The Queen of Rhodia Page 7

  “Perhaps, in time, the Ieflarian people will come to trust you,” said Esofi. “And when that happens, I will aid you. You have my word on that.”

  “I also wish to extend an invitation to the Silver Isles,” said Ivanedi. “I understand that you may be reluctant to set foot on our lands. But if you did, I promise that you would be welcomed as an ally. There is a large flight residing on the largest island, where we could receive you.”

  “I may have reason to take you up on that offer soon enough.”

  I thought we were going to Anora? Adale did not say, because she didn’t feel like being beaten to death with a lace parasol.

  “I thank you for your understanding,” said Ivanedi. “I will return to my home with the news.”

  Esofi nodded.

  “If any of my kind attack your lands in the meantime, know that we will bring them to heel,” he added. “That is, if they survive.”

  “I will tell our king and queen what you have said,” promised Esofi. “I hope our people will come to trust you quickly. If we continue to go without dragon attacks, I think they’ll be more inclined to. And…if possible, I might ask you to stay here in Fenstell for a few more days. I have many questions about your race. I would like to understand you better.”

  Ivanedi regarded her with his enormous silver eyes, then gave a nod. “I will return tomorrow. I will tell you whatever I can.”

  As they walked back to the fortress, Adale said, “You didn’t tell him about Carinth.”

  Esofi only shrugged. “It didn’t come up. Besides, we don’t know if we can trust him.”

  “You seemed to get along with him.”

  “That’s called diplomacy.” There was a bit of an edge in her voice.

  “Esofi…”

  “What?”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” When Esofi did not respond, Adale added, “I just…you surprised me. Only a few days ago you were saying it’s not worth the risk to help Ioanna, and then you turn around and want to help the dragons.”

  “Given how many of them I’ve killed, I think helping them earn back their magic is the least I could do.”

  Adale paused. “You still feel guilty?”

  “Why shouldn’t I?”

  “Because—Esofi, you can’t be serious! They were going to destroy us! The only reason they’re interested in talking now is because you showed them that they wouldn’t be able to kill us all!”

  “They couldn’t have spoken to me before because the Emperor ordered their silence!” Esofi retorted. “Under the Emperor’s command, they had no will of their own. I cannot hold them accountable for that!”

  “Maybe, but that still doesn’t make it your fault. I’d blame the Emperor before I blamed you. I’d even blame Talcia before I blamed you. She’s the one who gave the Emperor his abilities.”

  “Don’t say that!”

  “What? It’s the truth. Talcia gave the Emperor the power to control the other dragons.”

  “The Emperor’s actions were not her fault.”

  “Then it’s his fault! Blame him. But don’t blame yourself. There’s nobody in the world who would have done it differently than you did.”

  They arrived back at their room and found not only Carinth and the guard, but also Mireille and two other guards, all crouched down on the floor like Carinth was a particularly cute puppy. When they saw Adale and Esofi standing in the doorway, they all leaped back to their feet and saluted awkwardly.

  “I’m only paying that one,” said Adale, pointing to the guard that she’d assigned to the task.

  The guards left and Esofi picked Carinth up. He settled his neck across her back and rested his head on her other shoulder.

  “Do you think we want to introduce Carinth to Ivanedi?” asked Adale.

  “I would like to,” said Esofi. “But at the same time, I don’t want to make a mistake by trusting him too quickly.”

  “Do you think he’d try to take Carinth from us?” asked Mireille.

  “I don’t know. I hope not. But I would be concerned if I learned two dragons were raising a child. I can imagine they’d feel similar about us raising a hatchling.”

  “I don’t feel like those two things are quite the same,” Adale said.

  “Maybe not, but I still want to be cautious.” Esofi sank into a chair, and Carinth readjusted himself.

  Adale went to put her boots away, considering everything she had seen. Ivanedi seemed earnest, but then, ambassadors always did. Still, what would the dragons gain from lulling them into a false peace? The Ieflarians hadn’t attacked the Silver Isles once, even though immediately following the death of the Emperor would have been the ideal time to strike. Surely they’d worked out that Ieflaria wasn’t planning on attacking them?

  No, it seemed far more likely that the alliance was the first step in the dragons regaining their magic.

  Adale still wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Unblessed by any deity, she had lived her entire life without magic and was glad for it. Magic seemed like a lot of responsibility, piled on top of the responsibilities of being a princess. And it added another layer of politics to everything. The temple of whatever god had blessed her would be expecting favors, support, preferential treatment. And all the other temples would be watching hawkishly to raise their objections when she did.

  At the same time, she thought she understood the dragons’ desire to have magic again, to know they had been forgiven.

  When Adale emerged from the bedroom, Esofi was talking to Carinth while Mireille sat with her embroidery in her lap and did nothing. She could tell from Esofi’s tone that she was telling him a story and settled into a chair to listen.

  “The next night, the shepherd boy was feeling bored and lonely again,” Esofi was saying. “He tried his best to amuse himself, but the moors were quiet and unfriendly. When he could bear the solitude no more, he shouted, ‘Wolf! Wolf!’ And just as they had the previous two nights, the townspeople ran to save him with their torches and scythes.

  “When the boy saw them, he cried out in triumph, ‘I’ve fooled you again!’ And fell to the ground laughing at the trick he had played. As the boy laughed, the townspeople all looked around at one another with very solemn faces. Then one stepped forward with his scythe raised high…” Esofi raised her arms above her head to demonstrate, and Carinth watched, enraptured. “And with a single swipe—”

  “Excuse me, what?” interrupted Adale.

  Esofi turned to her, arms still in the air. “Do you know this story? It’s a classic.”

  “Yes, I know it. But you’re telling it wrong.”

  “Of course I’m not!” said Esofi. “This is how it goes in Rhodia.”

  “That’s not how my mother told it,” said Mireille meekly. “Well, in Ieflaria, the boy’s sheep get eaten by the wolves,” said Adale.

  “Serves him right, I suppose, but it seems a bit contrived.”

  “The way I always heard it was the wolves eat the sheep, and the boy,” said Mireille.

  Carinth grumbled, clearly irritated that Esofi was no longer paying attention to him.

  “Well, I suppose you get to decide for yourself how it goes,” she said to him, running her hand down his back. “You have three endings to choose from. It’s too bad Lisette isn’t here. I wonder what version she’s heard.”

  “The one where the ground cracks open and the entire village falls in.”

  “Adale!” scolded Esofi, but Adale could barely hear her over Mireille’s shrieking laughter.

  ADALE WOKE EARLY the next morning. When she turned over she was surprised to see that Esofi was already gone, though Carinth was still asleep on her pillow.

  A little bit concerned, Adale got up and dressed as quickly as she could. By the time she was done, Carinth had woken as well and was watching her curiously.

  “Come on, you,” said Adale. “Let’s go walk around.”

  Carinth bounded after her eagerly.

  Since their arrival,
Adale had been thinking of borrowing a horse and exploring the surrounding forests or maybe the town. Back home, she had a custom-made saddle with a little bucket on one side for Carinth to sit in so he could accompany her on rides, but they’d been in such a hurry to leave that Adale had not thought to bring it along.

  The sun was just beginning to rise over the camp as they stepped outside. A few guards were patrolling the walls, but there weren’t too many other people around. Adale supposed nobody was feeling very nervous after a year of no attacks and the peaceful meeting with Ivanedi yesterday.

  Not far away, Adale could see a structure with a familiar insignia on it, a single sword pointed upward, indicating that the building was a temple dedicated to Reygmadra. Given the number of soldiers here, Adale knew there had to be at least one or two of her priestesses around.

  Sometimes it could be difficult to tell where the Temple of Reygmadra ended, and the Ieflarian military began. Officially, they were two separate entities, and the priestesses were not ranking officers. But there was a great deal of overlap in resources and responsibilities, and Adale knew her parents had to work to keep things balanced. If the temple did not have enough influence over the military, Reygmadra’s gifts would go to waste, for her priestesses had the power to bestow temporary blessings on the soldiers that increased their strength and resistance to injuries. But if the temple was allowed to grow too powerful, her parents would be rulers in name only.

  The Temple of Reygmadra had not given them any trouble during Adale’s lifetime, but one only had to look to Xytae to see just how influential they could become if a regent gave them free rein.

  At the sound of voices speaking in Rhodian, Adale turned hopefully toward the sound. But it wasn’t Esofi. It was two blue-robed mages who had noticed Carinth. Adale stood back and watched as Carinth bounded over to them eagerly so he could go through their pockets while they cooed to him in Rhodian and patted his head.

  “Have either of you seen Esofi?” asked Adale after a moment. “I’ve lost track of her.”

  The mages exchanged looks, like they weren’t sure if they wanted to answer her, and Adale wondered if she’d have to rephrase her question as an order. But then one of them said, “I believe she is in one of the indoor practice rings.”

  Adale frowned. “What’s she practicing for?”

  “I do not know, Crown Princess,” said the mage, stepping back. “Good morning.”

  Adale did not know where the practice rings were, but she decided she’d ask a guard, not another mage. The interaction had left her feeling unbalanced. Adale certainly did not expect anyone to fawn over her because of her rank as crown princess, but she was beginning to sense that the Rhodian mages did not respect her very much.

  The first guard she found was emerging from the mess hall. When he saw Adale approaching, he froze and saluted.

  “I’m supposed to go to the indoor practice rings, but I don’t know where that is,” said Adale. “Can you point me?”

  “Of course, Crown Princess,” said the man.

  “I ran into some of the Rhodian mages earlier, but I didn’t want to waste their precious time,” said Adale, rolling her eyes. “I hope you have separate barracks.”

  She could tell the guard was considering her words. Doubtless he did not want to speak badly of anyone in front of her, but he probably also hadn’t been expecting her to be so candid. When he finally did reply, he spoke slowly.

  “They have their own living quarters,” he said. “I think…they prefer to live separately.”

  “I expect we’d all prefer that, wouldn’t we?” asked Adale, keeping her voice cheery. She knew from experience that it might take a little bit of time, but she was confident she would be able to get the guard’s real opinion on the matter if she remained affable.

  Because it was difficult to get people to tell the truth sometimes. She knew people were afraid of angering and offending her. She wished they wouldn’t be. She felt like she could solve so many problems if people would just tell her exactly what they wanted.

  “I can’t speak for everyone, Crown Princess,” said the guard.

  “No, that’s my job, isn’t it? Do they all pretend like they can’t speak Ieflarian, or have I just been lucky?”

  “No, that’s about how it goes most of the—” the guard began, but then he seemed to remember who he was addressing, and his tone changed abruptly. “That is, I’m sure…I’m sure it’s difficult. Being stationed in a foreign country.”

  “Well, maybe we can send them home soon,” said Adale.

  “I think they’d like that, Crown Princess.”

  Adale gave a bark of laughter that echoed around the quiet grounds. “I’m surprised that dragon was able to get near enough to even deliver his message. I’d have thought the mages would be on him in a moment.”

  “It might have been, but it was only us on patrol when it came walking up. We raised the alarm, but by the time the mages arrived, we’d realized the dragon meant no harm.”

  “You don’t patrol together, then?”

  The guard shook his head. “Commander Gero and the Rhodian woman keep us separate.”

  That did not strike Adale as particularly efficient, and she frowned. How well could Fenstell function if the mages and soldiers were essentially two different factions? “I wonder if I should ask Commander Gero about it, then.”

  “Let me show you to the training rooms,” said the guard. “The indoor ones are only really used by the mages.”

  He led her to another building, much smaller than the main fortress but made from the same Ieflarian pines. Adale went in and found herself standing in front of a desk where another bleary-eyed guard was apparently keeping watch. He did not appear to be completely awake as he looked down at the schedule in front of him and said, “All the rooms except the last one are empty, so you’ve got your pick.”

  “I’m searching for my wife, actually,” said Adale.

  The guard peered up at her, then jolted to his feet so quickly he knocked the entire desk forward. “Crown Princess!”

  “It’s all right,” said Adale, raising her hands in a pacifying gesture. “Did Esofi come in here? Someone told me she did.”

  “She is in room six. All the way at the end, there,” said the guard, gesturing to the hallway behind him. “But…she asked that nobody be permitted to interrupt her.”

  “I’m sure she didn’t mean me,” said Adale. The guard did not say anything, but he appeared to be a little uneasy. Still, he did not stop her as she strode down the hallway and pushed the door open.

  The training room was empty, devoid of any furniture, though a large circle had been painted on the floor. Adale supposed this was for practice fights. At the center of the circle was Esofi.

  To Adale’s shock, Esofi had her skirt knotted at her waist, so that her lower legs were visible. She also was not wearing shoes or stockings. They had been discarded and set neatly in one corner of the room.

  “What in the world are you doing?” asked Adale, closing the door behind her.

  “Oh!” Esofi jumped. “Adale! You’re awake.”

  “What’s going on here?” Adale bit back a laugh.

  “Oh, it’s nothing. It’s nothing.” Esofi hastily began to untie the knots in her skirt, letting it fall back to the ground, and went over to retrieve her stockings.

  “I don’t get to know what’s going on?”

  “As I said, it’s nothing.”

  Adale frowned. “Well, if you wanted to keep me out, you should have assigned a mage to guard the door, not a soldier.”

  Esofi paused to give her a strange look. “What do you mean by that?”

  “I think it’s quite obvious that the mages respect you more than they do me.”

  Esofi frowned. “Has something happened that I need to address?”

  “No,” said Adale hastily. “No, nothing like…” Nothing like the sharp snubs that occasionally happened at home, the ones that Adale had shrugged off for so l
ong that it was always a shock when Esofi came to her defense with the sort of righteous fervor one might expect from a paladin.

  “If it helps,” said Esofi, “I think the Rhodians are more comfortable with me because we all made the journey together. But they’ve no right to treat you badly.”

  “There haven’t been any incidents. Just…a feeling I get. Perhaps it’s only my imagination. Don’t reprimand them for that.” It wasn’t quite true, but Adale always hated it when Esofi took offense on her behalf. Not because she was embarrassed, but because Adale felt that she did not deserve it. She’d behaved so poorly for such a long time. She had not earned anyone’s respect, so what right did she have to demand it?

  Esofi finished putting her shoes on and stood back up. “I should send a courier to your parents, shouldn’t I?”

  “My parents?”

  “Informing them that I do not believe Ivanedi is a threat to us. I’d hate for them to think I’d been eaten.”

  “I doubt they think that.” Adale paused. “Have we had a courier from Birsgen?”

  “Not yet,” sighed Esofi. “It would be just my luck if she was blown off course all the way to Anora.”

  “Well, hire one to go home and mention we haven’t had any word of your mother. They’ll send another.”

  They exited the training rooms together, Carinth bounding ahead of them and climbing onto the guard’s desk to see if he had anything interesting on hand.

  “Carinth!” scolded Esofi, but he did not even flick his ears in her direction. Adale went to retrieve him, gripping him around the waist and lifting him up onto her shoulder.

  “Come on, you,” she said. “That’s not yours.”

  The sun was rising very slowly, and the camp was slow to warm. Adale found herself inclined to get back into bed and do nothing for the rest of the morning. She wondered how she might convince Esofi to do the same.

  “When do you think Ivanedi will come back?” asked Adale.

  “I don’t know. I hope it’s earlier than tonight. There’s so much I want to ask him.” Esofi breathed into her hands to warm them.

  Adale and Esofi had probably done more research on dragons than anyone else in Ieflaria, even before receiving the egg that eventually hatched into Carinth, but their sources were limited to texts so ancient they were near to crumbling into dust. Being able to ask Ivanedi questions would be a relief.