Reign Queen

by L. Darby Gibbs

  She closed her eyes, her head resting on his shoulder. There was nothing wrong with a little protection. Though she had fought her own battle, she hadn’t done it alone. They could work out the give and take needed to protect each other, and maybe next time, she’d make a point of taking along a guard or two, a carefully selected guard or two.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kambry set another map on the stack. So far she’d only damaged one, but she could think of several ways to repair it and let her mind wander over those options. It was a relief to have something mundane to think about. Even after a night’s rest, she still felt dazed by what had transpired. She reached for the next map, her actions slow and deliberate. Being in the map room had taken some of her fogginess away. She felt encased by a thin layer she couldn’t describe. Her skin lacked sensitivity, as if cocooned by air. It was inexplicable, and she hadn’t shared the strangeness with Russal or anyone else.

  She glanced at Russal. He’d found a book wedged beneath a chair and righted the chair before picking the tome up carefully. There was something about that book that stuck with her, not just that it had been on the table before all the ruckus of the previous day. She was going to maintain that self-delusion. It was a ruckus. A haze of an idea tugged at her, but she couldn’t get past the fog.

  “You know,” he said, “I could have called in pages to take care of this.”

  Kambry nodded. Her bandaged hand throbbed as she pressed the edge of a map flat. The pain was a solid sense she could grip. “I wanted something normal to do.”

  Russal crossed to her and pressed his lips to her temple. “I understand.” He drew back and gave the room a quick look. “Do you want to sweep next?”

  “No.” She appreciated the smile he brought to her lips. His presence grounded her.

  “We must head to the meeting soon.”

  Meeting. Yes, Marshal Burtram had already interrogated Felip, Lenar and Sarena. She had sat through portions of it. Burty was an entirely different man when he wanted information and had three notorious traitors before him. But they had another meeting planned with Felip for other intentions. Straightening the stack she was working on, she noted the two rings, one on each thumb. She cringed, and not for the first time. She’d been pointedly ignoring them.

  “What are we going to do about this?” She held up her hands. “And that.” She tipped her head at the column of stone that fortunately met the end of the table, allowing it to stand in its usual spot.

  Russal took both her hands in his own, careful to hold the injured one low on the palm. “I wondered when you would bring the ring up. There’s no rush, but we will have a simple ring ceremony to get these on the correct hands.”

  She gave him a challenging look. “I only have to wear one, right?”

  “Yes.” He laughed. “We need to switch out my king’s ring for yours.”

  “Can’t I just take it off and give it to you?”

  He nodded slowly. “It’s not quite that easy, but if you want it off at once, we can do that now.”

  “Right now?” Please, don’t say no.

  “Come with me,” he said, releasing her injured hand and drawing her toward the stone door to the inner map room. “We need Kavin magic for both your requests.” He grinned as he gazed at the column.

  After unlocking the stone door, he pushed it open. “I always forget the lamp.” He strode to the table to retrieve it.

  “Why not install sconces and candles like you have in here?”

  “Only Kavin stone and air belong in the central tower.”

  Stepping into the room behind him, she eyed the stone pedestal. It was the only item furnishing the room. Without it, there would be only the ancient stone walls and floor. “This is the heart of Kavin,” she whispered.

  Russal nodded and carried the lamp to the hooked chain and set it at his feet. “Close the door. Let’s bring Kavin in.” He unhooked the chain and pulled. Light streamed down, brightening the center of the tower floor.

  Kambry pushed the stone wall back into place. The tower stood as if alone, its walls going on forever, nothing beyond them.

  It was as if Kavin had been waiting. Wind swooped in and rushed around the room, lifting Kambry’s hair and tugging at her skirt and sleeves. A finger of breeze curled around her bandaged hand. As it ebbed away, the flow ran along her thumb and dissipated.

  Both her rings brightened with purple hues, and the layout of Kavin castle pulsed with color.

  “It almost seems gleeful,” she said and turned in place.

  “It has reason to be.” He hooked the chain on its stay. “Join me,” he said, striding to the pedestal.

  Kambry faced him across the flat stone surface.

  Russal removed the oak ring from his hand and set it to the side. Then he lay his right hand down. “Now yours.”

  She started to lay her left, but Russal shook his head, and she switched, resting her right on the warm stone. Lit by the light streaming in, their thumbs touched at the tips.

  “Close your eyes. Let Kavin rise inside you.”

  Kambry closed her eyes. The air flowed around them, the smell of proilis and vanilla filled the room, and her muscles relaxed, her breathing eased. She hadn’t been aware how tense she was. Her hand tingled. Giddiness made her heart flutter. Beneath it all was the fright that had yet to leave her since the struggle in the map room. Slowly it eased, and the glee which had felt foreign became her own.

  A thought filled her. Kavin is pleased.

  “Open your eyes,” he said.

  A pale-green glow surrounded Russal. Her own skin glowed purple, and the ring which she had worn for months now appeared on Russal’s hand.

  “How do you feel?”

  “Good. I feel at peace.”

  “You were holding a lot of magic inside. Kavin did its best to protect you yesterday, but your fears wouldn’t let it leave.” He caressed her hand, now only adorned with the queen’s scabbard. “The rings were never meant to be worn by the same person.”

  “Putting the map room to rights helped,” she said. “I couldn’t have let the ring go earlier, could I? My fears wouldn’t let me.” As she spoke, the glow on their skin faded.

  “I’ve been waiting until you were ready.” He released her hand and pocketed the spare ring. His blue eyes beamed at her. “How about fixing my map room?”

  With a deep breath, she relaxed and called to Kavin. “Russal doesn’t like the column, Kavin. Let’s fix it.”

  A swirl of air wrapped about her, rising from her ankles up to her shoulders. She closed her eyes, imagining the stone column liquefying and dissolving into the floor it had risen from.

  “That’s how I remember it. I’ll close the ceiling hatch.”

  She stretched out her hand. “No, Russal. Let Kavin keeps its room. I think we should let it always be a part of our home.”

  Russal looked up into the bright light then back at the pedestal. He closed his eyes and stood. He smiled.

  It was such a contented smile.

  “I feel it,” he said. “That is what Kavin wants and may have had in the past.” He leaned down and grabbed the lantern. “Well, I won’t leave this behind.”

  In a moment, he had the wall grating shut. Though sealed again, Kambry noted the air had a languid motion to it as if a bit of Kavin had followed them out. The map room was neat again, the book back in its place on the table, closed this time.

  “Russal, that is the only book in here. Isn’t that odd?”

  He shook his head. “It’s been here since Felip and I discussed political conflicts I was dealing with.” He flipped it open and turned a few pages. “It’s all about the Neck Kingdom.”

  “Drew noticed that, too.” She shivered. She didn’t want to think about Drew. “It was open to the capital city when I looked at it.”

  Russal tapped his finger on the page. “Hmm.”

  “What?”

  “I have an idea.” He smiled at her and held out his hand. “Let’s go.”<
br />
  Snuffing the candles by the door, they exited together.

  ~~~~~~~

  Burty’s office had been rearranged. A large table stood in the center and his desk hugged a far wall. Four chairs sat along one side of the table, one on the other. Kambry couldn’t sit. She fidgeted by the window.

  Running her finger down the rough surface of the glass, she said, “Burty, this glass needs cleaning.”

  “I like it dirty. It gives me some privacy when I don’t want to do any work.”

  Russal, seated in the middle chair on the left, turned to Burty on his left. “You never don’t work.”

  “I’m not working now. If Sybil takes much longer to get here, I’ll feel like I’m on vacation.”

  Kambry imagined Sybil didn’t want to leave Lenar. Baraby had sedated him, but they expected Lenar to awaken that morning. His connection to Maizalyn and the murder of the queen had come out mostly through Felip explaining, though Sarena had supplied her own corrosive version. How a mother could coerce her child to kill someone appalled Kambry.

  She gazed at Russal. All this time he’d been wanting to punish the murderers of his parents, and one of them had been living as close as any of his subjects, and in some ways closer. It was a wonder he had not imprisoned Lenar. She looked at Russal and amended the thought. No, it wasn’t a wonder. A six-year-old boy had been told by his mother to slash a knife across the queen’s neck because she was an evil woman, and he had done it to his horror. Blood had drenched him, and he had instantly known he’d done the wrong thing. After Maizalyn’s man had subdued King Risler, she had been the one to kill him and take the ring from Queen Mya’s hand.

  Russal had found it in his heart to forgive Lenar.

  Now they had to decide what to do with Felip. He’d been there for the murders but claimed to have stood aside, told by Maizalyn that he was heir to the throne and should stand and watch his kingdom be returned to him.

  Two boys, each taking a different path after participating in regicide. Felip may have been older, but Kambry suspected he was as damaged by the event as his brother.

  The door opened, and Sybil entered. She was her neat self, though her bun sat strangely pert and smooth upon her head. Kambry rested her hand on her arm. “How is Lenar?”

  “Better now that he’s confessed. He expects an execution.”

  “Russal won’t do that.”

  “I’ve told him, but he’s had years of that woman’s words in his ears.” Her voice carried the wrath of a mother whose child was in great pain. Maizalyn was fortunate she was already dead. Kambry froze by the door. Lenar killed his mother! That poor man.

  Sybil patted her hand.

  Kambry released her arm. “He’s had you as well. Don’t give up.”

  “I won’t let her take him to her grave.” Sybil strode to her seat, leaving the center one to Russal’s right open for Kambry. Her stiff bun seemed to slide a bit to one side.

  Kambry resisted the urge to give it a good shaking and make it properly messy. Sybil needed time. They all did. Someone knocked at the door. She pulled opened it and nodded at the guard waiting outside. It was time to bring Felip in.

  Taking her seat, she wondered how this meeting would go. How would she argue for Felip? She and Russal had avoided the subject. Now they had to face him without a united front. Would Felip have to carry all the blame with Maizalyn dead, Lenar forgiven? Was she wrong to want to help him?

  A guard entered, followed by Felip and another guard.

  Russal stood. “Remove his bindings.”

  Felip was garbed in travel clothes far different from his usual outrageous red brocades and velvets. His fair red hair, tousled above his brownish-green eyes, presented another contrast. He appeared calm.

  “Take a seat,” Russal said and returned to his own.

  Gordy told the guards to leave. They seemed hesitant, but when Russal only nodded, they exited.

  Felip rubbed his wrists and sat. He looked to the marshal.

  Burty said, “When I told Mr. Covey of this meeting with the two of you, he asked if he could speak before you passed judgement.” He faced Russal and Kambry. “Do you allow it?”

  Felip gazed first at Kambry then Russal. Worry had crept into his eyes.

  Kambry looked to Russal and found him already waiting for her to answer. “I would like to allow it.”

  “I, too,” Russal said.

  Felip lay his hands on the table and leaned back against the straight-backed chair. “I wish to plead two favors of Your Majesties.”

  Kambry reached beneath the table and took Russal’s hand. He squeezed her fingers gently.

  “We are listening,” he said.

  “Lenar was just a boy and wanted so much to have our mother...” Felip paused, looking first at Sybil and then at Kambry.

  Kambry realized that was the first time she’d heard him call his brother Lenar and not Arnel. Had he accepted his brother’s severing of the connection? Did that mean Lenar had cut his connection to Felip as well?

  Felip closed his eyes and swallowed. “Maizalyn manipulated him, knowing how much he wanted her to love him. He was just a pawn. After he killed the queen, he collapsed, and she berated him. She told him to rise and leave with us, but he couldn’t, and she abandoned him without a single regret.”

  Sybil tightened her hands folded on the table. Kambry rested her palm over the stiff grip, feeling them release somewhat.

  “I left him, and you took him in,” Felip said. He looked squarely at Russal. “I ask that you not punish him for the death of your mother. I don’t expect you to forgive him, but don’t blame him for her madness.”

  Russal leaned forward. “And what is your second favor?”

  “Sarena.”

  Russal’s hand tightened around Kambry’s hand. They both stared at Felip. He wouldn’t ask them to excuse her actions as well, would he?

  Russal took a breath and said, “I have no kindness toward her, but we’ll listen.”

  “She is Arnel’s, Lenar’s wife.”

  Kambry didn’t know what to say, and Russal seemed equally speechless.

  Sybil said, “As remarkable as that revelation is, it carries no weight for her.”

  “I don’t want to change whatever decision you have made regarding my sister-in-law. I ask that you dissolve their marriage. It was not one of love, but one Maizalyn arranged to gain further control of Lenar. She is a nightmare.” His voice broke, and Kambry wondered which woman he was referring to.

  Felip pulled himself together, his chin raising. “Dissolve the marriage Lenar never wanted. Release him from the last connection she has of him and release him from Sarena. I ask that he have a chance at a life. One of us should get that.” He looked away and seemed to wait for their verdict.

  Russal looked to Kambry, his eyes as moist as her own.

  Kambry faced Felip. “We agree to both pleadings.”

  The tension in the room dropped considerably. Felip looked almost himself again.

  Sybil whispered. “Thank you.”

  Kambry wondered how the woman had remained in her seat. But strands of hair had untucked from her bun and stuck out at their near usual messy angles, so she must be feeling much better.

  Russal sat up straighter. “Kambry reminded me that you have never actually tried to kill me, though you had many opportunities.”

  Felip glanced at Kambry but did not hold her gaze. “I doubt you were unaware of my lack of focused intent. Had I wanted to, I could have accomplished the deed.”

  “You made me a better swordsman, taught me statecraft, and demanded I face my difficulties as king head on and even tried to make me take the king’s crown. You’re very poor at taking over a kingdom.”

  “It wasn’t from lack of skill, Your Majesty.”

  “Why do you now accept my kingship?”

  Felip’s gaze darted back to Kambry.

  “I fell in love with your queen.” He shrugged. “She chose you.”

  Kambry hadn
’t expected a public statement.

  “I am forever thankful for that,” Russal said. “I sympathize. She is impossible to resist.”

  Where is this discussion going?! “As much as it is delightful to hear you have similar taste, we should get on with this meeting,” Kambry said, giving Russal’s hand a tug.

  “Do you intend to continue to convince her to leave me?” Russal asked.

  Kambry rolled her eyes and looked at Sybil, who shrugged. Kambry turned her attention to Felip and sighed.

  He gazed at her, holding her gaze with eyes that carried regret. “One must at some point recognize when he has lost.”

  “And have you?” Russal persisted. He leaned forward. “I will do everything to convince her to stay.”

  Kambry broke her attention on Felip and stared at Russal. “I’m not leaving you or Kavin. Now that we’ve settled that, can this meeting get back to why we’re here?”

  Russal faced her. “This is part of the meeting.” He turned back to Felip. “You will also release your designs on the kingship?”

  “I have already.”

  “Why?” Kambry said. If they were going to run along rabbit trails, they might as well learn every turn.

  Felip looked uncertain how to explain. “Maizalyn raised me to be king of Kavin. She directed my every waking moment toward that goal. I trained with master swordsmen and scholars on statecraft and lettered men and women. I breathed being king of this realm.” A crease marred his forehead. “Through it all I never stopped seeing you, Russal, my nephew, as king. It was a dream I pursued but didn’t believe. I thought I did.” The crease deepened as if he puzzled over his next words. “I thought Kambry do Brode would be the perfect means to take the crown from you just as you planned I would. I was so intent on my campaign to take the throne I did not consider yours. I thought she was your means to an end, too.”

  Felip huffed, shaking his head. “I actually convinced myself I needed to protect her from you. Fortunately, I awoke from my deception and realized she needed protection from my mother and then from Sarena. You never should have put the king’s ring on her hand. That was folly!”