It’s decided that I shouldn’t worry about going incognito. It’s not possible to hide my chair, and everyone knows I use it. We have to hope we don’t gather too much of a crowd.
My guards surround me as we go through the portcullis, Nash pushing my chair.
The going is slow and bumpy, but I refuse to be left behind. Even if it’s hard, I want to see this through. I didn’t do enough where Daros was concerned, I need to do more. Much, much more. Going with them feels like the only way to accomplish that, and Nash is willing to deal with my chair.
It’s difficult to see much, through the bodies of my protector surrounding me, but there are a few curious onlookers. Nobody stop us, though. They watch from a distance, staying where they are.
The pressure in my head increases the closer we get to Daros’s. That house. How often will I have to come back to where so many horrors await for me? I wish I could leave it behind, never to return, but it doesn’t seem like I’m going to be that lucky.
When we arrive at the house, no one is in sight. That doesn’t mean no one is watching us, just that they’re being discreet.
The house is dark. Lifeless. Then again, it may have had a lot of comings and goings, but otherwise it was never full of life.
“I’ll search the house to make certain it’s secure,” Jaku says.
“No. If there’s a group of people in there, you’ll need more than a few people,” I reply.
He gives me a stern look. “I’m not leaving you out here.”
“Then we all go in together.” I’m not budging on this. I need to keep my people safe.
“I don’t like it,” he says.
“What are we even doing here?” Julina asks.
Nash and Jaku look at me while Eldim and Afet avoid my gaze. They must be curious too; they’re just too well trained to ask. “We need to see if there’s paperwork to retrieve.”
“What type of paperwork is worth risking your life?” Julina persists.
“The type that will save the country.” Which is all I feel like giving her for now. “Let’s go.”
She purses her lips.
Jaku sighs but strides forward without any further dissent. The front door is unlocked, and he opens it easily. Not good for keeping robbers out. Maybe Daros hoped his reputation alone was enough to keep them away. Eldim and Jem join Jaku, and Nash pushes my chair after them, with Julina and Afet taking the rear.
The house is dark, curtains drawn. There’s a musty smell in the air, as if no one has been here for a while, despite the fact that Daros came back here to live with his guards. Dust is spread across the room and furniture. Not as much where we’re going, which looks like it’s been tread on before, but the farther I look into the house, the dustier it gets.
“Where to?” Jaku asks.
“The back office,” I say.
Everyone’s weapons are out as we move through the house, except mine. I have nothing, not even the dart flinger, to protect myself with. It’s safer for the others but leaves me fidgety.
The deeper we go, the more pain radiates through my head. The pressure on the back of my eyes is so great I feel as if they’ll pop out, and the pain travels down my neck. I keep my gaze focused before me, trying to ignore it—to work past it—but I must not do a good enough job.
“Are you all right, Ryn?” Nash asks.
They all turn to look at me.
“Fine,” I squeak out. They look like they don’t believe me. At some point, I hunch over, my hands in fists. I have to give them an excuse. “Headache.” Problems with the First Queen. Do I tell them? Have them worry over me? I’m in good hands right now. Jaku and Nash will take care of everything, should the worst happen.
Julina nods and turns back to the front, but Jem and Jaku are frowning. It’s a good thing I can’t see Nash. I’m not certain what he’s thinking, and I don’t want to know not while we can’t do anything about it.
As we enter the office, the ache turns into a torment of blinding pain. I close my eyes against it, fighting Androlla for the right to control my thoughts and not be in such misery. It’s to no avail. Short of discovering how to defeat her, nothing will work. She’s too powerful, soaked with magical power unlike anything I’ve ever countered before.
The sound of wood scrapping against wood makes me open my eyes. Jem is searching through the drawers in Daros’s desk. She goes through all of them as we wait.
“Nothing.” She slams the last drawer closed. “I was certain we’d find something. The guards said they were right here.”
“Daros wouldn’t make it that easy,” I say. “Nash, wheel me over where I can see the what’s going on, please.”
People shuffle around, while Nash moves me into position.
I say, “Go through each drawer again, Jem. Slowly.”
She opens each one, this time taking the time to run her fingers along the edges and corners, looking for possible hidden compartments. The first drawer turns up nothing, as does the next and the one after that. When she pulls out the last one, I watch with bated breath.
“Nothing.” She slams the drawer shut.
“Is there anywhere else it could be?” Jaku’s gaze darts to where the hidden room of torture is.
I shake my head. “He never kept anything like that in there. Important documents were always in this room, though we should check the rest of the house, just in case, since his bookcase is empty too. It doesn’t look good, though. Maybe someone got here before us.”
“There’s something funny about this desk,” Nash says.
“What do you mean?”
“Not sure yet.” He steps closer, pulls out all the drawers, and places them on top of the desk. “I’ve worked with wood a lot in my spare time, which is how I made Ryn’s chair. Something about this isn’t coming together right.”
“What do you think it is?” I keep my voice quiet, both in case he needs to think instead of answering, and to keep my headache from getting worse.
“I don’t know.” He crouches down, so he’s at eye level with the desk, and goes through it, tapping the framework as he goes. The thud, thud, thud adds to the ache in my head, until I hear an empty knock.
“What was that?” I ask.
“I think I found a hollow spot.” He taps around a bit more. “It’s big enough to fit a few pages inside.”
I bite my lip to keep from asking anything further.
He slides his hand across the wood back where I can’t see.
He slides his hand across the wood, back where I can’t see. “Anyone have a dagger they don’t care about?” he asks. “I may be able to pry this open. I’m not sure how to get inside otherwise. He must have a switch or something, but I can’t find it.”
“You can use this one.” Julina takes a dagger out of her boot. “I’ve been meaning to replace it.”
“Thank you.” He takes the proffered dagger and works a piece from the bottom up. It’s hard to see from the angle I’m at as the metal scratches against the wood.
“Don’t do it,” Androlla says from my mouth.
Nash glances at me, eyebrows furrowed. “What’s wrong, Ryn?”
The headache is gone, but this is much worse. I want to scream that it’s not me, that I have no control over myself, but there’s no way to do so.
“I said don’t. Stop it right now. I refuse to let you go any further.”
Everyone in the room stares at me. The confused expression on Nash’s face clears, and he turns away from me. He continues his work as if I didn’t say a thing.
I want to tell him he made the right choice. That he’s doing great. Instead, my body betrays me more. Androlla lifts my hand, trying to for a fist. Though my hand won’t close all the way, she shoves it forward with all her might.
Thankfully, it doesn’t move much, but it’s enough to get even more strange looks from everyone here but Nash.
Jem’s expression flattens, and she comes to my side. “It’s all right, Ryn. We’ll take care of this. You don’t have to worry.”
She’s right. They’ll take care of everything. My body is too weak to do any real damage if Androlla tries. There’s nothing the First Queen can do in this moment, and I’m free of the headache.
“I command you to stop,” she says.
Nash ignores me. Jem continues to say soothing words, but Afet, Eldim, and Julina put their hands on the hilt of their swords.
“You need to stop, Nash,” Eldim says. “The queen demands it.”
Jaku steps forward. “You have to understand something, and I’m swearing you all to secrecy.”
The three exchange looks. Julina says, “What is it?”
“Promise you’ll not utter a word of what I’m about to tell you.”
Do I want him to reveal this? Not that it matters—there’s nothing I can do about it in my given state. Androlla mustn’t care either, as she stays silent.
They promise, and Jaku says, “The queen is not always herself. The papers we’re trying to find are supposed to have information on how to help her.”
Good. He told them what they needed to hear without bringing magic or the voice in my head into it. But how will they take it?
Eldim takes a step back, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t know… You realize this would make the queen incompetent, right?”
No. An incompetent queen is a dead queen.
Inside, Androlla laughs her wicked laugh. This was her plan, then—let them think I’m crazy, so they’ll put a death sentence on me and she can get a new body. Works well for her. I’ll be daggered. I wish I could throw a knife.
“Not incompetent,” Jaku says, tone soft. “If you utter that word again to a single soul—any of you—I’ll have your tongue cut out.”
Would he do that?
Whether or not he would, the three have taken their hands off their swords, the tension going out of their muscles.
“Is she going to be all right?” Julina asks, peering at me with a worried expression.
“Only if we can find the papers,” Jaku says.
“How is that going to help her?”
“It’s a long story. And the less you know of it, the better.”
“That doesn’t sound promising.”
Afet says, “I protect the queen, and I gave my word to keep this a secret, but it had better be fixed soon.”
“It makes sense, though,” Julina says. “She’s done things that don’t mesh with how she works and thinks. Throwing Jaku and Nash in prison is one example of how she’s lost it. The Ryn I know would never do such a thing.”
“The Ryn you know is gone.” Androlla spits the words out.
Panic overwhelms me. Is she right? Am I gone for good? Has the time come that she’s taken control of me and there’s no way for me to get it back?
Nash whips around, staring in my eyes. “Fight, Ryn. Fight this off.”
I want to scream that I’m trying. That I can’t find purchase on myself. There’s nothing to grab onto. Nothing to attack Androlla with. I have no idea how to get myself back.
He turns back around and works on the drawer again, the scritch scratch the only sound filling the room until Androlla’s laugh comes out, tinkling and evil.
I want to slam against her, let her feel my rage, but it only makes her laugh harder.
Suddenly, I snap back to myself, the laughter cutting off mid-laugh. I clamp my mouth closed and try to think of what to say that will make Afet, Eldim, and Julina think I’m less crazy.
There’s nothing but the truth.
Do I dare?
I open my mouth to tell them.
There’s a snap, and Nash says, “Got it.”
The others' attention is diverted to him, and I’m free for the moment.
Papers flutter toward the ground, but Nash catches them before they fall all the way. He scans them over before holding them up before me.
“Maybe we should do this back at the palace, where it’s more secure,” Jaku says.
I want to growl in frustration, but he’s right. “Let’s go.”
It takes longer than I want to get back to the palace and get in a secure room—another inside suite that’s become mine. This one has a sitting room, a bedroom, and a bathing chamber. I’ve barely used the premises. The sitting room is dark, and Nash and Afet hurry to light the candles and liven it up. Even with lots of candles, it’s dark. The deep-brown floor and dark furniture don’t help. I want to have it changed, but it doesn’t matter since I’ll never use any of it.
I’m parked next to a table with a lit candelabra and a vase of flowers—Inkga’s attempt at making the place cheerier. Or maybe she’s trying to distract herself from the awful happenings. I haven’t been able to speak with her about it.
Afet, Eldim, and Julina are excused from the room. Nash doesn’t waste any time holding up the first paper for me to read. The big, looping handwriting is fading but readable.
I scan it, at first looking for something useful, but it’s talking about different spells. Nothing I ascertain would help with Androlla.
“Let’s look at the next one,” I tell Nash. “And you both can read what papers you want. I trust you.”
Nash moves next to me so he can read over my shoulder, and Jaku picks up the paper I finished.
The next several pages, while interesting and filled with little bits of history, don’t have anything to do with how I could defeat her. I groan. At least it’s not in Daros’s handwriting, so he didn’t write the pages. “What was Daros doing, hiding these pages, if they don’t have any useful information? Just that a search said they were written by some woman named, Tula.”
“Maybe there’s still something here. There are several more papers to get through,” Nash says.
I hope he’s right, but the next one isn’t useful either, though it does have the luck charm and healing spell that Daros had me doing. “Why would he have had me doing those spells if they weren’t relevant to Androlla?”
“He said they were to practice, right?” But Nash sounds as skeptical as I feel.
“Let’s see the next page,” I say.
He pulls out the next one, and I begin scanning it. I have a feeling he and Jaku read much faster than I do, but they’re patient. It’s frustrating, being a slow reader, but more frustrating to not find anything.
“Wait. Did you see this?” Nash points to a part a couple paragraphs below where I’m at.
I glance where he’s pointing.
Some of my research leads me to believe things aren’t what they seem in this country. Something is strange about the queens throughout my lifetime. Perhaps I’m getting senile in my old age. My children and great grandchildren say so. Because of that, I don’t dare tell others of my suspicion.
What is her suspicion?
The next paragraph talks about her family, and how sweet they are with her though they believe she’s not all there. Nash points at the next paragraph. “Here it is,” he says in an excited voice.
I’ve determined that the queens are really one person. Though they may start out as different women, they all end up looking the same and bringing about the same laws. I don’t know what to do with this information. I’d like to confront the current queen about it, but I’m old and can’t withstand much. Besides, part of me does wonder if I’m crazy. Why would these girls all look and act the same after some time?
The more I think about it, though, the more sense it does make. As the queens age and change, they become private, hiding themselves away from the public eye, where they would be scrutinized. Because of my position in the palace, I’ve happened to see more queens than most, and with my age, see them through much.
All I can think is that the Mortum Tura does something to these women. Something that changes them after a period of time. The death drink is the thing they share, except for the fact that they all live in the palace. I’ve lived in the palace almost my entire life, and I haven’t changed, except perhaps being more stubborn. I can admit that.
Even the softest of queens turn hard, their rules ones of tyranny.
Further spying has shown me that there's evil at play. A woman named Androlla taking over all the queens for generations. There has to be a way to stop this woman. For too long has she reigned over this people with terror and cruelty. I can’t handle my great grandchildren growing up in this climate. It’s unpardonable. But what do I do?
Not much, without getting close to her. I’m not sure even that would help. It’s not like I can kill her. There needs to be a way to kill not only the body she’s inhabiting, but also the soul of the creature that’s usurped the power for years.
The page ends.
“Can she have found out about the First Queen?” Nash asks.
“I don’t know. It makes sense, if she lived in the palace and was close enough to the queen to see her go through those changes over the years.”
“Who was she?”
I want to know that too. It would be nice if there was a way to talk to her. Get her firsthand experience instead of reading about it. But the ink is faded with age, and she’s long gone.
Nash hands the page to Jaku and grabs another.
After much research, I have an idea of how to get rid of the queen, but I worry she’s going to find out my plans. She’s been very suspicious of me as of late, not letting me attend her as much, and when I am there, she keeps a close eye on me. What will happen if she finds out what I have planned?
Doesn’t matter. I’m going forward with it, anyway. The magic I must use isn’t one I’ve studied before. It’s new to me, but it could work. I have to make a golem and send her soul into it. Then I can destroy that golem, and she will be vanquished with it.
“Would that work?” I ask.
“Would what work?” Jaku leans over to see what’s on the paper.
Nash hands it to him, though I didn’t finish. When Jaku is done, I ask him, “Do you think that would work?”
“I don’t know,” Jaku says. “It sounds plausible.”
“It’s the best thing we’ve got. We’ll have to give it a try.” Nash scans the last paper. “There’s nothing about it on this one. We’re going to have to figure out two different things—how to create a golem and how to send Androlla’s soul into it.”
“And then we have to determine how to destroy it.” Because I won’t have her around any longer, even as a golem.
How am I going to create a golem and put the First Queen’s soul into it?