by M. J. Scott
Lucien. Her stomach roiled, but she did as asked. Fed him power and waited for the healers to come.
It didn't take them long, and the panic in the ballroom subsided as they set to work. Ava joined Irina and Chloe, crouching beside Lucien.
"Firewort, I think." Irina nodded at the glass she'd laid carefully by Lucien's side. “In the kafiet. He must have already sipped some of it before Chloe broke the glasses," Irina said and looked at Chloe. "That was a neat trick, by the way. If all the kafiet is tainted, you saved a lot of lives tonight."
"The kafiet looked wrong," Chloe said. "I saw red in his glass."
The royve gave her an odd look. She pulled a cloth from her pocket and lifted the glass, sniffing it as warily as Irina had. "You are right, Irina. It's faint, but it's there." She cocked her head at Chloe. "I will worry later about how you know what color firewort is." She wrapped up the glass in the cloth and put it back down next to the bag she'd arrived with, placing a hand on Lucien's chest, over his heart. Just below where the marriage mark Chloe hadn't yet seen would be.
"Irina, there is patyiet in my bag. Mix a grain with a spoonful and put it on his tongue." She glanced up at Chloe. "I know Silya doesn't approve of this bond you formed, but it's just as well you did. It might just be what keeps him alive."
Lucien.
Goddess. Someone had tried to kill him. Maybe tried to kill both of them.
Her fear started to fade. What flared up to fill the void it left in its wake was anger.
Mikvel knelt beside Chloe. "Lady Castaigne, how can we help you?"
She managed not to snarl with an effort. Angering the king wouldn't do any good. "Find who did this." The words were still too sharp, but it was the best she could do. At least the king hadn't been harmed. “Start with the servant. He used magic, just before. It felt strange.” She cast a wild glance around the room, searching for that face again. The healers were moving between people sitting and lying on the ground, bandaging cuts and performing other tasks. Some of the courtiers looked as though they had passed out as well. "Why are those people unconscious? Did they all drink firewort?" she asked Ava.
The healer shook her head. "Everyone is alive. Firewort would have killed some of them. My guess is that the other glasses were dosed randomly with other substances. It would have made it harder to single out what happened to your husband if you had not acted so swiftly, my lady."
"So whoever did this knows healing. Or has access to a healer willing to help them. Or—" Her eyes narrowed. "Irina, you said the seers are the ones who use firewort." She turned to Mikvel. "Where's Sejerin Silya?"
"Right here." The sejerin's voice came from behind her. Chloe twisted but didn't let go of Lucien's wrist. It was easier to feed him power while touching him.
The seer looked unexpectedly rattled.
"No seer did this, Lady Castaigne. I give you my word. Your husband's powers are not in accordance with our beliefs, but we wish him no harm."
The words rang in the way Chloe was coming to recognize as truth. Which meant Silya believed what she was saying. So it seemed forcing a marriage might be acceptable to her, but an outright attack was not. But believing something was true did not make it so.
"You are related to House Elannon, are you not?" Chloe said, and Silya frowned. Perhaps wondering how Chloe knew.
"Elannon used poison against the empress," Chloe continued.
"House Elannon wishes to be restored. Attacking the man who has the power to decide whether that will happen would be foolish," Silya said. "And though I am no longer House Elannon, I can tell you I believe them to be sincere in the changes they have made."
Truth again. Not helpful when she couldn't tell anybody that she knew it was truth. She doubted the seers would take the news that she shared a little of Lucien's power now very well. They already disliked the bond.
Silya had turned her attention to Royve Ava. "Did you use patyiet?"
Ava nodded. "Yes. Which is why he is still alive. That and the bond he shares with Lady Castaigne, I think." She lifted her chin defiantly, as though expecting Silya to argue that point. Chloe didn't care though. She doubted anyone in Andalyssia was strong enough to break the bond against her will. And she believed Ava. Lucien needed the bond, so she would fight anyone who tried to take it from her.
"If not House Elannon," Mikvel said, "then who?"
Chloe studied Mikvel's grave expression. They hadn't yet told him about the man who'd approached her. But she didn't care about protocol anymore. "I've been approached twice by a man who was trying to determine if I shared my late husband's politics, Your Majesty. I don't know where he was from, and I haven't seen him elsewhere in the court or we would have told you sooner, but the second time we met, he used magic that felt similar to what I felt from the servant just before Lucien collapsed.”
“A servant used magic?” Silya said. “That’s impossible.”
“I know what I felt,” Chloe snapped.
“Then it was not a servant,” Mikvel said. “Not one who would be serving drinks tonight, anyway. We do not employ those with magic as a rule. There are exceptions for the healers and some of the guard, but otherwise, no.”
“Then it was someone pretending to be a servant. I suspect he used an illusion in the garden.”
Silya hissed. Chloe held up a hand. “There’s no time for lectures about balance, Sejerin. I know that such an illusion isn’t Andalyssian magic, but this man was Andalyssian. And he did not seem to favor House Elannon being restored. He didn’t like the idea of Lucien and me marrying either, presumably because of Lucien’s role with Elannon. So I suggest, Your Majesty, that you look hard at those houses—or vassals or whomever—that will benefit if Elannon falls."
Mikvel's brows drew down. "I need to know more."
"Colonel Brodier can fill you in. She knows everything I do. You need to clean your house, Your Majesty. Or the emperor will do it for you."
"Chloe!" Honore snapped. "My apologies, Your Majesty. The lieutenant is upset."
"Maybe I am. But that doesn’t make what I said wrong. Aristides is very fond of Lucien. Lucien's father named him for the emperor, after all. Their families have been close for centuries. Even without Lucien being one of his lords and one of his Truth Seekers, the emperor wouldn't have taken this well." She looked back at Mikvel. "Think of Anglion, my lord. The emperor does not interfere in local politics if it does not disrupt the empire. But someone in Anglion began to plot, and that plot stretched to Illvya, and now Anglion has a new queen."
The king's eyes had turned icy. But he was not, Chloe thought, angry at her. "The emperor has no need to doubt my loyalty. I will deal with this."
"Good," Chloe said. She focused back on Honore. "Is the navire at Haalbrod?"
Honore frowned. "It should be. It will be due to leave in the morning if they have kept to the schedule."
"Send a sanctii," Chloe said. "Tell them to wait." It would be too dangerous to try and take Lucien off the mountain in darkness. They would have to go in the morning.
"Why?" Mikvel asked.
"Because I will need it. I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but someone tried just tried to kill my husband. I'm taking him home. Lumia's healers are stronger than yours."
"Lumia's healer's don't deal with firewort," Ava said.
"Well, you and Irina can explain to me what they—and I—need to do to deal with the firewort," Chloe said. “We can keep him alive if you tell me how."
"It may be wiser to stay," Mikvel said.
"Your court is not safe right now, Your Majesty. I am not going to give anybody the opportunity to try to finish what they started."
Honore said, "We need Lucien to complete his investigation of House Elannon."
She shook her head. "Colonel, you are forgetting one point.”
"Which is?"
"That I am now the Marquesse of Castaigne. I outrank you. And I'm taking my husband home. If you think the emperor would prefer to risk one of his lords, not to mention his
best Truth Seeker, then you can argue with me about it when you return to Lumia. You can stay here and continue the mining negotiations, but I will be leaving in the morning with my husband. I will take some of the blood and water mages with me to help the navire team. I’m sure the Elenian ambassador can send you more soldiers to make up the numbers temporarily. Just as I am sure the emperor will arrange for another Truth Seeker to join you as fast as humanly possible to finish dealing with House Elannon. But I will not let Lucien die because he did not receive the best care possible. I am taking my husband home."
Lucien survived the night, though he didn’t wake despite her magic and the best efforts of the healers. Irina and Ava had attended him through the night, and Katiya had stayed to keep them company, organizing tea and food and whatever supplies the royve called for. But Lucien remained stubbornly unconscious, his pulse still weakened.
As the sun crept over the horizon, the frown Ava had worn half the night deepened. "If it was just firewort, then he should have roused by now. The patyiet should have staved off the worst of the hurt. But he is...out of balance, and I cannot determine the cause yet."
She and Irina exchanged a glance.
“What?” Chloe said from her chair beside his bed. Despite the power she was channeling from the ley line, she was beginning to feel fatigue shadowing her senses.
“If he were Andalyssian, some might say he’d been cursed,” Irina said. “The old stories talk about magic being pulled out of shape. Out of balance.”
“Curses are superstition,” Ava said firmly. “And old stories are just that.”
“Silya said something about curses,” Chloe said. She rubbed the hand not holding Lucien’s over her forehead. “When we returned from the hunt. The man who approached me, his magic did feel strange. It sounded out of tune.”
“Unbalanced,” Ava said. “It would be for an Andalyssian, if he was using a strong illusion.” She frowned down at Lucien. “But Lord Castaigne feels unbalanced to me anyway. His talent for illusion warps the rest. I don’t think I could tell if something had been done to him. Do you sense anything different?”
Chloe shook her head. “Not that I’ve noticed. His magic is fainter, perhaps, but that’s because he’s unconscious.”
“Good,” Ava said. “Though that doesn’t necessarily help us. The fact remains that he is still sleeping. You were right, Chloe. He needs more help than we can give.”
Which only strengthened her resolve to take him home. Ava and Irina understood firewort, but they didn't understand Illvyan mages. She needed Illvyan healers. “The healers at the main temple in Lumia are the best in the empire. If anyone can figure this out, they can." She glanced down at Lucien, willing him to wake through the bond. So far her efforts had been as ineffectual as the healer’s. He remained stubbornly asleep, his skin paler than it should be and his pulse still skittering where it should be steady.
"Perhaps Irina can accompany me down to Haalbrod. She can tell me more about what I need to know about treating him." She trusted Irina, and she doubted the king would want to be without his chief healer with others in the court still being treated for their symptoms. There'd been a stream of healers knocking on the door during the night to consult with Ava about the others who’d been impacted by the kafiet. Not in the same way as Lucien, Ava had been right about that, but still sick enough to concern the healers.
"I could come, too," Ava offered.
"You are needed here," Chloe said firmly. "Irina will be enough. Once Lucien is safely on board the navire, she can return. Now, let's get my husband home."
The journey out of the Eissgora to Haalbrod was like a fever dream. Or a nightmare. The carriages the king provided were more comfortable than the charguerres and the horses nimbler than fer-taureau, but the road was still difficult and the journey too slow. They’d fashioned a stretcher for Lucien, which swayed with the rhythm of the horses. He didn’t rouse for any of it, but every jolt and shudder of the carriage around her was an echo of the shuddering beat of his heart, reminding her they were losing time with every second.
Though he seemed to be holding steady, there was no improvement. Her fatigue grew stronger, forcing her to pull more power to stave it off. But she had redwort tea in her medicine case. That would keep her awake for several days if necessary. Long enough to get back to Lumia. The navire wouldn't need to land as often as it had on the journey to Andalyssia. There would be no mail to deliver, no diplomatic duties to attend. They would stop once to take on a new mage team. The journey should take only three days, according to Gilles’s calculations.
She could last that long. She would last that long.
She'd lost a husband to politics once before. She wasn't about to lose a second, no matter how they'd come to be married. Back in Deephilm, they would be hunting for answers. Mikvel had come to see them off but had told her that, so far, they hadn’t found the man who’d served Lucien. Though how he could be sure without a Truth Seeker was a point she’d been too tired to raise. Time enough to untangle the mess once Lucien was safe.
Irina fed her cups of tea and recited a steady stream of alarming Andalyssian poison lore at her as they descended the mountain. It would have been useful, Chloe thought vaguely at one point, if Irina were a sanctii. Then she could have dumped it all straight into her head, like a reveille.
But she wasn't, so Chloe did her best to pay attention.
By the time they reached Haalbrod, the sun was low in the sky. The yard where the navire had landed was a swirl of torches and braziers, black-clad Imperial soldiers and mages swarming around the carriages.
Chloe hugged Irina goodbye, then focused solely on the passage of Lucien's stretcher up onto the navire and down into one of the cabins.
She organized her bags and the various herbs and medicines Ava and Irina had provided, finding safe places for them between checking on Lucien every few minutes. She only registered the sensation of the navire lifting into the air when her link to the ley lines began to stretch and she had to focus harder to reach them.
After that, the world reduced to just Lucien and keeping him alive.
Several hours passed before there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Giane entered, carrying a tray of food that she set on the table. She and Theo were amongst the mages sent to fly the navire back to Lumia. "I brought food," she said. "You need to eat. Also, we have a problem."
"Unless we're about to crash, problems can wait," Chloe said. Her stomach growled at the smell of the food, but she kept her attention on Lucien.
"This one is important," Giane said, grimacing. She turned back to the door. "You might as well get in here."
Chloe looked up, wondering who she was talking to. Her mouth dropped open as Irina stepped through the narrow doorway.
"Bloody hell. What are you doing here?"
"She stowed away," Giane said, glaring at Irina. "So, it seems we've kidnapped an Andalyssian princess on top of everything else. This is going to be an issue."
"I'm not a princess," Irina said, squaring her shoulders and matching Giane’s glare.
"You're the queen's little sister, and that's close enough, my lady," Giane said. "What were you thinking?"
Quite possibly that here was a chance to get away from Andalyssia. One Irina had seized. Chloe wasn't sure whether she felt admiration or irritation.
"Lady Castaigne will need my help," Irina said, lifting her chin in a manner reminiscent of both Imogene and Sophie. She might not be a true princess, but apparently she could do haughty with aplomb. "None of you know Andalyssian herb lore. And most of you have to help fly this thing, from what I understand." She swept a hand around the cabin. "Chloe can't stay awake for three days. She probably thinks she can, but if she takes redwort to do it and gets it wrong, then that could be very bad for Lord Castaigne. I might be a problem, Lieutenant, but I imagine a dead marq would be a bigger one."
Giane opened her mouth, but Chloe cut her off. "She's right, Gian
e. And we're not turning back to take her home. Nor are we going to leave her at the next stop. She needs a chaperone and an escort back to Andalyssia, and we can't spare anyone. She's here. We'll deal with the rest in Lumia."
Chapter 28
By the time the navire settled in Lumia, Chloe was near delirious with exhaustion. But she fought it back with sheer will. She would sleep when Lucien was safe. When he was smiling at her once more.
She wasn't ready to let him go.
When she saw Imogene standing on the dock, she almost burst into tears of relief but bit them back as she descended from the navire. Imogene hurried over to her, slipping her arm through hers to offer support as a team of ensigns carried Lucien’s stretcher off the navire, Irina supervising. The girl had been goddess sent. She hadn't slept much either, staying by Chloe's side and working with her tirelessly to make sure she stayed strong enough to keep Lucien alive. As far as Chloe was concerned, if Irina wanted to stay in Lumia, then Chloe would damned well make sure she could. She and Lucien both owed her.
"Who's that?" Imogene asked. "She's not Illvyan."
"She's the queen's younger sister, Irina. And what she's doing here is too long a story." Chloe leaned into Imogene, willing herself to stay upright.
"Darling, you're shaking," Imogene said, “Do you need a healer?”
Chloe shook her head. "I'm all right. I just need to get Lucien to the temple. And then I need to speak with the emperor."
To her credit, Imogene didn't bat an eye, or ask any of the ten thousand questions she must have wanted to ask. "Of course. The fer-taureau is waiting. And we have an escort through the streets. But you need to rest. You aren't any use to him if you collapse."
"I can't rest yet." She hadn't slept. "Our bond might be what is keeping him alive."
"Your bond?" Imogene's brows flew up. Then her eyes narrowed as she looked from Chloe to Lucien’s stretcher. "So I see. This is going to be an interesting story once you have time to tell. I have to admit, you returning from Andalyssia married to Lucien de Roche was not a possibility that entered my head."
