“Now,” I say firmly. Then add, softer, “Please. There’s something I need to urgently discuss with him.”
“Very well.” Rinni nods and starts down the hall. She doesn’t seem cross with me, and yet a brief sensation of discomfort passes over me.
For the first time, I gave someone in Midscape an order, like a queen would.
And they listened.
Chapter 28
Rinni takes me to the secret passage overlooking the throne room. I act surprised for her benefit. She places a finger over her lips and we move silently, staring down.
A screen of iron has been erected in the center of the room, bisecting the space. Eldas is on one side, sitting on his iron throne. On the other is a man dressed in lush velvet and mother of pearl. The screen is intricately woven, mostly obscuring Eldas’s appearance. He continues to seclude himself, as much as possible, even as he is forced to rule due to the delay in coronation.
“This is how he’s governed for the past year,” Rinni whispers in my ear. “While he waited for you.”
All I see is a cage. A physical barrier separating Eldas from any kind of real connection with anyone beyond Rinni, Harrow, Sevenna, Poppy, or Willow. I wonder what it must’ve been like to finally escape the castle when he marched to Capton. Was that the day he broke? The day he could take the all-consuming loneliness of his hall no longer?
He is chained by the traditions of his station, and suddenly I want to free him of the cycle just as much as myself and all of Midscape. What would he be like without the shackles of duty? He said he’s never allowed himself to dream…what would he find he wanted, if he allowed it? Would he want me? a treacherous voice whispers.
The two men discuss matters of the fields surrounding Quinnar.
“The plants do not grow. The soil is like ash,” the lord says.
“The queen has only just recharged the throne,” Eldas replies calmly. “Give things time.”
“Queen Alice did not need time.”
“Queen Alice had one hundred years to perfect her abilities.”
“We might not have one hundred years before Quinnar starves if the fields don’t become viable.”
“I know these are tense times. But you must be patient.” Eldas’s voice remains calm, but I hear a protective edge.
“Tell that to the people who have hunger gnawing at their stomachs. Who have been foraging in the barren landscape for nuts and edible roots for months!” The man throws out his hands. Then he pauses, and bows low. “Forgive me, Your Majesty, for speaking out of turn.”
“Do not let it happen again,” Eldas says with dangerous softness. I lean toward the wall as I catch a glimpse of the type of ruler he is—of the harsh man I first met. “I will open the granary stores of the castle. You’ll have an allotment of three wagons. Divide as you think best.”
The man steps backwards, bowing and mumbling thank yous the entire way to the back exit. Rinni squeezes my hand and we slip out and down the stairs. She doesn’t hesitate before opening the side door to the throne room.
“Your Majesty?” she says.
“Rinni? You know I—” Eldas’s eyes shift and the initial scowl he wore drops the moment he sees me. Hook bounds past, rushing over to the throne. Eldas frowns slightly, but his hands bury into the fur on either side of Hook’s face. “What’s happening? What’s wrong?”
“I need to talk with you about something.” I approach him. Eldas’s eyes flick to the back doors that are obscured by the iron screen. “I know you have other people you’re meeting with, but—”
“You are my priority,” he says, almost like it’s a decree. I fight a blush. “What is it?”
“Two things. Foremost, Aria.”
“What has she done now?”
“Nothing, explicitly… But I don’t trust her,” I start.
“I looked into Aria personally following the incident in the city,” Rinni says.
“I know. But it’s something other than that. I think she’s—” I stop myself short. I promised Harrow I wouldn’t betray his trust. Eldas arches his eyes. “I think she’s perhaps involved in something.”
“I don’t think she’s capable of attacking the crown.” Rinni frowns.
“Maybe nothing that serious, but still serious?” I dance around the topic. “I don’t know what. But she seems suspicious.”
“Luella,” Eldas says thoughtfully, descending from the throne. His hands are folded behind his back. He’s the model of a king but the voice of a friend—of… I dare not think of what