The Gray Wolf Throne (29 page)

Averill gazed coldly at Bayar. “i have complete confidence that whatever Captain Byrne was doing, it was in service to the Gray wolf line,” he said.

“we will probably never know exactly what happened,” Mellony said, breaking into the argument. “i’m sure this is a difficult subject for Corporal Byrne, with his father not yet buried.” She leaned forward. “i was told you had a boon to ask, Corporal Byrne. please, speak freely.”

She’s generous, Amon thought. now that the crown is within her grasp.

Gavan Bayar sat forward, his hand on his amulet, eying him like he might strike him dead if he said the wrong thing.

“i do have a request,” Amon said. “it is unusual, but i hoped that you might grant it in light of my father’s long service to Queen Marianna.”

“Anything,” Mellony said quickly, then wilted under Lord Bayar’s glare. “if we possibly can, Corporal Byrne, we shall,” she amended.

“i would like to ask that my father’s ashes be buried near his liege queen, on Marianna peak,” Amon said. At Mellony’s puzzled expression, he rushed on, “not—not beside her or 247

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anything. perhaps somewhere nearby, maybe at the foot of her tomb, somewhere he can continue to watch over her in death as he did in life.”

“oh!” Mellony rose in a swish of silk, hands clasped in front of her, the tears pooling in her eyes. “oh, that’s so romantic. To think of Captain Byrne watching over his queen forever.”

“Don’t you Byrnes have a tomb in the Cathedral Temple?” Lord Bayar said, seemingly unmoved by romance. “wouldn’t it be more proper to bury your father next to your mother?”

“Aye, Lord Bayar, it would seem so,” Amon said, looking the wizard in the eyes. “But my mother would understand. She knew when she married my father of the special bond between queen and captain. A bond that goes from life to death.” Lord Bayar scowled. Amon guessed that the High wizard instinctively wanted to deny the request, but could think of no good reason to do so. “Speaker Jemson,” Bayar said. “you will oversee Her Majesty’s memorial service. you are in charge of maintaining the old traditions. Doesn’t this seem . . . disrespectful?” Jemson templed his fingers together and considered this, his expression solemn. “i am well aware of the bond between queens and captains,” he said finally, his face betraying nothing. “i would have no objection if that is what both families desire.”

“Lord Demonai?” Lord Bayar turned to Averill. “As consort to the queen, i would think you might question the propriety of—”

“i am not at all threatened by Captain Byrne’s ashes, Lord Bayar,” Averill said. “i have never had reason to question Captain Byrne’s loyalty nor the nature of his regard for the queen.” The look he leveled at Gavan Bayar could have frozen the Dyrnnewater.

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Mellony smiled damply. “i think my mother, the queen, would be pleased to know that her captain sleeps nearby,” she said, sitting again.

Micah covered her hand with his own, leaned over and whispered something in her ear. She blushed and whispered something back.

“Thank you, your Highness,” Amon said, trying to ignore the display. He wanted nothing more than to get out of there. He much preferred the mean streets of Southbridge to the connivery at court. He’d gotten what he wanted, after all—a chance to survey the burial site ahead of time and an excuse to be in the thick of things at the memorial.

“with your permission, then, Speaker Jemson and i will walk the burial site later today and make a decision about my father’s rites and the placement of his grave.” Amon rose and bowed. “if i may, i’ll take my leave.”

“not so fast,” Lord Bayar said.

Amon froze in place, not looking up.

“Corporal Byrne, the Council of regents must request a little more of your time,” the High wizard said. “please, sit.” 249

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A Web of lies

Amon sat down again, endeavoring to keep his face as blank as new snow while his heart hammered under his uniform coat. He looked up and met the High wizard’s cold blue eyes.

“while it is difficult to look beyond our recent losses and Queen Marianna’s burial, we must consider the issue of the coronation,” Bayar said.

“The coronation, sir?” Amon said. He glanced at princess Mellony, then back at Lord Bayar.

“As you astutely pointed out, our enemies are gathering to the south,” Lord Bayar said. “Have you heard the news? Tamron Court has fallen to Gerard Montaigne.”

Amon shook his head. “no,” he said, pretending surprised dismay. “i hadn’t heard that.”

“we cannot afford to leave our throne unoccupied for long,” Bayar said. “it will be perceived as a power vacuum that our enemies to the south will be only too happy to fill. Montaigne 250

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may decide that it’s easier to conquer the Fells than to continue fighting against his brothers.”

“i can see where that might happen,” Amon said truthfully.

“Given the princess heir’s extended absence, Queen Marianna made a difficult decision,” Lord Bayar said. “She modified the succession, recognizing that the princess raisa might never return home. She named the princess Mellony her successor in the event that . . . that the throne became vacant and the princess raisa could not be located,” he finished delicately. He shook his head. “none of us ever anticipated that this alternate plan would ever be needed.”

“raisa may still return,” Mellony said, a faint protest. “i don’t want anyone to think that we’re setting her aside.”

“That is exactly what people will think, daughter, the Demonai in particular,” Averill said. “That is one reason i voted against it on the council.”

“This is difficult for the princess Mellony to accept,” Lord Hakkam said, speaking up for the first time. “But, in recognition of the current crisis in Arden and Tamron, the Council of regents has determined that if the princess raisa does not return for Queen Marianna’s memorial service, we must proceed with princess Mellony’s coronation.”

Amon wished he could watch all the faces at once so as not to miss anything. He looked first at Speaker Jemson. The speaker’s face was smooth and untroubled. He was a smart man. He probably knew the price of resistance as well as Amon.

Mellony somehow managed to look both guilty and thrilled.

Unconsciously, she reached down and stroked Micah’s hair as if it were a talisman. She’d never hoped to be queen, Amon thought.

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She likes the idea. And she knows in her secret heart that it will win her Micah.

“is it really so urgent?” Amon said finally, trying to sound as if this were interesting news that had little to do with him. “it seems like you have a little time before Montaigne regroups. The siege of Tamron Court must have taken a toll. And if he wants to march through the mountains, he’ll have to wait for better weather. As far as i know, he has no experience with mountain warfare.”

“And yet you just said that you returned home because of the risk Montaigne poses,” Lord Bayar said, pouncing on Amon’s words like a trout on a fly.
You can’t have it both ways
, his expression said. “i don’t think it’s wise to underestimate Montaigne.

Look what happened to the Tomlins.”

“i can see why you would not want to leave the throne vacant for long,” Amon said. “But what happens if the princess raisa returns at a later time?” He could feel Micah Bayar’s black-eyed gaze on him.

Lord Hakkam shrugged. “There is no provision to . . .

re arrange matters should that happen,” he said. “you must admit, it was irresponsible of her to run off like that, without a word to anyone.”

That was either brave or foolhardy on Hakkam’s part, to call the princess heir of the realm irresponsible. Still, Amon could see how the nobility would take a dim view of raisa’s disappearance.

They’d not been told that it had been precipitated by the prospect of a forced marriage to a wizard. They’d likely been told that raisa’d had a spat with the queen and stormed off in a huff. The Gray wolf line was known to be headstrong. Look at Hanalea.

Amon knew that was all he could do, to try to raise a doubt, 252

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to try to slow things down. But why would they tell Amon Byrne about their plans for the coronation? Unless—if raisa still lived, and Amon knew where she was, they would expect him to rush back and tell her. And that might flush their quarry before she could cause real trouble.

So he sat, saying nothing, waiting to be dismissed, wondering what to say to raisa, and how to prevent his own headstrong queen from doing something foolhardy.

“Queen Mellony will need a captain of her guard,” Lord Bayar said, wrenching him back to the present.

oh.

Queen Mellony. The sound of it made Amon’s skin itch.

“Aye,” he said, nodding sagely. “That’s so.” He knew he sounded like a dolt, but he wasn’t going to make the offer. His mind worked furiously. raisa had been right, as she usual y was about political matters.
Say yes
, she’d said.
Say yes, or it wil be your death warrant.

“i would be honored, Corporal Byrne, if you would consent to be captain of my guard,” Mellony said, smiling at him.

Amon was glad raisa had warned him, glad he hadn’t been blindsided. The Bayars knew that the Byrnes stood in the way of their complete control over their chosen queen. So why would they go along with the selection of a Byrne as captain?

raisa had suggested one reason: the Bayars knew the elevation of Mellony to the throne would be controversial. They would want to add any legitimacy to it that they could. if a Byrne consented to be captain, as tradition demanded, that would make her more credible.

The second possibility was that they really took him to be a fool.

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The third possibility was that they wanted to keep him close and under their watch so they could handle him if he showed any signs of being uncooperative.

it was hard to keep in the front of his mind who knew what secrets.

Amon realized he was thinking on it too long, when they were all waiting for his response.

“i—i’m flattered, your Highness,” Amon said. “But surprised as well. Though i’ve been nearly four years at oden’s Ford, i’m still a cadet. i’m just eighteen. i would have expected you to choose someone with more schooling and experience.”

“Come, now,” General klemath snapped. “you can’t be that surprised. it’s always been a Byrne, ever since the Breaking.” He doesn’t seem happy about it, either, Amon thought. perhaps he thought one of his idiot sons would be tapped for the post.

“we believe that character and bloodlines are more important than training and experience,” Mellony said, smiling.

“Unless you prefer we name your sister Lydia or your brother ira,” Lord Bayar said.

Bones
, Amon thought. He was surprised Lord Bayar knew he had a sister and brother. He didn’t like that he knew it. naming Lydia was a possible out for them. She was an artist, without training as a soldier. Although still a Byrne, she would be less of an obstacle to Bayar ambition. it would put Lydia in danger and would not offer much protection to the queen.

And ira was eleven years old. He wouldn’t go to the academy for two more years.

“General klemath, you are right,” Amon said. “i should have anticipated it. it’s just—things are shifting so quickly, it’s hard to 254

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keep up. i expected to have years in the Guard to prepare. with the tragic loss of the queen, and then the loss of my father—it will just take a while to get used to the idea, i guess.” Bayar’s expression said
Don’t take too long.

“Corporal Byrne,” Mellony said. “we have this in common: we are both thrust into roles we never expected. we can learn together, you and i.”

Amon nodded. “i hadn’t thought of it that way.” That’s exactly what we don’t need, Amon thought. A young, malleable, inexperienced queen and a green captain of the guard.

“So you agree?” Mellony said, leaning forward eagerly, the child unwilling to be denied.

Amon inclined his head. “yes,” he said. “i would be honored to serve as Captain of the Queen’s Guard, your Highness.” After all, he already was, in fact.

Lord Bayar studied him for a long moment, then nodded, seeming satisfied. “Good.” He looked at Speaker Jemson. “isn’t there some sort of religious ceremony?” he said, with clear disinterest. “will you be handling that?”

Speaker Jemson nodded. “Typically, it takes place at the time of the coronation,” he said. “i will prepare for that, along with the rest.”

Jemson is a fair liar, to be a dedicate, Amon thought.

“Thank you, Corporal Byrne,” Lord Bayar said, dismissing him. “This regent’s council meeting is adjourned.” Amon rose and backed away, bowing, but they were no longer paying attention to him. Mellony climbed down from her high chair and stood, chatting animatedly with Micah. As Amon watched, the young wizard slid an arm around Mellony’s 255

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shoulders and drew her in for a kiss.

Amon didn’t look forward to sharing all this news with raisa.

“Corporal.” Amon flinched and looked up to find Jemson next to him. “i am riding up to Marianna peak now to observe the preparations. why don’t you come along, and we can make some decisions and you can get the lay of the land.”

“yes, thank you, i will,” Amon said, yanking his attention away from Mellony and Micah.

Speaker Jemson followed his gaze. “it seems we have our work cut out for us, doesn’t it?”

Amon had to agree.

By the end of the day, Amon was physically and mentally exhausted. The Gray wolves had accompanied Amon and Jemson to Marianna peak, since Amon meant to use them as part of the honor guard for his father. whatever the final plan, he wanted soldiers on hand he could trust during the memorial. His wolves were all native-born, except for pearlie Greenholt, who had come north with Talia, leaving her post as weapons master at wien House. She had taken wode’s place in Amon’s triple after wode was killed in Tamron.