[fan] diviners trilogy - complete series

by Nicolette Andrews

  Then finally it came my turn to speak.

  “Lady Diranel, we would hear your account.” Arlene motioned for me to move forward. Damara grabbed my shoulders and squeezed before I stepped forward to give my testimony.

  I stood before the lords and faced Arlene with my back to the former queen and the crowd. My body trembled, and I held my hands close to my hips to hide their shaking.

  “Your Majesty, my lords, many of you know who I am and what I am. For those of you who do not, I am Maea Diranel, the last of the Diranel diviners.” There was a small gasp from the minor lords and the common folk alike. I continued on, “I was exiled from my homeland of Danhad because I knew too much. I learned of a plot to bring both Neaux and Danhad under one rule, the rule of King Adair of Danhad. When I came here seeking asylum, I discovered that the plots had already reached your kingdom as well. Celeste D’Aux plotted with King Adair to hand him the Neaux throne. She conspired with him and her companions to kill King Reginald and King Reynard in order to make way for a new king—a Danhadine king.”

  The people shouted and cursed me and my people. I did not turn around. I addressed the lords who were scrutinizing me; Arlene watched me intently.

  I took another deep breath. “But I must beg you, Your Majesty and lords of the council. Despite what Celeste has done, I must ask that her life be spared.”

  The voices were shouting now, and my own voice was drowned out. Many people had jumped up and were arguing. I chanced a glance at Celeste, and she was smiling at me. The knowing look on her face made my stomach turn. I could not ask for this woman’s blood on my hands, not after so many were dead because of me.

  After much shouting, Arlene regained control once again. “Celeste, do you deny this woman’s claims?”

  Celeste smiled at me again and said, “What she said is true.”

  The crowd irrupted again, but the shouts were much more easily squashed this time. I was dismissed, and I returned to my companions. I felt ready to collapse and swayed a bit. Beau came up and let me lean against his shoulder. I glanced at him, but his expression gave nothing away.

  “Who will speak in this woman’s defense?” Arlene addressed the crowd.

  There was a deafening silence following Arlene’s question. No one would step forward to defend a woman who had proclaimed herself a traitor.

  “If none will defend her, then I will make my judgment.”

  I was shocked. Should she not confer with her council first? Decide on a fit punishment? And then I saw the determined set of Arlene’s jaw. She had come to her decision before the trial had even begun.

  “I declare Celeste D’Aux guilty of all charges. You shall be beheaded at dawn.”

  Chapter Two

  The crowd chattered angrily, voices overlapping one another. Some demanded leniency—they called for exile instead of death. Others argued for the harshest punishment available. My head was swimming. She ordered her own mother’s execution. Did I choose wrong in helping her win this crown? Hands were at my shoulder steadying me. I glanced up at Beau; he looked down at me with a solemn expression.

  “We should leave before they tear one another apart,” he murmured.

  I nodded my agreement. Beside me, Damara and Elenna were crowding behind Hilliard, who was forcing a path through the crowd. I joined the other women, and we huddled close together as Beau followed behind. Despite our escort, we were jostled about as the common folk came to blows. Beau’s blade sang as he unsheathed it. Those that saw took a step back and forgot their arguing for a moment and let us pass through. Once we were in the corridor outside the double doors, I inhaled deeply.

  “I think it best if we adjourn to our chambers until matters have been settled within,” Damara announced.

  We all agreed and headed towards our apartments. The news travelled before us, and the palace hummed with the news of Celeste’s execution. The reactions were mixed. Celeste had been favored at court, but her apparent role in the murder of two kings also made her an enemy—the servants and minor courtiers did not seem to know what to think.

  I wrung my hands and worried about the future. It was critical for Arlene to hold the throne. No matter what her decree, I did not think her people would willingly place Marie-Celeste on the throne, not only for her gender but her ill health. Unless a better candidate could be found, that meant Sabine’s son would inherit the throne. She had yet to give birth, but I knew from my vision that she and Adair would have a son.

  Arlene had to keep her people’s love. It was the only way to prevent another revolt. Killing a beloved former queen, no matter her crimes, did not warrant love and respect. It engendered fear. The bloody queen was whispered about in the halls since the day she had taken the throne in a bloody battle, and it had only been justified by the string of hangings and beheadings that had followed her rise to the throne.

  Once we were back in the apartment that I shared with Elenna, we shut the door behind us, and I sank into one of the seats. I covered my face with my hands. We needed to leave sooner rather than later. I could feel Johai growing stronger, pulling me to stop him. However, if I left Neaux like this, it would only leave a festering wound vulnerable to infection. I had stopped Adair’s plan by helping Arlene take the throne, but I had only made things worse. Arlene is not the queen I thought she would be. I was no diplomat to help heal the wounds of this country.

  “She made a foolish decision in condemning her mother,” Damara said. She sat across from me on the opposite couch, her hands folded in her lap.

  Everyone looked at Damara. I was not surprised she had spoken her mind thusly. She had always been direct with her thoughts.

  “Celeste would have done the same if the places were reversed,” Beau said as he leaned against the far wall facing the door. He appeared at ease, but his hand was resting on the pommel of his sword.

  Damara shook her head and placed a hand to her chest. “I cannot imagine a mother would do something like that to her child.”

  “Whether or not Celeste would have done the same is irrelevant. The matter at hand is how to recover from Arlene’s blunder? She is obviously impulsive and led by her emotions, but there must be some way to make her seem less bloodthirsty,” Hilliard said. He glanced around the room at all of us, waiting for anyone to add their thoughts.

  “There remains the matter of Danhad. Arlene has yet to call a council about possible retaliation towards Danhad for their involvement in the revolt,” I replied. “Do you think she could be persuaded to sign a new treaty?”

  Everyone was thoughtful for a moment, and then Elenna spoke up. “I find it unlikely that a woman who would execute her own mother would be open to peace talks.”

  My stomach sank at the thought. I had done everything in my power to stop the war, but it seemed it was inevitable. I can do no more good here. I must continue my journey.

  “Then what happens now?” I asked as I peered at my companions. “If we cannot sway Arlene, are we safe to leave for the Biski tribes?”

  Damara stood up and paced back and forth. “This issue will have to be resolved somehow. We are on the brink of war, and if we leave Arlene on such a precarious throne, it will be simple enough for Adair to swoop in and wrest the throne from her and secure it for his child.”

  “What do you suggest, then? The queen is a stubborn woman, and she will not be swayed from her decision,” Elenna asked. Of everyone in the room, she appeared the most at ease. I envied her seeming calm, but I supposed the politics mattered little to her. Who ruled the throne did not change much for the Biski.

  “I don’t know. The queen needs an advisor, someone who can guide her. She has the potential to be a great ruler with the right guidance,” Damara said as she tapped her chin.

  We were all pensive for a moment. Who could we trust? The wrong advisor could be allied with the enemy or bought. I would hate to leave with the danger of another upheaval the moment I was outside the city walls.

  “I know what you’re thinking, my l
ady. Are you sure this is the right path?” Hilliard approached Damara.

  “You’ve followed me through worse. Do you think you can accept this challenge?” she said with a secretive smile.

  Hilliard tilted his head towards Damara in a sign of acknowledgement.

  “Then that matter is settled.” Damara clapped.

  “Damara, what are you plotting?” I asked.

  She only smiled and declined to elaborate.

  We spent the rest of the day restless in the apartments. I found my mind wandering back to the queen on more than one occasion. I tried to rationalize Arlene’s decision but found it difficult to swallow. I spent a restless night in my bed; my sheets became tangled about my legs from the tossing and turning. For the first time in many nights, I did not dream of Johai. I did not know if it made me feel better or worse. I woke early again the next morning, and when I left my chamber, I found Beau waiting, dressed and armed.

  “How did you know?” I asked.

  He shrugged. I smiled, and we left the apartment without a word. We passed a few servants on the way out of the palace, but they did not stop to question me. Outside, the palace grounds were quiet and still. A mist hung about, cloaking the pine trees and shrubbery in gray. A chill in the air cut through my shawl, and my skin prickled with cold. I pulled my shawl closer about my shoulders as I walked. The gardens here were wilder than the ones I knew back at Keisan. The garden paths wended in and out of thickets of trees and shrubs, ending in strange niches where benches or small covered structures were placed.

  Everything was silent but the crunch of my boots on pine needles. Beau followed, silent as a shadow. At the center of the garden was a grove. The pine trees circled an open structure with tall pillars on all sides. The roof was open, but at the far end was a large oak tree, and its canopy acted as the roof to the temple. I had first come here for King Reginald’s funeral. I shed my shoes at the entrance and walked through the grass that acted as a floor. Dew clinging to the grass kicked up and dampened the edge of my gown and prickled my toes with cold.

  I kneeled down in front of the tree, and the dew soaked into the fabric of my gown. I shivered but did not move to warm myself. This was my own form of penance. I stared up at the tree and listened to the soft rustle of wind through the branches.

  “Back again?” a mellow voice said.

  I raised my eyes to see the barefoot priest standing before me. He smiled down at me. He had olive skin and gray-streaked hair that was receding at the scalp. His eyes were a deep brown, full of knowledge.

  “I am. I find I often seek solace as of late.”

  The priest hummed and kneeled down on the grass beside me. Beau did not move to stop him; he trusted the elderly priest. Over the past three weeks, I had spent much time in this place. It was the only place in the palace I felt any sort of peace. Calm seemed to linger about the arches that surrounded the clearing. It was the only place I felt I could hear the Goddess’s voice.

  “I heard about Queen Celeste,” the priest said. I winced without thinking. “You feel guilty for her fate?”

  I shook my head and did not take my eyes off the oak tree. It reminded me of home, of the oak standard on the banners of Keisan.

  “I do. As I feel for the others who have died because of me,” I replied.

  “You still grieve for your husband?”

  His words brought a fresh wave of tears to my eyes. Jon had been my husband in name only. I had married him to gain access to the royal palace in Sanore. We had an agreement: if he would help me find out who Adair was working with, I would pretend to be his wife. When the rebellion had begun, Jon had been mortally wounded defending me. Of all the deaths I had been the cause or indirect cause of, his death laid heaviest upon me. I may not have loved him, but I had cared for him as a friend. He had given all so I could live.

  “Yes,” I said; emotion tightened my throat. I was not willing to say more or the tears would come flowing out.

  The priest did not say any more, and we sat in companionable silence, listening to the wind through the trees and watching the fog lift from the ground.

  “You have a great destiny thrust upon your young shoulders. You should not shoulder these deaths as well. The queen’s actions were her own; you cannot control them,” the priest said.

  I sighed. “I know, and yet I feel them all as if I carry them with me, and they weigh down upon my heart.” I placed a flat palm against my chest.

  The priest rested his hand over mine, and I looked up into his dark eyes. His olive skin was wrinkled and weathered from exposure to the sun. “Never forget them, but do not be afraid to share the burden.”

  “And what about the burdens that I cannot share?”

  He smiled. “You will learn to bear them, somehow. We all do.”

  I stayed a while longer, waiting for the dawn to rise before I left. The execution would be soon, and as I had once attended the execution of Count Braun, I would witness what I had wrought in Queen Celeste’s execution.

  Beau and I made our way to the prison tower where they kept those condemned to die. We arrived to a jumble of people and angry voices. The spectators seemed unreasonably bloodthirsty. The executioner stood with his back to the crowd, and he and a few other men were speaking. It seemed strange. One man wearing a crimson cape, marking him as a captain of the guard, was shaking his head as he spoke to the executioner.

  We were pushing through the crowd to the front when we saw Damara, Elenna and Hilliard. Hilliard waved us over. I saw Damara’s frown from a distance. I felt a prickle of premonition at the back of my mind.

  “Maea, something terrible has happened.”

  My heart clenched, and I feared the worst.

  Damara rested a hand on my shoulder. “Celeste has escaped. It appears not all of her allies were routed out. The guards at the tower were found slain this morning, and her cell was empty.”

  “No, this cannot be true. Are you certain?” I asked.

  Damara nodded. “Queen Arlene is calling an emergency meeting of the council.”

  I did not wait. I turned and headed towards the palace. Even if Celeste had allies, how much damage could she do? What kind of danger were we in with her free? By herself, she was not dangerous. Her allies, on the other hand, could be potentially deadly. If there were those loyal to Celeste left, that meant that Arlene’s life was in danger. I paused mid-stride. Arlene has done nothing but put the throne in danger. The people fear her; would she be any better than Celeste? I thought of Adair and his triumphant smirk before he slammed the door on me in the tower back in Keisan. I cannot let him win. I continued my march back to the palace.

  The meeting was to be held in the Hall of Mirrors. It was the palace’s namesake. Mirrors lined all the walls and reflected back at one another, creating a hallway effect. It was said to reflect the inner heart of those who were within the chamber. Kings of the past used it and believed they would know if their advisors were true based on what was reflected in the endless reflections.

  The council was waiting for me when I arrived. Arlene sat at the head of the table. She wore the black of mourning, and I realized she must have been on her way to her mother’s execution when she received the news. Arrayed around her were her advisors, those lords that had supported her claim for the throne, and chief among them, Lord Eeland Yette. They all regarded me with hard expressions as I entered and took a seat at the far end of the table.

  Beau followed me in, closely tailed by Damara, Elenna and Hilliard. Damara and Elenna sat on either side of me while Beau and Hilliard took their place against the wall just over our shoulders. Lord Yette’s glance skimmed over our guards, and his mouth turned up at the corners. What was he thinking? He was certainly on my list of suspects in Celeste’s disappearance. He had betrayed one queen, why not another?

  Once we were seated, Arlene addressed the council. “My lords and ladies, we live in dangerous times. As many of you may now realize, my mother, traitor to the throne of Neaux, escaped la
te last night. She was aided by unknown accomplices and, it seems, has fled the city. I do not need to remind any of you the grave importance of this. My mother must be found and brought to justice. I propose a company of one hundred men to be sent out and search her out.”

  “If she escaped late at night, she may already be too far from our reach. Perhaps we should prepare ourselves for attack; she must have allies. We need to focus inward and discover the traitors who freed her,” one of her lords interjected, and he gave me a sidelong look.

  A few men muttered their agreement.

  Arlene held up her hand to silence them. “I agree. We are not safe until all the traitors are found, but we cannot execute everyone. My mother’s death is paramount. She is a figurehead, and while she lives, the people will continue to rally around her and call me a usurper.”

  There was more muttered agreement. “She is one woman with perhaps one or two swords around her. How do you plan to find her? She could have gone anywhere,” another man asked.

  “I know my mother; she went to her ally. She has gone to Danhad and to King Adair.”

  One of Arlene’s advisors tugged at his thick black beard and considered this news. Others looked to one another for solutions. Lord Yette stared at me with shrewd black eyes that made me uneasy. Do not look to me. I have nothing to do with this.

  “If she plans to betray us, then we should march against Danhad before they march against us,” the man with the beard suggested. Lord Martinell was his name.

  “With what army?” Lord Jouxet asked. He was a squashed-faced man with a bulbous red nose and near bald but for the thin black hairs clinging to his scalp. “The bulk of our force is south along the border still. We have pushed back the Biski, but the threat remains. Every day that upstart builds a better army. We will draw ourselves thin fighting on two fronts. How can we hope to defend ourselves?”