Silverlight (31 page)

“Affairs?”

“Yes, affairs. I have pets I don’t want to
leave behind, servants who must be dismissed. I’ll need to arrange for the sale
of my house. Such boring details, but they must be dealt with.”

“That’s what I do,” Seromith said. “I’ll
accompany you.”

I tried not to choke. “No, no. I need you to
stay behind and keep order. After all, a change of this magnitude can be
dangerous. You seem like a level-headed man who knows his way around a coup.
I’m sure my kingdom will be in good hands with you at the helm.”

He stared, his face like stone, and said
nothing.

“Stop worrying, Sint. I’ll be back before you
have time to miss me.” I canted my head. “Tell me, do I have a crown to wear?”

“You do,” Sint answered stiffly.

“Will you send someone along with it when you
send the healer? I want to make sure it fits.” Sint nodded and relaxed a
little. So did I.

I turned my attention to the soldiers standing
in the back of the room. “Do I need to administer an oath of allegiance, or
will you transfer your loyalty to me without question?”

A tall soldier stepped forward and bowed. “You
have our undying loyalty, Queen Kymber. Now and forever.”

“Very nice.” I took my new minister by the
shoulders and turned him toward the door. “Now if you’ll just go and look up a
healer for my friend, we can be on our way. Don’t be slow with those horses
either. The faster we go, the faster we’ll be back.”

Sint bowed and crowded the soldiers through what
remained of the doorway. Once they were gone, I put my hands on Magnus’s chest.
“Thank you.”

“For what? I didn’t save you from anything.”

“For loving me. For believing in me.”

“Why would I do otherwise?” He took a quick
glance at the carnage and debris. “How close was it in here? I heard some
serious crashes.”

“Oh, close enough.” I turned to look at the
body along the wall. “Garai was terribly determined, but so was I.”

Magnus didn’t need to know it had all come down
to one spectacular, impossible maneuver that was sure to fail and hadn’t.

“Are you hurt?”

“Not really. I took a throwing star to the
shoulder. I think it was mostly blocked by Tavia’s jacket.”

“Tavia?”

 “The dead woman in my cell.”

He rubbed his chin with two fingers. “Who was
she?”

A knock saved me from having to explain. “I’ll
tell you all about it later. Enter!”

A wide-eyed young woman carrying a wooden box came
into the room. “Are you the healer?” I asked.

“I am, Your Majesty.” She averted her eyes and
curtsied. “My name is Mona Tavenil.”

“Mona, my friend Magnus somehow managed to get
in the way of a crossbow.” I righted the throne and sat him down. “Will you
take a look at him?”

She curtsied again. “I will, Your Grace.”

 He moaned and groaned as Mona removed the bolt
and patched him up. I held his hand through all of it.

 Later, when she was done, I asked him to
steady the throne while I retrieved our swords from the wall.

I cradled Silverlight in my arms and allowed
the tears to flow. It had taken the better part of eleven years, but she was
mine again.

 
“Y
ou truly don’t intend
to come back here and rule, do you?” Magnus asked after we’d found Fitz and
Lady Gray still hobbled in the woods. We transferred our things as fast as we
could and allowed the Pentorian horses to go free.

“Of course not. I prefer to be the queen of
Seacrest.” I reached into my saddlebag and withdrew the golden, jewel-encrusted
crown Sint had placed upon my head. “I even have a proper crown to wear.”

“How…? Magnus’s jaw dropped. “How did you ever
get it past Seromith?”

“A little sleight of hand and a whole lot of
lying.”

“Kymber, you stole the Pentorian crown. This
could have serious ramifications for you. For us. For Calari.”

“I didn’t
steal
it. I’m their queen.
It’s mine by rights.” I gave him a knowing smile.

“What are you up to?”

 “I’ve thought of a way to refuse the throne
and still keep the rest of Calari safe from whatever haunts the Shadowlands.”

“Oh?”

“While we’re in Dorso picking up the girls, I
intend to have Queen Nalhai’s scribe draw up papers of abdication.” I spun the
crown on one finger. “I will happily sign those papers, and then I will place
this crown upon her beautiful head and tell her the entire kingdom of Pentorus
is hers. Laiia said the Yasri are fierce warriors, and there are certainly
enough of them to hold both borders. They could use more land, more resources.
Problem solved.”

“But Seromith . . .”

“Will have to do as his queen orders or pay the
price. Pentorus is still part of Calari, thus bound by their laws and
conventions. It’s a good thing for me that Calari recognizes renunciation of
the throne by a lawful monarch. I don’t think Nalhai will put up with Sint’s
nonsense, do you?”

“Gods, you are
such
a little schemer.”
Magnus threw his head back and laughed. “Tell me – do I have to keep an eye on
my valuables? My paintings and silverware?”

“It’s only your heart I hope to steal, Tyrix.”

“Already done.” Magnus gave another happy
laugh. “Let’s get our daughters and go home.”

“That sounds wonderful.” I lifted my face into
the dying rays of the sun and closed my eyes.

Two precious daughters and a man I adored. Silverlight
was strapped to my hip. Promise was a solid weight against my back.

I could not –
would
not – ask for more.

 “M
other! She’s hitting me with her sword again!”
I could hear Tori’s outrage ring across the patio.

I ceased training and sheathed Silverlight,
tipping my head to listen. Seconds later, Mia’s softer, higher voice floated to
me: “Then run. Run when I say so.”

They were quite a pair, our daughters. One,
every inch a lady. The other, rough and tumble and ready to hack the heads off
dragons.

I would be the disciplinarian today, since my
new husband was in Adamar, picking up a saddle for Tori’s pony.

The girls arrived at my side in short order.
Tori’s eyes were aflame with indignation, Mia’s wide with feigned innocence.

Ah, yes. Quite a pair. I loved them both more
than life itself, but I had to intercede in their argument before someone got
hurt. Tori carried quite a few bruises from the short practice sword Magnus had
cobbled together for Mia.

Mia’s injured hand had healed beautifully,
thanks to the Yasri healer. Koram had worked magic, but I knew my child’s hand
would never be what it was, nor what it could have been.

That made us two of a kind. Mia had favored her
injured hand for a long time, but all that changed when she saw me training
outside, using my scarred hand.

“Me too,” she’d said. “I fight too.”

“Watch me first,” I insisted. “Then I’ll train
you, if you want.”

 She watched me like a hawk for weeks. When
Magnus gave her the little practice sword, she began to mimic my parry and
thrust to the best of her ability, quickly picking up the basics. My youngest
daughter had real talent when it came to swinging a blade.

Tori, the scholar, bloomed in our care, like a
flower planted in rich soil. Magnus took her to school on Fitz every morning
and went to get her in the afternoon. Her last school report had been nearly
perfect, so good she’d earned herself a pony. She’d chosen Pudge, one of the
miniatures Magnus bred here. Tori and Pudge had taken to one another like wind
and waves. Life was good.

I bent to Mia. “Don’t hit your sister with your
sword. Why don’t you go and fight with the tree instead?”

“Silly.” Mia gave me a comical look. “Trees can’t
run.”

“You should practice on things that stand still
first. Chasing comes later.” I tucked her under the chin. “I’ll let you chase
me tomorrow. How does that sound?”

“All right,” Mia said. “But you can’t run too
fast or I won’t catch you.”

“I won’t run too fast. Go and clean up for
supper. We’ll eat as soon as your father comes back with Tori’s saddle.”

Mia obediently scampered away, her thin legs
carrying her toward a smiling Mrs. Toolwin, waiting in the doorway.

I focused on Tori. “You should–”

“I know what you’re going to say, but I don’t
want to fight.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t like it. It
hurts.”

I knelt down in front of her. “You don’t have
to fight if you don’t want to, Tori. You
do
have to know enough to
defend yourself from those who might want to harm you. Do you understand the
difference?”

A solemn nod was my answer. Poor thing. She’d
seen too much when the slavers destroyed their village. I kissed her forehead
and smiled. “Not today though. In fact, there’s your father now.”

Magnus and Fitz were small dots on the horizon.
Tori ran off, calling, “Father! Father! You’re home!” She flew toward Magnus
with open arms.

 I cupped my belly. I hadn’t told my husband
yet, as I’d just confirmed it for myself. We’d be adding another little one to
our family in the spring. Son or daughter, it didn’t matter to me. And I knew
it wouldn’t matter to him.

That’s the funny thing about love. There’s
always more and more and more. More than enough for everyone.

S
herry Jesberger lives in central Pennsylvania
with her husband Gordon. They are the parents of three daughters. In addition
to writing, she enjoys gardening, reading, hybridizing, and genealogy. 

For updates on upcoming books, or just to chat,
you can keep in touch with her here:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SLJesberger

Website: www.sherryjesberger.com

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/sljesberger
 

Sherry’s covers are designed by her daughter
Kerry Hynds of Hynds Studio.

Website: http://hyndsstudio.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hyndsstudio

Kerry has a B.S. Degree in Fine Arts/Graphic
Design from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. She and her twin sister Kelly
are also the authors and illustrators of the children’s book “A Thief in
Sunnyside.”