The City of Veils

by S. Usher Evans

  "You could say that," I said, glancing out the open door to where Coyle was waiting. I was still looking for an opportunity to spy on them, but it was hard to do that when they were guarding me. "But they're still here all the time."

  "Oh, well, that's to be expected," Katarine said with a laugh. "You are still the sovereign."

  I sighed as I took in what was left of the decor. "This wallpaper is ugly."

  "It's from your great-grandfather," she said with a disgusted look. "Dreadful, right?"

  Just then, the designer walked in the door, arms laden with drawings and fabric swatches. He introduced himself as Charles, and spent ten minutes talking about how honored he was to be designing my room before barraging me with ideas for furniture and fabric.

  "The latest trend is a four-posted bed, carved from Niemenian wood," he said, showing me a sketch of a very nice, very large bed that could've slept ten people.

  "I suppose, but shouldn't I be buying Forcadel-made furniture?"

  "If you want," he said, sticking his tongue out in disgust. "But the Forcadel designs are so bland."

  "I'm a bland person," I replied, pushing aside the furniture designs. Something caught my eye—it looked like blueprints. I pushed aside the fabrics and sketches until I found it, noticing immediately that the drawing of the royal suites lacked any markings of secret exits. Those were probably a closely-guarded secret. But how closely-guarded was the question…

  "Something the matter?" Charles asked.

  "I was thinking, perhaps, of moving some walls," I replied, as my mind turned over an idea. I still needed a way to give Felix and his guards the slip if I was going to spy on them, but up until now, they'd only shown me the exits they knew about. But what if there were others that even Felix didn't know about?

  "Maybe adding a second door over…" I glanced behind me, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice. "There. Wanted to see what was over there."

  His eyes lit up. "Well, Your Majesty, if you're looking to make significant architectural changes then we'll need to consult the official plans of the castle."

  There it is. "Fantastic. Where can we find them?"

  "They're down in the archives," Katarine replied. "Under lock and key, for security reasons, of course."

  "Of course." I shifted. "But perhaps I could get to them? Since I am, you know…going to be queen?"

  She glanced at Charles, who seemed to be salivating at the prospect of major renovations. "I believe you and I will be granted access. But we'll have to leave you behind, I'm afraid. The archive is accessible to royalty only, and the plans just to Princess Brynna."

  "Don't worry," I said as he pouted. "I'm an excellent sketch artist."

  The royal archives were not, as I'd assumed, in the catacombs of my castle, but rather on the other side of the market square, in an old building next to the church. Luckily, Felix was busy drilling his young charges, so he wasn't around to decline my request to leave the castle in the royal carriage. Joella and Coyle sat on the back as Katarine and I climbed in for the short jaunt.

  "Do you really want to move a wall?" Katarine asked as we set off.

  I shrugged. "That room is stuffy. At the very least, I'd love some more natural light. And if I'm going to be stuck there, I might as well make it my own."

  "Mm."

  The archives were much larger than they looked outside, with stacks and stacks of scrolls and old books, with one window in the front offering spotty light. Katarine rang the bell in the front and an older woman came hurrying forward.

  "Can I— Oh!" She wiped her hands on her shirt and bowed low. "Your Majesties."

  "I'm no longer a majesty," Katarine correctly quietly. "Princess, this is Alfie Torrelas, she's your royal archivist."

  "At your service," she said with a bow. "What can I help you with?"

  "We'd like to see the castle blueprints," Katarine said. "So that the princess can better understand the architecture for possible improvements."

  Alfie paused, but only for a moment, then disappeared into the mounds of paperwork.

  "You and Alfie are friends?" I asked.

  "I wouldn't say friends, but friendly," she replied, running her finger along a dusty table nearby. "I spent a lot of time here learning the ins and outs of Forcadel's history over the years. Most of the books we've been using are on loan from her."

  The archivist returned with an old scroll in her arms and hesitantly looked at Katarine. "I apologize, but the laws say only the royal family may have access to these."

  "She's family," I said, waving her off.

  "No, no," Katarine said with a warm smile. "I think I might go look through the history books. Perhaps find something more on that naval battle we talked about this morning."

  I watched her go for a moment before turning back to Alfie. "Let's see what you've got."

  Alfie unrolled the scroll, revealing a detailed front view of the castle. "The last survey of the castle was completed about a hundred years ago." She pointed to the seal on the bottom of the map. "And, as an aside, only the sovereign can request to see it, as obviously, it contains every entry and exit to the premises."

  "Every one?" I asked with a grin. "Show me the royal suite."

  She flipped through the pages until she found the bottom one, displaying the fourth level of the castle, where the royal wing lay. I ran my finger along the center hallway, mapping the castle in my mind until I hit the king's office—and the exit into the stables. As I'd suspected, there were other exits in almost every room of the royal wing, including two in the royal bedroom.

  "I do hope you aren't really considering knocking down walls," Alfie said, after a moment. "It's such an old castle—"

  "Do you mind if I take a sketch of this?" I asked. "Have a pen and paper? And…be sure not to tell Lady Kat about it."

  Realization dawned on her old face and she nodded, rushing to procure me the drawing materials. I drew two sketches, one I could give to the royal designer to play with and one that marked the exits. I hid the latter inside my tunic for safekeeping.

  "Let me ask you a question," I said. "Did my brother ever look at this map?"

  She thought for a moment then shook her head. "I don't believe so. The last person to look at it was…your father, I believe." She nodded, as if her memory was coming back to her. "There was an issue in the kitchen with a wall when he first ascended the throne. Why do you ask?"

  "No reason." I smiled. "No reason at all."

  We returned to the castle, where the designer had somehow procured more designs and fabrics in our absence. I gave him the first drawing and he used it to offer options for walls we could destroy and what that might do to the space.

  "And here, if you wished to create a larger sitting room." He gestured to a wall near the window with fading wallpaper. "We could take some of the library."

  "Oh, Brynna," Katarine said with a frown. "Don't take your library. It's so nice."

  "Can we take a look at it?" I asked, walking to the door. Coyle stood in the main room at the front door, his gaze on me as I passed into the bedroom. Was it a good sign he wasn't following me closely? Did that mean Felix didn't know about the exits? I'd have to test that theory.

  The library was actually much smaller than I'd thought—more a second office, if I had to call it anything. Only one wall held a shelf of books, and otherwise it was mostly treasures and trinkets. Out of the one window, the bay was visible on the right side, which meant that was the southern wall, where I would find my exit.

  "Oh yes, very small indeed," Charles said, walking into the room and frowning.

  "I just can't see why you'd want to make the bedroom bigger," Katarine said. "It's big enough."

  "Why don't we go back into the bedroom and take another look?" I suggested. "I'm not sure I see your vision, Charles."

  He and Katarine left, bickering and not noticing that I hadn't followed them. I would only have a few precious moments, so I hurried to the southern wall where my secret map
said the exit would be.

  The secret exit Felix and I used was hidden in front of a statue, but this one had nothing in front of it. I surmised that perhaps there was a lever that unlocked the door. I pushed, kicked, tapped, but nothing budged. The two sconces on the wall…they looked just a little different than the other ones. So I pulled one, and it came forward, but the door didn't. The other sconce was the same.

  "Oh, come on," I muttered. My arms weren't long enough to grab onto both, so I hooked my heel onto one, and then grabbed onto the other. With a breath, I jumped into the air and yanked them both forward. The door softly clicked behind me, and I scrambled inside, shutting it before Kat and Coyle heard me.

  "What the…" Coyle's voice came from the other side. "Oh, great."

  "Where is she?" Katarine's soft footfalls echoed in the room. "She can't disappear, can she?"

  "Princess?" Charles called. "Princess, where did you go?"

  "Felix is going to be furious," Coyle said. "Come on, let's alert the forces so they can try to head her off before she gets too far."

  I waited for him to come through the door, but he didn't, so before they panicked too much, I hurried out into the hallway, calling for them.

  "Charles? Kat?" I said, turning right and left. "Where'd you guys go?"

  "Oh." He sighed in relief. "Where did you go?"

  "Privy," I said, walking toward them. "Sorry, I thought you heard me tell you. Why'd you guys leave?"

  Coyle gave me a curious look, but then shook his head. "Just wanted to make sure you stayed put."

  "Please, Coyle," I said with a laugh. "Where would I go? Climb out the window?"

  He stared at me for a long time, and I was sure he could see right through me. But, finally, he nodded and walked out into the main room again.

  Chapter 31

  It was sorely tempting to walk out of the castle by myself through my newfound exit, but like a good vigilante, I met Felix by the garden door. I was curious; would he mention my jaunt to the archives? Had Coyle told him I'd momentarily vanished?

  But if he knew, he didn't mention it, and we set off into the night.

  For weeks now, we'd had the same routine. Stop by Ruby's, pay her a few gold coins, then stake out Beswick's location. Sometimes, we would get lucky and be able to eavesdrop on his conversations. More often than not, he would take dinner at one of his restaurants until midnight then retire to his manor in Mariner's Row.

  But tonight, I didn't mind the downtime, because it would give me a chance to lay the first pieces of my master plan. In order for my ruse to work, I needed to slip out of the castle undetected. And for that to happen, Felix and his guards needed to believe I was indisposed.

  "You've been coughing a lot tonight," Felix said after I cleared my throat again. "Feeling all right?"

  "Yep," I said. "Fine."

  We grew silent for a moment and I hid a grin from him as I thought about Phase Two, flushing out the leaker. It would be a gamble that I'd set the trap correctly, but I was running short on time.

  Slowly, I looked over at Felix, clearing my throat. "I think I might have another lead on our poisoner."

  "Really?" He turned to me. "And you're just telling me this now?"

  I chose my words carefully. "It's something my contact at Stank's mentioned. A merchant who supposedly deals in Kulkan poisons. They'll be coming back to town tomorrow night. We may want to keep an eye on my food—and who touches it."

  "I doubt they'll try again, now that we've got someone to pin it on," Felix said. "Or if they do, they probably won't use the poison."

  "True," I said, thinking quickly. "But the merchant might be able to lead us closer to our real culprit. It's worth looking into."

  I felt his gaze on me and turned slightly to catch his scrutiny. There was something unreadable in his eyes behind the mask.

  "What?" I asked.

  "Just thinking," he said. "Have you… have you ever thought about training someone else? Like a successor or protégé."

  "I don't know who else would want this job," I said with a shrug. "You don't get paid, you don't sleep, and you don't have much of a life. Nobody loves Forcadel like I do."

  "I do."

  "Do you want to be The Veil?" I asked, turning to him. "Ready for a change of career? You feeling comfortable in that mask yet?"

  "Hardly." He tugged at the cloth on his eyes. "My point was there are others who would wear the mantle in your place. In a way, it's good that nobody knows your name. When you disappear, someone else can pick up where you left off, and the city won't be the wiser."

  I chafed at the idea of someone else wearing my mask. "They won't do it as well as I do."

  "Of course they won't. But you'll be overseeing things as queen."

  "After my coronation, maybe I could go out once a month—"

  "No, Brynna."

  I scowled at him, then remembered my plan. I made a show of coughing loudly and wiping my eyes.

  "You okay?" Felix asked.

  "Sure," I said. "Allergies must be bad."

  "Do you have allergies?"

  I cast my gaze at the sky. "No."

  The next morning, when Beata delivered my breakfast, I only picked at it. By lunch, I was starving, but still didn't eat. I grimaced and pretended not to remember anything Katarine told me during the day, making sure to avidly protest any mention of illness. More importantly, during the course of the day, when I was alone with the four different guards in Felix's inner circle, I spoke to them about the poison investigation, telling them I was closing in on the merchant, but changing one small detail about where Felix was to meet me that evening.

  I asked Riya, who escorted me and Katarine to the school room, to keep Felix away from the stables so I could leave without him.

  To Coyle, who took me from the classroom to my tower for lunch, Felix was to meet me in the town square at eight.

  Joella, who took me from my room to my office where I signed papers, I asked to have Felix meet me in my room for dinner.

  And to Zathan, who came to get me for dinner, Felix was to join me at the garden gate, as usual.

  Then, all there was to do was wait.

  As soon as I'd finished picking at dinner, Felix walked into my room looking honestly surprised to see me there. "I've had a very interesting day, Brynn. Would you like to know why?"

  "I'm sure I could guess," I said, grimacing and holding my head. "But please, enlighten me."

  "I've been told by three different people that you're closing in on the poisoner and three different places where I'm supposed to meet you to investigate them."

  I nodded, keeping a smile off my face. Gotcha. "And what did three different people tell you?"

  "That you'd asked them to keep me away from the stables, to meet you at garden gate, and to meet you at the town square."

  I flinched and shook my head. Oh, Joella. Why did it have to be you?

  "So which is it?" he asked. "And what the hell is going on?"

  "I'm experimenting," I replied. "I wanted to see which of your people weren't loyal to you."

  "And?"

  I flashed him a fake smile. "All good. They all did exactly as I thought they would."

  Felix frowned, narrowing his eyes at me. "What are you planning? And why are you screwing with my guys? Leave them alone."

  "I'm not doing anything because they passed the test," I said, coming to stand slowly and making sure to exaggerate my grimace.

  "Then you haven't gotten anything on the poisoner, have you?" he asked, sounding a little upset.

  "No. I thought, perhaps, if one of your men was responsible, they might run back to their handler," I said. "But it turns out they're all clean."

  "Of course they are," he said hotly. "They can be trusted. Your trustworthiness, on the other hand, is currently in doubt. What the hell is going on?"

  "Nothing," I said, standing and holding my head, hiding a warm compress that I'd fashioned from the cup of evening tea Beata had sent up. "Felix
, I'm not in the mood to argue."

  "What's wrong? Are you ill?" He crossed the room and pressed his hand to my forehead, still warm and wet from the compress. "You're burning up."

  "'m fine," I said, weakly pushing his hand away, but he grabbed it, his eyes filled with concern.

  "Brynn, are you sure you didn't ingest any poison?"

  "Calm yourself, Captain," I said with an eyeroll. "I can catch a little cold every now and again."

  The furrow hadn't left his brow. "You're running yourself too hard. Beata says you haven't eaten all day and Kat said you weren't paying attention during lessons."

  "I never pay attention."

  He pursed his lips in a very convincing impersonation of a mother hen. "Brynn."

  "Fine," I said, putting as much disgust into my words as I could. "My head is killing me anyway. Might as well take a night in."

  He pressed his hand to my lower back as he guided me toward my bed. "I'll have Beata send up some more tea. And tomorrow, we're going to have a conversation about all these decisions you've been making, including confusing the hell out of my guards."

  "Fine, fine. Just go." I curled up under the blanket and covered my eyes with it.

  The door closed, leaving me alone. It was actually quite nice to lie there in the darkness, and exhaustion tugged at the back of my eyes. But I didn't succumb, waking when Beata tiptoed in with some tea.

  After an hour, I flung the sheets off. I fashioned a body-shaped person out of pillows and covered it up. In the darkness, even I couldn't tell the difference. I padded to the door; the first test of Felix's trust would be if it were locked. But it opened with a soft click, and I grinned.

  "Princess?" Riya rose from her post. "Can I get something for you?"

  I opened the door wider, squinting in the low light and pressing a hand over my head. "I'm dying for a glass of water. Would you mind? And maybe find Beata and see about getting another cup of tea or something?"

  "Of course." She jumped to her feet and dashed down the stairs. I waited a breath before following behind. Riya took a left at the bottom of the stairs, and I took a right. The hall was empty, and I grinned—I'd obviously convinced the entire castle. I had to duck into a room two or three times to avoid a passing guard, but finally—finally, I came to the dark library.