The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1)(97)

The army stopped; the men wouldn’t lift their swords against their prince. Ragged breathing filled the air.

“Killing him will only release the wraith again.”

Only as I spoke did I realize the wind had died and the thunder had faded. Steady rain thrummed down on the city, and on the fire in the west. The blaze was slowly retreating. Even the screams in other parts of the city had fallen silent, as though all the wraith from those beasts had been sucked into this boy.

What were they now? Confused deer in the streets? Panicked kittens? Or were the beasts all dead?

Tobiah moved first. “Stand down. Lower your swords. No one will harm Princess Wilhelmina.” If anyone else noticed the way his voice trembled over my name, they didn’t show it.

“How do we know she’s Princess Wilhelmina?” one of the soldiers asked.

I pulled the signet ring from around my neck and handed it to Tobiah.

He held the ring up to the light, inspecting the engravings in the metal. “Two ospreys in flight. The Korte crest.” He offered the ring back to me. “She is who she claims to be.”

“She might have stolen it,” muttered a soldier I half recognized. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“No.” Tobiah’s throat jumped when he swallowed, and he turned to face me. Our eyes met, memories filling the space between us. “This is Princess Wilhelmina of Aecor. I remember her from the night she saved my life.” His voice softened. “Wil. Of course.”

“And this . . . creature?” asked one of the men. “What is it?”

I stepped aside to regard the wraith boy. He stood there, looking mild and awaiting instructions.

I could almost see the consequences of his creation buzzing around him like gnats. The way he smiled sent shivers through me, but I held myself tall. Of all people—and things—he seemed the most dangerous to reveal fear to. That he was mine to command meant nothing; he was dangerous.

Tobiah shrugged off his coat and shoved it at the boy. “Put this on.”

The boy glanced at me, and accepted the coat only when I nodded. He was naked. Heat rushed up my throat and cheeks.

“It was wraith before,” said James. “I saw it change.”

I tried to smooth the shaking out of my voice, but shivers wouldn’t quite let me. “He’s human now. He’s still wraith, but he’s human now, too.”

“What do we do with him?” asked a guard.

I didn’t know. Pressure pounded through my head; I didn’t know what I’d done, how I’d made him, or why he followed me here. I didn’t know anything, let alone what to do with him.

The wraith boy leaned close to me and whispered in my ear: “Come to the changing lands with me. Come back with me.”

No, no, no. I shifted away from him.

“More important,” said another man, “what do we do with a princess who just used magic?”

Everyone looked at Tobiah.

His voice perfectly even, Tobiah said, “I’m well aware of Her Highness’s ability. She and I have been experimenting with magic to—” He staggered back as James shoved him aside.

The lieutenant’s face crumpled with pain as he clutched his stomach, where a crossbow bolt protruded. Blood soaked his shirt and jacket.

“James!” I grabbed under his shoulders as he began to drop.

Men shouted, scanning the area. “There!” Someone pointed at a dark figure leaping off the Hawksbill wall, into Thornton. The silhouette was familiar and moved with mountain lion grace.

“Go!” Tobiah pointed toward the wall. “Find him.”

A handful of guards raced toward the would-be assassin, while others jostled me aside to tend to James. Someone helped him lie down; another checked his back to see whether the bolt had gone all the way through. A few ran for the palace, bellowing for a physician.

I stepped back and turned to the wraith boy. “Find whoever shot James. Then bring them to me. Alive.”

With a too-wide smile, the wraith boy dashed into the night, outpacing the soldiers within moments. I watched him as he leapt the wall without trouble, and then I dropped to my knees beside James.

Sweat streaked the lieutenant’s face, and his breaths were harsh gasps. “Tobiah?”

“I’m here.” The prince knelt next to me. “I’ll make sure you get help.”

“Your Highness,” one of the guards said. “We need to get you indoors. The assassin could return.”

Tobiah touched James’s shoulder and stood. “Very well. I want Lieutenant Rayner taken to my guest quarters, once he’s stabilized. And Princess Wilhelmina assigned new apartments. Make sure—”

“Your Highness!”

There was no more discussion. A guard took my elbow and hauled me after the prince and the guards dragging him.

I took one last look at James on the ground, but he hadn’t moved.





THIRTY-FOUR


RAIN DROWNED THE fires in a matter of hours, leaving plumes of heavy smoke rising in the west for days after.

The city was in ruins, buildings gutted and forever changed by the presence of the wraith. Every glass mirror on the west-facing walls had shattered. Sweepers filled the streets as dawn broke, steadily removing the dangerous shards that glittered in the banners of gold sunlight.