by Emma Fenton
“If I’m not mistaken,” Peryn said, amusement curling at his lips. “I think he just called you a who—”
“I’m well aware of what he called me,” she said. Heat rushed to her cheeks, and she fought down the bitter hatred that bubbled up at any reminder of Mikhael.
Peryn hummed. She could feel him watching her, but he mercifully said nothing. They returned to reading in silence, but Ria’s mind was only half-focused on the task. All she could think about was how unfair it all was. She had followed the rules of propriety throughout her engagement with Mikhael, yet she was being treated like a cast-aside mistress. It doesn’t matter what other people think, she told herself forcefully. You don’t need their approval.
Ria turned her attention back to the pile in front of her. There were a few that had nothing terribly offensive in them, though Duke Keffleton was wordy and dull, and Lord Eero Inkeri’s Helish was far from perfect. They would do for now, Ria supposed. They didn’t have to be perfect, just tolerable.
She skimmed over yet another letter and blanched, eyes squeezing shut as if she could easily erase what she’d just read from her mind, before quickly balling it up and tossing it into the fire.
Peryn watch with some amusement. “What this time?”
Ria flushed. “He was extremely detailed about what he, uh, imagined our…wedding night might be like.”
Peryn’s lip curled. “Presumptuous much?”
“I thought he’d be your type, given how eager you were to proposition me the other night.” She side-eyed the demon, giving him an unimpressed look. “Should I have saved his address for you?”
“Excuse you,” he said in mock offense. “It’s completely different.”
“Is it?”
“That man is a total stranger.”
Ria gaped at him. “You’re a total stranger, too.”
“Ah, but we’re bound together by magic.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “We’re closer than most married couples. He hasn’t even met you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Have you found anything less vile over there?”
“This one’s boring. No insults. No weirdly intimate declarations of love,” Peryn said, holding up a lovely piece of cream parchment. “It’s not even a proposal. Just a cordial congratulations on your coronation from King Mikhael and Queen Oksana of Anor.”
Ria froze. Mikhael knew then. It had been in the back of her mind that he might have never gotten her letter pleading for his help. Now, after ignoring her, he was sending her his congratulations. King Mikhael and Queen Oksana. And he was married, apparently. To someone who wasn’t her.
“Ria?” The demon was staring at her, clearly confused by her reaction.
She’d thought she was over Mikhael, and maybe she was, but this letter from him was salt in the wound. He was married. He had moved on. And like everyone else, he didn’t care about Ria until she had become queen. It felt like he was just rubbing the fact that he didn’t love her in her face all over again. I bet the Council put this letter in here on purpose, she thought. I bet Nasir wanted to make sure I saw it.
“Do you know them?” Peryn asked. He was watching her face closely and though Ria prayed that she was giving nothing away, he seemed to find an answer anyway. “You do.”
“I don’t want to talk about them,” she said rather snappishly. Hopefully Peryn would take the hint. She didn’t want to think about Mikhael anymore, and especially not around a demon who would see her weakness and use it against her.
“What? Why?” He held the letter out to her as if she would understand after reading it herself. “They seem nice.”
“Nice?” she spat, half incredulous and half fury. “Nice? By that logic, the Council is nice. A venomous snake with its fangs lodged firmly in your leg is nice. You, a demon, are nice compared to him.”
With each word, Peryn’s eyebrows climbed higher on his forehead. “With the way you speak of him, it’s a wonder you didn’t kill him instead of that sister of yours.”
“A tempting thought,” Ria said through gritted teeth. The image of his still, unmoving form flooded through her mind, but it was dissatisfying. Lacking. Mikhael’s death would accomplish nothing. She didn’t want him gone, she just wanted him to see how wrong he’d been. She wanted him to stop acting as if nothing had ever occurred between them. She wanted him to apologize—no, it was more than that. She wanted to see him reduced to less than nothing for the way he’d treated her. Ria wanted revenge, and death wouldn’t be nearly enough.
“What did he do?” Peryn asked, his eyes watching her with interest. “Kill your family? Try to take over the country? Slaughter babies?”
There was a pause, and for a moment, Ria thought that the demon might let the issue drop. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. His head was tilted just slightly to the side, dark eyes narrowed and scanning her face, lips parted slightly as if he was ready to speak the very moment he uncovered the answer he was searching for. It was unnerving to be analyzed that closely. She felt that if he stared at her long enough, he could uncover her every secret, every thought that she tried so desperately to keep to herself.
“Or is it simpler?” he asked almost entirely to himself, his eyes never leaving her own. Ria couldn’t tear her gaze away. “A petty childhood grievance, I wonder? Maybe he’s a liar. Maybe you feel deceived by him. You’re very prideful at times, Ria.”
Too close, Ria thought. Peryn was just a half-step shy of the truth, because yes, Mikhael had lied. He had deceived her. And she had played the part of the fool brilliantly. Mikhael had made her feel stupid. Weak.
And then Peryn’s eyes flicked to the other letters on the desk and back up to Ria, his lips pressing into a smug smirk. “An unrequited love, perhaps?”
“Get. Out.”
Her voice was quiet: a whisper, but steady. She wasn’t looking at him now, her eyes focused just to the left of him on the wall behind his head. Ria knew if she looked at him now—if she saw that self-satisfied expression on his face—she would do something regrettable like breaking his nose. Only regrettable because I would break my own in the process.
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
He’s a demon. She had almost forgotten that fact. He’d seemed so human sitting there as he sorted through her letters. For a moment, he’d been bearable, almost likeable even. And then he’d ruined it.
“I said get out,” she snarled with a viciousness that was entirely unlike her. Almost instantly, she felt a twinge of guilt in her chest—it wasn’t Peryn’s fault, really, that Mikhael was such a sore subject—but she stamped it down. Why should she be concerned about hurting his feelings? He obviously hasn’t been concerned about mine.
Peryn smirked. “Touchy, touchy.” He stood, brushing invisible dust from his black clothing, and stepped towards the shadows. “Don’t forget what you owe me, Ria.”
He faded into the darkness, evaporating into the shadows themselves. Ria glared at the spot where he’d stood only a moment ago, torn between wanting to laugh and wanting to cry. He still couldn’t physically harm her, no, but there were other ways to make a person hurt, and he’d just found one of hers.
***
The Council was late and Ria did not appreciate being kept waiting. If her earlier meeting with them had not already made it abundantly clear how little they respected her authority, this certainly did. Alone in the Council’s meeting room, Ria tapped her foot, unable to contain the angry, jittery energy she’d been feeling since she’d read Mikhael’s letter. What she needed more than anything was a distraction.
She had considered going to see the Elder Scholar earlier. They still hadn’t talked since before Ria’s fight with Jaya, and Ria knew that they desperately needed to have a conversation about everything that had happened—and everything that could happen in the future. But the truth of the matter was that facing the Elder Scholar meant admitting that she’d made a deal with a demon and was now stuck with him. Ria wasn’t exactly looking forward to that.
Running a country will keep me plenty busy, she told herself. Or it will once the gods-damned Council gives me the documents I asked for.
As if on cue, the door to the Council’s chamber burst open and in strode the three Councilmen. Not one of them had the grace to look abashed by their tardiness, Ria noted. In fact, Nasir looked a little bit too pleased.
“Apologies, your majesty,” he said, barely glancing in her direction. Ria wondered if he was intentionally trying to make sure she saw his insincerity, or if he really was just an idiot. “I hope you were not waiting long.”
“Long enough,” she said. “I presume you have what I asked for this morning.”
Paavo shifted nervously. “Most of it, your majesty. Here are the budget reports and the trade records.”
He pushed a thick stack of parchment towards her. At a glance, Ria could tell that the print was small and smudged in places. It would be a nightmare to work through, but she didn’t trust anyone on the Council to make an accurate report on the data. She’d have to do it herself.
“Where are the files detailing our nation’s wealth?”
Nasir frowned at her as if he did not understand. “Your majesty? The budget reports are included.”
Once again, she couldn’t tell if he was being purposefully dense for the sake of pissing her off, or if he really didn’t know what she was talking about. Ria suspected the former. Nasir, as much as she hated him, was a clever, slimy man who kept his cards close to his chest. He probably thought giving her access to Helhath’s fortune would bring ruin to the nation.
“This morning I also asked for someone to catalogue the contents of the vaults,” she explained, her patience thinning. Before she could continue, Nasir interrupted.
“There is no such report.”
Ria raised a single eyebrow at him. “Then commission one. And while you’re at it, have someone estimate the net value of our natural resources. I want to know what my country is worth.”
“Of course, your majesty.” Nasir scribbled a note on a small piece of parchment. He offered her a small, condescending smile. “Anything else we seem to have forgotten?”
Ria sighed. If she was going to have to repeat herself every time she gave an order, this was going to become tiresome very quickly. Why couldn’t they just do what she asked the first time? Why did they refuse to take her authority seriously? It would have to be fixed; she just wasn’t sure how.
“The visit to our military facilities?” she asked.
“I really don’t see why—” Vili started, but Ria silenced him with a look.
“Is Helhath not founded on strength?” she asked, her voice deceptively calm. “Or did you merely use that as a justification for the antiquated practice of fighting to the death for the throne?”
The room was utterly silent for a moment as Ria let her words settle. The three men had finally seemed to run out of smart responses and were at a loss for what to say. Satisfaction burst in her chest. She’d never seen them flounder for an answer before. She’d never once seen the Council completely thrown off their game. This, she thought, fighting to keep a smile from her face. This is the power I was looking for.
It was short lived.
“Well said, your majesty,” Lord Izan said as he glided into the Council’s meeting chamber like he had every right to be there. He offered her a bow: shallow but still respectful.
Ria watched him cautiously as he took a seat next to Paavo. He was up to something. He had to be. Izan was never respectful to anyone, at least not genuinely, and he had never been anything other than mocking towards Ria. His sudden switch in behavior likely had to do with Ria’s swift change in position, of course. But surely he knows my favor won’t be swayed so easily, she thought.
“Lord Izan,” she greeted as genially as she could manage. “I wasn’t anticipating your presence at this meeting.”
Izan looked surprised. “I thought Paavo might have told you? We spoke earlier regarding your request to view the army. As I am more familiar with it than any of your Council, he believed I would be more suited to the task.”
“We were just broaching the topic, actually,” Paavo said with a small nod.
Ria hummed. “Tell me, then. When can I visit my soldiers?”
“The outpost by the harbor may be visited at your leisure. A full day’s notice is all that is required.” Izan’s smile shifted into something that would have looked apologetic if Ria had actually thought him capable of such an emotion. “But, as I’m sure your majesty knows, the other outposts are quite some distance away. A longer trip could be scheduled, should you wish to visit them all. And of course, there are some lords who train their own troops, which are also pledged to the throne to use in battle. It would take a significant amount of time to make the arrangements for such a trip.”
“How long would a comprehensive tour take?” Ria asked. She had not, in fact, known that lords were allowed their own troops, but she wasn’t about to tell Izan that. She didn’t necessarily want to visit all the lords at their homes where they had the advantage. On the few occasions that she’d actually spoken with the gentry, they’d been either rude and intolerable, or otherwise pandering to her and intolerable.
“To do so in a tasteful manner,” Izan said, pausing to make the necessary rudimentary calculations, “I would say quite probably two or three months.”
Ria resisted the urge to cringe. Such a trip would demand lavish parties with dances and feasts, probably a few tournaments for the lords to show off their soldiers’ talents and would require Ria to constantly engage with people. That in itself would be exhausting even if she didn’t consider the strain of travel. The idea of spending days on end in cramped carriages was far from appealing. And then there was the issue of leaving Helhath essentially unmanaged for the duration of the trip. There was too much that had to be done for her to take a long break like that.
“Something to consider for another time,” Ria said. She took a moment to note the way Vili seemed to sag in relief. She held in a snort. Knowing Vili, he probably thought the whole trip would be a waste of time. Vili had always been the first to remind everyone that Ria was still a child; despite the fact that she was now queen, he probably still saw her that way. Even after my performance in the fighting pit, he still won’t believe that I know what I’m doing, she thought. “For now, I would like to arrange a visit to the harbor outpost. You said it would not take more than a day’s notice?”
Izan nodded at her request. “Whenever it pleases your majesty.”
“Sometime within the month, then.” Ria watched him for any sign of his usual behavior—a sneer or a muttered insult under his breath—but there was nothing. It was almost driving her mad. He was acting like an entirely different person towards her, and the Council was content with pretending this was normal. “In lieu of visiting the other outposts, I should like to receive a written report regarding numbers and the state of my soldiers’ training. Lord Izan, would you be amenable to overseeing this project?”
The only hint that he was surprised was the slight widening of his brown eyes, but this time Ria suspected the emotion was genuine. He didn’t expect this show of trust, she noted. It only furthered her suspicions.
“I would be honored, your majesty.”
Ria was uncomfortable with the look Izan was giving her. There was some amount of pride there in the way his shoulders were pulled back, his head held high. Is it the illusion of trust which makes him so happy? Or that he thinks he’s tricked me? But w
hat was truly unexpected was the smile he was giving her. It was decidedly unnerving, even more so because she could not fathom what would convince Izan to don such an expression.
She smiled at him despite the way her stomach roiled to do so. If she was going to play along with the Council’s ridiculous demands and now this confusing display of loyalty from Izan, she was going to commit to the act. Let them underestimate me. Let them think they’re winning, she told herself. Patience.
“I thank you for your time,” she said. It was a clear dismissal, one that Izan would have surely once refused. He stood without complaint, though, bowed and exited the chamber with little fanfare. Just more proof that he’s playing the long game, Ria thought. Good thing I am too.
“Now that’s all settled,” Vili said, clearing his throat. “You have prepared a shortlist of eligible candidates?”
“For marriage,” Nasir clarified unnecessarily. He smiled politely at her, but she didn’t miss the dig. Ria ignored him. Now was not the time for petty vengeance. She had a role to play.
“I have.” Ria pulled out the three letters she’d deemed passable and passed them to the Council. She still had no intention of marrying any of the men, but hopefully this would provide a suitable distraction for the Council. And truthfully, the candidates she had picked did not seem all that bad. She could probably feign affection between them long enough to convince the Council that she was taking their request seriously before finding convenient excuses for why none of them were truly viable options as kings. It would at least buy her some time to come up with a more permanent solution.
“Duke Robney Keffleton from Moruna,” Vili read aloud as he skimmed the letter.
Nasir snorted. “Moruna? That prairie wasteland?”
“He’s wealthy,” Paavo reminded his Councilmen. “And the Keffletons are a good family no matter what you might think of their homeland, Nasir.”
“Ah good,” Vili said, interrupting whatever tangent Nasir was about to embark on. “I had rather hoped you would consider Prince Feodor. He’s a second son, naturally, but still quite well-placed in global politics.”
