Lady of Stone, page 8
Earnhilt groaned. “Her parents are still alive? When the spirits curse us, they don’t do it by halves, do they?” She glared at Thana. “No noble father is going to stand by while we execute his daughter. The whole lot of them would revolt.” She stepped forward as she spoke.
Thana’s heart dropped as ice spread through her veins. She winced, trying to meet Earnhilt’s eyes but still not sure if any of her words got through. “Execute? But it’s not her fault.”
“Civil war,” Earnhilt said, rubbing her chin. “We’d be back where we were when I first took the throne. We can’t have that, not with Yanchasa.” She took hold of Thana’s cassock. “You are not going to argue with me on this. Farraday needs an Umbriel on the throne.”
“I know.” Thana went up on tiptoe to avoid being dragged off her feet. Her collar tightened around her neck, and she thought again of how terrifying it would be to have Earnhilt as an enemy. It was bad enough being her ally. “But things don’t have to go that way. The lady can be taught.”
Earnhilt dropped her and stared back at the smoky hall. “We’ll have to kill her without his knowledge. I like a fair fight, but there comes a time…” She looked at Thana again, eyes wide as if seeing her for the first time. “You’ll have to set it up. You and Gunnar and the Order of Vestra.”
Thana’s stomach dropped. The talk of execution hadn’t quite penetrated her mind. The queen had only been musing, surely. But this, an order? “I…Your Majesty…”
“Who is this noble daughter?”
Thana coughed, both from the smoke hanging in the air and from the dread choking her. Earnhilt’s blue gaze held her like daggers of ice. She thought of the Fiendish Aspect that all Umbriels contained and wondered if part of it could come leaking out at times like these, paralyzing people.
“Mother!”
Earnhilt turned, taking her power with her and letting Thana breathe. Gunnar came running down the hall, one hand on the hilt of his sword. “Is it an attack?”
“A fire.” Earnhilt waved toward the destruction. “Out now. What news from town?”
“More incidents, pyradistés run amok. More witnesses this time.”
“Multiple pyradistés, not just one?” Earnhilt’s gaze flicked to Thana again.
As Gunnar confirmed that, Thana sighed in gratitude. Sylph couldn’t set off pyramids across the city, though Earnhilt might add those disasters as fuel for Sylph’s pyre.
“We might have to lock them all up,” Earnhilt said, rubbing her chin. “At least until we find out what’s going on.”
The offhand way she spoke of mass imprisonment chilled Thana again, the ache spreading to her core. She covered her face, hoping to seem as if she was as alarmed by the news of rogue pyradistés as everyone else, but anger burned in her now, thawing her muscles. Her fellow pyradistés did not deserve to be shut in cages like animals or killed in secret halls and alleys.
It didn’t matter how fearsome Earnhilt was. Thana couldn’t stand for this.
When someone down the hall hailed the queen, Thana trailed behind her and Gunnar. He’d been Thana’s friend since they were children, had seemed to care about their difference in status far less than other people. He’d treated her like an equal.
More or less.
She tugged on his sleeve, keeping him back. “The queen wants to lock people up before they’ve committed a crime?”
He frowned hard. “After an explosion in the royal quarters and a fire in the palace? Not to mention the other crimes throughout Marienne and Farraday? We have to stop this somehow.”
“How many of these crimes are confirmed?”
“You were here for the fire and the explosion. And what about your noble in the garden?”
Thana gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to yell. “Your mother wants to execute my noble in the garden without even speaking to her first.”
He looked away, but he didn’t argue. She’d never felt a greater rift between them, never felt so far below his boots.
“You’re not going to say anything?”
“I…give me time, Thana.”
Time for Earnhilt to kill Sylph? She couldn’t allow it, nor could she stand by while people were imprisoned. She refused to work with someone who’d take that action, no matter that the someone was her best friend’s mother.
And the queen.
Thana didn’t want to be the Umbriels’ enemy, but greater than that, she didn’t want to see all pyradistés in cages.
And she couldn’t let Sylph die.
“We’ll figure it out, Thana,” Gunnar said. He squeezed her shoulder, but at the moment, it seemed less like reassurance and more like a threat. “We need to speak with the rest of the Order and get on top of this before anyone else gets hurt.” He turned back to Earnhilt.
Anyone besides the pyradistés. Or Sylph. No, she was a pyradisté now, whether she liked it or not, but more than that, she was someone who needed help and didn’t currently have the means to help herself. She was beset on all sides.
All but Thana’s.
Thana stepped back slowly, and while everyone’s eyes were turned on the queen and the smoke became a shroud between them, Thana turned and strode back down the hall, heading for Sylph’s apartment.
Chapter Seven
When Sylph spotted Thana down the hall, relief washed over her. She hadn’t really expected her father to oust Thana right away, but the sight of her walking free made Sylph’s heart go from a gallop to a trot.
Until she came close enough to see the anger on Thana’s face.
Something else must have happened. Thana was still disheveled, but her frown and the pinched look between her brows spoke of undertakings beyond her earlier agitation.
“What’s happened?” Sylph asked quietly.
“You were supposed to wait for me in your apartment.”
After everything, she was angry about that? “Forgive me for trying to come to your rescue.”
“My…” Thana blinked and glanced around as if unsure of her surroundings on top of everything else. “Listen, I’ve been to see the queen.”
“And I’ve seen my father. I have news.”
“So do I!”
Sylph crossed her arms and said, “You must take care,” just as Thana put her hands on her hips and said, “You need to leave.”
They both took a step back and asked, “What?”
Sylph held up a hand, too confused for amusement. “My father blames you for the fire. If not for the actual starting of it, then for not controlling your fellow pyradistés. He’s going to the queen to get you removed.” Her mind repeated Thana’s words, then, and she shook her head. “Why do I need to leave?”
Thana’s brow darkened, and she opened and shut her mouth several times before closing her eyes and muttering, “Typical.” After a deep breath, she met Sylph’s gaze again. “The queen will no doubt be looking for him, too. She knows a noblewoman was behind the fire, and once they figure out it’s you…well, you need to be gone first. Either with your father or alone.”
Alone, such a huge word. Sylph’s mind raced, fear and confusion spiraling inside her. “Why would I leave, even if she knows?” She swallowed hard. She needn’t go anywhere a moment before her father ordered it. If the queen commanded Sylph to leave court, her father might keep her close out of spite, pyradisté powers or no. The nobles and the monarch had been at peace for years, but the civil war hadn’t been so long ago that the nobles had forgotten it was an option. “If the queen commanded us to leave, it would be a huge insult, one my father would fight against.”
Thana rolled her eyes. “That’s exactly the point.” She cast a glance around, then pulled Sylph to the side of the hall, her hands as warm as if she still stood in the fire. “The queen won’t fight you, but she might…well, if she thinks it would help the kingdom, she might…” She nodded vaguely at Sylph.
“Might?” The queen couldn’t simply strip Sylph or her father of their titles. They would have to commit a crime against the crown for that. Being a noble pyradisté was practically unheard of, but it wasn’t illegal. Then what could the queen do? By Thana’s worried face, it was serious. “You can’t mean she’d…harm me?” she asked breathlessly, hardly daring to believe it. “My father would raise an army.”
“I got the sense that it would appear to be an accident, one you wouldn’t walk away from.”
Sylph’s stomach dropped to her shoes. She’d heard tales of Queen Earnhilt leading her troops in battle, of taking more than a few heads, but to cut someone down in cold blood? Unthinkable.
Or was it? Could she really say her father wouldn’t do the same if it got him what he wanted? “He…I…” She didn’t know what to say. “He won’t just leave without an explanation.”
“Then you’ll have to go alone,” Thana said.
There was that word again. Sylph barked a laugh, a bray of fear, before covering her mouth. “I couldn’t possibly. The very idea is ludicrous.”
Thana rolled her eyes. “Oh yes. One cannot possibly go without one’s maid and chef and…horse trainer.”
Anger spread hotly through Sylph’s chest. “I shouldn’t have expected a member of the peasantry to understand.” They were words out of her father’s mouth, but she couldn’t say anything else to the snide look on Thana’s face.
After another deep breath, Thana held up her hands. “All right. I shot at you. You returned fire. Now we’re even, and nothing more will be solved by standing here sniping at each other. Your life is in danger.”
“My father will protect me. He may not love me, but he will not allow the queen to take anything from him.” Her anger washed away upon a wave of hurt. She’d never said some of those words before.
Thana’s eyes went wide, and her burning touch engulfed Sylph’s hand once more. “I’m sorry, really, but I don’t think you want the nobles and the monarch to start fighting again any more than I do. If you aren’t…done away with, it’ll be something else.” She couldn’t seem to bring herself to say killed or murdered. “The queen is already talking about imprisoning all the pyradistés.”
Touched, Sylph squeezed her hand. “Then you should flee, too. It seems neither of us has a very secure future.” And she was becoming numb. Perhaps a person could only be so afraid before other emotions had nowhere to go. When Thana didn’t respond, Sylph started back toward her apartment. “I’ll leave my father a note, I suppose, to slow down the search. I’ll tell him I’m too afraid of rogue pyradistés to stay in Marienne, and I’m going home.”
Thana frowned as she kept pace. “Will he believe that?”
She shrugged. Fear still raged inside her, but it felt good to be moving, to be doing something other than hiding in her apartment and waiting for her father to either disown her or use her as a rallying point for rebellion.
Or waiting for the queen to kill her.
She tried to tell herself that a little jaunt in the country was all she needed. And the queen might find out her identity, but perhaps her father wouldn’t. Then by the time she returned, she’d know how to repress her powers, and the current troubles would have blown over.
If only she could make herself believe that, all would be well.
* * *
Thana tried to fight her impatience as Sylph packed. Every instinct shouted that Sylph needed to be removed from danger as fast as possible, but she wouldn’t be dissuaded from taking everything in her apartment or writing her father a letter that probably wouldn’t help.
Sylph went behind a changing screen and came out in a dusky pink riding dress with a tight-fitting bodice and a slit up the front that revealed tight trousers when she moved. The color complemented her tanned skin and blond hair so well, Thana had to look away to keep her jaw from dropping.
When Sylph swung a hooded cloak over her shoulders, Thana moved toward the door, thinking they were ready to leave, but Sylph merely gathered a few more things from her vanity table.
Thana ground her teeth. Maybe she could coax Queen Earnhilt in this direction. That might instill a bit of urgency.
“Instead of crossing your arms and tapping your foot, you could help,” Sylph said as she packed some jewelry.
“Don’t you have a trustworthy maid for this?”
Sylph didn’t reply, so Thana sighed and stuffed some clothing in a bag, not bothering to fold it. Maybe wearing wrinkled shirts and the like would persuade Sylph to travel lighter.
Thana supposed she should be glad that she was busy saving someone. She didn’t seem to be able to help all the innocent pyradistés who were as much victims of this rogue magic as everyone else. Locking them up likely wouldn’t help anyone, but Thana doubted the queen would listen.
Gunnar might not listen, either, and that burned her still. He might not even argue when it was her turn to be imprisoned.
A soft sound came from the doorway. Thana glanced up, wadded garment in hand, to find a young woman in a plain dress with a shocked look upon her face.
“My lady,” she said, gaze flicking between Thana and Sylph. “What’s going on?” Red bloomed in her cheeks before she stepped into the room, crossing to where Sylph stood. “I beg your pardon, my lady. I meant, is there something I can assist you with?”
At last, a maid. Thana tossed the garment in with the others and stood back, happy someone else was here to pack. After a few quick words, the maid would probably be ready to go, too, and Sylph wouldn’t have to worry about traveling alone.
But Sylph’s eyes were wide, her complexion a few degrees paler, and she’d frozen, jewelry case in hand. She and the maid stared at one another for a moment.
“My friend is helping me sort through some clothing…for charity,” Sylph said, her voice rough and wooden.
The maid stiffened, hands clenching as if she might strike, though her expression seemed fearful. “Can I assist—”
“No, thank you.”
Thana frowned and moved to the door, looking out but seeing no one. What were they both so afraid of?
“Shall I…” The maid glanced at the bags. “Shall I inform the duke?”
Sylph frowned hard. “No.” The word practically had ice dripping off it.
The maid took a step back. “I shall,” she whispered.
“No!”
With a gasp, the maid dashed for the door, pulling up short before she hit Thana.
“Stop her,” Sylph said.
Something about the panic in her voice made Thana obey. She stuck her arms out to the sides and lamented her lack of a mind pyramid. Then she could have hypnotized her instead of moving from side to side to block her.
All at once, the maid gasped in pain and collapsed. Sylph stood behind her, holding a candlestick as if ready to strike again.
“What in the spirits’ names?” Thana said as she fell to her knees beside the maid. She let out a breath in relief as the woman’s chest continued to rise and fall.
“She’s a spy for my father.” Sylph lifted a bag and her jewelry case and nodded toward the bags on the bed. “Bring those, too.”
Thana grabbed two more bags and stumbled after her. She tried not to think of the downed maid, of why a father might set spies upon his daughter; it must be something else from the secret lives of nobles. When the queen planned secret killings, anything was possible. “What will your father think of your note now that it comes with an unconscious maid?”
“I don’t know,” Sylph said over her shoulder. “He’ll figure out that someone helped me. If he finds out about my…power…he’ll know that it’s you.”
Thana glanced at her as she took the lead, wondering if that was some kind of threat, but Sylph hadn’t lost her pale, panicked look. “I’ll just…have to lie low,” Thana said. If she could have given herself a skeptical look, she would have. There was no more hiding now. Gunnar might try to help her, but the queen might sooner be rid of her. After all, once she’d considered killing one person for the sake of the peace, what was one more?
At the stables, Sylph’s breathing had quickened nearly to the point of panting. Thana ordered a groom to saddle one horse. Sylph looked at her with such a stricken look, it broke her heart.
“Please,” Sylph whispered. “Please come with me.”
Thana had never heard such a heartfelt plea. “I…” She couldn’t just leave her life behind no matter how shitty it currently seemed. She tried to say that aloud, but her voice wouldn’t work. She told herself to think of how often Sylph had pissed her off, but the haughty noble who’d made her crazy seemed miles from this frightened creature.
Thana hadn’t turned her back on Sylph yet. Why start now?
She sighed long and loud. She would have liked to pack a bag of her own but supposed Sylph had enough clothing for both of them. She ordered another horse.
Sylph’s eyes still swam with tears, but her hopeful look spoke of gratitude rather than sorrow. Thana had the strongest urge to kiss her, but she pushed it down just as she’d pushed down all her feelings of passion.
“Follow me,” Thana said when the bags were secured to the saddles, and they were finally ready to set out.
Sylph nodded without argument, managing only a soft, “Where are we going?”
“Not far.” She didn’t want to say it aloud even though no one rode near. It seemed prudent not to mention pyradistés unless she had to, especially as she was headed toward the most powerful one she knew, the head of the Pyradisté Academy.
Thana might be able to get away without clothing, but if she was going to defend them both, she’d need pyramids.
* * *
All her life, Sylph had felt as if the wind was simply blowing her along. Each day had been incredibly ordered. No decision had been hers. It led to a different kind of numbness than the one that came from too much feeling. Most of the time, she’d felt nothing at all.
Now she seemed mired in decisions. She’d left her life, her father. She’d hit her maid over the head, for spirits’ sake. She was completely adrift. No schedule, no spies.
