The Queen of Mages (10 page)

And there sat the king, dressed splendidly
in royal purple and blue, his surcoat showing the royal arms upon
his chest, his heavy golden crown resting atop light brown hair
flecked with gray. His Majesty, Viktor II of the Royal House of
Relindos, King of Garova, Defender of its People, Protector of the
Realm, and numerous other titles besides. His beard was still
mostly brown, his eyes lidded as he watched the nobles pass. He did
not look old, just… worn.

The woman in a dark blue gown who sat by his
side, on a smaller throne, must be Queen Alise. She smiled gently,
kindness in her large brown eyes, nodding graciously at each lord
or lady as they bowed before the dais. A silver circlet sat atop
her golden curls. To the king’s other side stood a large young man,
of an age with Amira, with blue eyes and a thin golden circlet
resting upon his chestnut hair. His hands were clasped behind his
back and his mouth was set in a severe line. He nodded curtly at
each noble. Prince Edon, the king’s eldest son and heir apparent to
the throne of Garova.

A willowy, very pretty young girl, wearing a
demurely cut but bright red gown, stood next to the queen. She
smiled brightly at everyone who passed, making some jest here or
there, giving some life to the whole tedious undertaking.
That
must be the king’s elder daughter, Taya.
Amira could see why
she was so popular.

The other royal children, Karina and Luka,
were not of age, and so were not present. Little Prince Luka would
certainly never tolerate hours of standing and greeting hundreds of
boring grown-ups. Lucky him, he had years yet before he had to
endure such pleasures.

The royal servants kept the line moving in
efficient routine. The herald, who seemed to have an endless memory
for names, introduced each noble as they bowed or curtseyed or
knelt as they were able. “My liege” or “Sire” or “Your majesty”
drifted back to Amira’s ears time and again.

Soon enough it was Dardan’s turn. He gave
her hand a comforting squeeze before stepping forward to kneel
alone.

“Lord Dardan Tarian of Hedenham,” the herald
intoned.

Dardan bowed his head deeply. “Your majesty.
I regret that my father the count is not present, but matters
detain him in Hedenham.”

“Yes, of course,” the king muttered. Dardan
took the hint and moved on, stopping a few yards away to wait for
Amira.

She stepped forward, heart fluttering. “Lady
Amira Estaile,” the herald said. Amira bowed her head and
curtseyed, though with her starched petticoats and tight corset,
she simply lowered three inches for a moment. As she rose, she
looked up at Prince Edon and was startled to see a line of blazing
silver light erupt from the side of his head.

He stood in profile, speaking quietly to
some old knight standing beside him. The silver line seemed to run
from above Edon’s ear up to the top of his scalp, even visible
through his circlet. It pulsed brightly, as if someone had dripped
molten silver on him. But he did not seem to be in any distress,
and nobody around him was panicking.

Yet Amira could not move. She stared, until
the prince faced her and caught her gawking. He frowned at her. The
silver light had disappeared the instant he turned his head.

“M’lady,” Dardan hissed at her. Amira
realized she’d been standing there far too long, and the nobles
next in line were glaring. The herald made little shooing motions
with his hand, and now the royals were all watching her curiously.
Amira stepped away quickly, saying, “Your majesty, your
highnesses.”

As Dardan took her arm to lead her from the
room, she glanced back at Prince Edon. He stared at her with wide
eyes, his mouth hanging open, one hand half-raised, as if he’d seen
something astounding in her as well.
Something like silver
light.

Damn that careless girl. Why didn’t she
tell me I’d be separated from her all evening?
Katin rubbed her
hands together. The evening air had cooled quickly and she’d begun
to wish she’d brought a shawl of her own. The best warmth to be had
out here in the foreyard was beneath the tall lamps along the
yard’s outer walls, but the space around them was already clogged
with people.

The foreyard had no fire-eaters, no
jugglers, no fantastic foreign delicacies. Just hundreds of idle
valai
, supping on warm stew and bread from wooden bowls. At
least there was the small group of musicians to entertain them, but
after the third go-round of “Summer Starlight” Katin began to
consider beating them to death with their own fiddles.

As in the song, the stars twinkled brightly;
there was no moon tonight. The low hum of conversation droned all
around her. She turned a little to glance at Liam, who had shadowed
her the whole evening as she drifted around the yard.

Occasionally she spotted
valai
she
had met before, while attending Amira at some masque or dinner
party, but she was too worried about Amira to strike up
conversation. Even with Liam.
He
seemed to know quite a few
of the
valai
, but stuck close to Katin anyway.

At least he was easy on the eyes; that was
all she could say in his favor. Handsome men had an innate
arrogance, and Katin was suspicious of him, even though they’d
barely shared a hundred words since they met.

He caught her gaze and smiled. She
reflexively smiled back, then yanked her eyes away and increased
her pace. He had tried to make conversation a few times, but she’d
merely hummed noncommittally. She wished there were some other way
to distract herself here.

But there was none. The wine they were
served was watered down, making it difficult to get drunk, though a
few
valai
had managed. The palace servants overseeing these
so-called festivities paid close attention to those who grew
unruly, and escorted the offenders out before anything untoward
could happen. Katin would have gladly watched dogs fight over a
bone.

Liam startled her when he came around to
look squarely in her eyes. “Are you all right?” he asked.

“Quite.” When he held his gaze on her, she
glared back. “Don’t stare.”

“My apologies. You looked a little…
extremely annoyed.”

She almost snapped at him, but realized that
would be playing right into his hands. Her throat felt dry, so she
instead asked him if he would be so kind as to fetch her a cup of
wine. He nodded and departed at once.

As soon as his back was turned, Katin darted
between two groups of
valai
and sat on a stone bench partly
hidden behind a hedge. Maybe he’d take the hint and leave her
alone. But no; she clenched her jaw when he found her only a few
moments later. “Ah, here you are,” he said, not realizing she’d
tried to ditch him—or perhaps pretending.

Katin pursed her lips and took the wine.
“Thank you.”

“It seems one must move mountains to wrench
a few kind words from you,” Liam said. His voice was light, and his
eyes twinkled.

“Do not presume to know me,” Katin said.

“I presume no such thing. I merely speak
from experience.” He glanced down at the bench beside her. “May
I?”

She wanted to tell him to go away, but could
not bring herself to be quite so rude. She nodded, and he sat, out
of arm’s reach. “I feel that I must apologize, Miss Berisha. I seem
to have done something to displease you, though I haven’t the
slightest notion what that might be. I suppose I ought to apologize
for that as well.”

“I am merely worried about my lady,” Katin
lied. Well, she
was
worried about Amira, if not only that.
“And about your master’s intentions.”

“Intentions? What intentions? He was
browbeat into this by his mother. I’d be amazed if your lady ever
wanted to see him again after tonight. She’ll be lucky if he
doesn’t trample her feet in the ballroom.”

“You speak so poorly of your master for one
who presumably received training on how to act as a
valo
.”

Liam grinned. “The whole city already knows
what an awful dancer he is. I spill no secrets of his, I assure
you.”

“Well it is poor form to speak ill of your
master. Tell me about yourself. Where are you from?”

Katin hoped he’d take the bait, and he did.
Men loved to talk about themselves, and Liam was no exception.
“Hedenham County, born and bred,” he began. “I’ve been in m’lord’s
service, oh, four years now. I was in his father’s house guard
before that, but his lordship the count picked me to be his son’s
valo
when he came of age, and sent me off for training. My
father’s a wool merchant. I had the best tutors. No deprivations to
speak of.”

“How did the son of a merchant become a
guardsman?”

“I, um… ran away to join the king’s army
when I was fourteen.”

Katin laughed, then caught herself. It would
not do to let him think she found him amusing. Which she most
definitely did not.

“Hardly an unfair response,” Liam admitted.
“My father was significantly less amused when he found out.”

“I thought the royal army only took men of
age?”

“Indeed, but I was big enough at fourteen to
pass for sixteen, so they were fooled and let me in. Although in
hindsight I suspect they knew better, and simply chose not to turn
away a healthy young volunteer. I served for two years before my
father tracked me down. The beating he gave me…” He shook his head.
“Count Tarian knew my family, and heard of my story. He offered to
train me as a guardsman, a fate which my father took to be some
sort of punishment.” His grin gave the lie to that.

“But not you, I take it.” Katin realized she
was actually interested in his story, and no longer simply aimed to
fill the silence.
Damn it. When will Amira come out of that
accursed palace?

“No. Father assumed I’d follow him into the
wool trade, but… numbers, finance, all that, I can’t stand it. I
can
do
it, I just don’t like it. The chance to use a sword,
that’s what my blood called out for.” He waved imaginary steel,
then let his arm drop. “Alas, guards at a country manor have much
in the way of idle time, and I ended up helping Lord Dardan with
his studies. We grew attached, and when he came of age, his father
made me his
valo
.”

“Does a
valo
get into more fights
than a guard?”

“Many fewer,” Liam said. “Although I do eat
better.”

“You try so hard to amuse.”

“You’re smiling,” Liam shot back, with his
own grin for accompaniment.

Katin realized he was right, and wiped the
grin from her face. “Well. A remarkable story.”

“Remarkable?” he laughed. “Hardly. There are
a thousand more like it. Where are you from, that such a story
would be considered remarkable?”

This irritated her. “Somewhere just as
interesting as Hedenham County,” she said defensively.

“That would be no great trick,” Liam
replied, leaning toward her just a little. “And where would that
be?”

She sniffed. “I do not wish to blather about
my past.”
Nor will you ever learn about it.

“Ah, so you wrest my life’s story from me
with your feminine wiles, and leave me out in the cold.” He
shivered.

“I did not—!” She caught herself, feeling
hot around the neck. She raised her cup to drink again, and found
it empty. Maybe the wine wasn’t watered down quite as much as she’d
thought. “You are rude, Mister Howard,” she said.

“I consider a day wasted if I haven’t
offended a lady by its end.”

“M’lady is the lady. I’m just a
vala
.” She looked at him again. He seemed to be enjoying
this. She wondered if he could take such jibes as he handed out.
“Does it not reflect poorly on your lord to have such a lout for
his
valo
?”

“It’s to balance m’lord’s sobriety. Too much
dutiful restraint will kill a man just as surely as a dagger.”
Suddenly he frowned, as if he’d gone a step too far.

“So you
can
stop talking,” she said.
“I wouldn’t have thought it possible.”

“The company of an intriguing lady loosens
my tongue,” he admitted, smiling again. It
was
a lovely
smile. Too lovely.

“There you go, calling me a lady again. I
see your game, sir. I suppose next you’ll compare my beauty to that
of a swan.”

He touched her hand. When had he crept so
close? “Beauty is weak coin,” he said softly. “I’ll take
interesting over beautiful any day.”

She jerked her hand away and laughed. “Do
such lines usually work?”

His mouth worked soundlessly. Clearly he
hadn’t expected
that
response—

A voice calling out caught her attention.
After a moment she recognized her name:
Katin! Katin!
shouted over and over. Liam noticed as well, and they both stood up
at once, glancing about.

At the palace door stood Amira, with Lord
Dardan at her shoulder. Amira searched the crowd, clearly trying to
find them. “Katin!” she shouted again.

Katin gathered up her skirts and rushed
toward her lady.
Something is wrong, something is terribly
wrong.
There had been a warm glow around Katin, which she only
realized when it fell away to let the darkness close in again.
Please don’t let her have used that terrifying power of
hers…

She pushed through a group of half-drunk
valai
, one of whom tried to grope at her as she passed. She
heard a slap, and glanced back to see the man tumble to the ground,
with Liam’s hand raised above him. He stopped for a moment, giving
the reprobate a glare that froze him halfway to his feet, then
continued on, taking Katin’s arm. She wanted to jerk away but could
not make herself do it.

Dardan saw them first and pointed them out
to Amira. Moments later they came within reach. “M’lady, are you
all right?” Katin asked, a little breathless from rushing across
the foreyard.

“Lady Amira is feeling, uh, unwell, I
believe,” Dardan offered. He looked confused and a little flushed
himself.

Amira stepped forward, taking Katin’s hand.
“I feel
very warm
,” she said, and Katin did not miss the
emphasis.

“Oh dear!” She put a hand up to Amira’s
forehead. “Oh dear, we must get you home at once. M’lord, forgive
me, but would you please summon the coach?”

Dardan looked further confused, but nodded
and moved off. Liam hesitated, his eyes on Katin, then followed his
master.

As soon as they were beyond earshot, Amira
grabbed Katin’s arm and pulled her to a nook beside the archway.
“Something happened in the throne room. It was Prince Edon. He had…
I don’t know, some sort of light coming from his head.”

Katin stared. “From his
head
? I don’t
suppose you confused the prince with a stand-lamp…” She was
relieved that Liam was gone for the moment. Something about him
unnerved her. She shook it off. “Was there trouble? A fight, or
something?”

“No, no. We were in the receiving line, and
when my turn came, I looked at Edon, standing next to his father.
There was a line of silver light glowing along the side of his
head.” She traced a finger down to her ear. “Then he looked at me,
and… I think he saw the same thing in me.”

Katin glanced around, checking that no one
had come near. “Are you certain he was not just taken by your
looks? I’ve seen that reaction in men before. Dardan nearly fell
over when you met.”

Amira shook her head frantically. “This was
different. He had turned aside to speak with someone, and that’s
when I saw the light. And when we left the throne room, he looked
at me, and—” She cut herself off when she saw Liam trotting up.

“M’lady, the coach awaits.”

Their old gray driver stood waiting at the
stone steps. Katin helped Amira into the coach, but when Dardan
made to follow, she held up a hand. “M’lord, I beg of you, stay and
enjoy the ball. It is likely no more than a woman’s troubles.” She
caught Liam’s eye, hoping he’d get the message.

Dardan hesitated, and Liam stepped into the
gap. “M’lord, she will be all right.”

His master furrowed his brow, but nodded.
“My lady, I will visit on the morrow to see that you are well,” he
called out to Amira. Then he turned to the driver. “Take them to
her manse, then return here.”

From within the cabin, Katin could not see
the driver, but felt the coach shake a little as he shifted his
weight. “Ah, yes, m’lord,” came his voice. “But, ah, the custom was
for a single round trip…”

Dardan smacked his hat against the side of
the couch and shouted. “You will be properly paid, fool! Now go!”
The old driver needed no more encouragement. He whipped the horses,
and the coach lurched into motion.

Amira had slouched against the back wall of
the cabin, feigning distress. Once they were out of sight, she sat
up straighter. “I feel bad for ruining his evening. He’d finally
started to enjoy himself.”

“Amira! The prince?” How could she even
think about Dardan at a time like this?

“Calm down, there’s no need to panic.” Amira
reached up and started untangling the golden net from her hair.

“Tell me everything that happened. Quietly,”
Katin added. “The driver can likely overhear.”

Amira told the tale of her evening: the
ballroom, the courtyard, entertainments and cuisines from faraway
lands, dancing in the ballroom… Katin tried hard to retain her
focus, but she felt envy creeping in.

When Amira described the throne room and the
receiving line, Katin interrupted to ask for details, but Amira
shrugged. “I don’t really remember. There were dozens of people
about, but once I saw that light… It’s all a blur.” She snorted.
“They say the prince is dim, but he seemed bright enough to me.”
The girl seemed overly pleased by her jest. Katin wanted to slap
her.