The Soulstoy Inheritance (34 page)

“The kingdoms,” here my voice gained strength, my heart propelling the words into their own, “will stand united!”

The outcry was fast in fading, the kneeling people bowing their heads, showing their respect for the union that, unbeknownst to them, would protect them in the oncoming war. Slowly, the standing synfees began to find their knees, seeing no alternative for themselves.

Chapter Twenty-Three

From the Reign, Comes the Drought

The months following the death of Elias saw a procession of processions move through our lives. We attended funeral after funeral, as well as a ceremony to honour the bravest of my own men, who had dedicated themselves to fighting for me under the direction of Teddy, Quick and Sweet. Flora had been included in the ceremony, as she had secretly sewn the hundreds of red flags, all embroidered with the death mark: my supposed sigil. Once the ceremonies had tapered off, Hazen, Miriam and Rose returned home, needing to take care of their own preparations for the joining of the two kingdoms. I took Harbringer and Quick with me to Red Ridge, where Dom’s people awaited, having set up their camp in the ruined city by my own direction. They welcomed me with a feast they barely had expense for, and I spent the next few weeks pouring my Force into the earth, coaxing it further back to health, as huts were constructed, and roads were dug around me.

It was on the day we were set to leave that I found myself at Harbringer’s tent, pacing the fledgling patches of grass outside.

“You’re going to ruin all your hard work,” Harbringer grumbled from inside.

“Can you come out here?” I pleaded; a little exasperated that he had known I was there the whole time.

He chuckled, flicking the tent opening aside and stopping before me.

“What can I do for you, Lady Queen?”

I winced at the formality. “I have decided to rearrange my Council.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Really? Would that be because half of them are now dead, or…?”

My wince deepened a little. “I know I should have done it earlier, but I’ve been trying to deal with everything. I think we all have. I trusted Leif; I think I may have even liked him, you know, as a person. I thought we were friends. It’s just…” I shook my head, unwilling to let the confusion and hurt affect me in that moment.

“I know.” Harbringer seemed to hesitate, but then his hand lit upon my shoulder. “And I know you miss Nareon.”

I nodded. “Thanks.”

He grinned. “Anytime, Harrow. Now tell me, what position have you degraded me to?”

I laughed, a lightness filling my chest. “Promoting, actually. I want you to be our Ambassador. I can’t think of anyone better. You will be travelling a lot between this kingdom and the other, and you, more than anyone, have a place in both.”

“What about Ashen?”

“Ashen will be my advisor. A little too close to the crown for him, maybe, but I trust that he will not let me down.”

“I trust that you are right.”

“So will you? Will you be the new Ambassador?”

He mocked a bow. “Whatever you desire, Lady Queen.” He lost his smile then, and I saw a shadow of how broken we really were. “Thank you,” he finally said.

Since Harbringer had accepted the new position, I instructed him to stay back in Red Ridge for a few more days, and only Quick accompanied me back to the castle that night. We passed the training grounds that I used to fight in, when I was still learning to control my Force and curb my hunger, and Quick slowed his horse to a stop, gazing at the sands.

“It seems a lifetime ago,” he muttered, looking back at me.

I reached out and caught his hand. “We have entered the next life, then.” I squeezed his fingers and he smiled.

“Do you think it will ever be like that again?”

I laughed. “I hope I don’t find you up in the tower room again playing cards with the other two,” I warned. “You’re in charge of my army.”

His eyebrows flew up. “I’m what?”

“I want you to command the army, Quick. You, Teddy and Sweet. I want you to divide the men into three divisions, so that it is more manageable. And I want you on the Council.”

He pulled his hand from mine, already shaking his head. “No, no, no. Our job is to protect you—the kingdom is too turbulent right now. Opening up one spot on your personal guard is too hazardous a move, let alone all three. It leaves an opening for anyone wishing to avenge Elias!”

“I’m doing away with the personal guard,” I informed him, another laugh bubbling to the surface at the horrified look in his eye. “I’m not an unwilling little girl-queen anymore. I’ll not hide behind people, and I’ll certainly not encourage people to think I’m less capable than Elias or Nareon.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but I spurred my horse into action and preceded him into the stables. I jumped from the saddle as he entered, and was out the door before he could continue the argument. I found Gretal and asked her to gather the people I needed, and then I climbed to Nareon’s glass-walled chamber. Ashen arrived first, having just come back from Castle Nest to deal with the poisoned waterways, and he sauntered over to me, dropping an arm over my shoulders.

“You got some sun, sweetheart.” He smirked, as though he were making some kind of joke.

I touched my cheek and turned to the glass wall to examine my reflection. I was golden. Frowning, I pulled my glamour back into place.

“It slips off without my knowledge now,” I grumbled.

“You’re no longer preoccupied with the person you should be, Lady Queen,” he grinned and took a seat. “You simply are. It is beginning to show.”

Just then, Teddy and Sweet burst into the room, Quick only a few seconds behind them.

“It’s a
bad
idea,” Sweet declared.

“You must reconsider.” Teddy was attempting to be the voice of reason, his tone imploring where his cousin’s had been adamant.

“Reconsider what?” Dain asked, entering the room with more caution than the others had displayed.

“I gave them an army,” I answered, as Isolde came through the door, “and this is the thanks I get.”

Isolde and Dain shared looks of equal horror, and soon joined in the protests of the others. Only Ashen stayed quiet, his shoulders shaking with subtle laughter.

“Enough,” I grumbled, half expecting them to pay me no heed and continue arguing. They fell silent.

“First thing is first.” I sat beside Ashen. “You are looking at your new Council, minus Harbringer, who has remained behind in Red Ridge. I expect that your positions will remain the same, but for a few small changes. I will no longer have a personal guard.
You three
,” I leveled Teddy, Quick and Sweet with a glare, “will command a division each of my army, dedicated to separate skill sets. We will discuss that in a little more depth later. Harbringer will be the new Ambassador—“

“You replaced me?” Ashen interrupted.

“It makes sense,” Isolde said calmly. “The Power Thief is intimate with both kingdoms.”

“I need you to be my advisor, Ashen.” I caught the look in his eye, indicating that he was about to object, but I cut over him. “People are expecting me to kick you out, to properly end the reign of the Soulstoys, but you are invaluable to both this kingdom and to me. I will need you in the coming year, to keep us strong.”

I stood and moved back to the glass, my fingers tracing the outlines of chimney smoke curling from the fireplaces of houses littered across Castle Nest.

“The war draws closer every day, every second. We need to prepare our people, and moreover…” I turned and faced them all, “we need to protect those who
aren’t
our people, because this next fight stretches beyond us, beyond the synfees, beyond the humans and the other races. This is a fight for our homeland, for the Noveland.”

They remained quiet, seating themselves in contemplative silence, their faces taking on a pallor that I had grown used to encountering whenever I spoke of the upcoming war with the Valens.

“Very well.” Ashen was stroking his chin. “You have won me over with another impassioned, Queenly outburst. I will advise you.”

“I will stand with you, also.” Isolde nodded, punctuating her words, her expression holding an unfamiliar determination.

“Yes.” Dain seemed to be considering his options. “Well, I suppose there is no other choice, is there?”

“No,” I told him, my voice hard. “There is no other choice.”

“Very well,” Teddy interjected before we could start fighting. “We will do as you say, Lady Queen.”

They didn’t look entirely happy with the decision, which made me more amused than anything. After a few more hours with the Council, I bid them all goodnight and retreated to my old chamber, which I had decided I would remain in.

The next day, I flew through the kitchen on my way to the stables, using a clumsily-aimed gust of wind to propel a loaf of bread the size of my forearm into my waiting hand. A woman cried out in agitation, until she saw who I was, and then she dropped into a deep, red-faced curtsey.

“Sorry!” I called out, realising I had knocked over her entire stack of rolls, but unable to go back and help her pick them up, as I was already running dangerously close to encountering someone in the early morning hours who would delay my trip to the human kingdom.

I made it safely to the stables and even managed to saddle my horse before my plan crumpled before my eyes. I turned my mount toward the exit, ready to ride out of the stables, and found Ashen leaning in the doorway, casually throwing an apple into the air.

“You upset Gertrude,” he announced, cocking a brow at me. “Are you in a rush or something?”

“I was on my way to the border.”

“Fleeing your own kingdom?” He feigned horror. “Sweetheart, how could you?”

“Gretal informed me that Hazen was digging a new road through the forest, I wanted to see it for myself.”

“Gretal is your new Spymaster, aye?” He chuckled, moving into the stables and reaching for a saddle before disappearing into one of the stalls. “Don’t you go riding off anywhere without your advisor now, Lady Queen.”

I huffed out my indignation. “You’re my new pseudo-personal guard, posing as an advisor. I should have guessed.”

He laughed and appeared moments later, urging me to leave the stables and head toward the boundary.

“I didn’t realise we were so transparent, or I might have sent Dain.”

I shuddered. “No, I don’t think that will be necessary.”

We broke into a gallop when we passed into the forest, only slowing when we reached the construction of the new road, already reaching halfway between the new kingdoms.

“Impressive,” Ashen remarked. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say King Hazen was missing you.”

I quelled him with an expression that was anything but regal, and in the time it took us to reach the Northern Tiered City, my heart had become impossibly light. Ashen refrained from commenting on my sudden giddiness as we approached the castle, but a chuckle finally escape his lips as the castle doors bust open. Hazen had sensed me coming, evidently, as he stood there now, dark gaze fixed on my approach. I entered the gates and jumped from my horse, running into his arms.

He caught me on the stairs, somehow managing to stay upright despite me throwing myself at him, and his laughter merged with Ashen’s.

“I missed you.” His hand caught the back of my head, his gaze flashing to my lips, but I was determined not to lose my head and make a scene this time.

I quickly disentangled myself from him, and caught sight of Rose, standing in the doorway. Her gaze had softened as she looked on, taking on a kind of reminiscent happiness, a soft hope that I knew would soon fade. I bounded up the steps and caught her in my arms, burying my face in her neck.

“I also missed you.” She held onto me as tightly as I did to her. “Maybe not like Hazen, but…”

I made a disapproving sound and released her, but was elated to find her smiling.

“Mother has been confined to the bed for weeks now,” Hazen said over my shoulder. “Everything has proved too much for her, but it might help her to see you again.”

I nodded, allowing him to take my hand and lead me from the others. We ascended the staircases slowly, both wanting to prolong our time alone, unwilling to face the melancholy task ahead of us. I worried for Miriam, but I didn’t want to see what the battle had done to her, it would only serve to show me how the future was doomed to fail her.

Hazen hesitated before the last set of stairs, his eyes moving upwards. “She is up there,” he said simply.

I squeezed his hand and he looked at me, hesitating before pulling me away from the stairs, through a doorway behind us. I barely managed to register an impression of curtained windows and dusty furniture before my back was against the door and his lips were on mine. I melted against him, threading my hands into his hair to combat my fear that the sudden weakness in my knees might lead to a loss of balance. His hips anchored against mine, his breath catching, his hands reaching for mine, easing my fingers from their grip and restraining them against the wood on either side of my head.

“Easy…” he muttered against my mouth.

“Are you talking to yourself, or to me?” The words sounded husky to my own ears.

He chuckled, slowly backing off me. “I don’t know.” He flashed me a smile. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”

I clucked my tongue at him. “How ungentlemanly of you. Maybe I should find myself a new husband.”

His smile widened, almost knocking me back with its brilliance. It was like glimpsing sunlight atop a harrowed moor—a brief, beautiful mirage on the horizon.

“You don’t have time,” he admitted. “I’m not allowing you to leave until you marry me. We can fetch someone to draw up the contract as soon as you agree. How long will you be staying?”

I couldn’t help the answering smile from seizing me, projecting the happiness that was quickly blossoming into an all-consuming need to please the man before me, to make him smile like that again.

“I can do it tomorrow morning. I need to be back to supervise the new army divisions. We will need to expand into the wood on the other side of the castle to set up separate training camps, and advise a recruitment schedule.”