My stomach churned uncomfortably as Luard's carriage rattled toward the castle, flanked on all sides by guards both Niemenian and Kulkan. I'd hoped to have more time to think about how I'd approach Neshua, but now my time was up. And based on Ammon's response, I was already at a major disadvantage with his father.
Luard was seemingly more put out with our treatment than with my impending meeting with the king. "I should have Ariadna send his father a strongly worded letter. I am a prince. This is uncalled for."
"You can't blame him," I said, looking at the ceiling. "Things are upended since Ilara took over. Maybe he thought you were bringing a Severian into his country to take over."
"Nobody's stupid enough to do that."
I glared at him. "Har har."
He nudged me gently. "You seem a bit spooked. Don't tell me you're getting cold feet again?"
"Not cold feet, but…" I sank back into the cushions and allowed the worry to envelop me fully. "Anger I can handle. Distrust, sure. But laughing at me? I have no idea how to combat that. I've never been laughed at before."
"Not even when you showed up in Forcadel wearing a mask?"
"No," I snapped. "Because I showed up in Forcadel and beat the shit out of a bunch of criminals. I earned my respect."
"Then you'll just have to earn Neshua's respect," he said. "What do you know about Kulka so far that could help you?"
"It's…odd that Ammon was there to meet us at the outskirts of the city," I began, glancing out the window. "Neshua must be spooked by Ilara, so any foreigner in the city is under suspicion."
"Which means…"
"Maybe he'll be eager to have me back?" I said, hopefully. "But I don't know, Ammon—"
"People who don't sit on the throne don't always know what's best for it," Luard said.
"Fair enough. But I still can't figure why Neshua hasn't accepted Ilara yet. Of all the trading partners, they have the most to lose. Forcadel takes a lot of their food off their hands."
"Might be a good question to ask Neshua," Luard said. "You never know, he might just tell you. Or, if you're even luckier, he won't and you'll be able to read it on his face." He chuckled. "I do so love palace intrigue."
We turned a corner and came through a pair of iron gates at the front of the castle. Thick-trunked oak trees lined the gravel road, and even here on the royal grounds, there were orchards and groves to provide food for the country. My heart pounded as I rubbed my sweaty hands on my pants. I was in no shape to meet with Neshua, and yet, there I was.
"You look like you're about to hurl." Luard reached into my bag and pulled out the small leather pouch of tinneum. "Take some of this and calm the hell down."
I took the bag from him and pinched out a small amount, pressing it into the bottom of my lip. The tangy, metallic taste filled my mouth. At once, the cacophony of nervous voices in my mind echoed into silence, leaving nothing but the sound of horse hooves on gravel. As the carriage rolled to a stop, I inhaled deeply, grabbing hold of my confidence and allowing my worries to fall to the side—at least temporarily.
"Feel better?" Luard asked as I released a loud breath, slumping back into the cushion.
I nodded, pushing the small bit of greenery to the back of my mouth to chew.
"Remember what I said about masks. You need to wear one of stone when you go in there. Don't show anything on your face, don't even hint about your indecision. Go in strong, be confident, and get what you want from them." He reached under the seat again, this time taking the gold circlet out of its carrying case and handing it to me. "You're a queen. So act like it."
The carriage rolled to a stop, and some of the butterflies returned, but not nearly as badly. I rested the gold crown on my head, letting the weight of it be a reminder. The door opened to Ivan's sympathetic face, and Ammon's annoyed one just beyond. "Well? I don't have all day."
"Be nice to him," Luard muttered under his breath. "It'll throw him for a loop."
I stepped out of the carriage, Ivan squeezing my hand as I settled on the ground. I straightened my shoulders and walked forward with purpose. I was in enemy territory, and this was my one and only chance to prove to them I was worth my salt. And above all else, I tried not to think about how if I failed in the next ten minutes, my entire journey would be for naught.
The carriage had come into a large circle with a bubbling fountain bearing a statue of some long-ago Kulkan king, holding a sword and a bushel of grapes.
"You smell atrocious," Ammon said as I fell into step beside him.
I wanted to match your charming personality. The words were on the tip of my tongue, but Luard's warning echoed in my ears. The tinneum leaf had made me calmer, but I wasn't out of the woods yet.
"Awfully presumptuous of you to show up here, asking for help," Ammon scoffed. "I can't wait to hear my father deny it to you."
"You know," I said, as we came to a stop in front of two large double doors, "I would love to meet your wife. I'm sure she's absolutely lovely."
"She is," he said, lifting his chin in protest. "As I said, I think I came out on the better end of things."
I forced a smile onto my face as I recognized the uncertainty on his face. "I'm sure you did. And for what it's worth, finding you a suitable replacement to uphold my end of the treaty will be first on my list once I'm back in power."
He pursed his lips then made a gesture for the guards to open the doors. With his back turned, I allowed myself a smirk of victory.
It was short-lived, however, as I walked into the throne room and came face to face with the king of Kulka. Neshua sat on a golden throne at the front of the receiving room. Here, as in Niemen, there were small differences from Forcadel. Instead of paintings of conquests, there were tapestries depicting harvests and garden parties. Fresh cut flowers in vases sat atop marble columns behind the king. There was a bowl of half-eaten green grapes beside him, which he plucked from and popped into his mouth. He was much older than I remembered, grayer around the temples. But his sharp green eyes were the same. I held my chin high as I walked into the room.
"Well, well," he said, his mouth full. "Look who's come on bended knee, asking for help from the great nation of Kulka. Please, tell me what I might do for a disgraced princess of Forcadel."
I pushed the tinneum leaf around in my mouth, allowing my thoughts to slow down. I forgot the stakes, forgot what would happen if I failed, and just believed that I wouldn't.
A smile curled onto my face as I slipped into The Veil's lower octave. "I should be asking what I might do for you, Neshua."
His sharp eyes looked up when I declined to use his honorific, as Luard had suggested. "I don't need anything you can provide."
"Are you sure?" I asked, clasping my hands in front of me while making sure not to tilt my head too far and lose my crown. "I just got an up close and personal look at your country on the way in. Seems like you're suffering from the same problems as the Niemenians. Closed borders mean you can't sell your goods to the Forcadelians and points beyond. Your relationship with Niemen is still strained, so you've got nowhere to sell your goods. It seems everyone would be better served if the Forcadelian queen simply returned to the previous agreements."
"Yes, they would," he said with something of a grimace. "I should ask the current queen to do that."
I smiled. "I'm sure she'd be happy to, just as soon as you declare her the rightful sovereign of Forcadel."
His eyes flashed, if only for a second, and I understood what Luard meant about palace intrigue. Neshua wasn't ready to accept Ilara, which meant I had a leg up.
"I don't understand why it's any business of yours what happens between Forcadel and Kulka," he said.
"Well, believe it or not, my loyalty to my country doesn't require me to sit on a throne," I said. "Or did word not reach you about how I spent the last three years in Forcadel as a masked vigilante called The Veil?"
It was a gamble, but I hoped, perhaps, it might prove something to him. My hands began to sweat as he turned to his bowl of grapes and pulled another off the vine.
After a pause that lasted for ages, he swallowed and lifted a shoulder. "I might've heard something like that from Lady Vernice in her last letter. She indicated you'd nearly killed her."
"It was knockout powder and she was fine," I said with a wave of my hand. "The point is, I don't want my country back because of some ego trip. I want it back because my people are suffering, and as long as I draw breath, I'll do whatever I can to help them. Whether it's as queen or a vigilante."
"That's all well and good," he said. "But you are one woman—and barely a woman at that. What chance do you have against Ilara's forces?"
My pulse skipped, but I couldn't back down now. "I already have the assurances of Queen Ariadna that if I launch an offensive, she will provide forces to assist me in taking back Forcadel from the Severians." It's just dependent on you.
"Oh, do you?" he said with a raised eyebrow. "Why would she give such a promise to you?"
"Perhaps she believes in what I can do," I said. "And while the Niemenians would be enough, I think it might send a better message if I had the blessing of the Kulkan king as well."
He plucked his goblet off the table and took a long sip. "Blessing and, I would assume, some artillery."
"If you see fit to provide it," I replied evenly, "it would be welcome."
"And how do you plan to take this artillery and support and turn it into a coup?"
I told him the same thing I'd told Ariadna, about Ilara's tenuous grip, and about the forces I could count on when I returned. As before, I embellished Celia's numbers and also added a few hopeful figures from Ariadna's side, all the while, watching Neshua's reaction for any sign I might be making headway. The tinneum in my mouth was starting to fade, and my fears were creeping toward the front of my mind again.
"I must confess," he said, popping another grape into his mouth, "you seem much more capable than Vernice indicated. Perhaps all that time away from the throne did you some good."
My hopes dared to lift. "Does that mean you'll help me?"
"Well, what you're asking for is a lot," he said, examining the nail on his left thumb. "And while it's clear you can speak to kings and queens and bend them to your will, what isn't clear is if you can deliver on your promises. I have nothing to prove that you're even capable of leading an offensive, let alone succeeding."
"I can. I—"
"Words are meaningless," he said. "Show me you can do what you say, and I'll agree to your terms."
"Show you what?" My heart pounded in my chest; I had no idea how to do what he asked. "That I can take back a kingdom? I'll show you when I do it."
He cracked a humorless smile. "I'm thinking more a test. Prove to me that you can do what you say, and you will have your forces."
I forced my mouth to remain closed as I ran through a thousand different scenarios. How could I prove to him I could take over a kingdom? There was no comparable action—perhaps conquering a city, but what city? A Kulkan city? A Forcadelian one?
"I've just received word that Queen Ilara has closed those infernal gates in Neveri," Neshua said. "It's now downright impossible to get anything past the border."
"You want me to get the gates back open?" I shrugged. "Sure."
"Oh, no, that's just a temporary solution," he said. "Neveri has long been a missing jewel on the Kulkan map, and I'm eager to get it back. So to prove to me that you're capable of conquering Forcadel, you will conquer Neveri."
I chewed the tinneum, which now had no flavor, to buy myself some time. I'd had one card, and Neshua had played it before I had a chance to. I still wasn't wholly convinced it was the best option, but now, it was either give him Neveri or nothing.
Scratch that—it was conquer Neveri or nothing.
"If you'll provide me passage to the city and some forces to assist," I said slowly. "I accept."
"I have a better idea." Neshua's calculating smile sent chills down my spine. "I'll have Ammon take you down to a port near the border—we'll send our fastest ship laden with our best guns."
I actually smiled.
"But you will be responsible for taking the city by yourself, with whatever forces you already have," he finished, sending a dagger into my heart. "Once you've done that, we will consider helping you."
It took everything in me to keep my jaw from falling to the floor. "You want me to accomplish this alone?"
He plucked his goblet off the table and waved it at me. "You accomplished much as The Veil, so you've indicated. You have forces back in Forcadel you could call on. Unless, of course, you were lying about them."
"Of course not," I said, scrambling to keep my cool as sweat broke out behind my neck.
This seemed like a bad decision, but I had nothing else. If I wanted Forcadel back, I would have to meet his terms. And even though every inch of me wanted me to resist, to find some other option, my gut knew this was as good as I would get from the farmer king.
"Deal."