Innocent Queen: A Court Intrigue Fantasy (The Forbidden Queen Series Book 2)

by R. J. Vickers

  “Easy enough for you to say. But if you don’t make drastic changes soon, no one will believe you.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  “It’s the truth.”

  He was not using my title. As before, the Truthbringers refused to accept my authority.

  I turned pointedly to the young woman. “And what is your stance? Do you have no relatives with magic power? Would you gladly throw every magic race in this city to their death?”

  Her cheeks turned pink. “I believe you may have misunderstood him, Your Majesty. He only wishes to restrict the dangerous magic races. There is a big difference between protecting our city by keeping it free of deadly magic and turning against every magic race.”

  “But that’s not true with them, is it?” I said. “They want to do away with all the magic races. They’re starting with the dangerous ones because it’s easier to win support that way, but their campaign of discrimination won’t end with Flamespinners and forbidden races.” I turned a hard stare on the blue-eyed Truthbringer. “Would you deny this?”

  “I would,” he said. “We only wish to protect the innocent people of Baylore. We have no cause to mistrust the other magic races, and would never seek to harm those who have done nothing wrong.”

  The young woman seemed content with his lie. This was the problem—people were so eager to think ill of me they would believe the flimsiest lies from these Truthbringers.

  We should have called off this gathering as soon as they arrived. It was merely serving as a recruitment opportunity for the Truthbringers.

  Instead, we persisted. The Truthbringers spoke over me whenever I tried to convince others of my position, whispered and laughed with the other courtiers behind my back, and often raised their voices to demand justice for the victims.

  Just as I was about to send our guests away and give up on this farce, a page girl dashed into the sitting-room, her eyes darting around fearfully. When she saw the Truthbringers, her face paled.

  Head down, she scurried across the room to my side. “I’m supposed to bring word to you, Majesty. A man’s just died. In the palace.”

  Though she had spoken softly, the room fell silent at her words.

  “Murderer!” one of the Truthbringers spat. “Even the palace is no longer safe from her evildoing.”

  I stood, feeling numb. “Everyone leave. Please return to your homes and remain there until we can search the palace. There is a murderer on the loose, and we don’t know who they will target next.”

  “Oh, very convenient,” one of the Truthbringers said. “Once there are no witnesses around, you can clear away the evidence for the crime.”

  “I don’t have time to listen to your lies. I must protect my people.” I put a hand on the page’s shoulder and steered her firmly from the sitting-room. That was the worst possible audience to receive such dire news. I had to trust Mother could keep the situation under control.

  “This way,” I said, breaking into a jog in the direction of the Cheltish wing. The page scrambled after me, her boots clumping across the stones.

  When we burst into the common area, I skidded to a stop. Olleack stood blocking my path, his arms crossed, a cruel smile curling his lip.

  “I presume you’ve heard the news?”

  “About the murder?” Had word really spread that fast?

  “Oh, it’s not just one murder this time, Your Majesty. There were eight bodies discovered around the city. All of them show either burn marks or no obvious cause of death.”

  13

  Curfew

  A ll the breath left my lungs. Was he lying? Eight murders in one day—this would destroy my hold on Baylore.

  “Well? No protestations of innocence?” Olleack said. “Or did you expect it to take longer for the bodies to be found?”

  “Get out of my way,” I snapped. It sounded like he didn’t know about the death in the palace yet, so I had to move fast.

  I led the page girl into a corner of the common area, out of earshot of Olleack. “What else do you know about the murder in the palace?” I whispered. “Any sign of cause of death?”

  She shook her head. “No, Your Majesty. They’re saying it’s an Extractor.”

  I nodded tightly.

  Leaving the page girl standing uncertainly in the common area, I bounded down the stairs to the lower level of the Cheltish wing. No one was about, thankfully. I tore around the corner that circled around the back of the king’s study and raced down the winding hall until I reached the room where I had put Wistin under guard.

  When I neared, I slowed to a more dignified walk and straightened my lopsided crown. I was still breathing heavily, though, a stitch pinching at my side from the run.

  Both guards stood up straighter and saluted when they saw me. “Your Majesty.”

  I stopped right before them and whispered breathlessly, “Has Wistin ever left this room?”

  “No, Your Majesty. Except to visit the privy, Your Majesty. And we watch the door when he’s out.”

  “You’re sure? What about the nighttime guards? Have they seen anything?”

  “No, Your Majesty. They’d have told us if they did.”

  I stood there for another moment, breathing fast, trying to figure out if there was something I had missed. The guards watched me with mild confusion.

  At last I turned away. It seemed they were telling the truth.

  Was Ornan behind the most recent murder?

  This time I walked slower as I retraced my steps to the common area, puzzling over what to do about Ornan. I had thought he was honorable, but I had also given him far too much freedom as a guard. He was still essentially a stranger. Until the situation was under control, I needed to make sure he was not involved.

  The sound of voices floated down to me as I started up the stairs—others were gathering to hear the news. I straightened my crown once again, tucking stray hairs into the complicated knot of braids, and prodded a finger into the stitch in my side. My breathing had finally slowed after the sprint back to the Cheltish wing.

  When I emerged onto the landing, a dozen voices assaulted me at once.

  “Is it true there’s been another murder?”

  “Do we have an assassin in the palace?”

  “What’s this about twenty bodies?”

  “You’re supposed to be keeping us safe. How do you keep allowing this to happen?”

  “Quiet!” I snapped. “Please, who knows what is actually going on? I’ve heard about eight murders, one in the palace, and I don’t know what to believe right now. The deaths have nothing whatsoever to do with me. I have no idea who was killed or why, but someone is obviously trying to make me look incompetent—or worse.”

  “What’s happening,” Olleack said smoothly, “is you have deployed your army of assassins to do your dirty work around the city. I don’t know how you expected to get away with this.”

  “You know that’s a lie!” I cried, looking around at the courtiers and nobles who had gathered. Many backed away from me.

  Mother strode down the elevated corridor into the common area, my ladies-in-waiting hurrying behind her. “What is the meaning of this?” she demanded. “The Truthbringers have gone to warn the town of this latest murder. Have all of you heard the news already?”

  “There have been other deaths, Mother,” I said quietly. “In the city.”

  Her nostrils flared. “This is getting out of hand. We need to do something, and soon. If Baylore is no longer safe for our citizens, we have failed.”

  “We need to get rid of the Truthbringers,” I said. “But how the plagues am I supposed to accomplish that?”

  Silence greeted my words. In the sudden hush, I heard another set of footsteps pounding across the stone floor as they approached the Cheltish wing. We all turned to see Quendon sprint into the common area.

  “Riots—in the main square,” he gasped. “People—are setting shops—on fire. We need to get them—under control—Your Majesty.”

 
I nodded sharply. “Gather all palace guards who are loyal to me, and meet me in the entrance hall. We need to get the situation under control.”

  “Kalleah—” Mother began.

  I swept through the common area without looking at her. Mother sighed and hurried after me, and when I glanced back, Baridya, Deance, and Cal were hastening to keep up with me as well.

  At the entrance to the Cheltish wing, I nearly collided with Ornan. I had almost forgotten. Grabbing his wrist, I tugged him aside and whispered, “I need you to go to the room where Wistin is locked away, and put yourself under guard as well. I’m sorry. I want to trust you, but until we know who is responsible, I can’t have you wandering around unsupervised. I hope you understand.”

  Ornan hung his head. “Of course I do, Your Majesty,” he mumbled. “I’ll go right away. But I hope you know I’d never do anything like that. You’ve been so generous, Your Majesty.”

  “I want to believe you,” I said gently. “But we have to take precautions.”

  He nodded, still looking at the ground.

  As we started toward the entrance hall once again, Mother fell into step with me, linking her elbow with mine so I could not race ahead. “Do you think he could be responsible?” she asked softly.

  “I hope not. I’ve told him to lock himself away in a spare room, and I’ll set guards over him when we return. No sense taking risks.”

  “Good,” Mother said. “Of everything you have done since taking the throne, granting sanctuary to an Extractor is likely the most dangerous.”

  My stomach squirmed with guilt. She did not know about Wistin—she would be horrified if she learned of him.

  I tugged my elbow free of Mother’s and quickened my pace until I was nearly running. As we drew near to the main entrance, I heard a faint roar from outside. I caught the faint smell of smoke as well. Cloudy gods, what was burning?

  I stopped before the small door just to the left of the grand entrance. Pausing with my hand on the knob, I breathed deeply, trying to force back panic. My heart was racing, my nerves urging me to flee. I could not blame my people for their anger. Eight murders in one day—nine, if Olleack had not counted the man inside the palace—it was frightening. No one was safe.

  At last I pushed open the door just a crack.

  The main square was bulging with people crammed into every scrap of space. A Truthbringer stood on the fountain, shouting into the chaos, and the onlookers roared in response. Threads of smoke rose over the city, pooling in a haze just above the rooftops, and across the main square, the windows of The Queen’s Bed were smashed. People were throwing rocks at any building within reach. Some clattered up the steps toward the palace doors, but none hit.

  “I bet they’re setting fire to Weavers’ shops,” Deance muttered from behind me.

  As I stood there, the Truthbringer’s voice rose over the din. I hung onto his words, transfixed.

  “There has long been a cancer at the heart of Itrea. This abomination is at the root!” He pointed up to the palace towers. “When Queen Kalleah took the throne, evil began to spread. As long as you allow her to guide you, she will carve a path toward your doom. The gods will not forgive us for abandoning their wisdom. For if you place your trust in evil, it will lead you—”

  “What are you waiting for?” Mother hissed.

  I flinched.

  “Do you plan to address them?”

  “Yes.” I took a ragged breath and straightened, my legs weak. Then I pushed open the side door and emerged onto the steps.

  The Truthbringer continued to speak, but those nearest the palace gates gave a shout, pressing their faces to the bars.

  “It’s her!”

  “It’s the demon queen!”

  “She’s here to kill us!”

  A louder roar than before reverberated through the square, drowning out the Truthbringer. The crowd surged closer to the gates, packing even tighter than before, and dozens of stones flew through the air in my direction, skittering on the stone steps.

  “My people!” I shouted. My voice vanished in the uproar. I shouted again, but no one seemed to hear.

  Someone collided with me, and I moved aside to allow a boy with a trumpet through the side door. He lifted the trumpet, puffed his cheeks, and blew a long, brassy note.

  At the sound, the crowd quieted somewhat, though stones and fruit continued flying in my direction.

  “My people!” I yelled once again. “I have no connection to these murders, and we are doing everything we can to catch the culprit! We believe the Truthbringers and their followers are attempting to frame me. The deaths have no connection that I can see, and all are strangers to me.”

  “Murderer!” a man shouted.

  “If I wanted to destroy my enemies, I would strike directly at the Truthbringers. I would not kill innocent civilians at random. Until the Truthbringers themselves are found dead, do not point blame at me.”

  “So you would murder people if it was convenient to you?” a red-faced woman shouted.

  “Get her!” a man bellowed.

  The crowd pushed forward again, shoving themselves against the gates until I feared the bars would give way under the sheer weight of thousands upon thousands of bodies.

  People started climbing onto those around them, dragging their way up with help from the metal bars on the gates, until they stood on the shoulders of their fellows. A teenage boy with a heavy jaw was first to jump over the gates and onto the palace steps. He stopped, tossing a stone up and down in his hand, until four more leapt from the gates to join him.

  Behind me, hundreds of boots thudded down the palace hallway, and I heard Mother’s voice. It seemed Quendon had returned with backup.

  With a whoop, the civilians charged up the steps toward me.

  I stood my ground.

  The boy in front hurled his stone at me. I stepped aside; it grazed my shoulder but did not sting.

  More stones flew at me, and I backed up a step, though I did not retreat inside.

  “Quendon!” I called. “Lead your forces to put down this uprising!”

  The double doors creaked open, and the five rushing at me slowed. Quendon led dozens of palace guards onto the steps, where they spread out and made a wall between me and the attackers.

  “Arrest anyone who attacks you! I am imposing a curfew on the city, from sundown to sunup, and my guards will patrol the streets at all times. Any found causing violence or venturing outside during the curfew will be locked up.”

  “She’s a tyrant!” a man’s voice bellowed.

  Quendon and his soldiers marched down the steps, pushing the attackers back as they went.

  Something slammed into my chest, just below my collarbone—I stumbled back, clutching at the doorway. I blinked down at the ground. A rock had finally hit its mark.

  Then a hand latched onto my wrist and dragged me inside.

  “Do you have a death wish?” my mother whispered. “There’s nothing more you can do here.”

  14

  Cal’s Spies

  I set aside the decree and sagged in my chair. If this didn’t work, I had no idea what to do next.

  On the table before me, full of crossings-out and smudged ink, lay the draft of a proposal to outright ban Truthbringers from Baylore. The time had come to take decisive action. I could no longer hope to make progress with superficial attempts to win favor.

  Three days had passed since the riots, and no further bodies had surfaced in that time. I wasn’t sure if that meant anything. Guards patrolled the streets of Baylore at all hours; from my balcony, I could see their lamps bobbing down the streets at night. No one had broken the curfew yet, which was a relief—the city cells were already full of those arrested in the riots.

  We were at an impasse, and I had no idea what the Truthbringers were planning next. Whoever made the next move could gain the upper hand. Which was why I needed to strike now, to throw the Truthbringers out of Baylore while there were plenty of guards around to quell
any protests that resulted from the new law.

  I just had to persuade one of my holden monarchs to vote for it.

  Spring had begun by the time the next Ilkayumsday vote came around. There were precious few signs of it here, though. The sky remained a dismal, steely grey, the air biting.

  When I settled onto the throne in the chamber of law, I could feel the weight of my holden monarchs’ stares. I had yet to address the palace as a whole since the riots. They had heard rumors and read my words taken out of context in the Palace Times, but they did not know exactly what had happened.

  I sighed. “It has been a difficult quarter. Someone made a coordinated attack on innocent civilians across Baylore, and the investigation has yet to turn up any connection between the deaths. As far as I can tell, someone is trying to cast suspicion on me, but I haven’t been able to determine whether they have any greater motives.”

  “And the death in the palace?” Ellarie asked sharply. “Do you claim this was unrelated to the others?”

  “Whoever is killing people around the city must have spies in the palace. We already know they managed to pass on sensitive information about Calden. So no, the man who died in the palace has no known connection either to the Truthbringers or to my cause, but I doubt it was a coincidence he died the same day as everyone else.”

  That was another thing—the circumstances surrounding the man’s death were very odd. He had been found in a small, plush tearoom in the historic wing, and as far as anyone could tell, he was playing a game of cards when he dropped dead at the table. He could have been poisoned, but the University Potioneers had found no trace of toxic substances in his wine. No one had confessed to being with the young man when he died, so it seemed likely his partner in cards had killed him.

  “What have you done about this threat?” Pollard asked.

  “You know about the curfew and the patrols, of course. The city police are investigating, but they have come back with no new information.”

  “You have done well to calm the riots, Your Majesty,” he said. “An armed presence may be just what this city needs at present.”