by M. J. Scott
"You and I should go upstairs," Imogene said to Sophie. "See if we can find something of Chloe's to guide Ikarus."
It made sense. Sophie wasn't familiar with Chloe's apartment, but she knew the layout of the building. The door at the top of the stairs wasn't warded or locked, and Sophie opened it cautiously before stepping through.
Imogene took a deep breath when she joined Sophie in the hallway. "This place smells of magic," she said, holding up her earthlight to provide a faint light.
"I told you that Chloe sells magical supplies," Sophie said. "You can smell those."
Imogene looked skeptical. "We should take a look, see if there's anything useful."
Sophie shook her head. "The shop has windows out into the street. Too risky that someone may notice the light. She nodded toward the other staircase. "We should go up there."
It didn't take them long to find Chloe's bedroom. Sophie watched Imogene bite her lip as she looked over the things laid out neatly on the small dressing table, swallowing hard before she reached for a silver locket threaded on black velvet ribbon.
"I remember this," she said softly. "Chloe wore it at school. Her mother gave it to her. This should work." Ikarus appeared beside her, and she held out the locket to him. "Can you find her?"
The sanctii nodded once and then vanished.
"Now what?" Sophie said.
"Now we wait." Imogene stared down at the dressing table. Stretched out a hand, then pulled it back without touching anything else. Then looked past it to the front of the room where two small windows were heavily draped. "I guess it would be safest to go back downstairs." Her hand crept forward once more, and she stroked a finger over one of the glass jars.
"You have missed her," Sophie said.
Imogene nodded, pulling her hand back. "Yes, she was my best friend. What happened to her wasn't fair. I'm not saying Charl didn't deserve his fate, but I refuse to believe that Chloe was involved in any way."
"If we get this mess sorted out, perhaps she can come home again," Sophie said. "So we should focus on what we came to do."
They made their way back downstairs and had hardly set foot back in the basement when Ikarus reappeared.
"Did you find her?" Imogene asked. Ikarus nodded and spoke a few short sentences in the sanctii tongue. One of these days Sophie was going to have to ask Elarus to teach that.
A smiled bloomed over Imogene's face as she listened to the sanctii. "He says she's in a building near the palace. And that there were big fish over the fireplace. It sounds like she too is in this Summer Light." She grasped Sophie's hand, squeezing it in excitement. "They're all together. That makes things easy."
"Good," Cameron said. "We can keep things simple. Sophie and I go to the palace to reach the queen. The rest of you to Summer Light to free the hostages and take them either directly to Alec's or back here. Each of you have the portal symbols to follow if you need to." He looked at Jean-Paul. "Agreed?"
Jean-Paul nodded, then gestured to his soldiers. They gathered around him to listen to his orders.
Imogene let go of Sophie's hand with one final squeeze. "Be careful." She held out a small stone. "Use this if you need help urgently."
Sophie felt the cold roiling off the stone before she even touched it. "A scriptii?"
"Yes. Hold it and say my name, and I'll hear you and we'll come. Ikarus will get a message to Elarus once we have freed the hostages."
Or if something went wrong. That was what they'd agreed. But Sophie didn't want to ruin their luck by mentioning that. She slipped the scriptii into the pouch under her skirt. "Goddess light your way."
"Goddess light your way," Imogene replied.
Sophie turned away, reached for Cameron's hand, and let him lead her up the staircase.
"This feels too easy," Sophie whispered as they reached the final corner in the corridor that led to Eloisa's apartments.
Cameron nodded, his face strained with the effort of keeping up the illusion surrounding them. "Maybe it is. But there's no turning back now." He reached for her hand. "Time to get Elarus to take care of the guards."
Sophie nodded. This time she barely had time to think the words before they heard three soft thuds ahead of them.
Cameron poked his head around the corner. "Yes, they're out." He set off at a run. By the time Sophie caught up with him, he had the first guard tied and gagged and was dragging him into the small office where the guard captain sometimes worked. Sophie bent to start work on the guard closest to her. Lieutenant Smythe-Stuart. Her hands flexed nervously. She hadn't thought about the guards being people she knew.
Smythe-Stuart was a twit, but he'd guarded Eloisa as long as Sophie had been one of her ladies. Longer, in fact. And now they were doing something that could ruin his career—if not his life—purely because he'd been in the wrong place this night. Twit or not, she bore him no ill will.
But little of what happened to her had been her fault either. If tonight's events fell in her favor, then she would try to help anyone she hurt in the process. If not, well, it was likely she would be in no position to help anyone. Or care. The dead didn't care.
Elarus was quiet in her head as Sophie helped Cameron move the other two guards into the office. Cameron locked the door with keys he'd lifted from one of them. So far no one else had approached, and no one had raised the alarm. Their luck was holding.
For now.
She rubbed her fingers over the pouch that held the scriptii, feeling the chill of it. There had been no word yet to indicate that the hostages were free and not knowing what was happening was driving her crazy. But she didn't want to ask Elarus to interrupt Ikarus and distract him at a vital moment. She had to trust the Illvyans to do their part as they were trusting her to do hers.
All that lay between her and that now was the final door to Eloisa's apartments.
She licked her lips, had to swallow before she could talk. "Ready when you are," she said to Cameron. She could barely hear herself over the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears.
Cameron nodded and stepped forward. Eloisa's door was unwarded. It had wards, but they were only activated by the queen herself or her guards in case of an attack. The levels of security they'd already passed were supposed to make this final one unnecessary.
Sophie moved into place behind Cameron. They'd agreed that he would go first. He was armed. She was not, other than a small knife strapped to her thigh. Cameron had wanted her to take a pistol, but she'd thought it would be best not to come bearing something so clearly a threat. After all, she had Elarus if she needed a weapon.
[How many inside?] she asked the sanctii.
[One. Sleeping.]
Sophie tapped Cameron's shoulder. "She's alone." Cameron let out a soft sigh. There'd always been the risk that Eloisa would have some of her ladies with her. Or a lover, possibly, though that seemed less likely. A queen had to be more cautious than a widowed crown princess.
His hand tightened on the handle, the door swung inward, and they walked into the outer chamber.
The scent of roses and salt grass filled the air, the smell of it at once familiar and unfamiliar and so strongly entwined with Sophie's memory of the palace and her friendship, such as it was, with the queen that she nearly stumbled to a halt.
Cameron too, shook his head as though he wanted to clear it. But then he mouthed "bedroom" at her, and they crossed the room to open the inner door.
Eloisa had gone to sleep, in her usual fashion, with a fire burning and several earth-lights glowing on the walls. There was more than enough light for them to make out the slumbering form of the queen under the deep green velvet coverlet.
Cameron jerked his head toward the bed, one hand on the pistol. Sophie tiptoed closer.
There was no easy way to do this. Sophie studied the queen a moment but couldn't see any active connection to the ley line that might indicate Eloisa was awake and waiting for an attack.
"Your Majesty," she said in a tone that came automatically to
her, pitched precisely loud enough to wake a sleeper without scaring them. A tone learned here at court. "Time to wake up."
The queen didn't stir at first, then she rolled over, tugging sleepily at the quilt. "What time is it—" She started to say, but then as she realized who was standing at the foot of her bed, she sat bolt upright. "You."
Sophie bobbed a curtsy. "I believe, Your Majesty summoned me."
"How did you get in here?" Eloisa's green eyes were wide with outrage.
"That's not important," Sophie said. "But we need to talk, Your Majesty. Things have been difficult between us. But they don't have to be."
Eloisa straightened her shoulders, any lingering signs of sleep slipping from her face. "I didn't think you'd come. The domina said you would. It's good she's not a gambling woman. You would have cost me." Her eyes narrowed. "You've already cost me, Sophia."
Sophie held out her hands, palms up to show they were empty. "Your Majesty, I have offered you no harm. I offer you no harm now. And it's Domina Skey who I've come to talk to you about."
Eloisa opened her mouth.
"Don't bother shouting for your guards, Your Majesty," Cameron said from his shadowed position near the door. "They won't be able to hear you."
"You have returned too, I see, Cameron. Did you kill my guards?" Her tone was icy.
"No, Your Majesty. They are merely sleeping for a time." He bowed briefly. "Now, I suggest you listen to my wife."
"Do I have a choice?"
Cameron shrugged. "I imagine someone will notice that your guards are absent from their stations eventually, Elly. It would be better for all of us if things were settled before then."
"You came here to bargain with me? I'm your queen. Why should I bargain?"
"You are the queen," Sophie agreed. "And I have always been loyal to you."
"Then why did you not return with the delegation?"
"Because Sevan Allowood tried to kill me, Your Majesty. I am loyal, not stupid. I am here now, that is what matters." She didn't raise the subject of the hostages. She didn't think it would be helpful. "I'm here, and I need you to listen me."
"Why should I?"
"You don't actually have a lot of choice," Cameron pointed out. "I guess you could try to put your hands over your ears like a child. You could even try to use your magic on us, but I think you know that Sophie is more than a match for you. Even without my help."
Eloisa's eyes were flinty. "So much for loyalty, to threaten your queen."
"I have a pistol. I could have shot you already if all we wanted to do was remove the threat you currently represent to us. I am not threatening, Elly, I am merely reminding you of the reality of your current situation. You used intimidation to get us to return. Now you have to suffer a small taste of it yourself. Or, you can listen to Sophie."
If earth witches could kill with a look, Cameron would have been a small pile of dust. Eloisa's eyes practically glowed with rage. "It seems I have little choice. Talk."
"You can't trust the domina," Sophie said flatly. "I believe she is trying to control you. No. I believe she is controlling you."
"Controlling me how?"
"Through a bond. Like the marriage bond." Sophie paused. "You do know how the marriage bonds work in reality, don't you? That they siphon some of our magic off to support our husbands? That's why we royal witches are so carefully guarded and married off fast. Why most women who show any sign of magic are taken into the temple or married too."
Eloisa frowned. "I'm don't believe you."
Did she really not know? Or was she stalling for time? Maybe Stefan had never told her the truth before his death. It was possible, given how he'd died. There was no benefit to Domina Skey telling Eloisa if she didn't already know. Not if she wanted to control the queen.
"Why do you think the domina was so furious that Cameron and I had sex?" Sophie said. "It was because we accidentally formed a bond, not because of my precious virginity. A bond that ruined whatever marriage plans she had for me."
"She? The crown chooses the matches for royal witches."
"With advice from the temple," Sophie countered. "I think you will find, Your Majesty, that the temple has been gathering power for itself for a number of years now. Decades, or more, perhaps. The royal women grow weaker. The men and the temple grow stronger. I suspect the temple is stronger than we know. And now the domina is seizing her moment. I believe she formed a bond with you when she healed you. I think she's using you. You changed after you were healed, Your Majesty. I believe that's due to the domina. She's trying to take control of Anglion. That's why she wanted me dead."
Eloisa started to open her mouth to reply, but Sophie held up a hand.
"Please. I need you to think. These are the facts. A temple-paid assassin tried to kill me. Someone suborned Sevan Allowood to try again in Illvya. Perhaps you didn't know Sevan, but he was notoriously pious, Your Majesty. If you didn't send him to kill me—"
"I didn't," Eloisa said. "I wanted you back here, not dead."
"Why was it so important for us to return?" Cameron asked gently. "We were no threat to you in Illvya. I'm a minor lord. Sophie is a lady-in-waiting. Neither of us is important to your court."
"The domina said—" Eloisa halted, her forehead creasing in a frown. Her hand drifted up to rub her temple where she'd been burned in the attack. "She said—"
"She told you we were plotting against you, I imagine," Sophie said. "That I wanted the throne. Believe me, Your Majesty, nothing is further from the truth. I want a quiet life with my husband. The throne is yours. It should be yours. Yours alone. Not the domina's to control. Let me help you. I know about bonds now. I can set you free."
"Illvyan magic," Eloisa said, sucking in a breath. She pushed herself back against the headboard, flinging up a hand as though to ward them off. "Lies. Heresy. You've come to kill me."
"No!" Sophie said just as Elarus said, [Soldiers. I come?]
[Stay hidden.] Sophie shot back desperately. [The queen will be afraid of you. Stay hidden unless you need to protect me. Please, Elarus]. She turned her focus back to Eloisa, lowering her voice. "I swear, Your Majesty, I'm telling you the truth. I have come back only to tell you this. To set you free to be the queen you should be. The queen Anglion needs you to be. Please, Eloisa. This is me. Sophie. You know me. You have to trust me."
From the outer chamber came a sudden hubbub of voices. Cameron sprang across the room to put himself between Sophie and the door, pistol at the ready. The door crashed open and Domina Skey strode through in swirl of brown robes, eyes blazing. "Stay where you are, traitors," she snapped. Then over her shoulder. "Captain, see, I told you the queen was in danger. Seize these two."
"Wait!" Eloisa snapped in response. She scrambled out of the bed and Sophie saw a sudden flare of magic as all the earth-lights in the room sprang to life. Sophie looked from Eloisa to the domina. The line of magic that threaded between them was as thick as the bond she shared with Cameron. She made herself look away, not wanting to give the domina any hint that she knew the bond existed.
[Elarus can you see that bond? The queen's bond?]
[Yes.]
[Could you break it?]
[Yes. Now?]
[Not yet. But be ready.]
Elarus huffed. [Will wait.]
Eloisa was staring at the domina, regal even though she wore only a plain white nightgown. "Wait, we were merely talking, Domain Skey. I am unharmed."
Sophie saw the bond pulse, saw Eloisa's hand fly to her temple.
"They come armed into your presence, sneaking through your palace at night to enter your rooms like thieves. Disabling your guards. No doubt bringing filthy Illvyan magic with them. They are traitors, Your Majesty, and they are a threat. A threat we should deal with right now. Captain, I order—"
"I think not, Domina," Liam's voice came from behind the domina, followed by the man himself pushing his way through the soldiers. Sophie's knees threatened to buckle in relief.
Liam steppe
d between Sophie and the domina. "If my brother and his wife are accused of being traitors to the Crown, then that is a court matter, not a temple one. And they are entitled to a trial before the court."
The domina's face twisted in fury. "Who do you—"
"I am the Erl of Inglewood, milady," Liam said, voice dripping ice and authority. "My family is as old as the bones of this country, and we have always been true to the crown and the laws of the land. I will uphold the law. My brother will be tried, if that is what is needed. But the law is needed here, not the temple. And I believe my fellow erls agree. Liam looked back of his shoulder. "My Lord Sylvain, Lord Airlight. What say you?"
Lord Airlight had been the chief judge of Stefan's reign. Sophie had always found him rather intimidating, but she was more than happy to see him. And she could have kissed Lord Sylvain, who stumped up behind Airlight, eyes crinkling at her.
"I agree, Lord Inglewood," the Erl of Airlight said, stony-faced. The iron look in his eyes matched the iron gray of his hair as he stared at the domina. Apparently he had not taken kindly to his son being held hostage. "The law is clear in this matter. Any member of the court accused of treason must be tried in front of the court."
"Liam, how did you know we were here?" Cameron demanded, seemingly ignoring the rest of the conversation.
"I received word," Liam said. "But that is a discussion for a later time."
"I'm about to be tried for treason, it seems," Cameron said. "There may not be a later—"
"Be quiet, both of you." Eloisa had snatched a robe from the end of her bed and was tugging the ends of its sash tight around her waist. "Lord Airlight, if you say that this what must happen, then this is what must happen. Lord Inglewood, you will escort your brother and his wife to the audience hall, and I hold you personally responsible to ensure they will be there to face their judgment. Lord Sylvain, assemble the court."
Sophie was halfway down the hall before she realized that she may have made a mistake. She hadn't told Elarus to break the bond. She could send the sanctii back to do it now, but she felt safer knowing Elarus was with her. Liam had brought a few of the Inglewood guards with him, but they were all surrounded by a double squad of Red Guard as they were marched toward the audience hall.
