Reign Queen

by L. Darby Gibbs

  “Here we are,” Russal said, and he opened a massive wood door, the hinges of pounded iron squealing metal against metal as they turned on their pins. He took a taper from a box by the door and lit it before wedging the candle with its fledgling flame into the sconce by the door. The match burnt out just as he dropped it to the stone floor and pressed his heel down on it. He lit a second taper with the first and mounted it in a second sconce. “There should be a lantern in here somewhere. Do you see it?”

  Kambry was busy taking in the walls of maps and the table in the center with more maps lying willy-nilly on it.

  “We don’t come in here often. I suppose I should clean it up.” He scratched an ear and shrugged. “That’s a map of all of Kavin Wood.” He pointed at the wall opposite the door. “Ah, there’s the lantern.”

  Kambry approached the stylized map of the small forest, gazing at it in wonder. It was more art than map. She wondered if it was accurate in dimension. It portrayed the whole of Kavin Wood as enormous and oddly shaped. For some reason, she’d always thought of the woods as round and compact.

  Russal pointed at the larger of two lopsided bulbs of forest. “There’s Kavin Castle.” He tapped the center of the larger bulb on the left. “This here is the Neck Kingdom. Of course, that’s not really its name.”

  She could understand how it earned the appellation. A narrow strip of woods connected the two bulbs and within the stretch was a kingdom, Froneck. There were two other kingdoms, and they were in Lesser Kavin, the smaller bulb: Lonst in the north and Croiven almost directly across from the Kavin kingdom. “Russal, is Kavin the only kingdom on this side of Kavin Wood?”

  “Hmm?” He was examining the stone-block wall, which unlike the others lacked plaster or paneling. “Been awhile since I’ve used this door. Always was a tricky one,” he muttered.

  Kambry took in the rest of the layout of the room. There were cabinets along the walls. They contained shallow drawers, which she assumed contained more maps. After pulling out a drawer to confirm she was correct, she watched Russal for a minute before looking back at the map on the wall. “Do you have the only kingdom on this side of Kavin Wood?”

  “Yes, we do. Ours is the largest kingdom, and Croiven and Lonst usually side with us when there are decisions to make that affect the wood in its entirety.”

  “But not Froneck?”

  “The Neck Kingdom makes a point of disagreeing with us regularly.” He tapped the wall.

  Kambry walked to his side and watched him. “You said that Felip wanted you to take over ruling the Neck Kingdom so they would no longer generate trouble for you.”

  “He has a firmer response to aggravation. I negotiate first; he advised immediate rebuke.”

  “So Froneck, if it had a choice, would prefer you over Felip Covey.”

  Russal stopped running his hands over the rough stone and gave her his attention. “Where are you going with this?”

  “I thought at first that Froneck might support Felip against you, but if he was more likely to punish them for voicing dissent, then wouldn’t they prefer your more patient ruling?”

  “But I don’t rule Froneck, nor would it be good governance for me to take them over. They are a small kingdom, and grumbling doesn’t hurt anyone. I don’t get support from them, and they don’t need it from me. Kavin Wood can protect itself. Our few decisions regarding its shape and size have always met with gentle resistance from Kavin. We push for a specific arrangement, and Kavin Wood obliges, for a time. Then it returns to whatever shape it prefers.”

  “You can reshape the woods? Why bother? Doesn’t that change as people cut down trees?”

  “Kavin shifts and trims itself. If a border town takes to culling trees from the forest, the old and infirm trees find their way into that area or the wood pulls back, gaining size elsewhere. Over time, it returns to its original shape.”

  She eyed the map and considered how she felt when directing Kavin magic. “Is Kavin Wood aware, like a person is?”

  Russal looked uncertain. “It has some sense of presence and understanding. Just when I am convinced Kavin is aware, it slumbers, and I persuade myself otherwise. So, I can’t say. I think it has preferences, but not actionable behaviors. It leaves those to us.”

  Kambry recalled having to ask Kavin directly to take action. If she supplied a general desire, it didn’t react. Yet, sometimes it seemed to act on its own to protect her and support her. She was certain it had deflected the knife meant to hit her that day in the guards’ shooting range. And when she had been firing at the men chasing after Amily and the guards protecting her, Kavin had made her aim far more accurate than she was capable.

  “Ah, found it,” he said.

  “What?” She stepped close.

  “The map room.”

  Kambry looked about her, confusion warring with curiosity when a portion of the wall snapped away at his touch. Like jagged teeth, the seams of the fitted rock of the wall cleaved apart, revealing a dark space. The gap was wide enough for them to slip through.

  Russal grinned and swept his arm before the open wall of rock. “Welcome to the Kavin Keep map room.”

  “You have a map room inside a map room.”

  “We’re going to need that lantern.” Russal leaned past her and grabbed the handle of the glowing lantern he’d left on a table. Turning back to the opening, he slipped into the darkness, the sweep of the flame in the lamp driving the shadows away. Kambry followed closely behind.

  He set the lantern on a central pedestal, and Kambry turned in a slow circle.

  The room was small--maybe she could take three paces in any direction before she would have to turn about and return the other way--and it was circular. She looked up. It rose far overhead before ending in a circular stone ceiling. The shadows made it difficult to discern if the roof overhead was flat or concave, but she was certain there was a ceiling. She gazed at the lantern and then back up at the distant height.

  “Russal, Kavin can’t come here. It’s completely sealed from the natural world.”

  “One might argue the stone is natural.”

  Her brows creased as she gave him a disgruntled look. Hadn’t he said there would be access to Kavin magic here? If the stone walls were an avenue, they’d hardly needed to come here.

  Russal kissed her brow smooth then strode to the wall where a chain and crank hung from a sturdy mount. The chain ran up the wall into the shadows far overhead. He removed a metal pin from the crank and began turning it. The noise grated, reverberating in the room. A high-pitched squeak sounded from above. Her shoulders rose as she winced until she covered her ears.

  A twist of air twirled around her, bringing to mind a similar behavior she noted during the crowning ceremony. She looked up as a shaft of light dropped to spill around the central pedestal, making the lantern superfluous. The room now lit with natural light revealed a map that ran entirely around the room. Engraved into the wall, it had not caught her notice before.

  It took a long moment of examination before she saw it wasn’t a land map. It detailed the hidden passages in the castle, each level outlined above the one below it. “Russal.”

  “Amazing, isn’t it? But give it a moment. Let Kavin join with the stone.”

  She gazed at the layout embedded in the wall. Very slowly, a purple glow rose along the vertical and horizontal lines that depicted the halls and rooms of Kavin Castle. Green rose into view next, outlining the inner passages and their entry points. “Pretty,” she said.

  Russal grinned and gazed at the wall.

  Kambry stepped forward, peering at the engraved lines. Knowing what it was didn’t make it easy to read. She didn’t know how to make sense of it.

  “It helps if you identify one passage and the room it leads from. Here, I’ll show you.” He tapped the wall. “These rooms right here are the royal chambers. This set of rooms are where Tomo and Amily traditionally stayed until I housed you and your family in them. See, that was your room, this Stahn’s and t
his one your dad’s. Or if you prefer, my childhood room, Amily’s and Dorvea’s.”

  He was right. Once he had given her a starting point, she could find passageways she was familiar with. That was the tunnel down to the mistress’s quarters Russal had assigned her when he accused her of meeting Felip in her rooms. There was the passage in their drawing room. And no hidden corridors ran from the Condori residence where she had stayed with Dad and Stahn, just as Russal had promised there wouldn’t be. Of course, there didn’t need to be passages. The king and queen could create one if need be when Amily and Russal were children.

  She followed the outline of official corridors and quickly found the passage in the geography room that Cole, Lessa and she had scouted until Felip had found her and pulled her into the inner passages. A regular maze within the castle, servant’s passages ran alongside many of the hidden routes.

  Russal stood next to her. “With the network in front of us and Kavin magic available, we can close off everything, trapping Felip and his accomplices inside. If they’re there right now, that is.”

  “I don’t like the idea of trapping anyone inside the passages.”

  Russal eyed the carved map. “Don’t want them rapping on our walls, demanding entrance?”

  Kambry snorted at the thought of Felip knocking and asking to be let into their bedroom. No, it was the thought of him wandering aimlessly, looking for a way out, starving inside the walls that bothered her. “Couldn’t we leave them one way out they would eventually find?”

  The twisting air draped across her shoulders as if waiting for her command. She turned the ring on her thumb. Was there a way for her to search out who was in the passages? Could Kavin disclose that to her? She eyed the map of the castle and asked Kavin if anyone were traversing the hidden corridors. The drape of air settled more firmly, and the interior walls bloomed in her inner view. Felip was in the tunnels, and a hooded figure stood close to him, the individual’s cloak pulled tight, snug enough that Kambry imagined the person was female. Felip was tall, but this woman’s height, though less than his, would make her stand out in a crowd.

  There were several female guards who were substantially taller than most women. But that didn’t mean this woman was a guard. Sybil had said there were traitors in the castle. Where on the map were these two? She ran her finger along the engraved lines. Could Kavin show her? If so, how? Static clung to her fingers as they ran over the passage running along the public receiving rooms. Felip and his companion were in the servant passages on the other side of the audience chamber, not the inner stone halls. If Russal knew, he would try to capture them.

  Russal looked where her hand pressed to the wall. “What have you found, Kambry?”

  “How can we make changes or close off entrances from here?”

  “Ask Kavin and hold the image in your mind.” He placed his hand near hers. “I can use my knowledge of the hidden routes and make adjustments.” Russal held out his hand, the green glow of his king’s ring outlining its edges. “This ring is from an earlier time. The connection is not as well-developed as yours or the one taken from my mother. I can sense something.” He lay his hand over hers. “Maybe combined.”

  Kambry pulled her hand from under his. “Why don’t we work our way around, closing each one off?”

  He stared at her, his expression curious. “Did I overstep just now?”

  “No.” She moved away, twisting the ring around her thumb. “Could Felip’s goals have changed?”

  “Changed how?” His look was both curious and concerned.

  “What if his intentions no longer run to taking the kingship from you?”

  He snorted and tipped his head. “What makes you think he would change plans he has pursued for years?”

  “Maybe….” She tried to convey her suspicions that Felip might have resigned himself to not being king. No, that wasn’t it. It was more like the cost of being king no longer appealed. Or he understood the cost better now. He might have decided what he’d wanted no longer was rightfully his. She rolled her eyes. Was she wishing he was a better man than he was? He seemed different the last two times they had spoken. Was there more truth than lies to his statements regarding keeping her safe?

  She should tell Russal that Felip was in the tunnels? Sybil had said to keep them apart. How would she know when the time was right?

  “Kambry?” Russal’s tapped her shoulder, and she faced him. He looked down at her, his head slanted and his gaze worried. “You didn’t say exactly what you and Felip talked about when he attacked you in the drawing room.”

  “He didn’t attack me.”

  “What...” He took a breath. “Did you two converse amicably?”

  “We have talked.”

  “And.”

  “He stated he’d had opportunities to kill you. More than enough to have changed the course of who was king of Kavin. He said he had let me get away when I escaped the farmhouse.” She was twisting the truth. Felip had told her all of that when she had found him in her parents’ assigned chambers. She trusted Russal, but she had to keep them apart.

  “Felip helped you escape?”

  She organized her thoughts. “He didn’t sound the alarm when he saw that I had. I know he tried to track me himself.”

  Russal circled the pedestal, his hands clasped behind his back. He stopped, placing his palms on either side of the lantern. The light glinted in his eyes and cast a golden glow on his face. He looked quite handsome, and she kept her expression flat. She’d sidetrack him if she let him know she found him quite attractive standing there.

  “You know he twists the truth to suit himself,” he said.

  And apparently, she did, too. “But this time, I felt I was talking to Felip, your uncle, not someone desperate to be king.”

  “So he said he hasn’t made a decent try at killing me. That does not mean he won’t.”

  Something about him was different, and she couldn’t explain it to Russal, not yet anyway. In the meantime, they needed to close off the passages, but not trap Felip if she could help it. He might be their means of ferreting out the others who wished to bring down the monarchy. She closed her eyes, drawing a conclusion about Russal’s original plans when he allowed her to enter Kavin Wood on the Cut that only opened to those in need of sanctuary. It worked out for Russal having her come to Kavin Castle. Maybe it would work out letting Felip run free a bit longer.

  “Felip’s mother. Is she a tall woman?” she asked, recalling the height of the individual standing with Felip in the servants’ hidden corridors.

  “I don’t know. Lord and Lady Laurents could say or others who were here when she was at my grandfather’s side.”

  She may have distracted him from the possibility that Felip was just waiting for the best opportunity to bring Russal down, but she needed to find out who this woman was. Especially if she was the one who would betray her. “Mrs. Kauper would have been here then.”

  “All the older servants and citizens would remember her.” He came around the pedestal. “Do you think you’ve seen her?”

  “I just want some idea of whom I’m watching out for.”

  “My grandfather was quite tall. I suppose that’s were Felip gets his height. It’s not unreasonable Maizalyn Nuss could be tall as well. Brilliant red hair. That was the feature most people referred to.”

  Kambry’s fingers itched to return to the carved line showing where Felip was currently. Could she drive him to an exit? She pressed her palm to the wall. Kavin. She put together an image of the walls pressing together, forcing Felip and the woman to proceed until they reached an exit. Before Kavin could put into action her request, she rescinded it. They shouldn’t reveal how much they could manipulate the very stones of the castle.

  “Let’s seal off the entrances and leave one open,” she said. Kambry raised her chin when Russal gazed at her, nonplussed by her unwillingness to trap the traitors.

  He stared at the wall, his lips pressed together. “If we trap them, we
can catch them. You could ask Kavin to show us where they are.”

  So his ring didn’t allow Russal to track others. She felt cold, realizing that she’d only been able to find those she cared most about. But she had no trouble finding Felip. “We’re not trapping them. If you want to place a squad of guards at the one open access to take them when they exit, do so. But I won’t have people tortured by the fear of being trapped in stone walls like rats in a maze.” If he didn’t act soon, they would remain apart. Felip would remain free to do what he wished. She didn’t know what that was. Keep them apart.

  “As you wish, Kambry.” His voice tinted with worry, he added, “Don’t go getting a soft spot for Felip.”

  She averted her gaze from his. “Let’s start here.” She lay her hand by the passage that ran along the geography room.

  “Which access will we leave open?” he asked.

  “The door into the Queen’s Salon.”

  He pressed his finger to the carved line that showed the door behind the tapestry. “That’s a servant access.”

  “You said they run along the interior passageways. We’ll leave the nearest interior exit open to that servant hall.”

  Russal’s voice was soft, barely discernable when he gave his assent, and she faced him in time to see him alter his expression of concern to agreement, as his gaze met hers.

  Did he believe she was being protective of Felip Covey? Keeping them apart would protect them both, she supposed. “So how do we do this?”

  “Use the map. Place your hand there and show Kavin what you want. The magic will travel through the stone to each chosen place.”

  “Can you do this as well? Take half the job?” She pointed at the other side of the round room.

  “I won’t have your precision, but I can apply the magic to panels and doors I have used and know well. You don’t need to know the accesses intimately. Kavin can provide you with all the details.”