“My naivete made it necessary for you to beingenuous?”
“I have been in a difficult position and hadto make choices I thought my queen would expect of me, even if Iundermined my trustworthiness. “
Kambry tugged at the strap at her wrist, thenforced her fingers to still. Which queen was Sybil loyal to? “Whois your queen?”
Sybil’s legs tensed, as if to raise herselfto stand. She crossed her ankles, her eyes focusing beyond Kambry’sshoulder. “It would be better if we had this conversation afteryour union with the king.”
“We’ll have it now. My first act as queenwill be to discuss with Russal your continued position as sybil, soI need to know now if retaining you is the correct move.”
Sybil’s eyes trained on Kambry, the intensityenough to make Kambry concentrate her gaze.
“Queen Mya selected me,” Sybil said, namingRussal’s mother. “King Russal made it official shortly after thedeath of his parents. I have served Queen Mya’s intentions since,based on my understanding of how she ruled Kavin and made use ofher sybil’s advice. After your dance during the Grand Review, Ihave been split in my loyalties, trying to meet what I believeQueen Mya would want and what would serve my new queen best. Myloyalties, after the union and official crowning of queen thisafternoon, will be entirely yours.”
Kambry rose to her feet and paced the roomtwice. She had prepared to hear Sybil was loyal to Russal or thetraitorous mistress Maizalyn, but not Queen Mya and herself. Shehadn’t thought even once of a continued fidelity to the murderedqueen.
She faced Sybil. “What of King Russal?”
“Miss do Brode, betrothed to the king ofKavin, queens appoint sybils. She owes her loyalty only to thequeen. Therefore, I answer only to my queen. This is tradition,though not public. The assumption that my loyalties lie with thedirect-line ruler of Kavin is encouraged, but that is untrue. Itlies with whomever is queen. I was loyal to the prince, now king,but in a manner my queen would approve.”
“You are referring to Queen Mya, not me?”
“You see my difficulty,” she said with anapproving nod, seconded by her bun. “I have guided Prince Russal asmy queen would have wanted me to. But once you danced with theprince and Kavin, my allegiance went to you. It has not been asimple transition, as you have not accepted the mantle of queenwillingly.”
Kambry couldn’t deny the statement. She hadrefused to acknowledge she was the queen of Kavin. After today,that would no longer be a position she could argue. Though shestill felt ill-equipped for the role, she accepted it as part andparcel of her union with Russal. So Sybil had a valid point.
Kambry sat down in the chair and folded herhands in her lap. “Perhaps specificity would help us clarify theissues I have with you. You knew Covey would be in the passages andthat he would attempt to abduct me, yet you allowed my guards tobelieve me perfectly safe.”
“You were. You escaped just as my impressionled me to believe.”
“And your impressions are alwayscorrect?”
“I have three apprentice sybils. I consultwith them. If we are all in accordance, I can assume my impressionis reliable.”
“So four of you knew that Covey would be inthe passages?”
“And Marshal Burtram.”
“I will deal with him later.” Kambry wasn’tlooking forward to that discussion. She relied on Burty, findinghim one rock she could cling to when she felt insecure. That he hadallowed her to come face to face with her nemesis wasdisconcerting. “There were four of you. You all had impressionsthat I would escape?”
“It doesn’t work quite that way.”
Kambry huffed. This was getting tiresome. Sheneeded a thorough understanding of just how it all “worked” withSybil’s access to future events. “Clarify, please.”
“Only your sybil, me actually, receives animpression.” She stopped, and Kambry leaned forward.
“There is an exception?”
“One of my apprentices gets occasionalimpressions. He is unique, but we believe it is because of atraumatic experience he had as a child. Only I received theimpression. However, my apprentices perceive the rightness. Perhapsaccuracy is a better term for my analyses. I can provide them withan interpretation and ask if they note any objection.”
“What interpretation did you supply themwith?” Would an apprentice sybil be an informant for Covey?
“I stated that you would be free to roamthroughout the castle without fear of attack or other dangers. Iwas not specific about where you would roam.”
So no possibility of an informant. “And theysaw no concern for me?”
“They agreed there would be stress, but itwould be short-lived, and you would be safe at all times.”
“That is a fairly accurate assessment, Isuppose,” Kambry said grudgingly. “So you encouraged MarshalBurtram to expose me to this experience.”
Annoyance washed over Sybil’s face. “Wediscussed the matter, and Marshal Burtram stated he would suggestyour senior guard Gordanza take you into the passages so you wouldlearn more about the castle. I don’t make decisions about yoursafety, Miss do Brode.”
The statement that Burty had proposed settingher loose in the passages hadn’t made her happy, but Sybil’s laststatement about her safety put her teeth on edge and redirectedwhere she wanted their meeting to go. Burty had already explainedthat the best training required facing danger, and he was theindividual to determine what she could handle. That wasn’t so withthe sybil.
She stood and looked down at Sybil. “Youhave made decisions regarding my safety and Russal’s. Youled me to believe if I left the borders of Kavin, then Kavin Woodwould keep Russal from leaving as well. I believed because of yourmanipulation that my departure from the realm would secure thesafety of both of us and result in Lady Amily’s rescue.”
“Did it not?”
“Covey kidnapped me, and a woman I have notyet identified intended to kill me or cut off my thumb to gain thisring.” She held out her hand.
Sybil exhaled a breath noisily, as ifshe had reason to be annoyed.
Kambry laced her hands behind her back, afinger batting at the strap. She struggled to keep from rolling hereyes at her own nervousness. She was the queen, wasn’t she?
“You were safe. You escaped, you assisted inthe rescue of Lady Amily and her children, the king came to noharm,
