The Queen stepped forward again. “Think, Tanya. You were born into about as powerless a position as exists in Lode: a foundling who grew up to be a disinherited and abandoned tavern wench. But you’re clever. You’re observant. You’re a person of obviously untapped talents. It takes talent to master such an unwieldy and experimental tool as that quill as quickly as you have, blood magic or no. Most of my councilmen couldn’t have done it and they have the advantage of a first-rate education, whereas you, based on your spelling and penmanship, are just barely on the right side of illiterate. Yet you’re a useful person.”
“What’s your point?” broke in Tanya. “I don’t need a recitation of my features and failings. Tell me what you’re saying.”
The Queen’s grin widened. “Have you ever looked at the people in power and thought you could do better?” Tanya drew in a quick breath. The Queen saw and advanced. “Have you ever thought that if only you controlled things, if only everyone left everything up to you, the world would be much better off? Tell me, Tanya: Don’t you know better? Don’t you know best? Aren’t you always right?”
Tanya closed her eyes. She felt dizzy and visible; vulnerable. And something else.
The Queen’s voice hardened. “Imagine feeling that way and having to suffer the indignity of being called a Queen. Imagine having an army of people to attend to every small wish, but having no true power over anything that matters. Imagine being the Queen of an entire nation, full of riches, and never even being allowed to leave the Glacier!”
Tanya opened her eyes out of sheer surprise. “You’ve never left the Glacier?” she asked, incredulous.
The Queen stepped back and, for the first time, hesitated. “Of course I’ve left the Glacier,” she said quickly. “I was speaking metaphorically.”
The swirl in her eyes sped up. The Queen was hiding something.
She stepped back, retreating into perfect posture. “I will ask you one more time, Tanya,” said the Queen. “Will you help me remake the world, in our image this time? Will you agree to work with me?”
Tanya forgot that her feet were frozen to floor by some mysterious magic. She forgot that the Queen had lied, and lied again. All of it was washed away in a flood of white-hot desire.
She wanted to say yes.
Even the old Tanya, the one she had been before leaving Griffin’s Port, the tavern wench of the Smiling Snake, would have thought the entire setup at the Glacier was shockingly inefficient. There was an inconsistent hierarchy, for one thing. Who was in charge, the Queen or the Council? There was a disorganized staff, for another. Sure, the staff was plentiful and talented, but not on regular shifts, not if Lady Louisa’s chamber had been allowed to fall into disarray. No one, it seemed, had the leadership to take control, to pay attention to the details, to create a system that worked and that everyone understood.
Tanya could do better. She knew she was always right. But the Queen was offering her a chance not to organize just a tavern, or even the Glacier; she was offering her the chance to organize the world.
She looked at the Queen. “Would I have to listen to anybody other than you?” she asked. “If I say yes, I don’t want anyone telling me where to go, what I can’t say, who I need to pay attention to, be deferential to. I don’t want to have to depend on anyone.”
The Queen smiled, a real smile, wide and welcoming. “I believe we understand each other perfectly, Tanya,” she said. “If you say yes, you won’t even have to be deferential to me. You will have to obey direct orders from me, but I don’t anticipate that we will disagree often enough for it to be a frequent necessity. And if anyone, inside the Glacier or outside it, does anything that waylays, involuntarily compels, or even simply displeases you, you will have the power to remove them from your vicinity in the fashion of your choosing.”
The Queen leaned forward. “Say yes, Tanya, and you will never have to depend on anyone’s good opinion ever again. Stay effective, stay helpful, and you will be beyond the reach of others’ whims. Forever.”
Tanya felt herself smiling.
“Where do we start?”
Chapter
19
They started in the dungeons, in the dead of night, standing in front of a shadowy cell. Three amorphous shapes slept in bunks.
The Queen held out her hand. “Give me the torch,” she said. “These bars are pure cast iron. Open them for us, please.”
Tanya peered through the cell. “What are they even doing here? Why were they arrested?”
The Queen gave her a quick, sidelong look. “After the theft from the Royal College was reported, the Council issued a writ of questioning for Commander Rees’s corps. The commander gave up these two as the culprits. The scholar is not under arrest. I just needed to keep him quiet and out of sight. I confess he required some . . . chemical subduing.”
Tanya shook her head, clucking her tongue in disapproval, and made a few quick strokes with the feather. The bars vanished and the women stepped inside.
The Queen looked around. “It certainly is dreary in here, isn’t it?” She reached into her sleeve and retrieved several smooth white stones. Saying a word in a language Tanya had never heard, the Queen tossed them into the air, where, with a crack, they ignited into cool white witch-light and hung, suspended, in the cell.
“That’s better,” said the Queen, sitting on a low stool. “Now we can all see each other and converse like civilized people.”
The prisoners began to wake up—well, two out of three anyway. Rollo, likely immune to wizard tricks like suspended lights, was still fast asleep. But Greer and Darrow were peasants and had never seen anything like them.
Greer bolted upright and shot his arm out for a weapon he no longer had. He clenched his fingers into a fist and vaulted off the top bunk, landing not six inches from Tanya.
The corpsman paused, confused, fist still at the ready. “Tanya! How did you get here? Did Rees catch you?”
“Um, not quite.”
“Tanya,” said the Queen pleasantly. “Do me the honor of introducing me to your friend? That one, too.” She extended a finger behind her where the witch-light revealed the figure of Darrow, just sitting up.
Darrow’s eyes went wide. He joined Greer where he stood, frozen, staring at the Queen.
“This is the Queen,” said Tanya flatly. “This is Greer and Darrow. They’re corpsmen.”
“We mustn’t forget the scholar,” added the Queen, turning around. “The little lord’s fast asleep.” She stood up and moved toward Rollo’s bunk.
Leaning over, the Queen pushed Rollo’s hair off his face.
“Don’t—” said Darrow sharply, before going pale and clumsily bowing.
The Queen looked up at him curiously. “I’m not going to hurt him, Mr. Darrow,” she said softly. “I know his father, for the Sky’s sake. On the contrary, I’m here to reunite him with his college.” She took two pale fingers and placed them one on each temple. “Wake up, Lord Rollo,” she whispered.
Rollo whimpered a little in his sleep and began to stir. The Queen quickly removed her hands before he could panic and struggle against them—which, judging by the wild look in his eyes, he would have.
“Good evening, Lord Rollo,” said the Queen. “Your college is here to take you home.”
Rollo struggled to a sitting position. “Where’s my quill?” he asked, rubbing his eyes. “Did you get it?”
“The quill is quite safe, Lord Rollo,” said the Queen. “See?” She gestured to Tanya, and Rollo’s eyes, bleary as they were, narrowed. “It is in my custody now. And my control. Is there anything you require before Sir Lurch conducts you to the rooms set aside by your principal? No? All right.” The Queen raised her voice. “Lord Rollo is ready for his escort now.”
Greer started giggling from the other side of the cell. Tanya looked at him sharply and he gestured helplessly toward the Queen, trying and failing to smother his hysterical mirth.
Tanya didn’t see what was so funny, but the Queen di
dn’t seem insulted. She barely seemed to notice.
Sir Lurch reached the cell. He bowed deeply to the Queen, less deeply to Rollo, and, after a moment’s hesitation, threw a quick nod of acknowledgment at Tanya.
Addressing Rollo, Sir Lurch held out an arm. “May I have the honor of escorting my lord to the college’s apartments?”
Rollo scowled at the arm, as if the gesture were an insult, but took it glumly when he couldn’t get three steps without trembling. Sir Lurch nodded to the Queen and removed Lord Rollo from the cell.
Once the four of them were alone, the Queen moved to Rollo’s vacated cot and sat, absently testing the feel of the bed with her hand.
The Queen addressed Greer and Darrow. “Will you oblige me with your full names?”
Darrow stepped forward, bowing so low his nose brushed the frozen ground. “Rafi Darrow, your Majesty,” he whispered respectfully. “From the Glassland Meadows.”
The Queen nodded, a placid smile on her face. “Your rank, corpsman?”
“Field-commissioned sergeant, Your Majesty.”
The Queen lifted her hand and, as if controlled by remote puppetry, Darrow rose, staring at her, transfixed.
Her gaze drifted to Greer, who was not bowing. He was watching the ceremony warily.
“Mr. Greer,” said the Queen. “Are you very angry with me?”
He started. His eyes flickered to Tanya; she nodded. If the Queen asked a question, she expected an answer.
Greer turned to the Queen with a stiff bow.
“Your Majesty,” he said, his voice loud, but relatively respectful. “My name is Drew Greer. My people are nobody, so it couldn’t possibly matter, but they’re hunters in Killian Township, if you’re curious. I’m just a grunt—no rank, but basic corpsman.”
“You are angry with me.”
Greer looked up at her. “I don’t know that,” he said, after a moment. “I know that I’m angry to be imprisoned for a theft that I didn’t commit. I know that I’m very angry with my commander. I don’t know that I have any reason to be angry with you.”
The Queen seemed pleased with the answer. “I have a proposition for the two of you,” she said. “Are you interested?”
Darrow answered softly. “We’re sworn to do what you command, Your Majesty.” He looked uncomfortable. “Why ask?”
“Because it’s clearly going to be something she doesn’t want anyone to know about and therefore morally suspect, Darrow,” muttered Greer. “You’re way, way too nice, but you don’t also have to be stupid.”
The Queen watched the exchange with interest. “I should meet more people,” she said, mostly to herself. “It’s one thing to understand psychology and the milieu of the low-rank corps recruits from an academic point of view, but it’s most illuminating to watch you both.
“Unfortunately,” sighed the Queen, pulling out a pearl pocket watch, “I don’t currently have the time. I need you both to tell some very minor lies to my Council. I’ll tell you what to say. You may add whatever embellishment you prefer—in fact, some low-end color and confusion will likely help sell your testimonies. Do you object to lying to nobility?”
Darrow and Greer looked at each other. Greer shrugged and, with a gulp, Darrow turned back to the Queen and shook his head.
“Excellent. I need you both to make it very clear that Commander Kiernan Rees planned and executed the theft of this quill from the Royal College of Aetherical Manipulation entirely on his own inspiration. I trust neither of you have any particular loyalty to your commander.” It wasn’t a question. “Any concerns?”
Greer slowly raised his hand. “I have a couple.”
“Proceed.”
Greer took a deep breath. “You’ve just given us valuable information. How do we know you won’t find a way to eliminate us after we’ve done what you want?”
The Queen smiled faintly. “You don’t know,” she admitted. “But don’t panic. Yes, I could throw you back in here, or somewhere worse. However, I would be a foolish queen if I were to throw away something useful. And I am not foolish. Are you?” They didn’t answer. “I didn’t think so. Remain useful and not foolish, and we shan’t have a problem. What was your other question?”
Greer jerked his head in Tanya’s direction. “What happens to the tavern wench?”
“That,” said the Queen firmly, “is now entirely up to her.” She stood. “If you gentlemen will excuse us, Tanya and I have a kingdom of resources to marshal and commandeer. Sir Lurch will be back to escort you shortly.”
The Queen walked out first. Tanya turned to the corpsmen. “Good night,” she offered. Greer opened his mouth and made a gesture as if to grab her arm, but Tanya spun away and hurried to catch up with the Queen.
Once they were out of the cell’s sight line, Tanya asked her last question. “How long have you been planning this?”
“A very long time.”
“You needed a commander like Rees,” said Tanya slowly. “Someone just barely competent enough that he could be advanced through the ranks without objection, but contemptible enough that the Council would be only too delighted to jail him. He’s the perfect scapegoat.”
“Yes,” answered the Queen. “Although, as you’ve noted, Tanya, the scholars were bringing me the quill. I didn’t need to steal the quill in order to gain access to it.”
Tanya understood. “You knew Rees was crooked,” she said. “You knew others would try to steal it from him and you didn’t trust him to keep the quill safe. You wanted the quill to cause chaos.”
“Only temporarily,” said the Queen. “Just enough so that I had a pretext to claim its exclusive use for the throne. The quill will not be causing any more chaos. Greer and Darrow will provide reliable, even sympathetic eyewitness testimony, considering what their commander put them through, and Sir Lurch’s men already have Rees in custody. I’ve had the necessary maneuvers in the works for months.”
Back in her study, the Queen snapped her fingers three times and the wall illuminated from within, revealing a complete diagram of the Glacier.
“Your task,” said the Queen, stepping to the wall diagram, “is to isolate the council members in their chambers. No one will be able to go in or out unless you or I allow them to. Once you freeze over their chambers, we’ll keep them that way until they each sign documents ceding full veto and authorization power to me. For some members, this will be quick. Count Hewitt will need time to adjust, but he’ll come around. Others, like the Duke of Xane, may be our guests for some time. There is just one thing I should mention.”
Tanya raised her eyebrow. “You think I haven’t realized that I can’t use normal ice? Just tell me where you got that stuff you froze my feet with and I can get started.”
The Queen laughed. “You are of use, aren’t you? As for where I got that ‘stuff,’ well”—she put her arms out—“you’re standing in it.”
It took a moment for it to dawn on Tanya what she meant, and when she finally understood, she felt a tingle of anticipation, of excitement, shiver down her body, and her tattoos begin to pulse. “It’s the Glacier itself,” said Tanya. “I take ice from the Glacier.”
The Queen nodded. “The Glacier is the oldest edifice in Lode, by centuries. No one knows who built it, or how, not even me, and I know more about this ice than anyone living. If you freeze their rooms using Glacier ice, no one will be able to chop their way through. Except for you and me; we alone can reverse the imprisonment. Tanya?”
“Yes?”
“This has to happen this way, and it has to happen before sunrise. If we use anything other than Glacier ice, the more retrograde Council members will be broken out by their household guards and they will seize control. You and I will no longer be able to do our work. We will not matter. We will be less real than we have ever been.”
Tanya met the Queen’s eyes, for once still. “Then I’d better not fail,” she said.
The Queen nodded, put on her crown, and exited through the cloud to claim her throne.
Alone, Tanya turned to face the map. The Queen was nothing if not thorough. Every chamber containing a member of the Council was neatly labeled. The Queen had also outlined the structure of the Glacier itself. All Tanya had to do was move a few chunks of palace foundation around.
“Easy peasy,” breathed Tanya. She plugged the quill in and her tattoos began writhing, rearranging—and then stopped, with a visible shudder.
Tanya frowned and brought her forearm closer to her eye. A rough architectural diagram had formed as she’d ordered, but the elemental labeling was stuttering. She could see gold, mahogany, moonstone flicker in and out, eventually becoming static—everywhere except for the walls, floors, or foundations.
There, there were no labels at all. Nowhere on her arm did it say ice.
Tanya suddenly felt how quiet it was and her heartbeat sped up to a roar. If she couldn’t find the ice, she couldn’t move it, couldn’t manipulate it. But how could that be? Ice was just water frozen over. Any child knew that, and she had moved plenty of water. Lady of Cups, she had moved water the very first night she had possessed the quill! And now, when it was so crucial, the quill couldn’t even label something as simple as ice.
Unless . . .
The Queen had admitted she didn’t know exactly what the Glacier ice was. What if the quill didn’t know either?
“No, no, no,” moaned Tanya, pulling out the quill and sticking it back in, wiping the tattoos clean. “Map the Queen’s private study,” she ordered. She could physically see the ice here, on the walls and hanging from the ceiling in sharp stalactites. The quill had to pick it up.
She watched, her heart dropping below her stomach, as a network of three connected chambers populated itself on her arm—blank.
Tanya sank to her knees. She had been bested. If the quill couldn’t recognize the Glacier ice, there was nothing more she could do. All the power she had convinced herself she had—it was a lie. She was surrounded by what she needed and couldn’t do anything to use it.
She was useless.
The icy floor was chilling her to the bone. Tanya knew she should get up, that sitting there in just a flimsy dress was a good way to give herself pneumonia, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.
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