The Mirror King (The Orphan Queen, #2)(38)
Sergeant Ferris opened the committee chamber door, and when I strode inside, the buzz of conversation fell away. Every face turned toward me, most with crafted neutrality, others with open dislike.
Theresa paused just behind my shoulder, and Sergeant Ferris let the door fall shut as he took his place with the legion of bodyguards along the wall.
“Your Highness. Welcome.” Tobiah offered a small, polite bow from where he stood at the head of the table. He was the prince today, with that dry, dull tone I’d disliked so much, but now that I knew to look for it, I could see the fraying seams of that mask. In his eyes, in the jump in his throat, and even in the way his frown softened when our eyes met. “Lady Theresa, please take a seat.”
“What is the meaning of this?” Prince Colin pushed himself up, leaning heavily on the table. “What are those two doing here? It’s one thing for the queen regent and your fiancée to join us, but them? Aecorian thieves?”
There were a few muffled agreements around the table, coming from behind fist-covered mouths and down-drooped mustaches. I knew Captain Chuter, Generals Frederick and Adam Goldberg, Francesca, and Meredith, of course, but there were several new faces.
“This is most irregular,” offered one of the strangers. “What with His Highness’s coronation this evening. There’s so much to do today. . . .”
Tobiah stood with his hands behind his back and addressed his council. “Princess Wilhelmina is the reason we’re here today. I called this meeting on Her Highness’s behalf.”
“What an outrage!” Prince Colin strode around the table, toward Tobiah. “Her participation was not appropriate when she was masquerading as Duchess Julianna of Liadia, and it is even less appropriate now.”
“I believe,” I said, “this is Crown Prince Tobiah’s committee. It is for him to decide whose presence is appropriate.”
Someone in the back gasped. Meredith’s eyes were wide and bright, while Theresa smirked. Even Queen Francesca looked pleased.
Tobiah stood straighter and glared back at his uncle. “When Her Highness was here as Julianna, I acquiesced to the demands that she be excluded from the meetings. I did not know who she was, or whether anything she said about the wraithland was true. But now we do know her identity, and I do know that she has been to the wraithland.” He glanced at me and nodded.
I pulled a pair of Liadian barrier scales from a pouch at my hip, and tossed them onto the center of the table. Everyone in the room gasped.
“As for the coronation this evening, you’re correct, Lord Craft. This is irregular, but important. And since we all have a lot to do today, I suggest everyone sit down and listen to what Princess Wilhelmina has to say.” His gaze cut around the room. “If anyone is opposed to listening to Her Highness speak, they can leave now.”
No one moved, except Prince Colin, who went back to his seat, and gradually, my heart migrated out of my throat and back to my chest. This boy was meant to be king.
“Very good.” Tobiah moved to help Theresa into her chair near Francesca and Meredith. The queen regent offered a delicate nod, while Meredith touched Theresa’s arm in a comforting gesture.
Theresa relaxed, and gratitude filled me. After everything, Meredith still treated us with kindness.
Tobiah guided me to the head of the table. “I’ll make quick introductions to the members you haven’t met, and then we’ll begin.”
I nodded.
“Lord John Price, House of the Sun; Lord Samuel Craft, House of the Unicorn; and Count Alexander Davis, House of the Sea. They are the official representatives of the other three Houses. My uncle is here as the representative of Dragon.”
Ah. Now that he’d said their names, I recognized them by reputation. They were all minor lords, no one important.
Tobiah turned toward me. “Let’s begin with your time in the wraithland.”
“Can we surmise this will be a different tale than the last we heard?” Clint’s words were harsh, but his tone was not cruel.
“Quite.” I pulled out my notes, each point written in a different hand and color of ink to help organize my thoughts. “There are a number of topics I’d like to discuss, beginning with my journey to the wraithland, and why I decided to go there in the first place.
“Until I attended my first meeting of this committee, I had no intention of ever venturing into the wraithland. To me, the wraith was a distant threat, not as pressing as my desire to ensure Aecorians’ safety, and reclaim my kingdom.” I avoided looking in Prince Colin’s direction. “It was my experience with this council that made me realize the wraith was not as far away as I’d always felt, and that something must be done. And when I saw this map”—I gestured toward the wall—“everything changed.”
The guards in front of the wall map shuffled aside to reveal the inked planes and mountains and valleys, and the bands of color that represented the wraith’s approach each month.
“Those two words—debated and confidential—inspired me to search for the truth about whatever this committee had been hiding about Mirror Lake.” Choosing my words carefully, I told the group about chasing rumors, joining the merchant caravan, and stealing into the wraithland on a borrowed horse. I told them how I’d fought glowmen, learned to sleep only a few hours at a time, and ventured deeper into the wraith than anyone had in decades.