by M. J. Scott
She'd left the hall, under escort, washed and changed, then been escorted back. Domina Skey still stood at the front of the court, bound and gagged and surrounded by guards. Elarus stood a few feet from her, gaze fixed on the domina.
The crown princess—though perhaps that was no longer her title—had declined the invitation to be here to meet the emperor, choosing instead to remain with Eloisa's body. Her husband, and several hastily summoned squads of Red Guards, had accompanied her to the temple where Eloisa's rites would be held in due course. The guards would ensure none of the dominas and devouts and priors left the temple until Domina Skey had been tried, so she should be safe enough. And Sophie could not bring herself to cause Margaretta any more pain by forcing the issue. She did, however, wish she could be there with her, safely away from everything that was about to happen.
The only thing that raised her spirits slightly was the sight of Jean-Paul and Imogene in the emperor's retinue. Hopefully the presence of the du Laqs here meant that Ikarus had spoken the truth, and everyone was safe. She hadn't dared ask for the hostages to be released yet.
Behind the du Laqs, several brown-robed and hooded dominas walked. The hoods hid their faces, but she could tell from their clothes they weren't from any Anglion temple. Judging by the ripple of noise that passed through the room in their wake, so could most of the court.
Trust Aristides to set a cat amongst the pigeons and bring with him a clear reminder that the worship of the goddess was alive and flourishing in Illvya. And that the goddess hadn't destroyed his empire, despite its water mages and its sanctii.
When Aristides reached the front of the hall, Sophie inclined her head. She was under strict instructions from Liam and Chloe that it would be improper to curtsy to the emperor while she was a queen-to-be in her own kingdom.
"His Imperial Majesty, Aristides Delmar de Lucien, Emperor of Illvya," one of the court announcers bellowed.
Sophie fought the urge to giggle as the faces of the Anglion nobles seated grew noticeably stiffer. Nervous laughter wouldn't help.
"Your Imperial Majesty," she said, managing to keep her voice steady. "Welcome to Anglion."
"Thank you, Lady Scardale. It is still Lady Scardale?" he said in very good Anglish.
This time she did roll her eyes at him. "Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. As I'm sure you have been briefed. If you would be so good as to address the court and tell them why you have journeyed here?"
Aristides nodded. His entourage had fanned out to the sides of the court though eight guards still stood close. He turned to face the court, spreading his arms wide. "My lords and ladies of Anglion. I assure you I am here with only peaceful intentions. Though perhaps, before we deal with matters of the politics of man, there are other matters to dispense with."
Sophie started to open her mouth to ask what exactly he was doing, but Aristides ploughed on. "You have been dealt a blow of treason and deceit in this country. A king and a queen lost. A temple perhaps, betrayed. I thought perhaps I could offer a service. I have brought with me, our own domina of the temple of the Goddess to provide counsel in a time of need. Domina Francis, if you please."
The domina standing closest to Imogene pulled back her hood, revealing the unmistakable red blaze of hair. Domina Francis came forward to stand with Aristides and bowed to the court. "My lords and ladies, I am here as a servant of the goddess. I believe there has been deceit in your temple and that the goddess demands that deceit be rooted out, and her temple made whole again." Her Anglish was excellent. Even better than Aristides.
"Illvyan magic," someone muttered.
Domina Francis shook her head. "You can see by my hair that I am an earth witch and nothing more. I offer only the truth."
"How can we know that?" the Erl of Airlight said gruffly.
Sophie's hands clenched. If they couldn't convince the erl, then there was probably no resolution to this situation, other than she and Cameron returning to exile in Illvya. Which wasn't an entirely unappealing option. Though, exactly what Aristides would do to Anglion at that point was anybody's guess.
Domina Francis turned to Sophie. "My lady, do you have truth seekers here in Anglion?"
"No, milady domina," Sophie said. "That is not a magic we are familiar with."
The domina smiled. "How fortunate then, that we brought one of our own."
Chloe, standing beside Sophie as a temporary measure given Sophie had no ladies to support her and it was as yet unsettled as to whether she had the right to any, hissed a startled breath.
Sophie expected to see the tall, blond Lord Castaigne emerge from the ranks of Aristides men, but instead a short, wiry, red-haired man she didn't recognize stepped forward and bowed to the emperor, then to the domina and Sophie, before turning and bowing to the court. Chloe sighed softly.
Domina Skey strained forward a moment, looking as though she might try to speak despite the gag, but the Red Guard closest to her pulled her back and she subsided.
Aristides nodded to the domina.
She pointed at the truth seeker. "My lords and ladies, this is Lord August Edouard. He is a truth seeker. It is a form of magic that is rare in the empire. It allows him to tell who is lying and who is telling the truth. I understand that you may be unwilling to accept this as fact from an Illvyan. But I propose a test. Ten of you to come forward. You will each tell Lord Edouard two truths and two lies. He will tell you which is which. If he gets all ten right, when he knows none of you and has been in your country less than an hour, perhaps we can agree his power is real. Of course, we can make it twenty or fifty or however many it would take."
Lord Edouard gave the domina a sideways glance at that but didn't protest.
Aristides folded his arms and smiled pleasantly. It was clear the emperor was willing for the process to take all day if necessary.
"I'll do it," Liam said. His offer was quickly echoed by Lord Sylvain. Then the Erl of Airlight also stepped forward, somewhat reluctantly. The next to volunteer, to Sophie's surprise was Barron Deepholt. After that more hands raised, and they had ten volunteers in seconds.
"Perhaps we can start with you," Domina Francis said, nodding at Liam. "You are?"
"The Erl of Inglewood. Lord Scardale's older brother."
"True," Lord Edouard said and a few members of the court laughed nervously.
"All right, my lord Inglewood. This will be a better test if your truths and lies are known to others in the court. Perhaps even better if some of those others aren't your best friends or allies?" The domina smiled out at the court. "Do you agree this is a fair test?"
There was a reluctant rumble of agreement.
Domina Francis nodded. "Good. Lord Inglewood, please begin."
"All right." Liam took his time, pulling an exaggerated, let-me-think face. "First. I once beat the Erl of Airlight so thoroughly at a game of five-handed Starion that he had to give me both his favorite stallion and half his year's production of iska."
Smart. Everyone knew that the Airlights and Inglewoods were more rivals than friends and that the current Erl in particular had disliked Liam and Cameron's father intensely, despite the link between their families that Jeanne and Liam's marriage had forged.
"True," said Lord Edouard. Liam then offered two more facts. A tale of falling from his horse in his first hunt at court after breaking into the King's cellar the night before to steal several bottles of wine, and the last of being ill after eating a whole pail of summerberries with his fellow students.
Lord Edouard gave his opinion on again. Lie. Truth.
"Are there those in court who can confirm?" Domina Francis asked.
The Erl of Airlight nodded tightly, followed by several other noblemen.
"Then let us proceed." They cycled through the remaining nine men quickly. Lord Edouard did not get a single answer wrong.
After the tenth, the domina spread her hands. "Do you concede this is a true power?" she asked the court.
Lord Airlight waved an irritable hand. "Y
es. It's not natural, but it seems to be real. Get on with it."
The domina bowed her head. "As you wish, my lord." She turned back to Sophie. "Lady Sophia, did you have a vision that led you to fear that Queen Eloisa was under attack in her own palace? That Domina Skey was somehow controlling her?"
"Yes," Sophie said. She put her heart into the word, willing the truth seeker to hear her truly.
"True," Lord Edouard intoned, his eyes fixed on Sophie.
"Did you return to Anglion intending to free Eloisa and return her to her rightful state of power and place as Anglion's sovereign unfettered by that control?”
"Yes."
"True."
There was a ripple of noise through the court. Sophie didn't move her gaze from the domina.
"Did you ever desire the throne for yourself?"
"No."
"True."
"Are you a loyal subject of Anglion?"
"I was loyal while I lived in Anglion," Sophie said. "During the time I spent in Illvya, I held to that loyalty though I did things that Anglions would consider wrong. Or taboo. I have learned water magic. I believe there is nothing harmful in that. As I believe that the temple in Anglion has been corrupted for a long time. That it hampers the powers of the most powerful mages and witches here. That it has weakened and subverted the powers of royal witches, in particular. I believe the temple has sent assassins against me, and my husband, twice. And I believe the temple, and those in this court who might support these aims, were behind the attack on the palace that killed King Stefan and many others. I believe that Domina Skey, most recently, formed a bond with Eloisa when the queen was injured and vulnerable. A bond she then used to shape the queen's views and actions. Starting with using her to try to kill me." Sophie clamped her jaw shut before she could say anything more.
"Truth," Lord Edouard said again.
This time the court didn't stay silent. There was a babble of protest that only stopped when Liam roared for silence.
"She may well believe it to be true," Lord Airlight said into the ensuing silence. "That doesn't make it true. She doesn't know for sure."
"No," Sophie said. "But Domina Skey does." She gestured to the guards surrounding the domina. They tugged her forward to stand squarely in front of the empty Salt Throne, her feet on the patch of marble where earlier she had watched a group of servants scrub away Eloisa's blood.
Domina Francis stepped close to Domina Skey, green eyes boring into brown, full of banked anger. "You are supposed to be a faithful servant of the goddess. You have betrayed that trust. I might have found some sympathy for you because the first crack in that trust happened so long ago here. But you have done your best to fracture it beyond bearing. So, I ask you, sister. Will you speak truth here before the court and before the goddess, or do you want me to drag you to the temple you have betrayed and use the vows you gave to the goddess to compel you? Because, believe me, I am more than willing to do just that."
Her last words had a strange shimmering echo to them, and Sophie was almost sure she heard the rustle of leaves again and a waft of salt grass far fresher than the lingering traces of Domina Skey's braziers. But perhaps it was only her imagination.
Domina Skey's eyes burned with hatred, but she nodded, slowly. Domina Francis removed the gag from her mouth.
"Illvyan devil spawn," Domina Skey spat.
"Lie," Lord Edouard said.
Domina Francis merely smiled. "Lady Sophie, do you have questions for the domina?"
Sophie smelt salt and flames again and felt a pulse of magic from deep beneath her feet roll through her. She smiled then, no longer unsure as to what she was meant to do.
"Domina Skey, did you cause an assassin to be recruited to kill me here in the palace at Kingswell?"
"No."
"Lie." There was a gasp. Aristides held up a hand. Sophie took a step closer.
"Domina Skey did you recruit Sevan Allowood to kill me if he got the chance and have him placed on the delegation that Queen Eloisa sent to Illvya to carry out that mission if he could?"
"No."
"Lie."
Another step. The hatred rolling off the domina now seemed to pulse against Sophie, but she felt no fear. "Domina Skey, did you form a bond with Queen Eloisa and use it to influence her, intending to subvert the crown of Anglion for your own purposes?"
"No!" It was a shriek this time. Half the court stepped back at the fury in the word.
"Lie."
The domina lunged toward Sophie. It was Cameron, this time, who caught her, wrenched her away, then held her arms and turned her back to face Sophie.
Sophie moved until she was no more than three feet from the domina, the anger she had been tamping down for so long now, free to blaze bright. "No one believes you," she snarled. "You have no power here. You have cost this country a king and queen and countless other losses. You have stolen from every witch here. But it ends now. You failed. Because you couldn't leave me alone. I would have served Eloisa happily and no doubt disappeared with my husband to the country to have a family and live my life. But you were stupid and arrogant and thought you knew better than the goddess herself. You came after me, and you failed. And you know, milady. I never wanted to be a queen. But because of you, this country needs a queen. Needs me. I will not let you and your lust for power ruin any more lives. I will not let you twist the words of the goddess. I will not let you. And no one else here will either. Because they obey their queen, Domina. And the queen you have given them this time is not bound to you or your temple or your lies. I am free, and I will use that freedom as the goddess needs me to. I will protect this country and its people, and I will, quite happily, dance on your grave for what you have done to us." The fury she felt as she spoke the words nearly consumed her, and she realized she was close to reaching out and using her power to kill the domina where she stood. That would not do. She needed to questioned, tried, and eventually handed back to the temple who would strip her of her powers and then end her life.
She needed justice. Anglion needed justice. And they needed a queen who could give it them.
She sucked in a breath, made herself step back, drawing up her chin as she stared the domina down.
"True," Lord Edouard said. Suddenly her ears were full of the sound of applause. She turned and found the court on its feet, clapping. And then, Cameron bowed to her, more deeply than he ever had, and she saw behind him, all the nobles following suit.
"Long live Queen Sophia," Lord Sylvain said into the deep silence that followed as she stood and stared at her court.
"And that, I believe," Aristides said, deep voice full of amusement, "is that."
"This is the worst part, little brother," Liam said, as they stood outside the Salt Hall, waiting for the coronation ceremony to begin several weeks later. Sophie had flatly refused to be crowned in the temple and her counselors, after some argument, had given in when Domina Francis has declared there to be no reason the rites couldn't be performed at the palace. The rebuilding project had tripled its efforts to repair the Salt Hall and it had finally been completed several days earlier.
"That's what you told me before my wedding," Cameron said. "You may have been right then, but I'm quite certain you're wrong now. Neither of us wanted this." He jerked his head toward the door and the throne that stood inside.
"Maybe that's why you'll do a good job of it," Liam said grinning. "And think of how proud Father would be."
Cameron rolled his eyes. "Pleasing our father with my choices was never high on my list of priorities. And I don't think he'd approve the way this came about."
Liam's smile turned harder. "Perhaps not. But the throne is Sophie's by right, and if we are to move forward, then we need both of you. You've seen beyond the edges of our particular world. You've seen the truth. There are things that need to be fixed here. And I can't think of anyone else I'd trust more to fix them."
"You're realize that you're going to be helping me do that fixing," Cameron said. "Yo
u and Alec both."
"Good luck dragging him away from his estate," Liam said. "But trust me brother, all is as it should be." Then he flinched as he realized he'd echoed Eloisa's last words.
Cameron hid his own instinctive wince. Liam didn't know the true weight those words held.
He'd told Sophie that Eloisa had said them to him once before, when she'd sent him to take Sophie to Dockside on that first fateful day. Less than a year ago, but it was difficult to believe it was the same world, let alone that so little time had passed. Sophie was convinced that Eloisa had had a foretelling, and the idea seemed to comfort her, so he hadn't argued. He'd asked the goddess a time or two if it could be true, but she had so far declined to send him any visions of his own to give him any certainty.
But whether or not Eloisa had seen anything, perhaps Liam was right. Perhaps there was a reason that he and Sophie had been brought to this moment and the work that lay before them. Not the life he'd imagined, but he knew that as long as he had Sophie, it was a life he would be happy in. And perhaps the only true way he could honor Eloisa was to keep her country safe and help it grow into a new future.
Sophie's father appeared beside Liam. He wore a smile, but a slightly wide-eyed, uneasy one. Cameron sympathized. He couldn't imagine that Ser Kendall—who had resisted his daughter's offers to elevate that title—had ever envisioned he would be father to the queen.
But the older man clapped Cameron on the shoulder and bowed briefly to Liam. "She's on her way. Are you ready?"
"As ready as I am ever likely to be," Cameron said. Behind him, bells began to ring out, and he turned to see Sophie coming toward him, glorious in a shade of green that seemed blessed by the goddess herself, so perfectly did it suit her. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, a defiant blaze of red and black that he could guarantee no Anglion queen had sported for centuries.
