The Queen Maker

by Kristen Gupton

  It wasn’t any better, however.

  Athan materialized out of the shadows, but he stayed a respectful distance away, giving the woman a faint smile. “There’s my girl.”

  She pressed her back against the fence, body tensing down as her fear intensified. Her hand shook as it moved toward the hunting knife she’d brought out with her. “Lord Vercilla, what are you doing here?”

  “Don’t bother with the knife, you can’t hurt me, nor am I here to harm you,” he said, holding his hands out, palms up.

  Aware of the powers the vampire wielded, his gesture wasn’t reassuring at all, and her left hand remained on the handle of the knife.

  She stared at him, defiance trying to push past her fear. “Again, what are you doing here?”

  “Thana,” he sighed, shaking his head, “I wanted to see what sort of condition you were returning to the castle in, that is all.”

  “Much like I left it, aside from this,” she said, lifting up her right arm a bit.

  Athan shook his head and took in a few long breaths, sampling the air. He’d kept his word and hadn’t checked in on any of them while they’d been outside of Tordania. The vampire hadn’t been certain what the Sadoris might have subjected her to, and he’d only wanted to make sure Thana hadn’t returned impregnated. He smiled to himself, sensing she wasn’t. A child from anyone but Keiran wasn’t in his plans.

  Thana watched him and grew uncomfortable in the protracted silence. Her mind raced to think of any reason for Athan’s appearance. “Was it you who told Farin to come after me? Do you have some intention of harming me?”

  “No, not at all.” Athan narrowed his eyes, his words honest for the time being. Though Thana wasn’t pregnant, she was recovering from a major injury and needed some of the stress in her life alleviated. “Farin was acting on his own, with the permission of your mother.”

  “Sorna isn’t my mother.”

  He shrugged and looked to the side, disinterested in her family dynamic. “Regardless, he was after you to force you into marriage with Sorna’s consent. He was a pathetic, lonely man who figured his only prospect to get a woman into his bed was to steal one.”

  “But Keiran passed the law giving me my independence from Sorna’s wishes,” Thana countered, her head cocking to the side. While her reservations about Athan being there hadn’t abated, the conversation got her interest.

  “And Farin and Sorna figured you could be taken away and wed by a priest who’d not yet received the news about parental rights over the unwed being erased,” he said.

  Whatever fleeting bonds Thana may have still held for the woman were cut by Athan’s words. She stood taller and frowned. “She was condoning such a thing with Farin?”

  “Well, yes.” Athan gave a snort, sensing her let go of her emotional ties to the woman. He wanted Thana to only hold loyalty to Keiran, and it didn’t appear to need much work to get her there.

  The vampire locked gazes with her, his hands gesturing before him. “But, you don’t need to worry about that. I killed Farin.”

  Thana blinked and knit her brow. “You killed him? Over me?”

  “Mostly you,” he replied, shrugging again, “but not completely. He had it coming.”

  Thana looked down at the ground. After what she’d been through recently, she couldn’t find it in her heart to mourn Farin’s death, and it almost worried her. Not knowing what to say, she sighed.

  Athan saw into her mind easily enough as the girl wasn’t aware he was prying into her thoughts and had no way to stop him. “Now, do me a favor and get back inside. I think your days of being out alone like this are over. Being with the king makes you a ripe target as already demonstrated.”

  She flashed a glance toward him and gave up a small nod.

  Athan saw she was going to comply. He offered her another smile before he turned and started to walk away. “To bed with you, Thana.”

  Her eyes remained fixed on Athan, wanting to make certain he wasn’t going to turn around and come back for her. With his dark clothing, he seemed to fade out into the night, disappearing all together. The sound of a bird taking flight cut through the quiet, but Thana disregarded it. She turned and hurried back to Keiran’s tent, done with her excursion.

  When she returned, Keiran lifted his head while she settled in next to him once more. “Everything all right?”

  She pressed in and closed her eyes, trying to calm her nerves. “Athan was out there.”

  Keiran instantly tried to move as his instincts lit up, but Thana put her left hand in the middle of his chest and caused him to stop.

  He looked at her. “What did he say? What does he want?”

  “He said he killed Farin,” she replied, trying to keep her voice quiet enough to avoid waking Jerris. “He’s gone now. Go back to sleep.”

  Lying down again, Keiran sighed. He was wide awake after hearing Athan’s name, and he wasn’t thrilled the other vampire had paid Thana a visit. Athan’s claim he’d killed Farin wasn’t unwelcome, however.

  After learning of the sentry’s deeds, Keiran had resolved to do the same. “I suppose that saves me the trouble.”

  ***

  Keiran struggled to find a moment alone with Kanan the following day as they traveled, but he eventually managed. They walked away from the camp together, looking for firewood to get them through the night. They were again in the mountains and into the snow. While no more of it had fallen over the past few days, it was still bitterly cold out.

  Once far enough from the camp to make it safe, Keiran stopped and faced the elder guard. “I need to talk to you about something.”

  He stopped and looked at the king, giving up a nod. “Go on then.”

  “The sentry, Farin Edmund, confronted Thana before she left the castle. He told her he was a Church Knight, and that they intended to harm her,” he said, keeping his voice low.

  Kanan scowled and stepped closer. “That worthless sloth was nothing of the sort, of that I can assure you. While I don’t know the identities of all the other Knights, there is no way he is amongst our ranks.”

  “As I suspected, but that’s why she ran and followed us. She feared what he or the others might do to her.”

  He huffed and rolled his eyes, openly showing the contempt he’d always felt for Farin. “He’s worthless. I’ve always known he was a rat. Your father only made him a sentry because his father was Turis Lee’s favorite tax collector. He was a ruthless, horrid little man, just like Farin. For falsely claiming to be a Church Knight, he will most likely end up dead, not that I believe you will mourn him.”

  “You won’t get the chance, it would seem.”

  Kanan cocked a brow. “What, are you intending to do it?”

  “No, Athan paid Thana a visit last night, and he told her he’d already killed Farin,” he replied.

  “Why would Athan care? What investment in it did he have?” Kanan asked.

  For that, Keiran didn’t have an answer, and he shrugged.

  The elder guard thought about it for a moment before walking off and continuing the hunt for firewood. “He won’t be missed, and I’ll even give Lord Vercilla some credit for it. Now, unless we wish to freeze to death, let’s get on with it.”

  Chapter 11

  When the war party finally rode back into Tordan Lea, there was little fanfare. No news had traveled back to the town regarding the activities on the border. The citizenry was not well apprised of the situation, but those who saw the king and his guards returning stopped and watched them ride by with curiosity.

  Keiran ordered their convoy to stop at the cathedral before heading up the road toward the castle. Kanan had protested this, only wanting to get home and relax. While the conflict had been relatively short lived, Kanan had seen enough to cause many of his old mental traumas to resurface.

  The vampire wasn’t unsympathetic to Kanan’s issues, but seeing Father Beezle immediately was important. He slid from the saddle before the great cathedral and took the stairs toward
the entryway two at a time.

  Father Randall Beezle was in his study, quietly reading over a letter he’d received from one of his parishioners. His small glasses were perched on the tip of his nose, his head occasionally nodding as he read. His attention snapped away from the correspondence, however, when Keiran walked through the door.

  The Tordanian King strode right up to Father Beezle’s wooden desk, and he sat down the cuff Thana had worn before the elderly man with a heavy hand.

  The priest’s pale-blue eyes examined the item momentarily, seeing the dried blood that still covered most of its surface. He looked up at Keiran uneasily, not quite able to read the other man’s expression. “Hello, Keiran. What is this about? You’re back from the fight already?”

  Keiran wasn’t smiling, though there seemed to be an undercurrent of excitement within him. He waved his hands over the bracer, not letting his gaze wander from the priest. “The Sadoris are gone, Father Beezle. What I have here is extremely important. Do you have any idea what this item is?”

  As soft hearted as he was, Father Beezle had no desire to look at the blood-encrusted object again. He simply shook his head.

  “Then let me explain.” Keiran reached backward and pulled one of the two chairs before the priest’s desk to him, sitting down and leaning forward. “This is what is called an Asashi Awari. These are only given out by the Sadori emperor himself and placed onto the right arms of the so-called asashis, or Sadori Queens. Its name translates to Queen Maker.”

  Randall forced himself to look at the heavy bracer again, giving up a small nod. He remembered something detailing the Sadori system of government, having read up on it during their previous invasions. “I’ve heard of something to that effect, but I’ve never seen one. How in the world did you come to possess it? They don’t let their queens leave their empire.”

  “No, indeed they don’t,” Keiran replied with a nod. “It was taken out of the country by an asashi who escaped the palace. Unfortunately for her, once she crossed the border, it activated and cut her hand off.”

  Randall’s eyes went wide with horror, watching as Keiran reached out and turned the wrist end of the cuff toward him, showing the closed blades.

  The priest’s eyes immediately welled up, his profound level of empathy for the suffering of others flooding in. “Oh dear God, the poor woman… Did she survive going through such a terrible thing?”

  “Aye, she lived.” Keiran could see the pain in Father Beezle’s eyes, and he took no pleasure in it. He knew the old man was sensitive, but this was a conversation he couldn’t have with anyone else. “Now, the question is if a Sadori woman was given one of these and made a queen, would that qualify her for marriage to a noble of our country?”

  “But the Sadoris don’t allow marriages of their titled nobility to anyone, much less to foreigners,” Randall answered, cocking his head to the side.

  “Aye, I understand that, but she left the Sador Empire, never to return. She is no longer subject to their laws. So again, I ask, would a Sadori Queen meet the requirements for me to wed?” Keiran asked, clasping his hands together before his chest, hinting at his desperation.

  Father Beezle sat back and pulled off his glasses. “Not long ago, you were asking if there was a way for you to wed a peasant, and now you have moved onto a Sadori Queen?”

  “I know it seems like an utter mess, and perhaps it’s a long shot,” the vampire said, his nerves making it extremely difficult to remain seated. “But again, for the sake of simplicity right in this moment, would a Sadori Queen meet the requirements of marriage to Tordanian royalty?”

  “Well, if she was given the title and was therefore qualified to be involved in the Sadori government…” Father Beezle looked to the side and shrugged his shoulders.

  The fact Keiran was asking to wed someone from their country’s adversary caused him some unease. Still, he couldn’t justifiably say no. “Given that we don’t discriminate between royalty of other nations when it comes to how they attain their title, eh… Yes, I would say that technically, she would qualify.”

  Keiran let out a long-held breath and flopped back into the chair, his relief overwhelming. “Oh, thank God. Father Beezle, you have no idea how happy you’ve just made me.”

  “Again, this seems to be an awfully sudden change of heart, Keir,” the priest said. “I know you’re a man of fairly high-running emotions, but something like this is just not normal for you.”

  “It wouldn’t be,” Keiran agreed as he stood up and picked up the bracer, “except the peasant I spoke of before and this Sadori Asashi are the same woman, and she has the missing hand to prove it.”

  Randall’s eyes went wide as Thana moved into view, slowly walking into the room. She cradled her injured wrist with her left hand, approaching his desk. She offered the priest a small bow, stopping beside Keiran’s chair.

  The aged priest got up, nearly toppling his chair in the process. He scurried around and came to Thana, placing his hands over his mouth as he looked at her unbandaged wrist. “God bless you, girl, such a terrible injury!”

  Thana offered him a sad smile. She loved the priest dearly, having met with him many times during his visits to the castle. “It’s all right, I’m healing up well enough.”

  Father Beezle looked her over carefully, slowly giving a knowing nod.

  His eyes turned to Keiran. “The girl never looked like Sorna or Quig, and when they first brought her here to the church for her birth blessing…”

  Keiran’s eyes narrowed. “You knew she was adopted?”

  Randall smiled, giving a quiet laugh. “My boy, I did my first assignment as parish priest in Lodain. I’m familiar enough with Sadoris to have questioned Quig about her origins the first time he brought her to the cathedral. I know her story, I just didn’t realize it was her you spoke of before.”

  The vampire put his arm around Thana’s shoulders, looking down at her. “Well, it is her, and with your permission, Father Beezle, I would like to wed her and make her my queen.”

  Randall reached up with his hands, placing one on Keiran’s shoulder, the other on Thana’s. “Aye, I’ll allow it. I can begin preparations for it immediately.”

  Thana smiled and shook her head. “I’m excited for this, but if I could be given just enough time to heal up first, it would be appreciated.”

  Keiran and Father Beezle looked at each other, both nodding in agreement.

  ***

  It wasn’t long after when Thana and Keiran walked into the castle. Jerris had taken his leave, heading off with his father to reorganize the guards within the castle.

  Thana retreated to her room to rest, worn out from their travels. Her arm continued to heal well, though the pain still lingered. She treated it religiously per Arin’s instructions, afraid what might happen to her if she didn’t.

  Keiran walked her to the entrance of the servants’ wing, offering up a small kiss before parting with her. He watched her go, smiling to himself. The notion he was going to be allowed to marry her had put him into an excellent mood. After she was out of sight, he turned and headed for the throne room, aware he would have visitors as soon as the news of his return spread.

  Upon entering the throne room, he found Corina there, already waiting. He walked directly to her, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  The old woman smiled up at him, relieved. She didn’t yet know the details of what had transpired. “Well, Keir, I suppose my worry about you going was unjustified.”

  He gave her a lopsided smile and moved to sit down on the steps leading up to the throne. Keiran leaned back onto the step behind him and let his legs stretch out. He was sore and stiff from spending so many days riding, not accustomed to covering the distance he’d traveled.

  “Perhaps it was,” he said.

  He studied her for a moment and noticed she had her hands knotted up before her chest as she tended to do when something was wrong.

  While he’d been eager to tell her about his plans
with Thana, he focused on her for the time being. “You don’t seem particularly relaxed to have me home.”

  She shook her head and landed beside him slowly. Corina arranged her dress around her before turning sideways to look at him. “Aye, there is something I need to talk to you about.”

  He nodded, urging her to go on.

  “Several nights ago, Athan paid me a visit.”

  Keiran frowned. “He also paid a visit to Thana the other night, telling her he’d killed Farin.”

  “Aye, he did. I was there,” she said, looking down at her hands.

  Aware of Corina’s fear of Athan, the notion of the other vampire coming to the castle while he was away didn’t sit well. He tensed his jaw several times, displeased Corina had witnessed the killing.

  “Farin’s death happened in your presence?”

  She nodded. “I suppose Thana told you of Farin’s actions that caused her to leave the castle?”

  “Aye, of course.”

  Corina turned her eyes toward the ceiling, trying to keep her composure. While she hadn’t liked Farin in the least, witnessing his death had disturbed her deeply. “He went missing the day after Thana departed, and I feared he followed her. When the weather turned, he gave up and came back. He figured out I was the only one Thana told of his intentions, so he came to kill me.”

  His eyes went wide, and he sat up straight. “That worthless bastard!”

  She placed a hand on Keiran’s leg. “Aye, but Athan foresaw it and came to spare me. He confronted Farin and then killed him. While I’m quite glad he saved me, seeing what he did…”

  Keiran reached down to place a hand over Corina’s. He could only imagine how Athan had gone about killing the sentry. It was best not to ask the old woman to recount the details of it, he supposed.

  “I don’t know why Athan would spare my life, but he did,” she said, closing her eyes. “I learned something through it, though.”