Courtiers mingled around the temple. Muted conversation and stifled laughter bounced off the columns and took away what should have been a solemn holy place. A priestess with sable hair braided down her back and wearing a long brown robe took our shoes and arranged them in a pile near the temple entrance.
We made our way through the crowd and towards the ceremony site. I scanned the crowd and saw Arlene off to one side, speaking with a few older men who were properly solemn and nodded their heads as she spoke. King Reynard was nowhere in sight nor was Queen Celeste.
A low keening lament cut through the chatter, and I twisted my head to see the source. A procession parted the crowd, and pallbearers, led by women in black gowns, crying and moaning, led the body of the king into the clearing. The dowager queen and King Reynard followed after. She was wearing a black gown with a veil over her head, and he was grim mouthed as they followed. Seeing her dressed as I had in my vision put me on edge, and I grabbed Jon's hand for comfort. He squeezed back but did not take his eyes away from the processional.
The pallbearers laid the king down on a platform. His hands were folded on his chest, and his skin pale, and his dark curls lay out on the stone. An old woman in brown robes marking her as a Daughter of the Earth, the priestess of the Neaux people, came forward. Her hair was silver and long, almost touching the ground, and bound in a single braid. Her face was worn and tanned dark brown. Her eyes were sad, and she touched the heads of the women who beat upon the ground, wailing and crying out their anguish at the king's death. She came to stand before the king's body, while young girls, in robes of brown, poured oil onto the bundles of wood forming the base of the pyre.
She spoke an invocation in archaic Neaux that I was hard-pressed to translate. Once the invocation was read, the priestess grabbed a torch from one of the acolytes and threw it onto the pyre. The oil had soaked the wood, and the flames burst to life and engulfed the former king in flame. Tongues of flame danced over King Reginald's body, catching his clothes and sending spirals of yellow-orange heat towards the sky. I spied Arlene across from me, and her face was streaked with tears. It was the first time I had seen her show any emotion. I felt for her; it must have been difficult to lose her father. I had also expected more from her. I thought she would have fought for the throne. She had simply let her uncle take it without a fight.
The wailing of the mourners echoed into the encroaching twilight. The smell of burning flesh turned my stomach, but the funeral rites were not complete until the king had been reduced to ash. Hours passed, and my legs began to ache from standing. When the last of the embers had gone out, the priestess gathered up the ashes in a ritual bowl. A hole had been dug at the base of the oak tree, and there the king's final remains were laid to rest.
The priestess turned to the crowd, who were rumbling and restless, and said, "So we are once of the earth, and so we return. His Majesty King Reginald has passed from this world onto the next."
The mourners cried out one final animalistic sound, and the rites were complete. The crowd parted quickly, and before long Jon and I were the only ones left. I glanced across the clearing to where Princess Arlene was standing beneath the oak tree, staring at the upturned soil where her father's remains lay. I thought of approaching her and offering some sort of comfort but decided against it. Servants were waiting along the pathway back to the palace with torches, and they led us back inside and into the ballroom, where a feast had been prepared. Servants with trays hurried to offer goblets of wine to the mourners.
King Reynard had taken his place on a throne above the crowd, and he watched the mourners turned revelers as they laughed and danced to a quartet. He spotted me and glared at me. I lowered my gaze and took a long drink of my wine.
Jon was flirting and carrying on as he often did, when I spotted Antoinette talking with a few ladies. I made my way over to her. Her eyes grew large when she saw me, and I realized she recognized me.
"Duchess Sixton," she greeted me with a bob.
"Antoinette, am I correct?" I said.
"Yes, your grace." Her eyes darted back and forth. The ladies she was speaking with gave their excuses before hurrying away. They did not want to be near me, thanks to Princess Arlene's poisoned words.
"Tell me what they've been saying about me," I snarled. I grabbed her arm tightly. I was done with the games and the subterfuge. The time was upon us, and I needed to know what obstacles lay before me in order to stop Adair from winning Neaux. I could not convince the king or the dowager queen to trust me if the rumors had ruined my reputation. The soldiers were not here by mistake. Something bad was going to happen and soon.
"Some say you're a sorceress who ensorcelled the ambassador and you are the reason the city is overrun with Danhadine soldiers. Other say you are guarded at all times by a stony-faced assassin who killed the council members who displeased you. Some are combinations of both or something of the like. All of them blame you for the recent troubles in the kingdom." Antoinette trembled like a leaf.
I let go of her arm, and she stumbled backwards away from me. Everyone was staring at me with guarded expressions.
"I thought you were my friend," I breathed.
Antoinette was shaking her head back and forth, her dark curls swinging. "I have never met you before the garden party." She took a step and ran.
She did not know it was me. Then who told the king that I was pretending to be Jon's wife? Who knew about the glamour? Antoinette had seemed likely; she was one of the few people that knew my true identity. A man wearing royal livery weaved his way through the crowd towards me with Jon not far behind him.
"We've been summoned, darling," Jon said as he approached me. His tone was light, but his smile was strained. His eyes darted towards the man, and I felt dread creeping up my spine. I looked for Beau before realizing he had not accompanied us to the ceremony; it was reserved only for the courtiers and not their servants.
"Your grace, Her Majesty is waiting," the man said.
The queen summoned us? That was unexpected but fortuitous nonetheless. I had to warn her that the soldiers who were guarding her were likely to turn on her. I took a deep breath, and we went with the man. As we had when we were called upon by King Reynard, we were taken to a separate chamber off the main hall. Unlike before, we were left alone in a generously furnished chamber that seemed more for lounging than serious meetings. The fire was burning in the fireplace and crackled happily with occasional pops. Crimson curtains hung over large windows, which looked out onto the dark garden beyond. I paced back and forth, trying to collect my thoughts.
The chamber door opened, and Lord Eeland led the queen inside. Jon and I both bowed as was expected, and she took a seat in a chair next to the fire.
"Lord Ambassador, Duchess Sixton." She nodded to the two of us and motioned with her hand for us to take our seats.
I sat down but at the edge of my seat, prepared to jump up at a moment's notice. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I could not say why. The queen was no real threat.
"Rumors have reached my ears that you were summoned by King Reynard. I assume he asked you to sign his silly oath, am I correct?" she said without preamble. Her eyes were directed at me.
"Yes, Your Majesty," I replied without thinking. "I am sorry to be blunt, Your Majesty, but need has not led me to prudence. I think that King Adair is planning an uprising to take your kingdom for his own. Your Danhadine guards and the Danhadine soldiers are all part of his plan to rule both kingdoms."
She smiled and the turn of her lips did not reach her eyes. "I see." She folded her hands in her lap and regarded me for a moment without speaking. "I have heard much of you, Duchess Sixton. There are quite a few rumors going around about you. They call you a sorceress, and the little folk seem to think you are the reason that the soldiers are here. But we both know that's not true, Duchess Sixton... or should I say, Maea of House Diranel?"
My stomach dropped. She knew. Then King Reynard told her; they are in league together.
I decided to play my hand close to my chest; it may have been a bluff. Adair might have warned them to keep an eye out for me. King Reynard had not been bluffing either. Was I wrong to trust Jon? Has he led me into his trap?
"Your Majesty, I am not sure what you mean. I am the daughter of a merchant."
"Yes, it is most convenient that you married Jon at the same time that the Diranel traitor was rumored to have come to Neaux in the company of an outlawed sorcerer and a rogue soldier. I am sure it is just a coincidence." She glanced up at Lord Eeland, who nodded his agreement. He paced around the room and came to stand behind Jon and me. I tried not to turn around and watch him, but I felt his eyes on me, and I fidgeted uncomfortably.
"Your Majesty, that is quite a fanciful tale," Jon tried to interrupt, but she gave him a quelling look. He sat back in his chair and let her continue.
"Very well. I shall tell you plainly. As we speak, King Reynard and his allies—those that have signed his oath—are being killed."
I gasped but covered my mouth with my hands.
"You are surprised? He is a fool to gather his allies so easily for me, but I never thought you would sign so quickly, Jon. Perhaps Adair was right to doubt you."
My stomach sank. The queen had been partnered with Adair the entire time, which meant we had been played the fool and so had King Reynard.
"You and the King of Danhad?" I asked, and my voice trembled.
"Oh yes, we have become close friends. He is very interested in Neaux, it seems. You already knew that, didn't you?" She smiled with a hint of disdain. "He married my daughter, and they are expecting a son come next spring. And that child shall be our king, and one day he will be a king over two kingdoms as it once was in the old days."
"What about King Reynard?" Jon asked.
She laughed high and cold. The transformation from frivolous courtier to calculating was shocking. "He was my puppet and a distraction for my overly ambitious daughter. He thought he had me in the palm of his hand when I have been using him all along." She laughed again. "I have been allowing Danhadine soldiers into the city by the hundreds for months, and while my daughter managed the country and Reynard fought the Biski, my control of the kingdom only strengthened."
"Why? What benefit did you have?"
Her laughter bounced off the walls and made my stomach twist further. "I thought that was obvious. He did speak so highly of you, after all." She shook her head. "For power, I shall be my grandson's regent, and when he is of age, he will come here, and I will see to his upbringing and sit at his right hand as his advisor. It will be as if I am always the queen."
"Why now, before the boy is even born? You could have waited." My hands shook despite my attempts to control my fear.
"Let's say, matters have moved faster than expected. I had planned to let Reynard play king for a while. I would have been his queen as well, but my daughter is moving against me, and I cannot risk Reynard muddling it up with his idiocy. He was never like his brother. He was never meant to hold the throne. He is too suspicious and too quick to anger."
"You would betray your own blood?" I asked incredulously.
She shrugged. "It matters little to me. She was always a willful child, more son than daughter. I have two other daughters who will serve me better."
I jumped to my feet. I was not even sure what I planned to do. She had angered me. Why use her children this way? How cold could she be? Lord Eeland grabbed me from behind. He hooked his arms through my armpits, and I was immobilized.
"You are not the only one with a sorcerer on your side," the queen said.
"What are you doing? Unhand my wife!" Jon shouted.
"Do not fight. I am on your side," Lord Eeland whispered in my ear. I continued to struggle as to not give away my surprise. He grasped my neck and tilted it sideways. He ripped my earrings from my ears. "I'm sorry for this. She must not suspect."
He let me go, and I fell to the ground and landed hard on my knees. Pain shot up my legs as I glanced up at the queen.
"Good to meet you, Lady Diranel," the queen said. "Your king will reward me handsomely for your return."
Jon removed his sword from its scabbard at his belt. "Leave her alone!" he shouted.
The queen raised a brow at him. "What makes you think you have any power here? You betrayed the Order and aided this woman in infiltrating my court! You shall be separated from your head along with her!"
He gripped his sword tighter and glowered at her. Eeland stood behind me but made no move to harm either of us. Shouts rang out from beyond the door, and I realized the Dahadine soldiers were attacking the palace.
"If you give her up now and swear yourself unto me, then I will forgive you, but you must leave the girl to me," the queen said to Jon.
Jon glanced between me and the queen, as if deciding what to do. I wondered if he would turn on me now. Why would he risk himself for me?
"No, I swore to protect her," he said at last.
"Then you shall burn," the queen said with a trilling laugh.
Lord Eeland did not lift a hand to assist her.
She stopped laughing and scowled at him. "What are you doing? Burn him for his insolence!"
While the queen was distracted by his disobedience, soldiers burst in through the door.
"Run, Jon, you fool. Do not worry about me!" I shouted.
"I will not leave you to his mercy," he said and grabbed me by the hand. He met the soldiers with his blade and pushed them back. He pierced one man in the gut, and he clutched at the wound before he crumpled to the floor. A second soldier stumbled over the first and fell to the ground. We pushed our way through the fray. Jon swung his sword in an arc to keep them back. The hall was empty, but I could hear screams in all directions. Jon did not let go of my hand as we ran down the hall.
We emerged into the main hall. Bodies lay in pools of growing blood, and on the dais, King Reynard was slumped over with a hand pressed to a wound to the heart. Jon pulled me and urged me along. There was no time to linger and absorb the carnage. The dead were everywhere. Women were slain in their fine silk gowns, and men were separated from their heads. We crossed the ballroom and into an empty corridor to avoid the fighting that continued at the main entrance. We were running down the hall when I saw Antoinette dead and her gown stained with her blood. I choked on a sob, and we ran further.
Jon navigated us back to the palace entrance, but we were not free yet. As we were approaching the front entrance, a group of soldiers came up the palace steps. Jon pushed me behind him, and they encircled us. Jon, exhausted and armed with only a decorative sword, did not stand a chance.
"Spare the woman, but kill the man," their leader shouted.
Jon held out his free arm to shield me, and his head swiveled back and forth, awaiting the first attack. They took their time engaging him, like a game of cat and mouse.
They lunged forward, striking blades before falling back, and another man would do the same from the back and then another. They did not give pause. They pressed him relentlessly. Jon did his best to guard me, but I shouted out orders, trying to keep him from being caught unawares. One man caught Jon's arm, and it gashed deeply. His blood splattered onto the ground and soaked the sleeve of his doublet. Jon must have been beyond exhausted, and his guard dropped, and he lowered his sword. A soldier took his chance and thrust forward and struck the side of Jon's abdomen.
Blood pooled there and spread across his clothing. He held his hand to it and kept fighting. I feared we would die here in the midst of this bloodied battle. Jon's feet were dragging, and his swordplay had become sloppy. Two more cuts were made to his leg and to his other shoulder. Then one of the men was swept off his feet and cast away like a leaf on the wind. The others stopped and looked in shock at their fallen comrade just before they, too, were knocked from their feet. Johai stood in the entrance to the doorway, his eyes dark and full of silent fury. Even though he had come to save me in my time of need, I was terrified of him.
"Come." H
is voice echoed through me like a thunderstorm. We ran down towards him, and I let Jon lean on me for support. Outside, bodies lay strewn about. Beau was fighting off a few Danhadine soldiers on his own. Our coachman was on the ground beside the carriage. When Beau saw us, he ran his opponent through and then jumped into the driver's seat of the carriage. Johai helped me to get Jon into the carriage, and we arranged him as comfortably as we could in the small space.
Jon gasped in breaths as the stain on his doublet grew. I wrapped my shawl into a ball and pressed it to his wound in an attempt to staunch the blood.
"Johai, how did you know where to find us?"
He was watching Jon and my ministrations. He pushed me aside and with calm efficiency dressed the wounds, but I could see the deep gash and the blood that continued to well up from it.
"The soldiers attacked all of the coachmen and servants. Beau fought them off, and I knew you were in danger. I am only sorry I did not get there sooner."
"Thank you," I said as Johai muttered under his breath a spell that I recognized from when he had healed Layton.
"I told you before, Maea," Johai said, "I will protect you until the end."
I wept because I feared that end was coming very soon.
Chapter Twenty Three
TO THIS DAY, I DO NOT remember the journey back to the villa. I do remember that Jon was pale as a sheet by the time we arrived. I threw open the carriage door and ran into the house, screaming for help. I was fortunate that Hilliard and Damara had stayed behind at the villa. Hilliard came running down the stairs; he had his sword drawn, and his eyes grew large when he saw me.
[fan] diviners saga 02 - diviners curse Page 27
