by Effie Calvin
“You missed your calling; you should have been a Justice.”
Esofi gave her a halfhearted push. “Stop it. You’re so embarrassing.”
“Oh dear,” said Adale. “You should do something to distract me.”
Chapter Two
ESOFI
Three days after Esofi and Adale’s wedding, Lexandrie announced that she was returning to Rhodia. Esofi was not sure what hurt more: the announcement or the timing of it.
She had always known her cousin would not remain in Ieflaria forever. But she had been expecting her to stay and serve as her waiting lady for at least a few more years. Esofi might have been popular with the Ieflarian people, but she still liked having other Rhodians near. And Lexandrie was her only blood relative on the entire continent.
Esofi could have ordered her to stay. But she knew that doing so would only have prompted several months of passive-aggressive pouting and complaining and sighing, and she did not want to live with that. Besides, she was not a jailor and Ieflaria was not a prison.
It seemed Esofi was the only one who was sad to see Lexandrie go. Adale had all but offered to pack her bags for her—but then, Lexandrie and Adale had never really approved of each other. Lisette hadn’t given her opinion on Lexandrie’s departure, but Esofi got the sense she didn’t care very much. Mireille had cheerfully declared Lexandrie was welcome to leave, because she was no help anyway, but she had not said this to Lexandrie’s face.
Esofi had been certain she would miss Lexandrie once she was gone. But it seemed she had been mistaken. Months passed, and Esofi barely ever thought of her cousin. And perhaps it was only her imagination, but she thought she might be happier too.
Adale always claimed that Lexandrie was too harsh, too critical, too cruel. But Esofi knew there was no changing Lexandrie’s nature, and besides, she wasn’t terribly different from most Rhodian nobles. They were a straightforward people, determined and pragmatic, hardened by thousands of years spent watching the mists of Domeysil for any sign of danger. What Adale saw as insults and pettiness, Esofi interpreted as opportunities to improve herself.
But the Ieflarians always made her feel as though she did not require any improvement.
That way lies complacency, Esofi warned herself. And for a queen, or queen-to-be, such a thing was dangerous.
Still, as she lay in the darkness with one of Adale’s arms wrapped firmly around her midsection, she supposed it was nice to be loved.
Saski had offered to help her find another waiting lady to replace Lexandrie, but Esofi politely put her off. Mireille and Lisette were enough for her, at least for now. She trusted them both. And an Ieflarian waiting lady would be more loyal to Saski than Esofi.
Esofi trusted and respected Queen Saski, but sometimes she took a little too much interest in Esofi’s relationship with Adale. Saski meant well and only wanted them to get along, but Esofi wanted some degree of privacy in her marriage.
There would be one benefit to having an Ieflarian waiting lady though. Esofi would always have someone on hand who could tell her when she was behaving in a way that her subjects would disapprove of. For Esofi was a foreigner, born and raised on another continent. Rhodia had sculpted her into a woman with values and priorities that sometimes felt diametrically opposed to the Ieflarians’. Yesterday’s disagreement over Carinth was only one of them.
Nobody ever seemed to think much of them, but such incidents always left her feeling like an outsider. Even now, Esofi’s Rhodian upbringing insisted that Adale had overreacted last night. Back in Rhodia, she had witnessed—and experienced—far worse than a quick strike across the nose. But if the Ieflarians saw it as inappropriate behavior, then Esofi would conform to their expectations without argument.
She had experience with that, after all. She’d reluctantly dropped the issue of the Temple of Adranus and their unorthodox approach to medicine that (in her opinion) bordered on sacrilege. She could not believe that Adranus would ever condone cutting people open, nor that boiling water would prevent plagues. But it had quickly become apparent that continuing to press the issue would damage her reputation.
Esofi consoled herself with the fact that if Adranus objected to these practices, he was more than capable of putting a stop to them. Besides, she’d been forced to spend some time at the ‘hospital’ after her fight with the Emperor, and found it was merely an inordinately clean temple, regardless of the impression that its name gave.
Esofi had not anticipated that she would struggle with her identity to such a degree after her wedding. She’d known she was going to be the queen of Ieflaria since she’d been old enough to understand the meaning of the words.
And she had been glad to leave Rhodia when the time came. She could not see herself returning under any circumstances. Something about the Rhodian court exhausted her, made her feel as though she must always be on her guard. And while Esofi acknowledged that this only served to make her stronger, she did not want to live her entire life on edge.
In marriage, she would have an unconditional ally. Someone she could confide in and rely on. That ally should have been Albion, but the gods apparently had other plans. Adale had certainly not been what she’d expected, but Esofi was slowly beginning to learn that sometimes surprises could be nice.
She was glad she’d picked Adale.
Adale was impulsive and uncertain and sometimes downright absurd. But Esofi knew that she could usually back up her more radical ideas with well-reasoned arguments if Esofi really pressed her. It had taken some practice, but Esofi had learned not to dismiss Adale’s more ridiculous declarations out of hand. And in return, Adale was learning to explain herself rather than just make a statement and expect everyone to understand her reasoning.
She could have done without Adale’s near-daily declarations of Esofi’s beauty, or intelligence, or whatever other trait caught her interest, but she supposed nobody had ever died of embarrassment.
“I need to get up,” she said aloud. In response, Adale merely groaned and clutched her tighter. “I mean it.”
“Mm. No, you don’t,” Adale murmured. “You don’t mean it. I know you don’t.”
And perhaps Adale had improved her as well. Adale would never believe it, of course. She always had such a difficult time thinking of herself as anything but an embarrassment, no matter how frequently Esofi reminded her of the progress she’d made in becoming an heir her parents could be proud of. Some of the older palace residents were no help in that, for they seemed determined to forever think of her as an irresponsible child, no matter what Adale did to demonstrate otherwise. Adale shrugged these critics off easily, but the disrespect grated at Esofi.
“You can’t go,” Adale mumbled into her shoulder. “You’ll work yourself to death. And then I’ll miss you so much.”
Esofi laughed and began to squirm free of Adale’s arms. “We need to go find Carinth.”
“My mother’s ladies are feeding him pastries and letting him try on their rings,” predicted Adale. “And they’ll all be extremely disappointed when you take him away.”
That fit with Esofi’s own experiences, but she got up anyway and began to dress, selecting another Ieflarian-style dress for her day. Her large Rhodian dresses and underskirts were all pushed to one side of her wardrobe, awaiting special occasions when Carinth would not be allowed to climb on her shoulders.
Today’s dress was sapphire blue, a darker shade than what Esofi usually wore. It had short capped sleeves, and the fabric was thick and warm, suitable for the autumn temperature. She selected a pair of embroidered shoes (shaking each out carefully before she put her feet into them) and plain white gloves.
This morning, her mind was once again on the Temple of Talcia—though it was not the newly blessed Ieflarians who were occupying her thoughts. Rather, she was a bit concerned for the priestesses. The archpriestess of Talcia was a very old woman, and her health was failing. She was seldom seen in public these days, and everyone knew it would not be long before s
he departed Inthya for Dia Asteria.
Unfortunately, this meant some of the more ambitious priestesses were already jostling for her title. The new archpriestess would be chosen by a vote among the priestesses when the old one died. Even though Esofi would not be permitted a vote herself, she knew that voicing support for one or the other would be influential on the outcome. So far, she had not spoken on the matter.
In truth, Esofi was not certain which priestess she preferred. Both of the most prominent candidates had their own strengths and weaknesses, and either would make a suitable archpriestess. Esofi thought she would be happy with any outcome.
She did not want to see the old archpriestess die, but privately she could not help but admit she would be relieved when this period of uncertainty finally passed.
Esofi sifted through her jewelry box absently, distracted by her own thoughts. But her trance broke when a pounding came from the outer door.
“Go away,” moaned Adale, drawing the covers up over her head. Esofi went into the sitting room just as Mireille pulled the outer door open.
Standing there was Ilbert, squire to the king. He looked a little bit winded.
“What has happened?” asked Esofi.
“A dragon has come to Fenstell,” Ilbert said, naming Ieflaria’s northeastern-most settlement that, in past years, had become home to one of the largest defense camps.
“What?” Esofi’s heart skipped. “They were attacked?”
“No. It…he…is asking to speak with you, Princess.”
“With me?” Esofi frowned. “When did this happen?”
“A courier just arrived. She has a letter for you from Lieutenant Vaseur.” Lieutenant Helaine Vaseur was one of the battlemages that had accompanied Esofi from Rhodia to Ieflaria, and she commanded the Rhodians at Fenstell. “I can take you to her.”
“Yes, of course,” said Esofi. She turned to Mireille. “I must see to this. Please make sure Adale gets up. You have my permission to push her off the bed.”
Couriers from the Temple of Nara tended to be female, just as paladins from the Order of the Sun tended to be male and those blessed with Inthi’s fire tended to be neutroi. They were expensive messengers, though their prices were finally going down again now that the skies were safer.
This courier, standing in the middle of the throne room, did not appear to have undergone any danger on her journey to Birsgen. Her blue and white uniform was nearly pristine, and her beautiful gray feathered wings, folded neatly behind her back, did not appear to have any damage to them. Even her ebony braid was still firmly pinned around her head in a coronet, typical for Ieflarian women.
Gathered there were also Adale’s parents, Saski and Dietrich, and Archmage Eads, as well as Captain Lehmann of the Ieflarian royal guard and Captain Henris, who commanded the battlemages who had come with Esofi from Rhodia. Carinth was seated just between his grandparents, tail wrapped around his body and draped over his front claws.
Esofi crouched down, and Carinth came forward to sit beside her instead. Satisfied that he seemed to be back to his ordinary self, and no worse for the wear, she turned her attention to the courier, who bore a single sealed letter.
When Esofi opened it, she saw that it had been written in the Rhodian language. She tried not to interpret as a slight against their Ieflarian hosts.
Princess Esofi,
Our camp at Fenstell was visited by a dragon early this morning. He approached on foot and spoke to the guards stationed at the wall, indicating that he came in peace. He knew of the events that happened last year at Birsgen and said he wished to speak to the one who had killed the emperor.
He claimed that his name is Ivanedi, and he has been sent from the Silver Isles as an emissary of peace. He will remain at Fenstell until we receive word of what action you would like to take.
I leave this matter to your discretion.
Helaine Vaseur
Esofi looked up from the page, her mind spinning. There were so many possibilities to consider. Was this a trick? A clever way from a dragon to get inside Birsgen’s walls without a fight? Or were they hoping to lure her to Fenstell, where she would be more vulnerable?
Or was Ivandei’s claim legitimate?
“The dragon in Fenstell says he wishes to meet with me,” reported Esofi. “It sounds as though he wants us to believe he has been sent as a sort of ambassador.”
Nobody appeared to know how to react to this news.
“Perhaps it would be better to appoint an ambassador of our own,” said Dietrich. “There is no need for you to risk your safety with such a task.”
“Perhaps,” said Esofi. But the dragon had asked specifically for her, and she knew from experience that they respected Men who were devoted to Talcia, as she was. What if they took offense to the Ieflarians sending someone else in Esofi’s place? What if they saw it as a gesture of bad faith and renewed their attacks? “I will have to reflect on the matter.”
There was also Carinth to consider. Did she want him around his own kind? Would this be a wonderful opportunity, or a terrible mistake? What if the dragons were a bad influence on him?
What if he decided he wanted to live with the dragons and leave Esofi and Adale forever?
She glanced down at Carinth, who was still sitting peacefully by her ankle. He gazed back up at her, untroubled by any of this.
“I don’t like this,” said Captain Henris. “If they wish to talk, why has it taken them nearly two years to request an audience? Your Highness, I feel certain that this is a trap.”
“Under normal circumstances, I would agree,” said Esofi. “But we have not had any attacks since the Emperor’s death. I find that significant. Nevertheless…”
The door to the throne room opened, and Lady Lisette entered. As always, she wore a simple gray dress, and her expression was unreadable. Esofi saw less of her these days; she seemed to spend more time gathering information than guarding Esofi’s back.
“Lady Lisette,” said Esofi as she approached. “Is something the matter?”
Lisette did not reply, not until she was near enough to lean over and whisper in Esofi’s ear.
“Your mother is in Valenleht,” she murmured.
Esofi turned to stare at her, a smile frozen on her face. “What?”
“Queen Gaelle of Rhodia arrived in Valenleht’s main port on a ship yesterday morning.” Lisette’s voice was still barely more than a whisper, so soft that Esofi could barely hear her over the sudden ringing in her ears.
Esofi shook her head, still smiling. “What?”
“Your mother is expected to arrive in Birsgen tomorrow.” Despite her volume, Esofi detected a hint of impatience in Lisette’s tone. “She is coming here.”
The letter in Esofi’s hand rattled as though it was in a thunderstorm. She looked down at it and frowned.
“Is everything all right, dear?” asked Saski.
“Of course,” said Esofi. Her voice sounded like it was coming from somewhere very far away. “I just…I…I have made up my mind. I will go to Fenstell. There is no sense in bringing a dragon to Birsgen. Our people will not appreciate it, and it may very well be a trick.”
“If that is the case, you must have guards,” said Captain Lehmann. “I suggest at least—”
“Fine. That is fine. But be quick about it. I intend to leave today.”
“Today?” Saski frowned and glanced at her husband. “So soon?”
“Of course. This matter is of the utmost importance.” Her hands were still shaking. She shoved the letter into her pocket. “Please excuse me.”
Before anyone could say anything else, Esofi fled. Carinth followed at her heels, his little claws clicking on the stone floors. She hurried through the halls, ignoring the confused and concerned looks she received from servants and nobles alike. She did not slow until she was safely back in her room.
“Mireille!” Esofi pressed herself against the door as it closed behind her, as though blocking out the entire outside world. Her waiti
ng lady appeared in the doorway immediately, Cream draped over her shoulders like a shawl. “Call the maids. We are going to Fenstell and must pack immediately.”
“Fenstell?” Mireille repeated.
“Fenstell?” That was Adale, emerging from their bedroom, finally upright and dressed. “What’s going on?”
Esofi sank onto the sofa as her legs finally gave out. She pressed her hand to her forehead, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep.
“Esofi?” Adale sounded deeply concerned. “What’s the matter?”
Esofi opened her mouth to explain, but all that came out was a few deep, gasping breaths. Adale sat down beside her. She did not ask any questions or demand an explanation. She only pulled Esofi to her chest and held her close, stroking her hair.
“It’s going to be all right,” Adale murmured. “Whatever’s happened, I know you’re going to be fine.”
Her nose was beginning to sting from the effort of holding in tears, and she turned her face away so that Adale would not see her cry. She did not know how to begin to explain what she was feeling, what she was thinking.
But Adale was patient. She kept a comforting hand pressed to Esofi’s back and simply waited until Esofi was ready to speak.
“I need to pack,” mumbled Esofi into Adale’s shoulder. But she did not move.
“The maids can do it. Why don’t we go riding?”
“I don’t have time for that.” Esofi fumbled in her pockets for a handkerchief. “I need to leave today.”
“If you’re going, I’m going too.” Adale paused. “Why are we going to Fenstell? There’s nothing interesting up there.”
Esofi blew her nose. “A dragon is at the defense camp, asking to speak with me.”
“Oh.” Adale was openly puzzled. “Well…I suppose that’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
“If it’s not a trick.”
“Well, even if it is, you can handle it. I’m sure he’s nowhere near as frightening as the Emperor was.” Adale gave an encouraging smile. “Is that all?”
