Ash whistled low and long. Only Andi seemed unsurprised. Quite possibly such a vow contained a magical component that she could sense.
“Only men to women?” Ami asked. “Not the other way around?” Ash made a disparaging sound and she flicked her fingertips at him.
Harlan shook his head slowly. “Dasnarian women are different. They do not train to fight or take this schooling such as the men do. I’ve come to see this as Dasnaria’s loss, in truth.”
“I’ve never read about the Elskastholrr,” I ventured. And I’d been reading quite a bit about Dasnaria since the arrival of Harlan and his Vervaldr, not to mention Illyria.
“You wouldn’t have, not directly, as it’s not to be recorded in any permanent form. However, you’ll find references if you research Dasnarian love ballads and tales.”
“Particularly the tragic ones,” Ursula snapped, clearly seething over the situation.
Harlan only smiled easily at the back of her head. “All in the eye of the beholder, Your Highness.” The way he spoke her title sounded like a profound expression of love.
One I had to look away from, as I felt like an intruder on something too intimate for witnesses. “I will look into that. Thank you for telling me. We will have to address the subject of marriage eventually.” I met Ursula’s glare, holding my ground. “There will be offers. You know that.”
“Then know this.” She relaxed, losing her anger in the certainty of the decision she’d come to. Standing, she turned to face Harlan, a slim blade of a woman before his bulk. “I might not have the training or authority to make the vow that you have, but I can make my own pledges, based on my own beliefs. There will never be another for me. No matter what.”
“You don’t have to prove anything to me, my hawk.”
“Maybe I have something to prove to myself then. I’ll abdicate the crown before I marry another.”
Though they didn’t touch, only held each other’s gazes, the moment stretched out, humming with intimate power.
Andi shook back her hair, coughing lightly to break the moment. “Probably something else that shouldn’t leave this room.”
Ursula seated herself again, a hint of self-conscious color on her cheeks at having exposed herself, but she held firm. “It’s good that you all know where I stand on this.”
“It figures,” Ami remarked in a dry voice, “that the woman who refrained from all courtship would fall so hard and deep.”
“Of course, Essla never did do anything by halves,” Andi answered her.
“I’m sitting right here,” Ursula reminded them, but a slight smile curved her lips.
I cleared my throat, yet again, and tapped the scroll before me, where I had carefully not noted anything about the promises between our future High Queen and her unofficial consort. Though I might write it down privately for myself later. I intended to keep a journal of these days and perhaps later write a history. My own contribution to archiving this era in the Twelve Kingdoms. Such important information should not be completely lost. I had made no vows as Harlan had, to keep the Elskastholrr unwritten. Nor would I promise to keep it secret—my allegiance to recording and preserving information took precedence.
“Designating who would be in line to take the High Throne remains on the table.” I brought them back to the matter at hand.
“Andi and Rayfe will name Stella their heir for the time being and Astar will remain Avonlidgh’s,” Ursula said, swiftly enough to make me realize she’d long since decided on that course and had let the conversation spin out for her own reasons. Perhaps she’d planned all along to make the declaration of her intentions toward Harlan clear to at least the people in that room.
Andi looked to Rayfe, who inclined his head, deferring to her. She then exchanged glances with Ami, who nodded.
“I thank you, and the Tala thank you,” Andi told her, “for the gift of your daughter.”
“Don’t think I’ll let you forget it,” Ami replied with some of her usual sass, but her eyes glistened with emotion.
I noted down the decision, a bit surprised to find myself similarly moved. History in the making. “And the High Throne?”
Ursula’s narrow mouth quirked in malicious amusement. “Guess what, Queen Andromeda?”
Andi’s face went blank with shock. “Moranu take you, no!”
“And here I thought you saw the future so clearly,” Ursula commented in a bland tone that nevertheless needled her sister over whatever it was that she’d seen at the mention of Dasnaria and refused to describe. “You have ever been second in line for the High Throne after me. It takes no magic to predict that.”
The argument continued for a while after that, but Ursula’s logic was sound and Andi couldn’t wriggle out of it. Particularly when Ursula pointed out that having Andi and Stella in line for the High Throne would follow the path Salena had set. Andi finally conceded after taking time to “meditate on the matter,” which meant she’d looked as far as she could into the future and saw no likelihood that she’d ever be forced to take the High Throne.
After hours more of discussion, which had everyone sitting at the table by the end, the detritus of food and drink around us, Ursula and Rayfe had hammered out a treaty. Andi stayed out of that discussion for the most part, occasionally flicking me an amused glance as we watched the pair of them fence over details, a competition they both relished.
Ash took a surprisingly active role in the finer points of citizenship. He had ideas—good ones—for repatriating the Tala prisoners and other exiles scattered throughout the Twelve, and he began documenting them for me in surprisingly well-educated script. Wherever he’d been before his incarceration, he’d had a better upbringing than many of the Tala part-blood brethren he fought to aid. Or perhaps after prison. Something that sparked an idea in me.
In the end, they agreed to Annfwn becoming an independent ally, by way of Rayfe’s marriage to a Princess of the Realm. Truly ironic, that the clash that had set so many of our troubles in motion now provided a convenient structure for creating peace in that direction.
“It sets precedent,” I commented as I finished noting the points to have the agreement formally drafted.
“We’re not going through that again,” Ursula carefully didn’t look at Harlan. We all knew we’d have trouble ahead, with the various rulers of the now-Thirteen Kingdoms looking to gain the more enviable independent ally status by wedding Ursula or Ami.
“I won’t apologize.” Rayfe had tied his hair back with a leather thong. “The welfare of Annfwn has to come first for me, and that means having independent control of our resources.”
“We’ve agreed, haven’t we? It’s signed and done. We’ll deal with the ramifications as they arise.” Ursula had her eyes on Andi, who looked tired. “Speaking of resources—how much is the change in the barrier draining you? It’s still there, isn’t it? Speak honestly, as we’ve aired so many other secrets in this room.”
Andi cast an assessing glance at Rayfe, who lolled back in his chair, returning her gaze with a wealth of meaning behind it.
Andi smiled wryly and nodded. “It’s there, but much farther away.”
“How far?” Ursula wanted to know.
“It’s not as if I can draw it on a map,” Andi retorted. “It would be like trying to explain to you how far my toes are from my ears. It’s a feeling.”
Ursula waited without comment and Andi sighed. “Fine, yes. It’s much more draining this way. Perhaps once I get back to...” She flicked a glance around the table, editing out mention of the Heart, no doubt. “The center of Annfwn, it will be better.”
“Then you should go home,” Ursula told her, face hardening when Andi opened her mouth to protest. “You’re no good to me half dead.”
Andi fired. “I will see you crowned. I’m not abandoning you.”
“Nor am I.” Ami jumped in. “There’s been enough of you facing things alone.”
Ursula looked between them, a rare soft emotion relaxing her shoulders. “I’m not facing anything alone. I know that now. I have Harlan and Dafne—formidable defenders for different enemies—and the librarian has it correct. You must take up your roles in your own kingdoms. I know where to find you. More, I know you’ll come the moment I call, as I would for you.”
A circle of connection hummed between the three sisters, old as birth. I almost expected Salena to walk into the room, smiling at her daughters, proud of what they’d constructed from the puzzle pieces she’d left behind. At least she’d given me a small part to play, too, and I would see it through. Their sisterhood would never include me. Fate had made me an orphan and that wouldn’t change. But I could be close to what made them extraordinary, help them along in what ways I could.
And write the histories after.
“Besides,” I inserted into the speaking silence, “we won’t have the coronation for at least a month. There’s too much to do. You can plan to return.”
Ursula gave me a look of horror. “A month—to plan a party?”
“An occasion of state that will launch your reign.” I held firm. “We’re doing this right. I’ll detail a timeline and then we can announce the date.”
Andi threw up her hands, as if warding off the prospect. “I’m convinced. You don’t need any other help.”
“Coward,” Ursula muttered, while Ami only grinned.
“I’ll work with the barrier and we’ll come back for the coronation. I’ll also look into making it rain in Aerron,” Andi soothed her, then rolled her eyes the moment Ursula looked away.
Ursula caught it anyway and pointed a finger at her. “Soft, soaking rains. Too much at once with the ground so hard and we’ll have flooding.”
“I know, I know.” Andi rolled her eyes again. “That’s why I want to approach the problem slowly and delicately, where I have the best connection and control.” She looked to Rayfe. “We’ll depart in the morning?”
He nodded, a look of relief crossing his face, and took her hand.
“We’ll go tomorrow, too, since things are handled here,” Ami said, throwing me a nod of appreciation. “I’ll go first to Castle Avonlidgh to set things to rights in the kingdom from there. Do a formal naming of Stella, then tour around a bit and let the people see Astar and Stella. That will keep us closer to Ordnung to return in a month’s time for the coronation.”
“But not to Windroven,” Ursula inserted smoothly.
“Of course to Windroven,” Ami replied, setting her chin. “Castle Avonlidgh may be the capital, but Windroven is the ancestral seat of Hugh’s family. The people there deserve to see their heir. And it’s my home.”
“Reports indicate the volcano at Windroven is becoming active. You’re not going there.”
“Is that an order?” Ami demanded.
Ursula simply gazed back. “A favor. To ease my mind. Until we know more. Please.”
“You’re easier to refuse when you’re dictatorial,” Ami grumped. “Fine, but I want any information your scouts bring back and I’m sending some of my own to find out more. If the volcano is dangerous, everyone should evacuate.”
It made me sad to think of it, the arcanely beautiful castle built into the ancient volcano on the cliffs overlooking the sea, the rich farmland—all in danger of obliteration.
“Agreed,” Ursula told her gravely, speaking High Queen to Queen. “You and your people will have whatever support you need from Ordnung.”
“And from Annfwn.” Andi side-eyed Rayfe, who only narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m sure Rayfe has as many fond memories of Windroven as I do,” she added mischievously.
He laughed then, and picked up her hand to kiss her palm. “Well-played, my queen. Yes,” he said to Ami, and nodded also to Ash, “send to us for whatever you need. The Tala owe the people of Avonlidgh a debt, for both the losses we caused—and the treasure we gained.”
Andi flushed, giving him a speaking look. I suspected Rayfe had won that round after all.