Reign the Earth (The Elementae #1)(73)

“My queen—” Adria started.

The guards separated, and I instantly felt the weight of hundreds of eyes upon me.

I took a deep breath, smiling at the gathered crowds, and they leaped forward, shouting, calling my name and offering me congratulations, blessings, praise of the God.

I jumped back, and the guards immediately fended them off.

“You’re going to start a riot,” Galen told me. He put his arm on my back, steering me up the walkway as Kairos and Theron blocked people from following us.

“Thank you,” I told him, glancing back over my shoulder to see people pushing at the guards for my attention—and more than that, the line of informants that stretched down the road and into the city itself. “Where’s Calix now?” I asked.

“In the tower,” he told me, glancing up. “I’ll call for him.”

“Nonsense,” I said. “Take me to him?”

“It’s a few flights of stairs,” he warned.

I waved my hand. “This is important.”

Galen led me inside to the central tower of the main castle. I’d never been in it before; I’d been told there were battlements and barracks, that it was largely a soldiers’ post, not unlike the Oculus in the communes. “So it’s true, then?” he asked. “You’re with child?”

We started up a staircase with a soldier always in sight. “I believe so,” I told him.

His face was stern. “Almost as if he threatened it into existence.”

I raised my chin as we turned up another stair. “Yes, well, none of that matters now,” I told him.

“It doesn’t?” he asked. His voice was low, careful, but he said, “I could have killed him for saying those things to you.”

This made fire burn in my cheeks, but I ignored it. “All along, he has wanted a child. A child will make him more powerful with the vestai, it will prove the prophecy wrong, and I know he hopes that it will at least quell some of the violence from the Resistance.”

“He said it himself: Rian d’Dragyn isn’t the leader of the Resistance,” Galen told me, turning another corner. “Why should it matter?”

“If it didn’t matter, why did he marry me?” I returned. “Once he knows about the baby, he’ll stop all this information gathering that’s threatening to turn the city against itself. It isn’t necessary, and it actively threatens the peace.”

He stopped me. “Shalia, what if he doesn’t want peace?” he asked.

“He does,” I insisted. “That’s what all of this has been for. That’s why I married him. Perhaps it would not serve your purposes, Commander, but Calix believes in peace.”

He blinked, leaning away from me. I sighed. That wasn’t fair. Galen wasn’t some kind of warmonger—from what I could tell, he spent far more of his time trying to lessen the harm of Calix’s orders. I opened my mouth to say so, but he said, “Peace is a noble goal. But there is a difference between peace and submission.”

I started up the stairs again. Of course there was a difference. Calix wanted peace—we had discussed it many times. In his worst moments, he acted out of fear and anger, but he wanted peace. And this child would be a balm to those fears—this child would give him the ability to act for peace alone.

We didn’t say anything further, even as I felt Galen’s watchful gaze on me. We crested a platform, and Galen headed toward a door that was flanked by guards.

The guards opened the door when they saw us, revealing Calix bent over a table layered with maps and documents. He straightened with a frown. “Wife?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I said, smiling. “I have good news, actually.”

His eyebrows rose. “I like good news.”

“I couldn’t eat fish,” I told him. He looked confused. “Not that I’ve ever been fond of it, but when I smelled it, I felt so ill that I was sick, and I’ve been so tired lately, and it’s been several months since I bled—”

He strode around the table, catching me in his arms with a bright smile. “You’re with child? Are you sure?”

I laughed. “I think so. As sure as I can be, I suppose.”

He kissed me. “Oh, wife, this is the most incredible news,” he said, holding me tight to him. I closed my eyes for a moment, letting warmth rush through me.

“There was nearly a riot in the courtyard when they realized why she was ill,” Galen told him.

Calix kissed my temple. “Of course there was! Our people need this hope. Galen, we’ll have to plan a grand tour—the whole country will want to see my wife carrying my son!” Galen nodded to him, and Calix stroked my cheek. “Does that please you, wife?”

“I’m happy to do whatever you two think is best,” I told him.

He kissed me once more and let me go, pointing to Galen. “We’ll need a whole chest full of jewels,” he said. “And clothing and furs—whatever my wife desires. It will be a glorious spectacle.”

Galen nodded. “I’ll see that it’s done.”

“Make sure the whole court knows by tonight,” Calix said.

“That won’t be a problem; every woman in the court has already heard,” Galen said.