Brightly Woven(82)

“Is there something we can help you with, Your Majesty?” Owain called. There was no hint of friendliness in his voice. I had to push him to the side to see the queen’s reaction.

She jumped, turning quickly to face us.

“Oh! Yes, I’m—It’s—I need—” She wrung her hands until they were an angry red.

“Where are your attendants?” Owain asked, looking around. “Is everything all right?”

I watched the way her lips pressed together into a white line, the way one hand came up to smooth back her hair, and I knew something was wrong. The queen I had met before had been so self-assured.

“Did you need to speak to me?” I asked.

“Yes, in my chambers,” she said tensely. “It is a matter of grave importance.”

Queen Eglantine motioned us to follow her to her wing of the castle. If her words hadn’t been enough to confirm my worst fears, the large purple beetle clinging to her skirt was all I needed to know who would be waiting for us in her chambers.

I grabbed Owain’s arm, pulling him down so I could whisper in his ear. “Dorwan.”

He pulled back, his brows drawing together. Dorwan was using the beetle to track her, I knew, to make sure she couldn’t run away or warn the other wizards.

The queen glanced back over her shoulder, her blue eyes wide. I wasn’t sure that she had heard me until I saw her mouth the words Help me, please.

Queen Eglantine’s wing of the castle was unnaturally quiet. The last time I had walked down this hallway, candles had been blazing, servants had been bustling back and forth, and a set of guards had protected the doorway. I saw the busts of past kings covered in the wax of the dripping candles, their vacant eyes following our path down the long hall. Everything was still and quiet, but I sensed Dorwan’s cold aura reaching out to me, licking at my skin. I shivered.

“You need to get the Wizard Guard,” I whispered to Owain. “Get as many wizards as you can.”

Owain shook his head, a deep frown on his face. “Are you saying I can’t protect you myself?”

“I’m saying I don’t want you to,” I said. “He’s a dirty cheat—North barely made it out of their fight alive. Please, just get the Guard and hurry back.”

He sighed. “I understand. But I’m coming back for you right away, you hear? Don’t do anything to get yourself hurt; I’d never forgive myself.” He turned quickly, fading into the shadows.

The queen waited by the door to her chambers, still pale and trembling. I came to stand by her side, looping my arm through hers.

“What was it that you needed to speak to me about?” I asked loudly. “What could you possibly have to say to me after everything that’s happened?”

The queen cleared her throat. “I hope you don’t expect me to apologize. I will always do what’s in the best interest of my kingdom.”

She pulled open the door, continuing, “You were a necessary part of gaining a peaceful resolution.”

“There was nothing peaceful about it,” I said, my eyes scanning the darkness. There wasn’t a part of the room that hadn’t been upturned. Her former Wizard Guard were piled one on top of the other near the window. I couldn’t tell if they were unconscious or dead, but the torn draperies, burned carpet, and sprays of blood across the walls seemed to indicate the latter.

“Do you not like the way I’ve redecorated?” Dorwan’s voice floated around us, but he was nowhere to be seen. Another one of his tricks.

“I’m sorry,” the queen said, and I could see she meant it. “He came just before you got back, demanding that I fetch you. I had no choice; he would have killed the guards and myself.”

So they were alive, then. It seemed a strange show of mercy from an otherwise ruthless wizard.

“Come out, you coward,” I called, stepping in front of the queen. “I should have known your ugly face would show up the moment North and the others left.”

“Some call it cowardice; others, intelligence,” he said. “I hope you didn’t think that little stunt you pulled on the mountain would be enough to kill a wizard as powerful as I.”

“A roach can survive anything, apparently,” I said.

Dorwan stepped out from the queen’s bedroom, dressed in the black uniform of the Wizard Guard. In his fist was his dagger with its long, braided string of blue. He spun the cord around casually, the dagger slicing through the air in a wide arc.

“Why didn’t you save the king of Auster?” I asked. “By letting him die, you’ve ruined your own plan.”

“We’ll see about that,” he said, his scarred face turned toward the queen.

“I want you out of my kingdom,” she said. “I am willing to consider your terms, as long as they do not involve harming my subjects.” I didn’t miss the way her hand reached back for the door. Dorwan did not miss it, either. He threw his talisman down with a harsh laugh, and a vein of ice sprang up, racing toward the door. The queen and I leapt apart, watching as a thick layer of ice overcame the door and froze it shut. Queen Eglantine looked at me in alarm.

“That’ll keep our other friend occupied when he returns,” Dorwan said, picking up the knife. “Now, Sydelle, on to more important things.”

The queen lunged to her left, picking up one of the overturned chairs and throwing it at him with all her might. Dorwan ducked before it could hit him, but I used the distraction to grab at one of the ornamental swords on the wall. I wrenched and pulled at the hilt, but the ancient thing had been hammered into place.