The Veil of Trust

by S. Usher Evans

  "Oh," Ignacio said, reading the concern on my face. "Has the little princess vigilante run out of tricks? I never thought I'd see the day."

  I removed my hand from my bag, smiling. "I have a few tricks yet, Ignacio. Don't—"

  An arrow sailed through the air, landing inches from Ignacio's face. He stared up at a dark figure overhead, his eyes growing wide.

  "Tell your goons to step away," came Jax's deep voice. "Or the next one goes into your heart."

  "The Veil doesn't kill," Ignacio said.

  "Welp." Jax adjusted the crossbow. "I'm clearly not her, am I? Tell your goons to step away. I promise you, I'm an excellent shot."

  Ignacio stared at me then back at Jax. Then he shrugged. "Suit yourselves. Gentlemen, let's go."

  His goons shared bewildered looks but followed their boss, bumping into me as they went. My face grew warm as I stood there, hating that I'd needed saving. Then, it was just Jax and me, and the echo of my failures.

  Jax jumped off the rafters of the stable and landed in a crouch in front of me. "I hate to say, I told you so—"

  "Then don't," I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest.

  "I take it Beswick doesn't want to work with you," Jax said, clearly enjoying this. "I can't imagine why."

  "No, but I didn't expect him to," I said, adjusting my slingbag and walking out of the stable. "What I wanted to do was put him on notice that I'm back in town and he can't just get away with hurting my people."

  "I'm sure he's shaking in his boots," Jax said. "What with you trying to throw air at him."

  "He should be," I said. "Because I'm going to show him that he can't screw with me. All those shipments? They end now. Up river, in Neveri, I don't know. But I'm taking them over for myself, then I'll be the one distributing them. And if he thinks he's bringing more ond into the city, he's got another thing coming."

  "Ignacio said he wasn't bringing anything in via water, though," Jax said.

  "However he's moving it," I said, waving my hand, "I refuse to let him get away with using my people to fund his little rebellion—and I refuse to let him hurt anyone else."

  "Are you just going to annoy him into submission?"

  "Um…excuse me."

  I straightened, turning to see Elisha behind us.

  "What's going on?" I barked. "Why aren't you at the bell tower? Did something happen?"

  "Um, well…" She wrung her hands

  "Sorry," I said, softer. "What's going on? Is everything okay?"

  "Yeah, it's just… Those soldiers, Jorad and Aline? They're back. And they said it's important that they speak with you."

  I didn't need to be told twice. We raced back to the bell tower, my worries and fears spiraling from one horrific scene to another. Could Ilara have found the soldiers? Had everyone disbanded in the interim? Had I done the very thing that Jax had been warning me about and sacrificed my army while screwing around with Beswick?

  My heart sank lower into my stomach. I'd sent Beata to stay with the soldiers. If anything had happened to her, I would never be able to forgive myself.

  I took the bell tower steps two-by-two until I reached the top, where I found Jorad and Aline sitting on the trunk, talking quietly to one another. They jumped to their feet, saluting me as good soldiers did, and I exhaled a little. At least they were still loyal.

  "What's going on?" I said. "Is everything okay with the camp? Is Beata all right?"

  "Everything's fine with the camp," Jorad said. "Everyone's training and preparing for your next move, whatever that may be."

  My shoulders slumped. "Thank goodness."

  "But it's not good news," Aline said. "Ammon let Maarit go."

  Chapter 14

  Katarine

  Luisa had proven a capable and brilliant spy for Ilara. More than once, I'd found my letters had been opened and resealed, and it was only thanks to Luard's training that I noticed the slight irregularity of the wax seal.

  Ilara had declined to meet with me again for several days, and I was starting to worry that, with Luisa's presence, I was systematically being cut out of Ilara's inner circle. It had happened to Felix, after all. I couldn't see a way to prevent it, though. My fate was out of my hands. But, like Felix, I'd make the most of my time while I still had it.

  At night, I worked through ideas, scribbling them down then burning the paper to ash in my fireplace. I was in the middle of one such burning when there was a hurried rap at my door. It was late, and I'd assumed the castle had gone to bed. After making sure the entire paper had been reduced to ash, I walked to the door, not even bothering to tie my long hair back.

  I opened the door to a servant's pale face. "Pardon the late hour, m'lady, but the queen has requested you join her in her Council room. Immediately."

  "I'll be there in—"

  "No," he said, looking earnest. "Immediately."

  I pulled on my dressing robe and some slippers and followed him out the door. A thousand scenarios ran through my mind. Had they found Beata? Brynna? Had Felix…no, I wouldn't go there.

  When I walked into the Council room, Ilara was already waiting in her chair, a tight smile on her face. Luisa was in the corner—and Captain Maarit sat before them. I hadn't seen the Severian military leader since she'd left for Neveri several weeks ago, taking all Felix's recruits and one of his lieutenants with her. Her uniform looked a little worse for wear, and the dark bags under her eyes were more pronounced. Clearly, something had happened in our border city. I dared not speculate, lest it color my reaction.

  "I'm glad you came quickly," Ilara said, offering me the seat next to her. "Very well, Maarit. Tell us what happened."

  "Neveri has fallen," she began quietly, as if she knew her words would condemn her. "To the Kulkans. But first…" She swallowed hard. "To Princess Brynna."

  I gasped—honestly. Brynna had taken Neveri? Well, that explained Jorad coming to take Beata and me out of the castle. Had she managed to collect all the other soldiers there? I had so many questions that it was easy to let shock and confusion rule my expression.

  "Are you sure?" Ilara asked quietly. "Brynna is dead."

  "Then perhaps it was a ghost, but…the soldiers swore fealty to her," Maarit said. "Riya Kellis turned on me. I don't think they would do that if it wasn't… If she wasn't really…" Maarit swallowed. "Her."

  "I hope you strung up Kellis up in the town square," Ilara said, her knuckles growing white.

  "Kellis is dead," Maarit said. "Killed by one of our arrows."

  My heart stopped in my chest and I closed my eyes. Oh, Felix. He would be devastated. Riya had been one of his closest friends.

  "As did a hundred other soldiers, both Severian and Forcadelian," Maarit said, gaining confidence as she spoke. "They used some kind of explosive powder on the gates and gatehouses. All that's left is rubble. Ships have been coming in and out of Neveri for weeks."

  "Ond?" I said, shaking my head. "Clearly, my sister needs to reassess her security measures."

  "Your brother Luard brought it into my city," Maarit said, her gaze accusing and clear. "I believe he was working with…with Princess Brynna."

  "That's impossible," I said with a small laugh. "My sister would never allow ond to leave our borders. Especially not with Luard. He's…he'd barter it away for a night with the first woman he saw."

  A lie, all of it. Luard might've played around, but he was as loyal to Niemen as any. If he had ond, it was because Ariadna had allowed him to have it. Perhaps the reason Brynna wanted me to leave the castle.

  "I can only tell you what I saw," Maarit said. "Luard arrived with four guards. He had some tale about how Her Majesty had asked him to inspect our gates. A signed letter from…from you, Your Majesty."

  Ilara exhaled through her nose. "A forgery, clearly. Or are you too stupid to recognize one?"

  Perhaps not. Luard was the one who'd taught me how to mimic a signature.

  "Then what happened?" Ilara asked, sounding more bored than angry.

  "A
fter he inspected the gates, he said he was leaving the town, but I fear he was merely stealing a boat to take the ond, as you call it, to the gates. It happened in an instant—the gates, the gate houses, a hundred-plus soldiers. All of it…gone." She swallowed. "I thought we could take on the small group—after all, it was a handful of people, but they had some sort of…powder that made us hallucinate. Horrible things—things that I…" She swallowed. "Then the Kulkans arrived."

  "The Kulkans?" Ilara said with a thin smile. "My, my, what an international incident."

  "Clearly, Prince Ammon had some agreement with…with Princess Brynna but he was trying to go back on it. He said he'd take the city for himself and not…help her anymore. But then…" She sighed. "Llobrega's Forcadelian troops arrived on another boat, outnumbering them. And the city was Princess Brynna's. Anyone who didn't swear fealty to her was thrown in the barracks."

  Ilara licked her lips and swiped her glass of wine off the table, swirling the liquid around. "And how did you manage to escape your imprisonment?"

  "It was odd," Maarit said. "One minute the city was in the hands of the princess, and the next…the Kulkan flag was waving in the town square. All my guards were Kulkan, and all the ships in the bay were, too."

  Brynna agreed to give Neveri to Kulka in exchange for their help. Clever, clever girl. I kept my mouth shut, hoping I still appeared to be digesting this information instead of cheering it.

  "And then?" Ilara asked.

  "Then, Prince Ammon came to my cell," she said, sitting up straighter. "He said that he was reconsidering his alliance with the princess and asked if I thought…if I thought you might be amenable to a partnership. He sent me here with two of his councilors to negotiate—"

  Ilara waved her hand to silence her. "The people who helped in Neveri's destruction want to negotiate with me?" She laughed. "The Kulkans must be ignorant or insane. Either way." She flicked her wrist at the two guards in the corner. "Arrest her for dereliction of duty and treason."

  "B-but, Your Majesty!"

  "You have spoken enough," Ilara said, her eyes flashing with fury. "And you will speak no more. Tomorrow at dawn, I want her swinging from the gallows."

  My heart thudded in my chest as I saw the future, saw her saying those very words about me. She was so unpredictable, if I caught her on the wrong day, she might decide I was no longer worthy of being her attendant. Now that my sister had all but declared war on her, I was in a precarious position indeed.

  Maarit's cries for leniency echoed down the hall, leaving me chilled. She had been Ilara's favorite military advisor, the architect of the fall of Forcadel. Clearly, she had failed, but it sounded like Brynna had pulled off a masterful surprise attack in Neveri.

  "Thoughts, Kat?" Ilara said, casting a long look at me.

  "Many," I said slowly.

  "And they are?"

  "I apologize," I said with a half-smile, "I'm still trying to wrap my head around what I just heard. Brynna is alive, Neveri has fallen…Luard was involved." I swallowed hard. "It seems so farfetched, I wonder if we should check Maarit for insanity."

  "It sounds like a cause for war, don't you think?" Ilara said. "Against the Kulkans and the Niemenians."

  Slowly, I shook my head. "I want to believe there's a reasonable explanation for this. Ariadna would never risk open war with Forcadel. Not with me here. Unless…"

  "Unless what?" Ilara said.

  I allowed the real fear I was nursing to seep onto my face. "I've been struggling to understand why Beata was keen on leaving so suddenly. It was out of the blue, and she was adamant. She'd said there was something beautiful waiting at the border with Niemen." I exhaled shakily as a tear fell down my cheeks. "I had a feeling when we parted unhappily that…that she might not come back. That she was headed to Niemen at the behest of someone else."

  "And you didn't think to tell me?" Ilara asked.

  "I thought, perhaps it was…" I sighed. "I don't know what I thought. But surely, I wouldn't have dreamed it would've been to Brynna, if that's even where she went." I ducked my head. "I thought maybe she'd grown tired of being in the castle."

  I stared at my hands, holding my breath and waiting for her response. Since Beata had left, I'd been crafting this narrative in hopes that it would provide the foundations for trust with Ilara. But that had been with the assumption that my siblings hadn't destroyed Forcadelian lives and property. Now, I had no idea what to expect from her.

  "And now?" Ilara asked. "Will you leave me and join forces against me?"

  "My first duty is to my sovereign," I said. "No matter what my sister might be plotting, I won't betray you. This is my country, and has been for nearly a decade. My sincere hope is that we can resolve this misunderstanding without any bloodshed."

  I looked up into Ilara's dark eyes, holding her gaze with all the confidence I could muster. This was the critical moment—if she didn't believe me now, all would be lost.

  Finally, her eyes softened. "Thank you. This must be so hard for you."

  I wiped my cheeks. "I have endured worse, my queen, and remained steadfast. We will resolve this newest problem and the country will be stronger for it."

  Ilara reached across the table and took my hand. "We will, because I have Niemen's smartest mind at my side."

  "Indeed," I said, squeezing her fingers.

  "Now, I suppose I must figure out what to do with these Kulkan envoys," Ilara said. "Shall I string them up next to Maarit?"

  I jolted. "My queen? If we're already at war with Niemen, it might behoove us to take the olive branch offered by Kulka. They've long been enemies, and it would be better if we had another nation on our side."

  "Mm." She rose. "I will consider it. In the meantime, I would like you to find Coyle and have him personally lead a search party for our dear friend. When he finds her—and trust that I expect he will—he is to bring her to me alive."

  "A-alive?" I asked. Even Luisa looked confused.

  "Indeed." Ilara walked to the dark window. "I also don't want a word of this leaving the room. You may tell Coyle his new charge, but he's not to speak of it to anyone."

  How Coyle was supposed to conduct a search without telling anyone whom they were searching for was beyond me, but I nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. Anything else?"

  "No." She softened her gaze. "I apologize for getting you out of bed at such a late hour."

  "It is no trouble at all, Your Majesty," I said. "I am grateful I could be of assistance."

  And that she still trusted me.

  Chapter 15

  "W-what?"

  My voice echoed in the cavernous bell tower. Ammon and I'd had a deal—he had Neveri, and he would keep Maarit prisoner until I sent for her. I'd had a mind to send her back to Severia when this was all over, but like so many other things, it was low on my priority list. And now, it seemed, it had jumped to the top.

  I rubbed my forehead. "How long ago?"

  "Not sure," Jorad said. "Our messengers found out about four days ago, and we set off almost immediately. Apparently, a few merchants saw her getting into a Kulkan royal carriage along with two envoys, and they all headed south toward Forcadel."

  "So he not only let her go," I began slowly, "but he's sending an envoy with her? Is he reneging on our treaty or something?"

  "Appears so," Jax piped up from the corner. "Can't trust anyone these days, can you?"

  I scowled in his direction then turned back to the two soldiers. "So…what does this mean?"

  "We don't know," Aline said. "Except that as soon as she arrives in Forcadel, she's going to tell Ilara that you're alive."

  "And that means you should get as far away from Forcadel as you can," Jorad said.

  I sank down onto the nearby trunk with a heavy sigh. "This day's just getting better and better."

  "Beswick's the least of your problems now," Jax said.

  "Beswick?" Aline said, giving him a look. "What does he have to do with this?"

  "He's the one behind the ond att
acks in the city," I said. "We just met with his second, Ignacio."

  "I'm familiar with him," she said, narrowing her eyes. "So Beswick is the reason Captain Llobrega is in prison?"

  "Among other things," I said. "Now, he's smuggling food into the city and making the people pay an exorbitant price to fund his rebellion. Or line his pockets." I turned away from them, nursing a headache.

  "If I might offer some strategic advice…"

  "I sure hope Celia has a pile of gold on standby for you," I said, turning around to face Jax. "Well? Speak."

  "The issue in Neveri is one that needs a queen's attention," he said.

  "I'm so surprised," I drawled. "And what about Beswick?"

  "That sounds like a job for The Veil."

  I lifted my hand in confusion. "Unfortunately, the Nestori haven't yet figured out how to duplicate people, so—"

  "Do you think you're the only one who can run around in a mask?" he said.

  "Are you saying you want to take up the charge?" I asked, genuinely surprised.

  "Not at all," he said with a grin. "But I see two strapping young soldiers who would probably be up to the task."

  "No way, I won't—" Jorad began, but Aline was louder.

  "I'll do it," she said.

  I blinked at her. "You…will?"

  She shrugged. "Sounds like fun. And I'm bored out of my mind up in the camp. At least here, I'll be useful."

  I chewed my lip. "When Maarit gets to Forcadel, she's going to tell Ilara I'm alive and what we did. If they find you here, they'll kill you—"

  "I'm willing to take that chance," she said, pressing her fist to her chest.

  "I'll stay and help her!" Elisha piped up from the corner.

  "Oh, great, that makes me feel so much better."

  "It should," Jax said, surprising me yet again. "She's kept your ass away from the guards every night you've been here. But it'll be impossible to do if the queen's combing the city for you."

  I didn't like this; not only was I putting the investigation in the hands of someone with very little experience, but she wasn't a vigilante. I doubted she could even run on a rooftop. I couldn't help but feel like this would end with her down in the dungeons with Felix, or worse.