The Mirror King (The Orphan Queen, #2)(100)

“Prince Colin won’t permit it.”

“I know how we’ll deal with Prince Colin.”

I nodded. “I won’t stop you, then. We need any parts of the barrier you can recover. In the morning, I’ll work with Paige and her new assistants to see if there’s any way to convert one of the unused factories into something like Tobiah’s barrier facility. We may not be able to construct an entire barrier here, but we can do something.”

We spent the remainder of the night discussing who would go with James, and what routes they’d take into Skyvale. When we’d finished our tea and they started for the door, I hugged both of them. Melanie for the friends we’d lost. And James for the hope he still carried.

“Remember, this won’t be a rescue mission,” I whispered. “I don’t want you to stay in the wraithland any longer than it takes to fetch the barrier.”

“I know,” he said, and they left.

Alone, I opened the entangled notebook James had left on his chair.

Page by page, I read through the letters Tobiah and I had written each other, and the last string of notes and pleas I’d left.

I opened a jar of ink and dipped a pen.

How long have you been gone, Tobiah? Since we last talked? Was it that night? That hour?

I’ve only just had confirmation that Skyvale has fallen and even though part of me suspected this whole time, I hoped. I hoped. But if you’d survived an attack on Skyvale, you’d have reached me by now.

The last time we wrote, I wanted to tell you something, but I didn’t. Maybe there’s no point anymore. But. But Tobiah, I miss you.

I miss you and I wish you were here.

Love,

Wilhelmina

Tears swam in my eyes as I cleaned the pen and then placed my hands on the notebook. “Go to sleep,” I whispered. “Be a normal notebook again. Nothing more.”





THIRTY-SIX


MY EYES WERE gummy in the morning, aching with the loss of Tobiah and the Ospreys and an entire kingdom I’d been raised to hate, but grown to love.

In spite of the grief, there was work to do, and I needed to appear strong. Truly, I was stronger; keeping the notebooks active had been draining me, and without them I had a chance of enduring the day.

Today was an important day. Historic, maybe.

Tomorrow would be bigger.

I sat still as Danie smoothed powder under my eyes to conceal the evidence of my late, restless night. She found a soft, dove gray dress and waited while I changed behind the partition.

“Will there be anything else, Your Majesty?” she asked, once she’d finished braiding my hair.

“That’s all.” I smiled as warmly as possible. “When you admire Sergeant Wallace today, maybe you should try speaking to him, too.”

Her throat and cheeks flushed. “Oh, I couldn’t. He’s much too good for me.”

“Never say that.” I stepped forward and squeezed her arm as I would have Melanie’s or Paige’s, and Danie tensed. Though she touched me all the time to do my hair or apply cosmetics or help me dress, she was always quick and efficient, never casual. I was a flasher queen, commander of the wraith boy: I was terrifying.

When I backed away, Danie forced her shoulders down. “Maybe I’ll try. Good day, Your Majesty.” She was out of the room in seconds. That probably counted as fleeing.

I grabbed my black notebook and papers, and headed out the door a moment later.

“What did you do to Danie?” Paige asked. “She looked somewhere between alarmed and ill when she came running out.”

Behind us, Melanie fished a coin from her pocket and gave it to James; he’d won the bet.

I sighed as we headed to the council room. “I’m trying to be friendly to the staff. To show them I care.”

Paige grimaced as I told her about my attempt to encourage Danie. “Just be nice. Let her do her job and be nice to her. Remember, you’re not spying on the staff and you don’t want to give that impression.”

“I’ll try.” My heart pounded as we reached the council chamber.

Oscar and Ronald were already there, as well as a handful of nobles from other parts of the kingdom.

Everyone stood when I entered.

Jasper and Cora Calloway, the count and countess from Northland, had been kind to me, and supportive. Across from them were Harrison and Desiree Symonds from Trinity, the first destination for most refugees. They had twin daughters—Summer and Juniper—who raced through the halls of Sandcliff Castle, playing like the wraith didn’t concern them.

Prince Colin was there, too, his arms pulled over his chest in a defensive posture.

Melanie took her place at the table while the rest of my guard watched from the wall. Red uniforms nearly outnumbered the blue here.

“Thank you for joining me this morning.” I looked around the table, meeting everyone’s eyes for a heartbeat. “We’ve always known the Indigo Kingdom couldn’t stand between Aecor and the wraith forever. But none of us thought this day would come so soon.”

There was nodding all around.

“After yesterday’s devastating news, I promised a plan to keep Aecor safe. My closest advisers and I spent last night working out the details.

“We still think a barrier similar to the one Liadia constructed is our best chance. As such, Captain Rayner will lead a team into the wraithland to gather whatever remains of the barrier King Tobiah built. Meanwhile, we will build our own facility. Flashers who volunteer their magic for the new barrier will be compensated. I will be first to pour my magic into the barrier that will protect our kingdom. Paige, please see that the plans are drawn up.”