be overcome so easily.”
I smiled. “Well, don’t get too cocky because we’re still in kind of a mess. Varia’s people have us all prisoner here in her palace.”
“You are still in possession of your magic.”
“If I use it, there’s a good chance they’ll kill off my friends before I can actually accomplish anything.”
Volusian said nothing but gave me a look that clearly stated he didn’t see what the problem was.
“Is there any way you can free them?” I asked. “That would take a lot of stress off me.”
“It seems to me, mistress, it would remove a lot of stress if I freed
I shrugged. “I’m sure I can free myself. Well, maybe. I mean, I’m not the one with a handicap here. The rest of them are bound and blocked off from their magic. I’m not because Varia knows I won’t risk their lives. Once they’re out of trouble, though, I can start doing some serious damage.”
“That plan is ill-conceived and ill-advised, mistress. Fortunately for you, I am unable to comply. I can’t stray vary far from you in this land.” It was kind of what Dorian and I had talked about, how Volusian needed me and our bond to overcome the magic that would normally bar him from the Yew Land.
“Can you go to Dorian?” I asked. “I think he’s down the hall.”
Volusian tilted his head as though listening to something. “Yes. I can probably reach the Oak King. Do you want me to go now?”
“No, not until I have a plan to—”
There was a click outside my door as the lock was undone. I hissed for Volusian to disappear as I shoved my half-ass wand into my satchel. I’d placed the broken chair as far as it would go into a corner earlier and hoped no guards would notice it.
They didn’t. Their concern was getting my chains back on. Maybe Varia didn’t think I’d do anything drastic with my friends’ lives on the line, but that didn’t mean I could walk around her palace free and unencumbered. My guards escorted me back to the main floor and then into what could only be called a throne room.
I didn’t have a throne room. My predecessors might have, but I’d ordered my people to strip down the rooms in my castles and make them utilitarian. When I had official visits, it was usually in cozy sitting rooms with little pretension. Dorian didn’t technically have a throne room either, though he did have a raised throne sitting high in his dining hall, which he would sometimes sit in when he wanted to look impressive.
But this ... this was another story. The room was huge and could have doubled as a ballroom. Larger-than-life portraits of past monarchs lined the walls. The wide, smooth floor was made of more damarian jade, and pillars lined the room in a way that drew the eye toward the front. There Varia’s throne sat, even higher than Dorian’s dining room throne. The chair itself was fantastically huge, its back made of elaborate gold filigree and bedecked with gems. Despite the room’s enormity, that throne was the only furniture in the entire place. It again made sure all attention went to the front—and that those who came to see the queen were uncomfortable.
I had a feeling this room probably filled up regularly with petitioners and courtiers. Today, it was just me and my guards. Our footsteps echoed around the room as we approached the stairs leading up to the throne. I refused to be awed by the throne and instead studied the paintings on the walls. The names were meaningless until I saw Ganene again. Only, she wasn’t alone in her portrait. An inscription read
That would be Varia. She was seated grandly on her throne, wearing a dress of ruby red velvet with a skirt far too big for practical movement. I suspected servants had spread it out and draped it over the throne in an artful way. She had brown eyes and brown hair arranged in another of those high hairstyles I kept seeing among Yew women. Her age was difficult to guess, but she was certainly older than me. Jewels adorned almost every free spot: fingers, wrists, neck, ears, and hair. It was a dazzling display that walked a very, very fine line between regal and gaudy. On her lap were two tiny, furry little dogs that looked suspiciously like the annoying yappy kind I despised.
“Kneel,” one of the guards said. He started to shove me down, but Varia made a small, delicate motion with her hand, and he immediately stopped.
“No need for that,” said Varia, stroking one of the dogs. She pitched her voice in a way that was well received by the room’s acoustics, something she’d probably practiced quite a bit. “Queen Eugenie here is a fellow sovereign. We don’t kneel to each other.”
“Do we often take each other prisoner?” I demanded.
She smiled sweetly. “Well, now, that depends on whether or not we are staging coups into each other’s lands. You can hardly expect me to take no action when you and your cohorts come with plans to assassinate me in some feeble attempt to end the Winter Enchantment.”
“We call it the blight,” I said. “‘Winter Enchantment’ sounds like some kind of ice-skating show.” I didn’t really expect her to catch the reference. What had seized my attention was her accusation that we’d been coming to take her out personally. She didn’t know about our actual plans. She didn’t know about Volusian’s help and the deductions we’d made about the gifts she was holding.
“It makes no difference what you call it,” she declared. “And don’t flatter yourself by thinking you’re the first monarch who has tried to take matters into her own hands. The watchers I keep in my lands have descriptions of most of the kingdoms’ royalty. That’s the charming thing, you see. Monarchs who plan to surrender send emissaries. Monarchs with grand plans of rebellion come in person. Some delusion of personal greatness, I suppose.”
“Or,” I said bitterly, “maybe it’s because those monarchs care about their people and are willing to risk themselves.” I was guessing Varia and her dogs rarely dirtied their hands.
Varia shrugged. “Perhaps. Whatever the reason, it’s foolish. Far smarter to join my united kingdoms. I was quite disappointed when I heard reports that you and King Dorian had entered my lands with your nefarious plots. You’re both quite conspicuous, you know. I’d hoped you two—particularly you—would come to your senses and join me. Especially after the kind offer my ambassador made you.”
“To run away from my problems and hide out here?” I scoffed. “No thanks.”
“From what I hear, that’s exactly what you did do, however. You just picked a different venue and were probably on guard the entire time.” She gestured around her. “Had you been here, you could have relaxed and enjoyed the final months of your pregnancy. Perhaps if you hadn’t been so stressed and afraid, your children wouldn’t have been born early and in danger.”
I stiffened, not liking the implication that my actions were responsible for the twins’ risky delivery. “That’s
“So you say. I’m a mother too, so I can relate to these niceties we try to convince ourselves of. And as a mother, I was quite sincere in my invitation to protect you. I think it’s appalling what the Willow Queen and others tried to do to you. Appalling and cowardly. I would’ve helped you on principle alone. That, and I have so wanted a friend I can talk to and be on equal terms with.”
“Ilania mentioned that too,” I said, not really buying it. “Some kind of female-solidarity thing?”
“I need to talk to someone, don’t I? Aside from my little darlings here.” She paused to scratch the dogs’ chins. Both had jeweled collars and little bows on their heads. “And men have proved far too disappointing. I gave up on them years ago, except for the necessary pleasures, of course. Mostly, they bore or irritate me. I would greatly welcome smart female companionship. It’s lonely having all this power.” There was a wistful, melodramatic way to her delivery of that last line that made me want to punch her.
“Sorry if I don’t feel bad for you. It’s hard for me to muster a lot of empathy for someone who’s been responsible for so much innocent death and destruction.”
Varia laughed merrily. “Innocent? There are few who can really claim that. And what would you think if I told you that I can focus the Winter Enchantment more harshly on specific kingdoms? You find me cruel, but the enchantment as it currently stands still allows life to go on in your kingdoms.” The laughter died, and she leaned slightly forward. “I have the means to focus the spell and increase its intensity. If you liked, I could focus on the Willow Land and completely destroy it.”
I gaped. “You’d completely destroy a kingdom full of innocent people?”
“Including Queen Maiwenn,” she pointed out. “That would be terribly convenient for you. And a nice bit of
