The Deepest Blue(83)
Smiling at Lord Maarte, she patted his hand. Lord Maarte had had his new chef prepare a luscious feast. Asana made her move after the soup course.
“Tell me about trade with Aratay,” she said to Lord Maarte. Reaching out with her mind, she touched the spirits in the garden. Lady Garnah was already there, moving through the shadows. She saw her through the spirits’ eyes as Garnah blew her purple sleep powder into the eyes of the guards. They collapsed, and Asana used the spirits to bind the guards in vines. She then called on an ice spirit to freeze the locks.
Garnah tapped the frozen locks with a rock, and they shattered.
Inside the garden, Asana felt the spirits ordered by the heirs to watch her family. She overrode their minds, tapping into her anger at Lord Maarte for using heirs for such a purpose to fuel her. She doubted the heirs knew who the prisoners were, only that Lord Maarte had ordered the heirs to guard them, probably claiming it was the queen’s wishes.
She commanded an earth spirit to burrow a tunnel from the garden to the shore. Garnah would lead her family through the tunnel to freedom. Kelo had been instructed to meet them on the beach, to keep watch over their escape route. Her family would be frightened, unsure if they could trust either spirits or strangers, and she hoped Kelo would reassure them until she could arrive.
She felt the earth spirit burst through the soil. Everything inside her itched to be there. Soon she’d see her family. Soon her daughter would be in her arms again. Politely, she dabbed her lips with a napkin. “The soup is divine,” she told Lord Maarte. “Please give my compliments to your chef.”
She continued the meal, listening as Lord Maarte extolled the virtues of a proper diet. Fruits were the key, but it had to be the right kind of fruits. Mangoes, for example, were excellent, but you needed the proper ripeness for the full nutrients. “You must inform the palace chefs that they need to serve you at least one mango a day,” he told her.
“The palace chefs look after my health admirably.”
“You are Belene’s most valuable asset,” Lord Maarte said. “Are you feeling well? You seem distracted.”
“Only by the glorious flavors of the meal,” she replied with a smile. “Tell me how you came to learn so much about the quality of food. I know you have many responsibilities.”
“Observation, of course. I am keenly aware of my surroundings at all times. It’s important to be present in the moment, don’t you think?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Her family was in the tunnel . . . but why did she see only two figures? She couldn’t tell, her vision distorted through the spirits’ eyes, who was missing. Her heart clenched, and she ruthlessly shoved every shred of fear deep inside her. Bearing down with her mind, she sent wind spirits into the house, searching through every crevice.
Find the missing one! Now!
She felt like screaming when they found no one else. If they’d separated her family . . .
Or if they’d done worse . . .
She thought of her husband and then ruthlessly shoved the memory away. She was committed to this course of action, and this time she wasn’t going to fail.
“Speaking of moments,” Queen Asana said, smiling brightly at Lord Maarte, “I wish to see the sunset.”
He frowned. “Are you unwell?” he asked again.
She rose, which forced the rest of the diners to quit eating as well. “Continue, please. Your meal shouldn’t be allowed to cool to satisfy my whim. In the palace, I view the sunset every evening. I did not realize I would miss the moment this much. And in truth, I could use some fresh air. Perhaps the sea travel has left me unsettled.”
“Allow me to escort you,” Lord Maarte said, popping out of his seat.
She’d rather have dropped the soup bowl on his head than take his arm, but she did, and they glided out of the dining hall. She saw the other courtiers looking at each other, unsure of whether to continue or not. Protocol said they shouldn’t eat if the lord and queen were not eating, but with both of them leaving the room . . . She hoped they ate. It wasn’t the chef’s fault that this was happening, and the soup had been delicious.
Especially once she’d added Garnah’s antidote for poison.
It was strong stuff, Garnah’s special blend to combat several different kinds of poisons, so it would eventually make Asana queasy, but Garnah had insisted she dose every dish before eating, as a precaution. Lord Maarte won’t be happy with you, she’d said, for visiting off schedule. While Asana didn’t believe he’d go so far as to poison her, she saw the sense in not taking risks, especially when she was so close to having what she dreamed.
She wondered if it meant anything that Lord Maarte had asked twice if she felt well. She wished she dared ask if he had tried to poison her—and if so, why? Did he know she was close to being reunited with her family? Did he suspect he was close to losing every shred of power she could rip away from him?
They walked out of the spiral shell to see that the sun was already beginning to melt into the horizon. The clouds were stained rose red and orange.
“I often thought that the sun resembles a ball of liquid gold, pierced so that it appears to drain out,” Lord Maarte said, halting to admire the view. Asana had to halt as well, though what she wanted to do was run down to the shore and see who was missing.
“I didn’t know you were a poet,” Asana said. “That’s a lovely image.”