True to his word, Mark's soldiers said not one word to me. Although Mark seemed sure I'd had a hand in Narin's appearance on the ship, Ilara seemed to have forgotten the entire incident. That evening, I was back inside her quarters, quietly nibbling on dinner I had no appetite for while Ilara and Luisa talked about the latest book they were jointly reading. Mark would inject himself where appropriate, but I remained silent unless provoked.
It was a lonely time, where I spent my days thinking about Narin, Riya, Jorad, Locke, the young vigilantes, and everyone else I'd lost on this journey so far. How many more would join them? Katarine? Felix? I still had no stomach for death, nor did I want one. But without any diversions, it was hard not to replay his final moments over and over in my mind.
When my anxiety grew too much, I paused and placed my faith in the Mother. Somehow, She'd help me see this through to the end. And I prayed She'd taken Narin with open arms.
Finally, we rounded a corner and came across a sign of life in the center of the river. Even from afar, the structure rivaled Neveri's gates. But instead of metal slats, this one was solid metal, keeping the water from flowing from Niemen to Forcadel. Once the door opened, it would swing all the way to the other side, thus stopping the water flow south and sending it east. The design was simple, yet effective. It would only need to be turned once for Ilara's purpose.
And it had all been done in a matter of months.
"Well?" Luisa asked, coming to stand next to me. "What do you think?"
"Reminds me of Neveri," I said, hoping honesty would buy me some points.
"Before you got through with it, I'm sure," she said with a knowing look. "Her Majesty has taken extra precautions, knowing what happened there. This is made of a sturdier metal, sourced from Severia. Practically indestructible, unlike those flimsy gates in Neveri."
I wouldn't have called it easy. It had taken ten of us leaving bags of ond every few feet to canvass it. But if the metal here wasn't as combustable the way it was in Neveri, that meant it would be harder to destroy.
"And unlike the one in Neveri, this is designed to handle the river water for centuries to come," she continued. "Her Majesty was integral in its design. It's her crowning accomplishment."
"I can certainly tell." Really, I had no idea if Luisa was simply blowing smoke or if Ilara really spent time studying how to build a gate. Then again, knowing what I knew about the books in Severia, perhaps it was something more diverting.
Our ship sidled up to a makeshift dock which only seemed to allow one ship. Clearly, the bulk of Mark's troops had arrived before us, as they lined the banks of the river. It was the biggest collection of Forcadelian troops I'd seen in a while—a bit odd, considering. Why would Ilara trust such an important job to soldiers from Forcadel and not her own?
She barely acknowledged them as she passed, making a comment to Luisa about how she was eager to find her tent and rest for a while. I moved a bit slower until I was face to face with Mark.
"Keep an eye on her," he said to his soldiers. "She's not to be trusted here."
The two soldiers didn't give me a passing glance, which hurt a little. I'd been their sovereign once. Surely they'd have some kind of fondness for me?
"So where are you from?" I asked.
"Nowhere."
"Been there myself," I said. "It's nice."
"Quit talking and get to walking."
"I'll be sure to tell Captain Llobrega you've lost your manners," I said, testing my limits a little.
"He's a traitor. I couldn't care less what he thinks."
My hopes fell. So there were a few soldiers who'd bought the lie Ilara had sold. By the look of them, they were older than Felix or perhaps even his age. They must not have trained with him, or held him in as high esteem as the younger cadets had.
My escorts deposited me inside a tent and informed me I wasn't to leave. I opened the flap and found nothing but a bedroll—not unlike what my soldiers had slept on at the camp. I straightened, not ready to be trapped inside yet another room, and stood in front of my tent, watching the camp.
"What, no golden tent this time?" I asked Mark as he walked by. "No Kulkan wine?"
He ignored me.
Early the next morning, I was roused and ordered to follow two soldiers. Mist permeated the surrounding trees and gave me a chill. A reminder that Niemen was only a few hours' river ride to the north.
We had docked on the northeastern side of the river—still in Forcadel, but only barely. The swift current of the river could be heard even from my tent, a powerful rushing sound that seemed almost untamable. Whether Ilara could pull off this crazy feat was beyond me.
I was stationed behind a large wooden dais bearing the Severian crest and told to remain there until Her Majesty arrived. I'd been so used to my soldiers being fresh-faced that I forgot there'd been an entire contingent left in Forcadel that was older. Some of these soldiers had gray hair, while others seemed to have their time settled around their waists. They'd all served my father, and Captain Mark, presumably, which perhaps explained why they detested me so much.
"Good morning, Brynna," Luisa said, coming to stand next to me. Her cheeks were a little pink and her breath clouded around her face. "It's quite chilly up here, isn't it?"
I glanced to the north, where the tips of the Niemenian mountains could just be seen. "Indeed."
"Her Majesty says that once we close the gate, we should know within a day or so if we're able to continue to Aunela," Luisa said. "I hope it's sooner. I don't know if I can survive at these temperatures."
"Do you…" I hesitated to ask at all. "Do you think this is going to work?"
"I have faith in Her Majesty." She nudged me. "As should you."
I quieted, lest they think I had something up my sleeve, and together we shivered and waited for Ilara to make her grand entrance. Even Luisa began to lose her cheery veneer as the minutes ticked on and her fingers grew pale with cold, but she kept her thoughts to herself.
Finally, the trumpets blared, and Mark announced Ilara's arrival. The Forcadelian soldiers saluted with precision, breaking my heart a little. Ilara, wearing what was probably a warm fur coat and the large crown that had once belonged to my father, strolled along the line of soldiers, keeping her chin high and not acknowledging a single one. A far cry from her queen-of-the-people act back in Forcadel. Beside her was a pair of Severian women I'd never seen before, both of whom carried leather notebooks and looks of concern. The architects of this crazy scheme, perhaps?
Mark assisted her as she climbed the steps onto the dais, and Luisa and I followed, making sure to give her a wide berth. She rested her hands on her hips, gazing out onto the monstrosity she'd built with a pleased expression. The two architects fidgeted nervously, toying with the edges of their notebooks.
"Close the gate," she said to Mark, who turned and whistled into the forest.
For a while—minutes, half an hour, an hour—nothing happened. I kept glancing at Ilara's face to see if she was getting annoyed, but she remained calm. Finally, the faint sounds of metal on metal shuddered through the forest, and a burst of steam echoed from somewhere far away. The chains connecting the gate house to the gate rose from their stations and grew taut. I kept my focus on the gate, hoping a chain would break or it just wouldn't move. But the water rushing beside it began to splash up higher as if it were being pushed in an unnatural direction. The chains strained against the weight of the door, and I prayed it would snag on something and get caught. But whatever was pulling the door was stronger. The space between the door and the other side grew thinner and thinner until finally…
I swallowed as metal cracked against metal. The river water, with nowhere else to go, sloshed up onto the riverbanks before falling into the gulley where the door had been. Headed toward the east—to Severia.
"How long will it take?" Ilara asked the women behind her.
"A few days, perhaps," the one on the right said.
"But you should send a scout to confirm before you move your ship," the other replied quickly.
"We will do just that." Ilara looked at Mark, who nodded.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"I want a full report on the river by this evening," Ilara said to the scientists. "Not one drop of water should be headed south. Am I clear?"
They nodded and scurried toward Niemen, perhaps to cross the river and check the current.
"I want you to assist my engineers with whatever they need," Ilara said to Mark. "If your soldiers need to chop trees and place them at the bottom of the river, do that. This gate is my legacy, and it will remain a symbol of my reign for centuries to come."
"Of course, Your Majesty," Mark said. "It will be my honor to keep watch over this fortress for you."
"I have high hopes that you will perform admirably," Ilara said. "Dismissed."
He bowed low as Ilara walked off the dais to join Luisa and myself. The queen gave her friend a cheeky smile. "I'm getting quite good at closing gates, aren't I? Let's just hope this one lasts longer than Neveri's."
"I believe it will," Luisa said, casting me a knowing look. "We've made all the right preparations. And I don't believe Brynna's in the business of destroying gates anymore, is she?"
"If she does," Ilara said, "there will be a bigger toll than Neveri. And considering how Brynna's been sulking since we killed that poor young man, I doubt she's got the stomach for more death."
I smiled weakly, but Ilara's calculations were correct. There were perhaps two hundred Forcadelians here. Even if we somehow found a way to destroy the gate—with ond or something else—she knew I'd never risk killing so many of my own countrymen. Even if they detested me.
"Oh, let's get off this somber subject," Luisa said. "Shall we open a bottle of wine to celebrate our new river?"