”

A chill shimmies down my back. “No,” I whisper, thinking of all those andeners and children, all those warriors. “They still refuse to come out?”

“They demand to hear from Thyra. They will act on her will, and her will alone.”

“Have you let her speak to them?”

Nisse scratches at his beard, which he’s cut short as the singed bits grow back. “I would, but I am afraid that what she has to say will doom them as surely as her silence.”

“You think she would tell them to fight you.”

“I don’t think she’s going to encourage them to join me, do you?”

I shake my head. She was utterly determined to stop him, and he seems to know that, but still he has allowed her to live. “You’ve been generous with her,” I murmur.

His mouth curves into a small smile laced with surprise. “I’ve tried, though she resists any attempt to win her over. She won’t even come out of her chamber—or eat the meals we provide. Hasn’t for days. She’s starving herself to death.” He pauses, looking down at his feet. “I don’t suppose you would consider speaking with her? You know and love those warriors as much as she and I do. Maybe you could persuade her to tell them what they need to hear?” His chuckle is dry as a summer drought. “Including that I’m not the one starving her? She tries to make me into the villain at every turn, and it turns out she’s extremely good at it. But if we can convince all the warriors that uniting our fractured tribe is best for all, we’ll be stronger than ever. And then, when you’re in control of your power, we’ll be prepared to make our march on Kupari as one united force.”

“I’m trying,” I say, watching as Kauko kneels next to Sig, who is crumpled on the floor, his eyes swollen shut and his blisters weeping. Most of my days end with me looking just like Sig does now, or stiff with frostbite. But I don’t tell Nisse this. He has accepted me into his tribe when he could have stoned me as the enemy. Just as he could have executed Thyra. But instead he gives her chance after chance. “And I will speak to Thyra. Though I’m not sure she’ll listen to me.”

Nisse puts his hand on my shoulder. “Thank you, Ansa. You are a true Krigere.”

I am smiling as he leaves the room, and I continue my lesson, with Sig hunched in the corner, healed and handsome once again, but the fire gone from his eyes. He seems dull now. Numb.

Despite my hopeful conversation with Nisse, though, and my new determination to speed my preparation for war, my control is no better. I struggle through the afternoon and end up sweating ice pellets of frustration. Even Kauko seems flummoxed. Halina hands me a cloth to wipe my brow as she translates for him. “He says you have no balance between the ice and the fire. Without balance, neither can be controlled. The Valtia is supposed to have perfect balance in her magic.”

“Maybe I’m not the Valtia,” I say.

“Oh, he’s sure you are.” She frowns as she watches him yank Sig up by the arm and usher him toward the door. “He keeps saying something about how she took your balance.”

“She? The witch queen?”

She shakes her head. “No, it’s someone else. The impostor. I’m not completely sure who he means.”

“Ask him.”

Halina calls Kauko over and questions him. “He says they . . . read the stars wrong. He says you lack something all other Valtias have had, and . . .” She grimaces.

“What is it?” I glance at Sig, who has come back into the room as Kauko speaks, and is staring at his master with that strange light flickering in his dark eyes.