The Queen's Secret (The Queen's Secret #2) - Melissa de la Cruz Page 0,67

been here.”

“How long can you stay?” the queen asks. Cal rarely sees this much emotion in Queen Lilianna; she’s usually austere to the point of being aloof. Now it looks as though she might weep. “Or how long should you stay? I have no idea how safe or dangerous the world is right now, though I must admit everything seems dangerous. Even these chambers.”

“You have been through far too much trauma, my dear,” Moriah says. “It’s no wonder you are on edge. But remember that we in the Guild are stronger than any guard or any army.”

“That’s true,” Cal says, thinking aloud. The queen needs to leave Mont, and she needs to be protected. Moriah’s arrival has provided the perfect solution. “Your Majesty, I believe it’s best if you go home.”

The queen looks at him as though he’s deranged. “I have no home! At least here with Lilac I have a roof and walls. Even if this is an ugly place, and I can sense fear and death all around me. It’s an animal pen of the most base emotions.”

“I hear they have a very nice summer palace, these Montricians,” Moriah observes. “But this castle! Built by ogres, in my opinion. And there’s a stench here, you’re quite right. An Aphrasian stench. I smelled it as soon as the cart entered the courtyard.”

“This is why you must leave, ma’am,” Cal insists. “It’s quite possible the Aphrasians sought to drive you here by burning Violla Ruza.”

“They will never forgive me for the way Esban suppressed them,” she says, lifting her chin. She’s a proud woman, Cal thinks, and doesn’t like to show weakness. Just like her daughter. “The only Dellafiore they recognize is the one they worship, King Phras. If they wish to wipe out what remains of the Dellafiore family, then I am its figurehead, I suppose. But I’m more concerned about Lilac and Hansen, and the children they hope to have. The children they must have. We should worry less about me and more about them. I’ve had my day. Theirs is still to come.”

Cal tries not to flinch at the mention of royal children. He can’t trust himself to speak.

“Nonsense!” Moriah exclaims. “You have plenty of fight left in you. Cal can protect the king and queen here. You need to return with me, to the farm. You know that Mesha and I can create an enchanted field around the house and fields, to protect us all. With the three of us together, the powers of Deia will sing louder than our bees.”

“I know how skilled you and Mesha are, both in combat and magic.” Cal needs to pull himself together, and to interrogate Moriah’s plan. “But can you be certain you can keep the dowager queen safe from potential assassins?”

“Please.” Moriah’s tone is kind but dismissive. “How do you think we kept Lilac safe while she was growing up? There’s a powerful circle of enchantment around our home already. And it’s never been compromised.”

“You will need to be smuggled out, ma’am,” Cal tells the queen. “Your carriage must remain here. It must seem that you are still in residence in these apartments.”

“The potato cart,” says Moriah. “Varya is returning for me at daybreak. I will drive you out of here myself. We can hide you among the sacks.”

“An ignominious exit,” the queen says, but she’s not objecting to the plan.

“I will ensure you have safe passage,” Cal tells them. “And we will work out a way to keep your departure secret as long as possible.”

“Lilac’s ladies should all be dismissed,” the queen says, too quickly, as though this has been on her mind all along. “Even that Lady Marguerite. Though perhaps, on reflection, her intuition is sound. We can trust no one. They must all return home to their estates tomorrow. Queen Lilac and I do not require their services. We are quite content with our own company.”

It’s agreed that Queen Lilianna will visit the king—and Lilac—at their supper table to present the plan. Cal, she says, will not be required at that meeting. He bows his head, hoping his face gives nothing away. He still hasn’t seen Lilac alone. He certainly doesn’t want to see her with Hansen.

“Cal,” Moriah says, her tone questioning. “Is there just one door out of her rooms? This main door with the guards?”

For a moment he can’t answer. He’s never lied to Moriah. But is the Queen’s Secret his to divulge?

“Come now,” she says, and he’s conscious of the two women