The Cursed Queen (The Impostor Queen #2)(91)

Now I feel like vomiting on his boots. “More force?”

“I have to make her see reason, Ansa. Surely you can understand that. But every attempt at persuasion thus far has only hardened her resolve.” He sighs. “Every body has limits, though.”

“I overheard something,” I blurt out, as hot and cold splinters poke at my soft spots. Maybe I can protect Thyra from herself. “And that is why I came here.”

He casually examines his grimy fingernails. “From Halina?”

I shake my head quickly. “No. Of course not.” Despite her betrayal, I cannot give her up just like that, not after all she has done, not when I know she has that little boy at home, waiting for his mother. Loyalty is hard won, hard lost, she once said, and she is so very right. “From . . . another servant. I heard . . . that the warriors barricaded in the eastern part of the city have grown restless.”

He arches an eyebrow. “Restless? We’re all restless after a winter spent caged within these walls.”

I clear my throat. “Yes, but . . . what if they emerged all at once?”

“To challenge us?”

I fidget where I stand. “And if they did?”

His eyes darken like a thundercloud has passed overhead. “It very much depends. If you know something, you should tell me. I know you love many in those ranks, and this is your chance to save their lives.”

“I know,” I whisper. But at what cost?

“And otherwise you wouldn’t be here. What’s happening?”

“I think they have an escape route,” I say. “They’re going to emerge and attack.”

“And with over a hundred and fifty warriors, they’d be formidable,” Nisse mutters. “Very well. There’s only one solution. When they emerge from their burrow, we must be waiting, with so much force that they cannot consider fighting. They’ve had their andeners and children with them this whole time, and surely they won’t endanger them.”

“It would take a large force to intimidate them.”

Nisse nods. “They’re counting on us not being ready, and on most of our warriors being elsewhere in the city when they emerge. But if we’re waiting and can steal the element of surprise, they’ll be so shocked that perhaps they’ll reconsider.” He shoots to his feet and approaches me quickly, taking me by the upper arms. His gaze is so intense, his muted green eyes burning. “Do you know when they’re planning to make this escape attempt?”

“Noon, I think,” I say. “I believe there’s going to be some sort of signal.”

He squeezes my arms. “You have saved them all, then. Carina!” His voice is still echoing when the warrior enters. She must have been waiting outside. “Gather every warrior you can find and take them to the eastern part of the city where Thyra’s tribe fled. Have them surround the place. I want every point of egress covered.”

“And if they come out fighting?” she asks.

“Overwhelm. Disarm. Intimidate. But do what you can to avoid killing or maiming.”

I nearly sag with relief. “Thank you.”

He turns to me and puts his hand on my shoulder. “Every warrior life is precious. Well. Most of them. The loyal ones—as you turned out to be.” He smiles, and a chill runs through me as his voice turns cold. “As for the disloyal ones . . . Bring in the traitors.”

Halina walks stiffly through the door, her eyes wide and her hair a frazzled mess. Sander stands behind her, his hand on her shoulder, the point of his dagger between her shoulder blades. But when he turns, his eyes find mine, dark and unreadable. You jumped, I almost say. . . . But then I realize I’ve done exactly the same thing. Now I must live in the wreckage.

“I said it wasn’t Halina who told me,” I say, my voice breaking.

“I know,” says Nisse. “But tell me this, Ansa—if you overheard something and understood it, the messenger must have been speaking Krigere, not Vasterutian. And how many of the servants in this castle can do that? But no matter. I already had several pieces of the puzzle. I just needed the rest.”

My blood seems to be draining from me, pouring into my feet. “Oh.” I look over to Halina, who is staring out the window. They meant me to hear. “What will you do now?”

“Make an example of her. But not only her.” He gestures toward the door as Thyra walks in. She looks pale and thin, but her eyes are full of defiance as she sees me standing next to Nisse. Jaspar is holding her upper arm and his dagger is unsheathed.

“Oh, no,” I breathe.

She can’t possibly hear me, but perhaps she reads the horror on my face. “This is not your fault, Ansa.”

But it is. I know it is.

“It’s time, Carina. Take all the warriors and go,” Nisse says, his voice echoing off the stone walls. “When you have the rebel warriors subdued and disarmed, bring them to the courtyard.”

Nisse crosses the room to stand in front of Thyra and Halina. “It turns out this diplomacy of the south is useless. Now we do things as Krigere should. Now we will show every soul in this city what it means to cross me.” He looks Thyra up and down. “We found the messages you sent to your warriors, Niece. Carved into your dinner plates. You were starving yourself to keep them covered so your Vasterutian friends could shuttle your instructions to your tribe.”