The Orphan Queen

by Jodi Meadows

  “If it’s a crime to be excited about our future of hot baths, plenty of food, and walks through winter gardens, then I’m definitely a criminal.” She tugged at the sleeve of my dress, straightening it. “There. Don’t you have a shawl somewhere?”

  “Right.” I picked up the tattered wool shawl and threw it over my shoulders. “Unfortunately, the war will interrupt our new life of luxury. When we march to Aecor, it will be all dirt, hunger, and walks through bloody battlefields. That’s assuming we’re not immediately discovered as impostors at the castle and sentenced to death.” I winked so she’d know I wasn’t scolding.

  “Well, now I’m not smiling.” She hitched her bag onto her shoulder and together we headed down to the bailey where Patrick and Oscar met us with grim nods.

  Day broke at our backs, sending liquid light cascading into the valley ahead of us. Glass windows on the palace and mansions winked in the reflected sunlight.

  “We’ll walk all the way around,” Patrick said. “So we appear to come from the west.”

  When at last we emerged from the woods on the western edge of Skyvale, the sun was directly overhead, and the famous mirrors were just beginning to reflect its glow.

  “Refugees are saying they can see the mirrors’ shine from across the valley,” Melanie said. “That it leads them to safety. Some even say they can see it from across the western mountains, as far as the wraithland.”

  “That seems unlikely. The valley is huge, and Skyvale is hidden behind the Midvale Ridge.” The long mountain cut lengthwise through the northern half of the valley, splitting the path of the Indigo River in two. Skyvale huddled between the eastern side of the valley and the lower end of the Midvale Ridge, which looked as though someone had scooped off a chunk of the southern face.

  “That’s true, I guess.”

  “It’s just a refugee story. They’re almost never accurate.” I kept my gaze ahead as we approached White Flag, the poorest, westernmost district of Skyvale. “No more out-of-character talking. We’re refugees from Liadia. We’ve been through a great trauma and terrible journey.”

  Melanie’s cheeks darkened, but she nodded. A few minutes later, we entered the refugee camp just outside the city wall.

  It looked like every other camp, with people huddling inside dingy tents or under lean-tos. The stench of unwashed bodies permeated the air, along with rotting refuse. Chickens clucked and a pig hurtled across the road. A few children played, though their clapping and hopping games all bore a weary note. Under the tendrils of filthy hair, their cheeks were sunken in from hunger.

  In the spirit of authenticity, Patrick and Oscar moved closer to Melanie and me, protecting us as we slipped through the noisy refugee camp.

  Above us loomed a pair of guard towers, the dragon standards and Pierce family crests flying above the bright mirrors. Nervousness shuddered through me.

  “This way, my lady.” Patrick guided me to the gate and the soldier on duty. Sweat streaked his stubbled face as he slouched and spoke in a Liadian accent, “May I present Lady Julianna Whitman, Duchess of Liadia, and her companion, Lady Melanie Cole. My friend and I have traveled across the wraithland to bring them to the safety of Skyvale.” Patrick dropped to one knee, head bowed low. His shoulders curled inward as Oscar knelt, too.

  The guards eyed me, my dress, and the almost-empty bag I carried. “Do you have papers?” one asked from behind a heavy mustache.

  My bag slipped from my shaking hand and landed with a shallow whump. “Y-yes.” Trembling all over, I started to retrieve the leather envelope with our forged papers, but Melanie touched my shoulder.

  “I’ll get them.” She spoke gently and, although she appeared as exhausted as I, she knelt and drew the envelope from a side pocket.

  The guards glanced over the papers, held them up to the light to check the watermark, and slipped them back into the envelope. “You ladies are welcome to enter Skyvale. We’ll send for a carriage. I’m afraid the two of you . . .” His mustache twitched at Patrick and Oscar.

  Patrick and Oscar glanced at each other, my supposed loyal escorts. “We’d like to wait until the carriage comes,” Patrick said. “Just to make sure. We’ve seen our ladies this far.”

  Mustache Guard considered a moment, then nodded. “Very well.”

  The second guard ran for chairs for Melanie and me, then sent a message up to the top of the guard tower to signal for a carriage.

  Seated and pretending I was trying not to slouch, I watched a trio of boys racing through the camp. Two in front carried battered sacks that leaked pebbles, while the third wore a black mask and threatened to bring his friends to justice.

  Mustache Guard followed my gaze. “They’re playing Black Knife.”

  “What is that?” I asked, though I knew the answer.

  “Black Knife is a vigilante,” he said, pointing to a tattered poster that offered a hefty bounty for the menace. “We try to discourage Skyvale children from this game, but we aren’t allowed to do much with the refugees.”

  Besides keep them out of the city, of course.

  “And this Black Knife does what?” I made obvious glances between the bounty poster and the children.

  “He catches thieves, glowmen, and flashers. He’s been at it for about two years, since the Hensley scandal.”

  “It sounds like he’s doing good work. Shouldn’t you send a thank-you note?”

  Mustache Guard shook his head. “Some think so, but no one is allowed to subvert justice. If he wants to stop flashers, he needs to join the police.”

  “So you hunt for him?”

  The guard nodded. “When we can, or whenever there’s a rash of mimics. Skyvale is so big that we usually have to focus our attention elsewhere. But don’t worry: Black Knife is almost never spotted in the districts where you’ll be staying.”

  “Thank you.” Maybe I could catch him—once I infiltrated the palace, found the resistance fighters in Aecor, rescued the Aecorian men in the wraithlands, and took back my kingdom. Or maybe somewhere in between all of that. The reward was sizable, and the coming war would have to be funded somehow.

  I turned my attention toward Skyvale, watching for the carriage.

  We didn’t wait long. Once the carriage arrived, indigo with the Pierce crest emblazoned on the side, Melanie and I made a show of thanking Patrick and Oscar for their kindness and assistance.

  “This way, my ladies.” The soldiers helped us into the carriage and stowed our bags on the opposite bench. “You’re being taken to an immediate audience with King Terrell and Crown Prince Tobiah. Tell them your story. The driver will give your papers to the secretary. They’ll know what to do with you.”

  Tobiah.

  “Thank you.” Melanie slumped into the cushions as the carriage door shut and latched. In the dimness, she gave me a secret smile. “We’re really doing this.” Her voice was low and didn’t carry.

  I tried to smile back, but my thoughts whirred.

  I was going to see Tobiah. Of course it was inevitable. The mission called for me to live in the palace, the same one where the crown prince lived. But seeing him this soon? Immediately?

  He’d be eighteen by now, learning from his father. It made sense he’d be there. After ten years, would he recognize me? Surely not.

  “Ew.” Melanie wrinkled her nose as one of White Flag’s more pungent odors pressed through the carriage, even with the heavy wool curtains closed. The clatter of wheels and horse hooves beat a headache behind my eyes, and nothing, not even the throbbing in my head, covered the din of shouts and people banging on pots or walls or one another.

  What was I getting into? This had seemed like a good idea months ago when Patrick announced it. Now—now I was going to have to face the man who’d destroyed my kingdom, and the boy who was the reason.

  Gradually, the sounds and smells shifted to boys calling out the latest wraith news and Black Knife sightings, and meats roasting and bread baking. My stomach growled; we’d eaten a small breakfast, but
hadn’t paused for lunch or even a snack on the way here.

  Even so, I’d had more than those refugees outside the city.

  “We must be getting into Thornton,” Melanie said.

  “Need anything while we’re here?” It was a weak joke. Thornton was the high-class district of Skyvale with several sizable markets, and where we did most of our work. The Flags—Black Flag, White Flag, and Red Flag—were easier and less guarded, but it seemed impolite to steal from other poor people.

  Several minutes later, a shadow fell over the windows and the carriage stopped. We’d reached the enormous wall separating Hawksbill and the King’s Seat from the rest of the city. After a few moments of men’s voices at the driver’s box, a guard swung open the door.

  My stomach dropped. They’d caught us already.

  But the guard only checked inside our bags and underneath the benches, then ducked out, all without saying a word. My head buzzed with uncomfortable energy, and the dagger at my back pressed hard into my spine.

  With a rattle, the carriage burst into motion once more. Voices of servants and nobles and guards calling cadence rose above the noise of our vehicle. Cathedral bells pealed in the distance. Every moment brought us closer to Skyvale Palace.

  We’d meet King Terrell.

  I’d see the prince.

  “Are you all right?” Melanie touched my arm. “You look nervous.”

  I twitched a smile. “I do not.”

  “Only to your best friend.” She kept her voice low. “What’s wrong?”

  I couldn’t tell her the whole truth, but she deserved something. “This mission is so important. We need people in Aecor to fight for us when we return. If we can’t find the resistance groups, or we can’t protect them—”

  “I understand.” Melanie kept my gaze for a moment. “We’ll do this. We’ve been training and studying for months. We’re as prepared as we can be.”

  “It’s the things we aren’t prepared for that I’m worried about.”

  “Say it again,” she muttered.

  Shortly, we were deposited at a side entrance to the palace. “So no one gawks at you before you’ve had time to adjust,” explained the driver, all haste to soothe potential offense. He passed us off to a valet, who clutched the envelope with our residency documents, and not very carefully. All our hard work, crushed beneath clumsy hands.

  I maintained an expression between weary refugee, aloof nobility, and awe for the palace’s magnificence.

  And it was a magnificent palace, with gilded friezes and marbled floors. Heavy rugs ran the length of the hall, all blue and gold and patterned with geometric figures. Copper-and-glass oil lamps hung on the walls every several paces. The palace would never be dark.

  Uniformed men kept guard over staterooms and studies, while a handful of lords and ladies made their way through the palace. Some glanced at us, but most hardly seemed to notice our presence.

  Even indoors where they’d do no good against the wraith, there were glass mirrors on every west-facing surface. We turned a corner and I caught my reflection. My face was thin and hard, smudged with dirt and sweat. The coronet I’d braided my hair into was oily and dusty. Brown strands hung loose in places, as though I’d been running. Melanie, with her pale brown skin and black hair, looked the same. We looked horrible, and hungry.

  We looked like refugees.

  “This way, Lady Julianna, Lady Melanie.” The valet gestured toward a heavy oak door, which stood open for our arrival. “His Majesty and His Highness will see you now.”

  “Thank you.” My voice came out raspier than I’d realized it might. Nerves crowded in my throat, and my whole body was shaking.

  In moments, I’d see the man who was responsible for my parents’ deaths. For my kingdom’s destruction. For my stolen childhood.

  In moments, I’d be in the same room with the man I hated most in the world, and I’d have to pretend he was my rescuer.

  When the herald announced us, Melanie and I entered the king’s office.

  The room was well lit with the windows thrown wide. Four men with Indigo Order uniforms stood around the perimeter, their expressions blank. Bodyguards. A middle-aged man in blue livery sat in the corner, writing at a tiny desk.

  The king sat behind a massive desk, and a young man stood beside him.

  My breath caught. Tobiah.

  “This way,” said the valet, beckoning us toward the crowded end of the room. He handed our papers to the secretary, and then exited.

  The herald cleared his throat. “His Majesty Terrell Pierce the Fourth, House of the Dragon, Sovereign of the Indigo Kingdom, and his son, Crown Prince Tobiah Pierce, House of the Dragon, Heir to the Indigo Kingdom.”

  My feet moved. I walked. But I couldn’t look away from Tobiah. His eyes were lowered toward something on his father’s desk. He kept his hands behind his back as he nodded and murmured, and then both the prince and his father looked up.

  King Terrell’s smile flashed in my peripheral vision, but it was Tobiah’s dark gaze that held me.

  He cocked his head and glanced from me to Melanie and back. There was something in his eyes—surely not recognition. It had been almost ten years since the One-Night War, and I was a different person now.

  The crown prince said nothing, though, offering only a slight nod and cautious smile.

  He had no idea who I was. No idea that—because of him—my life was in ruins. And here he was with his palace and father and perfect life. Like the One-Night War had never happened.

  I pushed down those thoughts. I needed to work.

  “Forgive me for not standing to greet you.” King Terrell motioned to a pair of chairs in front of his desk. “Please sit. You must be exhausted.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty.” The words slipped from me without thought, as though I’d never left my own father’s palace. My childhood of court manners hadn’t disappeared, even after ten years.

  Servants held the cushioned chairs for us, then vanished.

  “Lady Julianna. Lady Melanie.” King Terrell offered a grim smile. “I’m sorry that you’ve been forced from your home, and that there was nothing more the Indigo Kingdom could do for Liadia. But I rejoice in your presence here. We’d been informed that there were no more survivors. I couldn’t be more glad for incorrect intelligence.”

  We both thanked him again.

  “Tell me,” said the crown prince. “Why did no one in Liadia evacuate? Everyone knew the wraith was coming, surely.”

  Was that a test? Could he suspect?

  I repeated the information I’d learned from refugees. “Of course everyone knew that the wraith was coming.” I bit back more venom. A little indignity at his question would be natural for Julianna, but lashing out at Tobiah was unwise. I softened my tone. “Of course everyone knew. For months before the wraith arrived, the weather grew more intense. Winter was colder. Summer was hotter. On clear nights, we could see the glow of wraith on the western horizon.”

  The room was so, so quiet.

  “We knew it was coming. And so, the royal scholars and philosophers studied and tested and worked until they announced they had found a way to protect the kingdom. Because he trusted their efforts, His Majesty promised safety for the kingdom, but many didn’t believe. They left anyway, so martial law was declared, and borders were closed to keep more people from fleeing.” I let my voice sink. “As you already know, the barrier erected did little to halt the wraith.”

  Seconds ticked by on the large clock on the king’s desk, and the prince gazed downward, studying his father. I urged myself to sink deeper into the Julianna Whitman persona. I’d been over her stories. I’d practiced her mannerisms. Wilhelmina Korte’s feelings didn’t matter right now.

  “Is there anything else you can tell me about your journey here?” King Terrell’s voice was weak. Raspy. “An account of the state of the wraithland would be useful in our own efforts to mitigate its effects.”

  I tore my gaze from the prince and focu
sed on his father. Both men were tall and slender, with dark hair and eyes, but the similarities ended there.

  The king’s face was sunken in, and dark hollows had carved permanent places around his eyes. He was too young to have such wrinkles.

  King Terrell was sick, probably had been sick for some time. And he wasn’t getting better.

  The prince stayed close to his father’s side, his hands clasped behind his back. He looked . . . resigned.

  This man—this king who’d stolen not just my land, but my parents and childhood as well—was dying. Emotions thundered up inside of me: anger and disgust and a faint sort of satisfaction. He had destroyed everything I loved. Now, he was finally getting what he deserved.

  Melanie touched my arm. A subtle reminder that still looked as though she was comforting me.

  “I understand how important your wraith mitigation efforts are.” As I began my tale, a pair of servants moved a small table next to me and poured glasses of pale wine. A plate of crackers and cheeses appeared, as well, and at the king’s encouraging nod, we ate. “At first it seemed like the barrier might work. There’d been testing, of course, and we were told that there were pockets of unaffected land in the wraithland, thanks to smaller experimental barriers. When the wraith reached Liadia, it seemed the barrier was going to work.”

  “I remember the announcement,” said King Terrell.

  “It was almost a year before the barrier fell. Half the kingdom was flooded with wraith overnight. The beasts attacked. The air was—it was—” I drew a shuddering breath and slumped, allowing the Pierces to witness a moment of unguarded weakness.

  Melanie reached for my hands. Everyone’s expressions softened.

  “Forgive me,” I whispered, dropping my gaze to my knees. “Everything happened so quickly. So many people were killed. Even our own guards. If not for the help of two men from the kennels, we’d have perished as well.” I lowered my eyes, letting my expression fall still and grave. It was easy to show grief; all I had to do was think of my parents slaughtered in a courtyard.