A pirate from Carthis? Ash’s mouth had gone dry, and yet it was as if he tasted blood, metallic on his tongue. “Why would a pirate from Carthis involve himself in our war?”
Shadow laughed. “He wants to involve us in his war. He came to warn us that an empress from Carthis was planning to invade with a huge army. He claims that he just came from Ardenscourt, where he managed to prevent an agreement between Arden and the empress.”
“He just came . . . from Ardenscourt?”
Shadow nodded. “We think that he and this empress must be rivals, and he wants to poison us against her.”
Ash cleared his throat. “What was his name, this visitor?”
“His name is Evan Strangward,” Shadow said. “He’s known as the Stormcaster.” He paused, frowning. “What is it? Do you know him?”
“Where is he now?” Adrian demanded, his heart thumping painfully. “He hasn’t left the city, has he?”
“I don’t believe so,” Shadow said. He looked over Ash’s shoulder. “In fact, he just walked in with your mother.”
22
QUEENS AND KNAVES
“You should get dressed now,” Evan said to Brody. “We don’t want to be late.”
His first mate was stripped down to his smallclothes, sprawled across a delicate velvet chair that looked like it might collapse under his weight at any moment. He was distracting, as always, but in a distant way, like a platter of sweetmeats after a feast.
“We should go home now, Captain,” Brody said. “You’ve had your meeting with the queen and her crew. She’ll decide what she decides. The longer we stay, the more likely it is that we’ll get into trouble. I don’t like being so far from the sea.”
Brody was right—they’d had their meeting with the queen and her small council that afternoon. Hadley DeVilliers introduced them without a hint of endorsement. There were several other mages present, including the High Wizard, Micah Bayar, and a healer, Lord Vega. The wetlanders had been polite enough, but they’d questioned and debated him on every detail. When he told them he’d seen Celestine’s ships off their coast, they shrugged and said that pirates had been a problem for years. When he warned them that the empress in the east had all but conquered the Desert Coast and was preparing to invade the wetland realms, they said they’d been fighting off invaders for decades. Besides, pirates knew better than to venture too far from the sea. Fierce, fearless, unstoppable desert horselords? They’ll freeze to death in the mountains.
One uplander in particular, Shadow Dancer, seemed convinced that Evan was trying to persuade the Fells to get involved in his personal feud.
They saved their deepest skepticism for his suggestion that the Fells seek peace with Arden so that they could join forces against Celestine.
“Captain Strangward,” Queen Raisa said finally, “we must direct our resources to the war we have. If another war comes to us, we’ll fight that one, too. As for suing for peace, you should be speaking with the young king in the south. We did not start this war, but we intend to finish it. We do not intend to bend the knee, and we do not intend to lose—to anyone.”
The meeting had been disappointing, to say the least. And then, hours later, this invitation to a reception. It had rekindled Evan’s hope that something had changed, that somehow he could come away with an agreement.
“The queen invited us to this reception,” Evan said. “It would be rude to refuse. It is in honor of the queen’s son, who has come home after a long absence, so it will be a chance to meet him. Maybe we can win him over. Anyway, parties are often where important business gets done at court.”
“What do you know about how queens do business?”
“It’s in books,” Evan said. “I’ve read about it.”
“You’re always reading,” Brody said, like it was an accusation. “I don’t trust the wolf queen.”
“That’s fair, because she doesn’t trust us.”
“If she intended to do business with us, she would have shown you more respect in the meeting.”
“You are the one who needs to show some respect, youngling,” Teza said. “Your job is to follow orders, not to argue with the captain.”
“It’s not that the queen doesn’t respect us,” Evan said. “I think it’s exhaustion, more than anything. They’ve been fighting this war for more than twenty-five years. The queendom is surrounded by enemies. They really don’t need more bad news. Their resources are stretched to the limit.”
“That’s not our fault,” Brody pointed out.
“No, it’s not, but that doesn’t make them eager to take on one more complication. The thing is, I don’t want to leave without a commitment from her. It’s not like we have an ambassador here who will follow up after we’re gone.”
“And if she won’t commit?” Brody said.
“She has to.” This was their best option, because it was their only option.
“She doesn’t have to do anything,” Brody said. “We’ll freeze to death while we wait.”
“If you’d put on some clothes, you’d be warmer,” Evan said.
“I don’t like wearing so many clothes,” Brody protested. But he levered himself out of the chair, retrieved his shirt from where he’d dropped it on the floor, and slipped it on.
“I’d like to go to a party,” Jorani said wistfully, smoothing the skirts of her silk dress. She’d been closemouthed and wide-eyed ever since they arrived at the palace.
“You can come to the next one,” Evan said. “Especially if Brody keeps complaining.”
They were met at the palace gate by a handful of the queen’s blue-coated guards, who escorted them to a small reception hall.
As soon as they were ushered through the doorway, Evan recognized several people from the meeting earlier in the day. As the queen had promised, this was an intimate, informal gathering. The queen herself was welcoming newcomers and directing them to food and drink.
“Captain Strangward,” she said graciously. “I’m glad that you and Brody were able to come and celebrate with us.” She stood on tiptoe, scanning the crowd. “I know Adrian is here somewhere, no doubt catching up with old friends. Ah. There he is. Come with me.” The queen led him toward the back of the room, to where the uplander, Shadow Dancer, waited with a tall, broad-shouldered young mage wearing an elaborately stitched coat and a scowl.
“Adrian, this is Evan Strangward, from Carthis. Lord Strangward, this is my son, Adrian sul’Han.”
But no, it wasn’t. It couldn’t be. Evan found himself looking into the icy blue-green eyes of the king of Arden’s gifted healer, Adam Freeman.
“We’ve met, Mother,” Freeman said through his teeth. He gripped his amulet. “Step away from the queen, you murderous bastard.”
Evan saw no point in denying who he was, or forcing the hand of the Queen’s Guard by refusing. He’d have to talk fast if he wanted to survive the night.
“Healer,” he said, taking two steps away from the wolf queen and keeping his hands at his sides. “I’m glad to see that you survived that unpleasantness at Ardenscourt.”
“What unpleasantness?” the queen said, looking from Evan to the healer and back again. “What’s this about Ardenscourt?”
“I survived,” Freeman said, still fixed on Evan. “And, unfortunately, you survived. But not everyone did.”
“Surely you don’t regret killing the king of Arden,” Evan said, taking a blind shot, hoping it hit home. “I can’t imagine that anyone is mourning him on this side of the border.”
“You killed King Gerard?” It was Shadow Dancer, his body rigid, his eyes wide with surprise.
“One thing confuses me, though,” Evan said. “In Ardenscourt, I knew you as Adam Freeman.”
“In Ardenscourt,” the queen said, as if she couldn’t believe her ears. She turned to the healer. “What is he talking about, Adrian?”
“I told you about Jenna,” the healer said. He pointed at Evan. “This is the man who murdered her.”
“You said that you met a girl,” the queen said, her back stiff with disapproval. “You didn’t mention that you met this girl in Ardenscourt.”
“As I told you, it’s a long story.”