Reign Queen

by L. Darby Gibbs

  “You have little time to get ready for the union and your crowning,” Sybil said. “Are we finished for now?”

  “For now.” Kambry caught her fingers reaching for the strap and stilled them. “I will consider what is best for Kavin before I speak to Russal.”

  Sybil went to the door, her hand landing on the latch. She paused and turned. “Miss do Brode, in view of our new relationship, I do have information for you.”

  Kambry leveled her gaze at Sybil. “Our relationship is still tentative.”

  “Be that as it may, a woman will betray you, someone who has appeared loyal to you. I do not have details to help identify whom.”

  A quick list of the women she trusted rattled through her mind: Dorvea, Lessa, Lady Laurents, Amily, Mom.... She gazed at Sybil. “I suppose that gets you off the list.”

  Sybil’s mouth quirked up. “If you mean you have already lost faith in me, then that would be an accurate assessment.” Her face grew serious. “Be alert, soon-to-be-officially queen of Kavin. I cannot determine which woman, and I think that is because there is more than one.”

  More than one? “You’re never easy on me, Sybil.”

  “But always loyal.”

  “Hmm. Today, I will take your word for that. Will I see you at the confirmation?”

  “It is part of my job description. I must approve and confirm that you offer no danger to the kingdom.”

  “I question that. I might very well offer danger.”

  Sybil’s fingers pattered on the latch handle. “My impressions do not support that, Your Highness. You are the reason for all the good that has come to Kavin in these months since your arrival. I will focus my attention on figuring out who the woman is or who they are as quickly as I can.”

  “Do you argue that I have brought no danger to Kavin?”

  “No danger of your own intention.”

  “Ah, well, that we can agree on. At least, it is only women I must worry about.”

  “Covey, this brother he claims, those who support him. My queen, I didn’t feel the need to point out there are an abundance of men to be watchful of.”

  Kambry sighed and shook her head. “Always assume you must point things out to me.”

  Turning away from the door, Sybil faced Kambry and raised her chin. “There is something else. I think you may already know it, but as you say, you wish me to point out everything.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “You are aware of Kavin’s ambivalence?”

  “Ambivalence?” How can magic be ambivalent?

  Sybil lowered the volume of her voice. “That may not be the best word choice, but Kavin has given me reason to see Felip Covey in a different light.”

  Kambry stepped close, speaking softly. “Describe this light.”

  “Even small decisions change possibilities.”

  “What possibilities have changed?”

  “A decision he has made—don’t ask me what it is, I don’t know—has shifted the line.”

  “What line?” Kambry demanded.

  “Whose side he is on.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Sybil lay her hand on Kambry’s tight forearm. “Kambry do Brode, Felip may be on your side of a choice you will make. Until them, it is important Russal and Felip not face each other. Keep them apart.”

  “Why?”

  “So you can make the right decision.”

  “What is the choice?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Why shouldn’t they meet?”

  “They should, just not soon. If you can, keep them away from each other.”

  Kambry strode away, stopping near the foot of the lounge. She closed her eyes. Keep Covey and Russal apart. What would that entail? Stepping between them, hiding Russal. She tensed. Hiding Felip Covey from Russal?

  “Are you certain?” Kambry hesitated. “What you ask could be difficult.”

  “It is an interpretation. But I think it is accurate.”

  “You’ve confirmed it with your apprentices?”

  “Yes.”

  Usually, a single-word answer always carried a certainty to it. Sybil looked certain, but in that single word, a subtle indecision fluttered. “I think you should leave. If there is more to tell me, save it for tomorrow.”

  Sybil nodded and held her head down for an extended moment.

  Kambry suspected it was a gesture of respect and accepted it. “I will see you later, Sybil.”

  The door had not latched behind the sybil before the sound was lost in the rustle of a dress and the tap of a cane. Kambry spun about, surprise tightening her shoulders.

  Lady Laurents entered the room from the empty bedroom beside Kambry’s. “You handled that well for your first time, but you really must stop tugging on that leather brace.” She pointed her cane at Kambry like a long admonishing finger. “It reveals your nervousness. Perhaps you shouldn’t wear that ornament. It’s rather plain for a queen, anyway.”

  In her intense observation of Sybil, Kambry had forgotten the woman was watching from her brother’s room. How much did she hear? Hopefully not the last part. Or the first part. She clenched her jaw, forced herself to relax, and covered her concerns with a stern rebuff. “I will work on breaking the habit, but the ornament stays, Lady Laurents.”

  Lady Laurents smiled approvingly, leaned on her cane and stepped forward, revealing the slightest stiffness in her step. “Very good, Miss do Brode. Do you trust me? Perhaps I am the woman who betrays you.”

  So she heard that part. Kambry’s shoulders drooped. “Are you good at keeping your silence, Lady Laurents?”

  “The loyalty issue? It is safe with me. I’ve always held Kavin’s security paramount. Why else would I saddle myself with the training of a new queen?” Lady Laurents tapped her cane. “I was Queen Mya’s confidant, and I pay attention.” She strolled across the room and opened the balcony doors. The golden light made her intricate arrangement of white hair brighten.

  Turning from the balcony, Lady Laurents said, “I agree with Sybil. It would be best if we kept her loyalty to you secret.”

  Kambry grimaced. “So you believe she is loyal even though she put me in danger?”

  “Sybil knew you were going to thwart Covey.” Lady Laurents gazed out at the balcony and sighed. “Being queen puts one in danger.”

  “I worry that she did not expect Covey having someone else with him. It surprised her to learn about that addition to my challenge. It could have gone differently.”

  Lady Laurents huffed. “Have you discussed this with Russal?”

  “He said it was not unlike his sword training. He often earned a cut as he gained in proficiency.”

  “The marshal’s job was to make sure the crown prince was ready each time he raised the level of attack. Russal’s explanation is valid.”

  “Russal said he was always having to dig deeper to meet the new strategy.” Kambry’s voice fell in volume as she made a connection. “As soon as he gained some proficiency in a technique, he was having to use it at a level he hadn’t thought he could rise to. My skills were just up for the challenge.”

  “They pushed you to be better than you knew. Russal accepts this.”

  “Oh, I didn’t say he was okay with it. He understood the logic they were using, but he was still furious.”

  “That’s how it is when you love someone,” Lady Laurents said. She had stepped up to the table and was pulling out, one by one, Kambry’s drawings. “You gave a set of these to Amily.”

  “Don’t change the subject.”

  “Kambry, parents, lovers, spouses, and dear friends, if they are truly friends, want us to grow into our best selves.” She let the sheet she held drop and faced Kambry. “They understand it means we have to suffer and learn from mistakes and tragedy and through success, but they wish we didn’t have to, and if they can, they will intervene, to save us from going through those struggles.” She tucked the pictures back into the folder. “Russal would have kept you from having
that experience out of love and selfishness, even knowing you had to go through them.

  “Fortunately, he wasn’t here to interfere.” Lady Laurents slid the envelope aside, turning to face Kambry. “So when you actually had to face Felip Covey, you had the confidence to get yourself out. Have you even considered that you escaped him without anyone’s assistance? You drove him out of Kavin. You pulled magic from Kavin you didn’t know you had.”

  Kambry crossed her arms. She was not ready to admit that her experience in the passages had improved her chances for when she faced Covey later at the border of Kavin.

  Lady Laurents raised a corner of her mouth, and Kambry was certain she knew exactly what Kambry was thinking. “You escaped him the first time by acting immediately. You escaped him again because you had done it once before. Would the Kambry do Brode who asked for Kavin Wood to take her in have thought she would be victorious in such a situation?”

  “I never asked Kavin to take me in. My brother’s friends said the chant.”

  Lady Laurents shook her head. “I know who spoke the chant. But Kavin knew you needed to escape. Russal can open the path, just as you now know you can. But only Kavin can identify the need for help. Did it not help you leave when Covey stole you from Russal at the Grand Review?”

  “I asked it to.”

  “Russal must have told you no one goes home from Kavin, but you did.”

  “Let’s go back to talking about Sybil.”

  Lady Laurents exhaled, sounding like a snort trying hard not to be a chuckle.

  Kambry eyed her suspiciously.

  “As you wish. Trust Sybil. She is trying her best under difficult circumstances. She has a very green queen.”

  It was Kambry’s turn to strangle a laugh. Green was indeed her color.

  Lady Laurents returned to the open doorway to the balcony. “Call on Kavin. We need a little airflow in this still morning air. You’ll be wanting Kavin’s soothing attention once the dressers arrive.” She gazed out at the garden, her words drifting over her shoulder to Kambry who stood by the satin chair. “It will be the only thing that will keep you from knocking heads. I remember Mya on her coronation day hated their ministrations.” She turned and pinned Kambry with her narrow gaze. “The annoying twits treated her like a doll to dress up and quite took over her quarters.”

  This time Kambry allowed her to redirect the conversation. She recalled the preparation for the Grand Review. The dresser and her assistants had overrun her suite and nearly ruined the illustration she worked on as a gift for Amily before she threatened to throw them all out and caused her guard to enter because of the ruckus. She already disliked the idea of being dressed and primped, but now tremors rattled up her spine. Soon the regiment of royal dressers would arrive.

  “Buck up, child. You just faced your sybil and set her in her proper place. You have me, much better equipped to aid you than I was so long ago with Mya.” A sadness draped her normally commanding features. They grew taut with her usual determined expression. “But today, they will heel appropriately to their new queen. Put up with nothing that annoys you. Set the tone. Take your cue from me if need be.”

  “I don’t wish to be a queen known for her temper.”

  Lady Laurents took no offense. “I don’t speak of temper. I speak of position. They have a job, of which they are very good. You must dictate how they go about it. You need not be a straw man for them to do their job. They need not consider this space theirs. They are servants in your domain. Set the tone, not the temper.”

  “How?”

  “Attitude and direction. Hold your head up and give them only what is necessary to do their job. Your hair, clothing, and feet are their concern. As for comportment, leave that to me. I’ll guide you.” She perused the room, her lips flattening with her consideration. “So what space do you feel should be theirs for the temporary occupation of your chambers?”

  Kambry stared out at the landscape beyond the balcony. Had Lady Laurents deliberately redirected her to the preparations for the ceremony to keep her from challenging her to prove her loyalties? Would she keep Sybil’s secret? Should she bring the subject back up? If Lady Laurents planned to betray her, it might be best if she believe Kambry was no longer thinking about Sybil’s warning.

  She squared her shoulders and examined her quarters. The Condoris usually held these rooms when Amily and Tomo visited Russal, but Kambry and her family had been using them since the couple had headed home for the birth of their twins. Amily and Tomo stayed in another suite close by, and Kambry’s family also received rooms elsewhere in the castle. Her chambers, outside of her father’s room, which a live-in guard now occupied, were her own. Until later today, when she gave them up to enter the royal suite with Russal, she reminded herself.

  Maybe the room Stahn had used during his brief stay in Kavin after the coup the Paddlyrun militia had aided in putting down would be the best place to have the dressers set up. It kept them out of her room where she could put items she wanted safe from their invasive bustle. She surveyed the space from the open doorway. The bed was on the far wall, leaving a tall wardrobe and a low chest of drawers for laying out items. The open area in the middle of the room would accommodate the inevitable bath she would have to take.

  Lady Laurents joined her. “This room is an excellent choice. It is closest to the door and therefore limits their access to the rest of your apartment.” She cocked her head. “You have held them off as long as you can, perhaps even too long. They will show up soon.”

  A knock on her door drew their attention.

  Lady Laurents white brow rose. “I believe they are here.” She stepped into the bedroom. “I’ll pull the curtains and light a lamp or two. You go let them know who is queen in this castle.”

  Chapter Two

  The head dresser pressed the last amethyst-headed hairpin into place, scraping Kambry’s scalp.

  Kambry took a deep breath, exhaling silently, and shared an impatient gaze with Lady Laurents.

  Lady Laurents had remained standing by the door, an imposing figure that the dressers had skirted by as if she were crusted with sharp points. A smile that almost included her eyes pulled at her lips. She shook her cane. “Ladies, let Miss do Brode look. You’ve quite outdone yourselves, though you had a good canvas to work with.” The women murmured with delight at the praise. “Now you can leave.” They silenced at once, each scurrying to gather their paraphernalia and exit the room.

  Lady Laurents opened the wardrobe, revealing mirrors on the inside of the doors.

  Kambry stood before one as Lady Laurents angled the second behind her.

  “Well,” Lady Laurents said. The lead dresser paused in the doorway.

  Kambry watched her reflection nod. The mirror revealed a queen standing before her.

  She leaned forward, raising a hand to the soft curls framing her face. The dress was pale-green satin, like new leaves on aged vines, and clung to her figure. The bodice lay snug about her rib cage, the thin shoulder straps supporting a scoop neckline in front and a plunging V in back. Her arms were bare, the queen’s scabbard her only accessory. At midthigh, the dress flared out to a short shimmering train. She had known the dress had a cutaway that began halfway down her calves, the satin of the train draping away on either side, exposing her bare feet. Still, she held her breath as she took in the effect of their two hours of primping and prodding.

  Delicate green lace overlay the tops of her feet, secured at the ankle with a satin tie and looped around her second toe. The soles of her feet tingled as she considered the import of approaching Russal in bare feet.

  From her temples upward, combs pulled her hair taut and smooth to her head, meeting a froth of waves and twists secured snugly to her scalp. Strands of loose ringlets edged the line of her cheek and neck.

  She had demanded simplicity be their guide, and other than the amethyst-headed hairpins that gleamed by turns as she looked side to side, they had followed her instructions. “This will do nicel
y,” she said, allowing herself a shred of a smile.

  The lead dresser clapped her hands twice, and the last assistant dodged past her and out the door. The dresser curtseyed and followed her out.

  Lady Laurents set a flat velvet-covered box on the chest. “These arrived for you. I hardly think you need a single addition to improve upon their work, but the populace will expect you to wear the wedding jewels.” She flipped the box open.

  A circlet of braided silver and gold rested on black satin. Within the space in the center of the simple crown, a braided necklace with a delicate dangle of amethyst beading and matching earrings glimmered. Lady Laurents nodded approvingly. She ran a finger over the crown. “Mya wore this on her coronation day. I think you two would have gotten along. Mya was unpretentious and favored simplicity, as well.” She lifted the tray. “Would you like my help?”

  Kambry stared at herself in the mirror. “Don’t I wear the crown after the coronation?”

  “Kavin has already accepted you. Now it is time for you to accept Kavin.” She held the tray out.

  Kambry’s hands shook as she lifted the crown and set it in place, the ends tucked within the froth of curls. Small, dull teeth at the bottom of the crown’s curved ends held it in place. There was a slight pinch as she seated it. Russal had warned her crowns weren’t comfortable. She smiled, imagining his grin that she now shared the discomfort with him.

  She steadied herself before taking an earring. The crown held her gaze, her hand pausing at her ear.

  “It is overwhelming, but you will get through it,” Lady Laurents said. “This is the easy part.” A note of laughter marked her voice, and Kambry looked to Lady Laurents, expecting to see a smile. No such expression presented itself. Did she ever smile?

  Lady Laurents pointed at Kambry’s other ear.

  Feeling her face warm, she took the remaining earring and put it on.