The Mirror King (The Orphan Queen, #2)(76)

“Can you destroy them without consequences?” James shook his head as we approached my wagon. “Tobiah said that because he’s made mistakes, too. And he’s tried to correct them without thinking, and the results were even more undesirable than the original problem.”

I lifted an eyebrow.

He shrugged. “It’s not my story to tell. But I’ve said before that you two are a lot alike.”

How strange that anyone besides an Osprey might know me well enough to make a statement like that.

Oscar and Ronald stood guard at my wagon door, their red jackets buttoned tight against the cold. Black caps hid their dark hair.

“Look, it’s Wil,” said Oscar, smiling.

“That’s Queen Wil.” Ronald elbowed his brother, but didn’t smile. “There were about ten people here earlier. We told them to shove off for now.”

“Thank you.” Quickly, I gave them the same orders I had James, concerning a guard. “I need one of you to watch Patrick, too. I’m sure there are a lot of people loyal to him and I can’t risk his escape. He needs to be tried for his crimes.”

“I’ll go.” Ronald offered a quick bow before heading toward Patrick’s wagon.

“He feels bad about Quinn and Ezra still,” said Oscar, though I hadn’t asked. “He’s afraid you think it’s his fault.”

Their names stung. “It’s Patrick’s fault for sending them. Ronald did all he could.”

Oscar nodded. “I’ll tell him you said that.” He opened the wagon door to let James and me inside. The lamps were already lit, and Melanie stood on the other side, near a small bedroll where the wraith boy’s wardrobe used to be. She offered a quick greeting as James shut the door behind us.

“It’s so unsettling to see you trusting anyone,” James said.

“I’ve known them most of my life.” I’d known Patrick most of my life, too.

He took the desk chair and pulled out the blue notebook he used to communicate with Tobiah. “I need to report what happened tonight. It will give him time to prepare for the official news.”

Prince Colin’s riders would be at least two days behind James’s letter, more if snow impeded their travel.

“No doubt he’ll appreciate the warning.” I shed my cloak and hung it on a hook by the door. My hands drifted down the smooth fabric, cold and damp with bits of snow. “Tell him—”

James uncapped a jar of ink and waited.

I unhooked my sword and its sheath. My daggers. I placed all my weapons in a trunk and straightened. “Tell him I had no choice. That I haven’t forgotten what he said about authority and my status, but I had to do something.” Then, softer: “A declaration like that is hardly official. It doesn’t make it real.”

“It was real enough for Patrick,” Melanie said. “After everything, you gave him exactly what he wanted.”

“Doubtful he wanted to go to prison.”

“Wanted? Probably not. Was willing? Definitely.” She crossed the wagon and linked our arms together. “You know Patrick. Everything is part of some elaborate plan. I don’t know how being arrested figures into it, but I’m not ready to say he’s no longer a problem.”

James opened his notebook to the first blank page and dipped his pen in ink. “You’re sure you don’t know his plans?”

Melanie shook her head. “He wanted to take Prince Colin prisoner and execute him in the courtyard.” She squeezed my arm. “And on the off chance Prince Colin’s forces overwhelmed us, Aecor City was prepared to resist. Known loyalists have been . . . dealt with.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“Imprisoned until they’re sufficiently encouraged to support you.”

“We’ll have to free them at once.” Saints, the things Patrick had done—and was willing to do—in my name. “And whatever he gains by being in prison himself, we’ll have to wait to find out. Prince Colin looks ready to murder me, and I don’t think Tobiah will have a much more positive reaction.”

“Oh, I can’t imagine His Royal Sullenness being happy about anything.” Melanie pulled away and sat on my bed. “Sorry, James. I know you like him. For some reason.”

James smirked and bent over his notebook. “Wilhelmina likes him, too.”

“Wil?” Melanie lifted an eyebrow, but I was not going to get into that right now.

Time to change the subject. “Where is Paige?” She’d been the other Osprey to side with Patrick. So far I’d seen three out of four of them. “Is she—”

“She’s fine. Waiting at the castle. We took it almost two weeks ago, while most of the regiment was still in Skyvale.”

“And the soldiers who had to stay in Aecor?” I asked, though I could guess. A pit of dread pulled in my stomach.

“Dead. Or imprisoned, if they had military knowledge he wanted. Same conditions as the loyalists.” Melanie sighed and ran her fingers through her short, choppy locks. “It’s been hard. Ugly. I’ve seen more death than I ever thought I would. But we’ve held Aecor City, which is more than I thought would happen.”

I tried to imagine Aecor City now. My memories of my childhood home were foggy with time, and charred black after watching the city burn during the One-Night War. I hardly knew it. Not like I knew Skyvale. Just closing my eyes, I could see the peaked roofs, the mirrors aglow in the light of the setting sun, and the blue mountains that surrounded everything.