“All the mirrors in Skyvale are broken,” said another. “How does that help us?”
“After the Inundation, Skyvale is filled with people who need work. Create jobs by opening the factories to produce as many mirrors as possible. Pay people to gather the biggest shards from the streets, and have them pieced together. Then you’ll need people to hang the mirrors, and have them transported all along the western border of the Indigo Kingdom.”
“That’s your solution?” General Adam Goldberg shook his head. “That is not enough, Your Highness.”
“It’s not a solution,” I said, “but a mitigation effort. Something this council should be very familiar with.” That brought a few snorts of repressed laughter, and even the queen regent looked amused. “Not only that, this is something we can do right now. It will help the city recover from the tragedy of the Inundation.”
“And the city does need help,” said Tobiah. “We must do what we can to protect it.” The crown prince heaved a long sigh. “We also must prepare evacuation routes, to be safe. Parts of the Indigo Kingdom are already suffering the wraith’s effects.”
Mutters of unease rustled around the room.
“Discussing evacuation routes is bad for morale, I know. Nevertheless, pragmatism is necessary.” He left no room for argument. “Moving along: Princess Wilhelmina, there’s one more item on your list.” Tobiah lifted his dark eyes to mine.
“Yes. Thank you.” I took a sip from my wineglass. “I think we should turn the committee’s attention to the Liadian barrier once more. I’m not suggesting sending anyone else out there; I hope the information I collected will be enough, once paired with the official reports from Liadia.”
“What are you suggesting?” Clint asked.
“Mirror Lake was completely normal: the life inside it and above it. And when the locusts swarmed, I observed several dying as they flew over the lake, like the wraith had been removed from them all at once.”
The chamber was quiet, save the scratch of pens on paper, and someone’s rattling breath.
“My parents—and monarchs before them—refused to sign the Wraith Alliance, a stance that has baffled the allied kingdoms for a hundred years.”
No one spoke.
“The rulers of Aecor wouldn’t sign something they had no intention of obeying, and they didn’t want to be prevented from finding answers in unlikely places. Like magic.”
Clint shook his head. “Magic causes wraith. How will it stop it?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “But my parents firmly believed there was a way. So did Liadia; they broke the Wraith Alliance to build the barrier, and for a little while, they succeeded. They held back the wraith for a year.” I gestured toward the barrier scales still sitting in the middle of the table. “And a lake now littered with pieces of that barrier is a more formidable ward against the wraith than I’ve ever seen.”
Protest erupted across the room. Someone pounded on the table with each inarticulate point he made. Around the perimeter of the room, bodyguards looked to their charges, a few masks of professionalism slipping at the display. James caught my gaze, offering a slight roll of his eyes.
The outrage continued for a full minute before Tobiah rose and stood at my side. “Silence!”
Everyone turned to look at him.
“You can’t be serious about allowing this kind of talk.” Prince Colin’s glare cut to me. “It was only a month ago that you were certain not using magic at all would stop the wraith.”
“A month ago, I did believe we could stop the wraith by ceasing all magic use. I believed because that was what I was taught, as were all of you. Since then, however, the Inundation has come, and it was Wilhelmina who stopped it from completely destroying the city—by using her magic.”
“It was also Wilhelmina who caused the Inundation,” muttered someone down the table, and no one argued.
“Regardless,” I said, “wraith is already in the Indigo Kingdom. This is no longer tomorrow’s problem. It is today’s.”
“I don’t see how we can trust Her Highness’s intelligence on anything, given her history.” That came from a man sitting close to Prince Colin.
“You don’t have to trust her. Trust me, because today I am your crown prince and tonight I will become your king, and I trust Wilhelmina.” Tobiah shifted his weight toward me; his elbow brushed mine. “Now, if you’re all finished yelling . . .”
Eyes turned toward him again.
“Here’s what we know about the Liadian barrier: every flasher in the kingdom was forced to pour their magic into it, presumably while the metal was still molten, before they were shaped into scales and pieced together. We have details on the construction of their barrier, though it doesn’t list magic as one of the ingredients.”
Of course it didn’t.