Lady Smoke (Ash Princess Trilogy #2)(7)

Next to him is Anders, an Elcourtian lordling who ran away from his easy life two decades ago, when he was a teenager in search of adventure. And he certainly found it. He told me yesterday that he barely survived his first few years on his own, as he had no real skills to speak of and little understanding of money. It was not the never-ending resource he’d once believed it to be; it was something to be fought for—to be stolen, if the need arose. So he thieved his way from country to country and later trained others to do the thieving for him. When he grew bored with that, he decided he wanted to be a pirate and bartered his way onto Dragonsbane’s ship.

“You may be seated,” Dragonsbane says before I have a chance to speak.

Maybe Artemisia was right to correct her mother for calling me Theo. Maybe Dragonsbane is undermining me on purpose. She won’t have a difficult time of it with these two. Though they’ve all been perfectly civil toward me since I came on board, there is no doubt in my mind that I don’t live up to whatever idea they had of Astrea’s rebel queen.

But I’ve been underestimated by far more intimidating people, and for the first time it doesn’t behoove me to shrink in on myself and avoid notice. Instead, I draw myself up to my full height, even though Dragonsbane in her block-heeled boots dwarfs me.

“Thank you for meeting with me,” I say, nodding at both men in turn before letting my attention fall on Dragonsbane, daring her to correct my assertion. I sweeten my smile. “And thank you, Aunt, for arranging this. It’s time we discussed what comes next. If one of you would be so kind as to find Blaise and Heron, as well?”

Dragonsbane’s nostrils flare so slightly that I would miss it altogether if I weren’t looking for a reaction. Her jaw tenses before she forces her mouth into an echo of my smile.

“I don’t think that’s necessary, Theo,” she says. “I’ve assembled our best strategic and diplomatic minds.” She motions to the men. “Blaise and Heron have done much for our cause, but they are boys with little experience in these matters.”

Her dark eyes are unrelenting against mine and it takes all I have not to flinch away. They are my mother’s eyes, after all, and looking into them makes me feel like a child again. But I am not a child and I can’t afford to feel like one for even a moment. There is too much at stake. So I hold her gaze and I don’t let myself waver.

“They are my council,” I tell her, keeping my voice soft but level. “I trust them.”

Dragonsbane tilts her head to one side. “You don’t trust us, Your Majesty?” she asks, eyes widening. “We have your best interests at heart.”

The men murmur their agreement a beat behind her.

“I’m sure you do,” I say, flashing them a reassuring smile. “But we’ve known one another such a short time, I’m afraid you can’t know my best interests yet. You will soon, I’m sure, but you’ll agree that we have no time to waste.”

“We don’t,” Dragonsbane says. “Which is why it hardly makes sense to be tracking down other people when the group I’ve already assembled is more than capable—”

I interrupt, sharpening my words to daggers. “If you’d gone to fetch Blaise and Heron when I first asked you to instead of arguing for argument’s sake, they would already be on their way. Now, would you like to waste more time while the Kalovaxians put together a battalion to wipe us out for good?”

For a painfully long moment, she says nothing, but I can feel the resentment rolling off her in waves. I hold her gaze, her fury stoking my own. I’m dimly aware of a dull burn itching at my fingertips, but I don’t dare break eye contact to look at them. Something about it feels distantly familiar, the way my skin felt after I woke up from my nightmare about Cress. I cross my arms, pressing my fingertips into the sleeves of my tunic, hoping that if I ignore them they will stop burning.

After what feels like an eternity, Dragonsbane turns toward Anders, though every muscle in her body seems to protest it.

“Go get the boys,” she says, voice tight. “And hurry back.”

Anders’s blue eyes dart between us uncertainly before he inclines in a slight bow toward Dragonsbane, then to me. He hurries out the door without another word, leaving us in an uncomfortable silence.

Triumph sings through me and I forget about my burning fingers.

“You’re very unlike your mother,” Dragonsbane says after a moment.

And just like that, the feeling of triumph slips away. The words land like a hard punch to my gut, but they aren’t as painful as the realization that she’s right. Antagonizing those who go against me, twisting their words against them, stubbornly clinging to my way of things—those are not tactics my mother ever used as queen. She charmed and mediated and compromised and gave where she could because she had so much to give.

Another realization washes over me, sending a shudder through my whole body that I try to suppress.

I did not handle that like my mother; I handled it like the Kaiser.



* * *



—

A tense few minutes pass before Anders returns, Blaise and Heron in tow. They both look confused as they enter the increasingly cramped space.

“Finally,” Dragonsbane snaps as they come to stand next to me, flanking me on each side without a word.

They must have pieced together what happened, at least somewhat. They must realize that this meeting was called without them, that Dragonsbane tried to shut them out. Or maybe Blaise is glaring daggers at her for an entirely separate reason. Heron, for his part, doesn’t glare at anyone. His gaze is heavy and solemn but distant. It’s been that way since we came aboard, and I worry Elpis’s death is weighing even heavier on his conscience than it is on mine. After all, it was his job to fetch her after she poisoned the Theyn, to bring her to safety here on the Smoke.