The Queen's Price

SIXTY-EIGHT

The Winds looked like shining webs of power in the Darkness, with radial lines and tether lines. They began at Ebon Askavi and ran to the farthest reaches of each Realm. But they weren’t all equal. Winds that corresponded to the darker Jewels had more radial and tether lines—and more speed, which required more strength and control. A White Web ran the slowest and had the fewest radial and tether lines. On the Ebon-gray the distance between Ebon Rih and the Hall still took time, but Lucivar could reach a destination in a quarter of the time—or less—that it would take someone riding the lightest Winds.

After Zoey had her audience with Witch, Lucivar had brought the girls back to the eyrie. Marian had fussed over the young Queen until the girl settled enough to eat a bowl of soup and a slice of toast. She didn’t fuss over Grizande, knowing that warriors didn’t respond to fussing in the same way as Queens. Instead, she had taught the Tigre girl how to make scrambled eggs—a simple thing, but Grizande almost glowed with the pleasure of having those few minutes of Marian’s undivided attention.

Thinking about that, Lucivar now rose to a Red Web when it lined up with the Ebon-gray. Then he rose to the Green. When he rose to the Opal, the Coach was still far enough away from Halaway and the Hall for a lesson, so he said, “Grizande, come up here.”

Wary but not afraid, she took the second driver’s seat.

“We’re running on the Opal Winds. Can you feel it?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“You’re going to take over driving the Coach. Ready?”

“Ready.”

It was like rolling a large ball of yarn in front of a kitten. She almost pounced on the opportunity the moment he released his control of the Coach.

He didn’t have an hourglass to mark the time, but he figured it took her only about a minute to start a familiar grumble.

“Why we use Opal?” Grizande asked. “I can fly on Sapphire. Or Green.”

“You’re flying on Opal because that’s what I want you to do,” he replied.

“Why?”

He gave her the same look he’d given Daemonar when his boy had given him the same argument while being taught to drive a Coach. Grizande met his look for a few seconds before refocusing on the Coach and grumbling under her breath. She could grumble all the way to Halaway, but if she wanted to be trusted to drive a Coach, she would follow his orders. Very few people survived making a mistake while riding the Winds unless they were lucky enough to catch another Wind when they fell through the Darkness.

One day soon he would do the same thing he’d done with Daemonar—take her in a Coach and toss it off the Wind they were riding, giving her a taste of what it felt like to fall, out of control. There were places where he could do that and then catch the Red or Ebon-gray after a few heart-pounding seconds of blind fear. He’d chosen those places because Daemonar, wearing the Green, would not have been able to save himself in that way. Grizande would learn the same lesson.

A warrior’s lesson.

She settled a lot more quickly than his boy had to the task of driving the Coach at the speed he wanted. Then again, Daemonar had taken for granted that he could have his father’s and uncle’s time and attention. Lucivar suspected that Grizande, not having had that, would never take for granted what he and Daemon offered.

What is the Queen’s purpose? What is the Queen’s duty? What is the Queen’s price?

Zoey had spent the journey back to SaDiablo Hall thinking about that, about how a Queen protects her people, no matter the price to herself.

Not necessarily a physical price, although the Queen who had stood before her had certainly paid that. It could be as simple as taking a stand that wouldn’t please some of the people under her hand, might even make enemies for the Queen who drew that line. A Queen who did that might lose her court, or the Queen who ruled above her might strip her of her territory, even if it was only one small village.

Everything had a price—and the Queen’s price was doing what was right, regardless of the cost.

By the time the Coach landed in Halaway, Zoey knew what she needed to do.

“Why we land here?” Grizande asked. “Hall has landing web. We can go there.”

“Can we?” Lucivar countered. “Do you know how to send out a psychic probe to test what’s around you?”

She nodded.

“Do it. And be careful.”

Not a dismissal of what she knew or could do. This was a warning, because he knew what she would find—and it could hurt her.

She released some of her Sapphire power, letting it flow quietly through the village. Nothing immediately dangerous here. No reason—

Before she realized it was there, the Black shield sucked out half of the power she’d put into the probe.

Grizande pulled back, startled. Frightened.

Lucivar just watched her. “You and I? When we fight, we leave carnage behind in a way that leaves no one in doubt of our intention. That is the nature of our races and how we fight. But Sadi? He’s quiet when he kills. Clean. And devastating. Something he has in common with his father. The Hall is locked down. So is part of the estate. So is the landing web. Maybe we could land there safely, but we’d be trapped within the shields until Sadi decided whether he’s dealing with friends or enemies. Maybe if we try landing there it would be like trying to survive being hit by lightning multiple times. Some of us in this Coach might survive, but not all of us.”

“He angry because we took Coach to see Queen who is more than a Queen?”

“No, witchling. There is an enemy inside the walls of SaDiablo Hall. An enemy who is now trapped inside—with him.”

“Ah.” She was still learning, like a young cat learns by watching the adults. But . . . “We could help hunt.”

Lucivar smiled. Then he looked behind him and Grizande when Zoela Queen stood up.

“I need to reach the Hall,” Zoela Queen said. “There are things the other Queens and I need to discuss.”

Grizande studied the other girl. Zoela Queen had been afraid when they’d gone to the Keep. Now she was ready for the fight to come.

Lucivar used Craft to glide the Coach above the road as if it were a wheeled carriage. When he reached the bridge that indicated the boundary between Halaway’s land and the SaDiablo estate, he set the Coach down on the road—a barricade to keep the unwary, or the foolish, from slamming into Daemon’s Black shield. Not an aggressive shield as such, but not passive either. Since it consumed a person’s power so swiftly, the reservoir in a Jewel could be drained and the Jewel broken before its owner realized the danger.

The Black had gone cold, but Lucivar couldn’t tell from just the feeling of cold if he would be dealing with the High Lord or the Sadist.

So we dance on the knife’s edge.

*Bastard?* he called on a spear thread.

*Prick? Where are you?*

*At the bridge. The girls are with me. Zoey would like to talk to the other Queens.*

*Zoey is in her room because of tummy troubles,* came the dry reply. *I’ll open the shield above the Queen’s square of rooms. You better bring the girls in that way for discretion’s sake.*

*We’ll be there in a few minutes.* Lucivar ended the link, then nudged the girls out of the Coach.

“How do we reach the Hall?” Zoey asked.

Lucivar took firm hold of an arm and wrapped a shield around Zoey. After doing the same with Grizande, he said, “We fly.”

That was all the warning they had before he spread his wings and launched them skyward. He needed Craft and power to hold that much weight in each hand during flight—especially because he was flying close to the shields above the Hall and didn’t want a collision between the shields around the girls and the shields around the Hall. Even an Ebon-gray shield wouldn’t protect them against the Black.

When they reached the Queen’s square of rooms, Lucivar used Craft to create a platform of air that they could stand on while waiting for the shield to open. Zoey looked pale but still determined. Grizande quivered with . . .

“I learn to do this?”

. . . excitement. “We’ll teach you.”

She purred with satisfaction.

He swallowed a sigh and accepted that he would also be teaching the little tiger. Maybe not. Liath seemed to be in charge of Jaalan’s education. May the Darkness have mercy on all of them.

The shield opened. Lucivar vanished the air platform and spread his wings enough to control the fall to the inner courtyard, landing lightly before he set the girls on their feet and released the shields around them.

Weston stepped onto the second-story balcony and stared at them.

“You in trouble, Zoela Queen,” Grizande said, sounding amused but sympathetic.

Arlene and Jhett ran out of the social room, and skidded to a stop when they realized the Eyrien with Zoey wasn’t Daemonar.

Lucivar put a hand around the back of Grizande’s neck. The girl hissed a warning, which he ignored. “You are going to find the other Queens. Do it quietly. Say these words exactly: ‘Lady Zoela requires your presence in the Queen’s square.’ Don’t answer any questions. Don’t tell anyone else the message you’re giving the Queens.”

“Not even brother Daemonar?”

Brother? Well, well, well. “You may tell your brother when you can’t be overheard.” He didn’t point out that she could use a psychic thread to talk to Daemonar. If she didn’t realize that, it would be another lesson.

He released her. “Go.”

Grizande looked around. Lucivar noted with approval that she carefully probed the rooms before she said, “How?”

“Up here.” Weston waved a hand. “This room is the only way in or out.”

The girl moved fast, racing up the stairs with a feline grace that would make her exquisitely lethal with a few years of training.

When she disappeared with Weston, Lucivar looked at the other girls but didn’t ask any questions. He walked up the stairs.

“Zoey,” Weston said when Lucivar walked into the room. “Did she get the answers she needed?”

“She’s asked to see the other Queens, so I guess we’ll find out.”

Grizande found Kathlene Queen first, but she wasn’t alone.

As Grizande wondered how to separate Queen from court without being obvious that she had a message meant for Queen alone, Titian noticed her and moved toward her, leaving Kathlene Queen to deal with a screeching girl.

“I have to get out! I can’t breathe!”

“We can go into one of the courtyards for fresh air,” Kathlene Queen said soothingly.

“But we’re still locked in! Why are we locked in?”

“Cara, I’m sure the Hall being locked is temporary and has nothing to do with us. Come on, now. We have lessons to finish.”

“I can’t!”

“Grizande,” Titian said, looking worried but trying to smile.

“Screeching do no good,” Grizande said. “Outside land also shielded. Can’t get in; can’t get out.”

Titian looked at the other people around Cara and Kathlene Queen. “You got back in.”

“Prince Lucivar got back in. Brought us with him.”

“Father’s here?” Titian blinked. Then she sighed. “Yes, of course he’s here.”

“Have message for Kathlene Queen from Zoela Queen.”

“Maybe you can tell me?”

Grizande shook her head. “Only for Queens. Lucivar said.”

Titian nodded. “Wait here. I’ll tell Kathlene you need to speak to her.”

Whatever Titian said had Kathlene Queen moving away from her court—including the screeching girl who tried to follow.

“What does she have to say that the rest of us can’t hear?” Cara wailed, trying to shake off Titian’s hold of her arm.

“Is Zoey feeling better?” Kathlene Queen asked. “Her tummy was upset this morning.”

That was the untruth to explain Zoela Queen’s absence from the assignments. “Better,” Grizande agreed. “Zoela Queen requires your presence in the Queen’s square.”

“If my presence is required, then this must be important.”

“Yes.”

“Just me, or Felisha and Azara too?”

“You and them.”

“We don’t want everyone to notice that you’re delivering a message to all the Queens. Why don’t you tell Azara and I’ll tell Felisha?” Kathlene Queen thought for a moment. “Better not to bring our courts to this meeting?”

“No courts. Just Queens.”

“Then if you would oblige me by finding Prince Daemonar and telling him the Queens will be heading for the Queen’s square without an escort? He’ll know what to do.”

She knew what to do. “I find Daemonar. I escort Azara Queen. He find escorts for you and Felisha Queen.”

“Very well. We’ll be there as soon as we can. Azara and her court are working in the main library today. Do you know where that is?”

Grizande nodded and walked away.

As she headed for the part of the Hall where she would find Azara Queen, it occurred to her that Kathlene Queen had made requests, not given orders—just like she would have done if she’d been talking to Daemonar.

Daemonar felt the presence of the Sapphire—and the presence of the Ebon-gray. Sadi’s Black was a smothering presence that made it impossible for someone to know the man’s exact location. Well, Daemonar couldn’t tell. He was certain the Demon Prince would be able to locate the High Lord.

Sapphire, then. He would track down Grizande and see what she had to say about her and Zoey’s adventure.

He and his men strode through the corridors until they reached the main library. As they approached, a door opened, and Daemonar heard Azara say, “The rest of you stay here and continue working. I’ll be back shortly.”

Azara and Grizande stepped out of the library. Azara looked uncertain about finding three Warlord Princes standing in her way. Grizande looked pleased.

“Found you,” Grizande said.

He didn’t point out that he’d tracked her down. “Trouble?” When she moved away from the others, he did too.

“Kathlene Queen needs escort to Queen’s square. Felisha Queen too. I escort Azara Queen.”

Daemonar tapped her shoulder. “If you’re going to be Azara’s sword and shield, you’d better shield as if you’re going into a fight. If you don’t, Lucivar will have some things to say to you about protecting yourself so that you’re prepared to protect someone else.”

“He would growl at me?”

“Ooooh, yeah. You could call it that.”

He watched her form a Sapphire shield as snug as a second skin, then form another one a finger length away from her body. He nodded approval. Then he leaned as close as he could without hitting her shields and said quietly, “Stay alert. You can trust the Warlord Princes here. Also Holt, Beale, Raine, Mikal, and Weston. Whatever is going on, they aren’t part of it.”

She frowned. “No females?”

He wondered if she would have asked that question a short time ago, or if she would have assumed no females could be trusted—except Black Widows. “You can trust Titian and Jhett. Brenda, Helene, Nadene, among the adult females, although I don’t think they would be much help in a fight. Afterward, sure, but not during an attack. Mrs. Beale?” He shuddered. “Let’s hope Mrs. Beale doesn’t need to enter the fight. And you can trust all the kindred living at the Hall.”

Grizande nodded.

“Come on. Let’s get this done.”

It didn’t take long to fetch Kathlene, telling the overly curious that she was helping Daemonar with an assignment for escorts. He and Kathlene headed for the part of the Hall where Felisha was supposed to be working, but they met up with Raeth, Trent, and Liath, who were already herding the other Queen toward the meeting.

Raeth looked at Daemonar. *I tried to tell Liath that we were supposed to wait for you because we weren’t the assigned escorts, and he growled at me. I wasn’t going to argue with him after that.*

*Smart choice, since he wears the Green.*

*I was thinking more about his teeth.*

They moved quickly, Liath in the lead, with Warlord Princes on either side of Kathlene and Felisha, while Daemonar covered their backs.

They turned into the last corridor before reaching the square and found an obstacle that stopped all of them—even Liath—in their tracks. Lucivar Yaslana, holding an Eyrien war blade.

The Demon Prince studied their formation around the Queens, nodded his approval, and stepped aside.

“Grizande?” Daemonar asked as he passed his father.

Lucivar’s lips twitched. “Already here. But considering the way the young Queen was panting by the time she and Grizande reached the square, I think Azara needs more time exercising if she’s going to keep up with your Tigre sister.”

He didn’t disagree with his father’s use of the word “sister.” In his own mind, Grizande had become family.

“Place your men, one on each side of the square,” Lucivar said. “You should stay in motion, checking on them. I’ll go downstairs and patrol those corridors with Liath.”

“You’re really expecting trouble?”

“Not serious trouble. But as a training exercise, you all need to learn that no entry means no entry—even when the person asking is a pretty girl.”

Daemonar snorted. “I already know that.”

“Yes, you do. Do those boys?” Lucivar turned away, then hesitated. “Keep it sharp, boyo. No matter how this turns out, not everyone is going to survive.”

Lucivar walked away, followed by Liath moments later.

Not everyone was going to survive. What had Uncle Daemon discovered that meant it was going to come to that?