by Imogen Elvis
“But I can,” Queen Acacia finished for her. Her eyes slid to her hands, and she fiddled with one of her rings. “It’s not as easy as just fetching you a pretty rock,” she said finally. “You are asking me to steal from the king with the knowledge that you plan to use it to harm a member of the royal family. This is treason.”
“I know.”
“And yet you ask anyway.”
Briar took a deep breath. “I believe that this is how we stop Master Sachio. If we don’t stop him, he will kill Levi, the king, and maybe even you.”
The queen rose from her chair and paced up and down in front of the window. “It is difficult for me to move against Sachio. No matter what I think of him, I am the queen, and my thoughts must always be for the good of the throne.”
Briar’s shoulders slumped. She wasn’t going to help, and they would leave the castle empty-handed. Kade’s sacrifice was for nothing after all. The best she could hope for now was that the queen would keep Briar’s presence here a secret. “I understand-”
“To leave Sachio in the position of power that he holds, that is unthinkable.” The queen stopped and turned back to Briar suddenly. “I’ve done so little to help. But this is something I can do for you. I need time to get it, especially without letting Sachio know. If I fetch the stone, how will I get it to you?”
“Lady Madella knows us,” Briar said. “If you could somehow pass it to her, she could make sure it reaches us.”
“I will give it to her.” Queen Acacia stood a little straighter. “I cannot sit here any longer waiting for Sachio to just take what he wants. We are stronger than that.”
“We are,” Briar said quietly. “Thank you.”
She liked the queen. It was easy to see why Kade loved his mother so much. She was filled with a quiet sort of determination. There was strength and grace to her. To have her on their side, that in itself was a huge advantage. Master Sachio’s plans wouldn’t have accounted for this, Briar was sure.
“But you must promise me one thing,” Queen Acacia added.
“Anything.”
“Promise me that you’ll find some way to save Levi.”
“We won’t let him die.” Briar couldn’t promise that they had a plan, because they didn’t. She was still reeling from the fact that Kade had let himself be captured. He must have known that this would happen, so he must have believed that this was the only way. But she could promise that she would do everything in her power to save him.
“Levi never deserved this.” Acacia’s shoulders slumped. “He doesn’t deserve death.” The sadness in her voice echoed inside Briar’s heart.
“I know,” Briar said softly. Even after everything, Kade was as loyal as ever, still ready to lay down his life for a country and king that had abandoned him. “I promise to do everything in my power to save him.” She had lost too many people. Her home, her friends in Osman, Rowen, Ava. To lose Kade as well would be unbearable. She couldn’t even begin to imagine a world without him in it.
Maybe the queen saw that, because when she spoke again, her voice was gentler, “I wish you all the blessings of the Tree. May you be successful. For all our sakes.”
“Thank you.” Briar touched her hand to her heart and bent her head.
“Sachio should be well gone by now. He has an execution to plan. I will get the song catcher and give it to Lady Madella. You should leave the castle and find somewhere safe to wait,” the queen said. “I hope we meet again, Briar. Under better circumstances.”
“Me too.” Briar managed another awkward curtsey. “Thank you for everything.”
Only once the door closed behind her did Briar dare to let out a huge, tense breath as she swiped a couple of loose strands of hair from her cheeks. If the queen could get them a catcher, then maybe they still had a chance. This fight wasn’t over yet.
CHAPTER TWENTY
By the time Briar finally stumbled out of the castle, the sun hung high overhead, and the cobblestones shimmered with heat. Briar squinted against the harsh light. It had to be almost midday. Now that she was outside, was it even worth wandering around the castle grounds, risking coming across the royal guard, in the vain hope that Lara might have waited for her? She’d taken so long to get here, including her time spent with the queen. No, the safer choice would be to head back to Lady Madella’s house and hope she found Lara there.
Carriages came and went, rumbling over the cobblestones. Briar skirted the edge of the road, staying in the shadow of the high golden wall separating the castle grounds from the rest of the city. On the other side of the road, a group of guards marched towards Briar, their brass buttons winking in the sunlight. Briar ducked her head away, watching them out of the corner of her eye. Did she look as suspicious as she felt? Could they tell that she didn’t belong here? Apparently, not, for the soldiers didn’t so much as glance at Briar as they passed, and she carried on, mouth dry, her heart beating like the wings of a frantic bird.
Briar breathed a sigh as the main gate finally came into sight. Almost there. All she had to do was get past the guards, and she would be as safe as it was possible to be. But the same troop of soldiers from before still stood watch, some stopping carriages, others detaining those who passed by on foot. What if they tried to stop her? She clenched her jaw. Well, she would just have to deal with that if and when she came to it. She didn’t break her stride, just kept going, trying to appear as if she had somewhere to be and nothing to hide.
“You there.” One of the soldiers held up a hand, crossing quickly to accost Briar. “You’re coming from the castle?”
Briar hesitated for just a moment, before nodding slowly. “That’s right.” She forced a bright smile onto her face, sweat prickling on the palms of her hands. She clasped them behind her back.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m visiting a friend in the city.”
“Are you sure that’s wise? After last night…” The man’s eyes narrowed, and Briar’s heart gave a painful thud as doubt crept across his face. “I just have a few questions for you before you go.”
No. That wouldn’t do. He needed to trust Briar and let her go. There was too much doubt on his face. If he decided she was suspicious, well, she couldn’t let that happen. Biting her lip, Briar opened her mind, reaching for his life song. At once, a hundred songs crashed around her in a deafening cacophony, too loud, too insistent, the jangling, clashing of their notes torturing Briar’s ears. She winced and fought to keep her mind open against the pain of that noise. Briar reached for this soldier’s song, grasping its notes firmly and pushing all the others away.
Tapping into her magic, Briar let it flow through her words. “There isn’t a problem, is there? You’re just worried about my safety?” Her voice held a strange, smooth, persuasive tone that reminded her far too much of Master Sachio. Her mouth tasted sour at that thought.
“Yes, miss. It’s dangerous out in the city right now.” The soldier sounded almost sleepy as he answered.
“I understand the risks. Thank you for your concern.” Briar let more magic creep into her voice. His song was surprisingly easy to turn to her will. Frighteningly so. Maybe because this was routine. The soldier was so tired of this duty, she could feel it in his song. She pressed on that weariness with her magic. “I’m free to go?”
The soldier scratched the back of his neck and shrugged. “I guess you’re free to go.” His words were dull. “I’m sorry for the trouble, miss.”
“It’s no trouble at all.” Briar forced a trembling smile, so fragile she thought that it might shatter on her lips. “Thank you for your work.” She hesitated. The man was happy enough to listen to her. Dare she test her luck further? It made her sick to use him like this, but she did need the help. “If I were to find Lady Madella’s house, which way should I go?”
“You’d follow the central road for a good long ways,” the man said promptly. “Turn left when you come to the big bronze statue. Stay on that road until you’re close to the river
. You’ll be in the right area.” He frowned, and she could feel the questions flowing through his life song. “Why do you want to know?”
“Thank you for your help.” Briar’s smile grew a little broader and more brittle. “There’s nothing to worry about here.”
“There’s nothing to worry about,” the man echoed, his posture relaxing as Briar’s magic soothed his concern. “Have a nice day.”
“You too.” Briar hurried past him, her whole body shaking with the tension. None of the other soldiers gave her so much as a glance as she slipped out through the main gates and onto the central road. She’d made it out of the castle without anyone figuring out that she wasn’t meant to be there, and she had directions to get close to Lady Madella’s house. She should have been elated by that, but instead, guilt swirled through her. It was necessary. She tried to remind herself of that. She wasn’t trying to harm the soldier. Only protect herself. She wasn’t like Master Sachio. Not yet.
The central road was easy enough to follow, and, surrounded by the crowds of people who always seemed to fill the streets, Briar finally relaxed. She could lose herself among the city folk. No one cared who she was, and it was very unlikely that someone would recognise her now that she was by herself. Unlike Lara and Kade, her face wasn’t famous.
Briar followed the central road for a long time. The distance hadn’t seemed nearly so far in the carriage. But finally, there, gleaming in the sunlight, was a statue made from shining bronze. It stood right in the middle of the road, forcing the current of passers-by to split around its base. It was a tall statue, depicting a woman in a long dress, one hand raised to the sky, her palm turned up, cupping something. As Briar came closer, shielding her eyes against the glare, she realised that the woman wore a habit and had a medallion hanging in the centre of her chest. The medallion didn’t bear an image, but if it had, Briar guessed that it probably would have depicted the Crystal Tree.
Briar pressed her hand to her heart for a moment, bowing her head slightly. This must have been an important magician if they built such a monument to her. Maybe the earth singers had woven this impressive statue into shape with their songs. Though if they had, Briar would have expected they would have added details like the design of the medallion. But still, it was breathtaking.
Reaching the base of the statue, Briar turned left. As she followed this new road, Briar scanned the street, trying to pick out any landmarks that she might recognise, anything that would tell her she was on the right track. But they had been so worried about being seen as they huddled inside Lady Madella’s carriage that morning, she hadn’t seen much of their route. She wouldn’t be getting much help from their previous journey.
There was no doubt that she was walking into the right part of the city, however. The houses Briar passed were huge, even bigger than Lara’s home, and that had been one of the largest buildings Briar had ever seen. The crowds thinned out here, going from packed streets to isolated groups and couples sauntering along the footpath. A pair of fine ladies passed by on the other side of the road, large hats shading their faces from the bright sun. Their arms were linked, and they leaned their heads close together. Two maidservants followed a couple of paces behind the young women. They reminded Briar of the young ladies in the castle. She hurried on, head down, trying not to catch anyone’s attention.
Now the air held the smell of water. Briar must be getting close to the river. She picked up speed. One of these houses had to belong to Lady Madella. Surely Briar would remember what the house looked like when she saw it? Though, for all their grandness, many of these houses looked so similar that Briar couldn’t be entirely sure.
“Briar?” Lara stepped out of the shadow of one of the large gate posts at the front of a nearby house. “Where have you been? I thought you’d been captured.” She grabbed Briar’s arms and stared into her face with a searching gaze. “What happened to you? One moment you were behind me, and the next I couldn’t see you anywhere. I didn’t know what to do.”
She didn’t know what to do? Briar had been the one abandoned in the enormous castle, trying to find her own way back with no help whatsoever. “I didn’t get lost on purpose.”
“I should hope not.” But there was no heat in Lara’s words. In fact, now that Briar was here, losing her in the castle seemed to be the last thing on Lara’s mind. A frown clouded Lara’s face. She released Briar’s arms and took a step back, biting her lip “What do we do now, Briar? They’ll execute Kade, and there’ll be nothing we can do.” Her words rushed out in a jumble. “I wish we’d never come to Mizra. Then at least Kade would have been safe.”
“Kade would never have just stood back and kept himself safe, while Master Sachio is still free,” Briar said.
“Well, maybe Kade doesn’t always know what’s best.” Lara’s mouth tightened. “How could he have done this to us? He planned to be captured all along, and he never said a word. Why didn’t he trust us?”
“I don’t know.” A pain sparked in the middle of Briar’s chest. Why hadn’t he felt he could trust them? Briar pushed that thought aside with an effort. Kade would have his reasons. They just had to keep him alive long enough to give him a chance to explain. And in the meantime, they had work to do. “But we’re not completely without hope yet.”
Lara folded her arms. “Did you magically find a song catcher we can use?”
“Not quite magically, but I did find a way to reach the royal family’s catcher.”
Lara’s eyes widened. “How?”
“The queen is going to get it for us.”
“Sairth. You convinced the queen to steal it?” Lara shook her head. “How in Kerr did you manage that?”
“Well, it’s hardly stealing when it technically belongs to her. But yes. She’s going to get the catcher for us. We can still follow the original plan.” For the most part, at least. Kade’s original plan didn’t take into account that they were going to need to rescue him.
“If Acacia can get the other song catcher for us, then you’re right. There is still hope.”
Lara bounced so quickly from utter despair to complete faith in their abilities that Briar blinked in surprise. But she nodded, determined to keep up with Lara’s optimism while they had a hope to cling to. “Lady Madella will bring us the catcher, and maybe some information on the-on everything happening at the castle.” She couldn’t bring herself to even speak the word ‘execution’. If she did, it might make everything a little too real.
“She’ll have plenty of news for us, I’m sure,” Lara said. She leaned against the fence. “We just have to wait for her to return.”
Lara made it sound so easy, as if, once they had the song catcher in their hands, everything would be simple. But that was only the start. Because, with the catcher in hand, they still needed to somehow get it close enough to Master Sachio for Master Talor to use it, before Kade’s execution. Briar refused to accept any plan which didn’t account for saving his life. He was the reason they had made it this far, and she wasn’t willing to accept a world that didn’t have him in it.
It was late in the evening by the time Lady Madella returned home. The sun had long since sunk behind the ornate houses, and the velvety shadows were long and deep. Briar was pretty sure they had gathered more than one curious look from within the fine carriages that rumbled past, as she and Lara loitered outside Lady Madella’s gate. But finally, the noblewoman’s coach pulled up outside the house.
Lara started forward. “Madella-” she began
“Not here,” Lady Madella said at once. “Come inside.”
Briar exchanged a look with Lara, and they followed her silently into the house. It was hard to say, not knowing the woman all that well, but she seemed disturbed, her words clipped, two tiny frown lines creased between her brows. She swept up to the front door, which was opened by a maidservant, who curtseyed and murmured a greeting.
“I’ll take tea in my sitting room,” Lady Madella said. “Then, I am not to be disturbed.”
The sitting room Lady Madella led them into was intimate and cosy. Long white curtains were drawn over the window to keep back the approaching night, while a couple of lamps flickered gently on the walls, bathing the room in a golden glow. Lady Madella sank into one of the chairs, gesturing to Lara and Briar to sit also. Briar seated herself on the edge of a long sofa. The cushions were soft, and she sank into them, letting out a tired sigh. She could sit here forever.
“Briar said-” Lara began.
Lady Madella held up her hand. “I find it easier to discuss business over tea.”
A frown creased Lara’s face. “We don’t have time to waste on tea.”
“I would like some tea. Perhaps Briar would like something to drink also.” There was an edge of reproach to Lady Madella’s voice now. “Once the tea has been poured, then we will talk. Patience, Lara.”
A knock sounded at the door, cutting off any retort Lara might have made. She sank sullenly into an armchair, while Lady Madella called for the servant to enter. A moment later, a serving girl appeared, bearing a tea tray loaded with a gilded teapot and three delicate china cups.
Lady Madella’s face brightened. “Thank you, Clover.”
The serving girl laid out the tea set on the table before backing away, her hands clasped behind her back. “Will there be anything else, my lady?”
“Not for the moment. I’ll ring if we need you.”
Clover curtseyed, and left the room, shutting the door carefully behind her. There was silence as the latch clicked into place. Only once they were sure that the serving girl had left properly, did Lara finally clear her throat and try again.
