“No. This is outrageous.” Prince Colin’s neck turned red. “This isn’t how the Wraith Alliance works.”
“Actually, it is.” James grabbed a folder from the center of the council table. “The Wraith Alliance states that if any kingdom and its sovereign should fall to the wraith, wards would be returned to their home kingdoms and be under rule of the rightful king or queen. The rightful Queen of Aecor is Wilhelmina.” He pulled a stack of papers from the folder: the revised Wraith Alliance. “It’s all here, if you’d like to refamiliarize yourself with it.”
Prince Colin snatched the document and skimmed through to the parts concerning wardship. “This is outrageous. I have been ruling Aecor Territory for ten years. I am the overlord—”
“Not anymore.” I made my words hard. “I won’t continue this conversation. If you continue to resist, you will be in violation of the Wraith Alliance, which your king signed in good faith that all his subjects—you included—would obey.”
From the corner of my eyes, I caught amused and amazed looks.
Prince Colin slammed the document on the table just as an explosion sounded in the northwest. Shocks rippled through the ground and floor of the castle.
People shouted, and guards rushed to protect their charges. I raced for the nearest window, ignoring James’s orders for me to find safety, and threw open the shutters to let in a rush of early spring air.
A pillar of deep gray smoke rose above Snowhaven Bridge.
Others weren’t far behind me. They gasped and swore. Someone started to pray.
“James, send rescue teams to the bridge. Everyone we can spare.”
“Right away.” His steps were clipped as he hurried from the room, calling a handful of others to join him.
“Oh, saints.” Melanie came to stand beside me, and together we watched the plume rise into the pale blue sky. “People are jumping.”
Small, flailing bodies dropped into the water. Even from this distance, we could hear the shrieking of metal as suspension wires loosened and the bridge couldn’t hold itself up. The deck was splitting apart, dripping toward the bay.
“They’re trying to swim to shore.” I leaned on the windowsill. “We need to get those people out of the water before the deck falls in. The suction will drown them. Boats. We need boats.”
I started for the hall to tell James, but Melanie grabbed my arm, pulling me back. “Rescue boats are already on the way. Look.” She turned her attention outside again. “James trained everyone well.”
She was right: a dozen boats sliced through the water.
“Who would do this?” Desiree Symonds pressed a handkerchief to her mouth. “Saints help them.”
“Lien. Of course it was Patrick Lien.” Prince Colin was still in the room, witnessing the whole thing from my father’s chair at the council table. “Who hates the Indigo Kingdom? Who resents their coming here? And who wants Wilhelmina to be queen?”
Melanie shifted her weight toward me. Her fingers grazed mine before she took my hand. “He said he had a plan to keep Indigo Kingdom refugees from crossing into Aecor, once you were safely home. But he didn’t tell me how. Like I said, he was very careful about who knew what, and how much. He didn’t want to have to change his plans if someone was captured.”
I frowned and watched as the first boats reached the bridge. Heavy cables dangled into the water, and the deck had slid down even farther, but the rescue was in progress. Horseback soldiers and medical wagons approached from the road.
“But I’ve been here over three months. Why would he wait until now?” What had changed between yesterday and today? “Skyvale.”
Melanie nodded. “The city fell, and the Indigo Kingdom is in shambles. It’s the Red Militia’s way of shutting the door on their faces when they need us most.”
“The Red Militia will pay for this.” The former crown prince quit the room, leaving Melanie and me to watch the rescue for several more minutes. The deck finally slid into the water, creating a deep suction. Boats strained against it. People vanished beneath the waves and didn’t surface again.
“All those people.” I pressed my hands to my chest as bodies began washing to shore. Some were alive. Some were not. “Can we repair it? It’s just one section.” One section of an enormous, ancient bridge.
Melanie rubbed her temples. “I’m not sure. Maybe we can do something to get the rest of the refugees across, but it would be temporary.”
“Once the injured are cleared and the dead removed, I want someone to ensure there are people working on the bridge. Get boats to the other side, with ropes and ladders—anything people can use to climb down. Their possessions might have to wait, but at least they’ll have their lives.”
“I’ll assign someone immediately.”
“Good.” I faced my friend and lowered my voice, because beyond her, the rest of the nobles and their guards were staring out their own windows. “Once you have someone on that, I want you to come with me. We’re going to visit Claire.”