The Mirror King (Orphan Queen) (7 page)

James wrinkled his nose. “You think he’s naked?”

“I told him to put on his clothes, but that was this morning.”

“Great.” James knocked on the music room door and entered.

A loud
whack
hit the wall: wood crashing. “What are you? You don’t belong.” The wraith boy’s voice rose an octave. “Leave!”

I threw open the music room door to find the piano bench in pieces and a gash torn in the wall paneling. James stood just a step away from the demolished bench, his chest heaving. “Wil.” He spoke between clenched teeth. “I think you should send Ferris for more guards.”

The wraith boy’s posture shifted with unnatural quickness. One moment, he was huge and hunched, ready to grab the piano and hurl it at James. The next moment, he resumed his normal size and shape, and bowed his head. “My queen. Hello.”

“What’s going on?” I forced the shaking out of my voice, keeping it low and dangerous.

“This”—the wraith boy bared his teeth at James—“
man
is not what he says he is. He’s deceiving you, my queen. He’s not
real.
”

I moved inside the room and stood beside James. Splinters of wood caught in my day dress, scraping the floor. “James is my friend, and he’s in charge of palace security. If he sees you as a threat, he will not hesitate to force you to leave.”

The wraith boy sniffed. “Only my queen commands me.”

“And I would agree with him. Behave.” I spun and exited the room, head high, but my heart thudded painfully against my ribs.

James closed the door after him, softly. “This is a problem. No one bothered him last night once he hid under your bed, but what if they had? What would he have done?”

“I don’t know.” My head buzzed with adrenaline. “What do you think he meant about you? You’re not who you say you are? As far as I can see, you’re the only one of us who is exactly what he says.”

“I wish I knew.” Worry and confusion crossed his eyes, but he said nothing more. I wasn’t his confidante, after all. “Give me a moment while I have the hall cleared. Then let’s get this over with.”

DEAD QUIET. THE
hallway through the Dragon Wing had never known such silence.

Men wearing Indigo Order uniforms lined the walls, their faces hard and drawn. Swords gleamed in the bright light, every blade lifted and angled in a guarded stance. The steel was polished to a mirror finish, and none of the men so much as moved as James, the wraith boy, and I strode down the hall. Sergeant Ferris came behind us.

A canvas sack covered the wraith boy’s pale head, since some of the soldiers were superstitious about his eyes.

They were too unreal, too wraithy
.

One look and he could turn you into a wraith beast, or a glowman
.

If your eyes met his, you’d go blind
.

James had related all the rumors while we prepared the wraith boy for transfer, and now we walked on either side of
him, daggers pressed against his throat. Of course, the daggers were just for show because I had no idea if being cut or stabbed would hinder him at all. He wasn’t
human
.

“One, two, three, four . . .” The numbers were muffled under the wraith boy’s sack.

“Stop it.” I elbowed the wraith boy.

“I’m counting the weapons,” he murmured, as though it were completely natural.

“Do it silently.” It wasn’t as if he could see the weapons through the sack, right?

He sighed, but was quiet as we continued through the hall.

Twenty paces ahead, a pair of guards opened a plain, almost hidden door. They waited with their hands on their swords, expressions stoic.

Seventeen paces to go. A soft, breathy noise came from under the sack, like someone exhaling in quick bursts. Like smothered laughter.

Fourteen paces.

“Not real.” The sack twisted as though the wraith boy was looking at James. “Not real.”

Ten paces.

“Shall I order you to stop speaking?” I asked.

The wraith boy gasped and fell silent again, but a bubble of tension formed around him, an almost physical force.

Six paces.

The wraith boy’s knuckles were white at his sides. Tendons stuck out along his hands and wrists. He was a thing of tightening fury, growing denser before he exploded.

Two paces.

James signaled the soldiers to back away from the door, then glanced at me behind the wraith boy, his eyebrow lifted. I nodded, and he stayed put as I took the last step to the storage room.

It wasn’t much of a space, just a narrow area that used to hold cleaning supplies or linens—something maids or servants might need to fetch quickly for the royal family.

“In you go.” I lowered my dagger and touched one hand to the back of the wraith boy’s jacket, not firmly. Still, the tension in the wraith boy’s hands and shoulders unwound, and he stepped into the room without protest.

He stayed right by the door, just on the other side of the threshold, and didn’t move.

“You can take off the sack. Leave your clothes on.”

He reached around and up and plucked the sack off his head, then held it at arm’s length as though it were a filthy thing. The canvas sloughed on the floor where he dropped it.

“You are to remain in this room. If you leave, there will be consequences.”

“There are already consequences.” The wraith boy pulled forward like a cat exploring a new territory: cautious but confident.

“Do you need to eat?”

“My nourishment comes from your affection, my queen.” He knelt at the back of the room, his face just a breath away from the wall. “I found a secret. Oh, I like it.”

What?

No, maybe not knowing was better. As long as he was happy. “There will be guards outside your door. They won’t bother you, but if you yell or bang on the walls or do anything
I won’t like, I’ll tie up your hands and put the sack on you, and
order
you to stillness and silence. Understand?”

The wraith boy looked over his shoulder and smiled. “I understand, my queen. I’ll see you soon.”

I moved out of the way as James shut the door. As soon as it latched and he turned the key to lock it, the anxious air whooshed out of the hall, as though a door and lock could keep the wraith boy contained.

James handed the key to me. “I have a spare, but I don’t anticipate wanting to use it much.”

I put the key in my pocket.

While James dismissed the guards, I strode toward my quarters once again, keeping my shoulders thrown back and my chin high. Sergeant Ferris followed in my wake.

“He didn’t do anything yesterday in His Highness’s parlor. Or on the way to your apartments.” Ferris’s voice was soft under the hum of men talking and moving about, relief in their stances, as though they’d just dodged a hurricane. “Why the fuss?”

“Were you present when all the wraith in the city came together and formed him?”

“No.”

“Or when he grew larger and leapt across the courtyards onto the crown prince’s balcony?”

“No.”

I opened the door to my room. “He’s not a tame animal, Sergeant Ferris.”

“Indeed he’s not.” James hurried up. “Sorry, my lady. My chance to see your famous pen at work will have to wait.”

“Is something wrong?”

He shook his head. “I’m being called away for coronation security. Many of our allies are coming to attend the memorial and coronation following. I have to ensure their safety. But I should have some free time tomorrow morning if you’d like to visit my new office.”

“New office?”

“It came with the promotion.” James grinned.

“Have a big stack of paper waiting. But let’s make it afternoon. I plan on sleeping late.” I inclined my head toward the bag of Black Knife supplies, which still rested on the table in my sitting room.

“I should have guessed.” James gave a deep sigh. “Afternoon it is. But what I said earlier: you shouldn’t.”

We both knew I would.

I spent the rest of the day with the Ospreys.

Their suite was as grand as I’d expected. Four individual bedrooms, all with fireplaces, fully stocked bookcases, and even a sculpture of an osprey made of Aecorian sandstone.

“Wil!” Carl looked up from inspecting a crystal vase. “Have you
seen
what they just leave lying around here?”

“Mind your manners.” I grinned when he put the vase back on the large central table. “If you’re going to steal, take something that’s
not
in your room. You don’t want to incriminate yourself, do you?”

“At least wait until we leave the palace before looting it.” Theresa stepped forward, shaking her head. “Show them a few shiny things and they turn into ferrets.”

“Hey, Rees.” I hugged Theresa, relieved to see that she—and
the others—had bathed and eaten; the plates and trays on the table were licked clean. All of their scrapes and cuts had been treated, and they wore clothes that looked as though they’d been borrowed or handed down from other young nobles—a little worn, but still finer than anything they’d had in the last ten years.

“Come to check on us?” Kevin asked, towering over the two younger boys. In the months since Melanie and I had come here, Kevin had grown taller, and now he was all knees and elbows.

“That’s part of it.” I motioned at Carl again as he slipped a fork into his pocket. “Did you not hear what I just said?”

He hung his head and unloaded his pockets onto the table. Silverware, crystals pried from a candlestick, and a jar of ink with gold flecks in it. “That one was for you.” He tapped on the lid.

My heart melted a little. “Actually, I have a job for all of you.” When they took seats at the table, I began. “Crown Prince Tobiah is going to ask me to sign the Wraith Alliance.”

Connor pulled in his shoulders, making himself smaller.

I leaned onto the table, my weight on my palms. “I don’t know why my parents wouldn’t sign, or my grandparents. Even if there’s anyone left in Sandcliff Castle who might know, how could I trust them to be honest or objective?”

“What will you do?” Theresa asked.

I took a steadying breath. “I’m going to sign the Wraith Alliance, but first, we’re going to make some changes.”

“What kind of changes?” Kevin asked.

I drew a folded paper from my pocket and slid it toward him. “These, for now. But I’m sure I will need more than this.”

He snatched the paper and skimmed the list. “So you want us to study the treaty and look for other changes you might need?”

“Exactly.” I’d have to get them a copy, but that wouldn’t be difficult. “Read it. Study it. Ask questions. I want you to become more knowledgeable about the treaty than anyone else in the world.”

Theresa grimaced. “So no big demands, then. Do you want us to run laps around the city wall while carrying packs of rocks?”

I flicked a crumb of bread at her. Carl caught it midair and ate it.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to negotiate for control of Aecor. Tobiah is agreeable, but his uncle is not. Obviously, he doesn’t want to let it go.”

“When will you start?” Kevin stood, my list of treaty amendments in hand as he began to pace. “Now?”

“Our presence here is the start.” I forced encouragement into my voice. “But formal negotiations will begin after Tobiah’s coronation. That’s fine. He’ll have more power when he’s king. And we’ll need it.” I hesitated. “There are some who will try to delay negotiations longer. We must practice patience.”

Carl shook his head. “I hate patience.”

“That seems foolish,” Kevin muttered. “Delaying truce negotiations. Patrick’s going to start a revolution in Aecor.”

“It is, but Skyvale and Aecor are far apart. It’s not as much of a concern for most people here. And in spite of the Inundation, the Indigo Kingdom is still in a much stronger position than Aecor. Whatever troops Patrick manages to mount will be
nothing compared to the might of the Indigo Army.”

Theresa bit her lip. “You make Aecorian independence sound impossible. Was there ever any hope?”

“I don’t know.” I sighed. “Patrick made it sound inevitable. But he has that inevitability about him, doesn’t he?”

“I miss it,” she said. “That certainty of knowing we were right and we would take back our kingdom because of our rightness—that was comforting. Now everything seems so gray.”

“It’s awful.” I forced a minuscule smile. “I’m going to hire a tutor for the four of you. They should be able to help you understand any confusing parts of the document, in addition to instilling some courtly manners into you barbarians. Maybe help with the grayness of everything, too.”

“A tutor.” Carl made a face.

Kevin looked up from his pacing, and the list he’d been studying. “The crown prince will allow for magical experimentation to help solve the wraith crisis?”

“He’s desperate. The Liadian refugees have left Skyvale, probably heading for Aecor. Already the southwestern edges of the Indigo Kingdom have fallen to the wraith. Soon, everyone will begin looking east.”

“Who will be using magic? All the flashers in Skyvale get captured. Or—” Kevin cocked his head. “Are the rumors about you true?”

A sinking feeling washed over me. I’d intended to tell them, but his tone of betrayal was cutting. “Some of the rumors are true.”

“What do you mean?” Connor whispered.

“I am a flasher. I’ve always been, but I’ve kept it hidden. I
try not to use my power.”

All around the sitting room, jaws dropped as I told them about the locust attack in the wraithland, what I’d done there, and how the wraith became a boy.

Theresa covered her frown with a fist. “I’m not sure where to start asking questions.”

“I know.” I sank back into a chair and sighed. “There’s a lot to take in.”

“Will we get to meet the wraith boy?” Carl asked.

“You don’t want to.” If I could, I’d keep him locked in his room forever. “I just wanted you to know the truth—from me, not from rumors.”

“That’s why Tobiah is willing to amend the Wraith Alliance.” Kevin dropped to a chair again, knees banging the table. “Because even if it’s just rumors, your power is public now, and if he wants you as an ally, he has to justify it by making sure magic is allowed under special circumstances.”

“Can it work?” Connor asked. “Could your magic help stop the wraith?”

I rubbed a spot of tension from my neck. “Maybe. I don’t know. What I did before—it was messy. Uncontrolled. I had no idea what I was doing because it was too big. And while I could try it again, I don’t know if I
should
. How much more wraith did I create by doing that?”

Of course, they had no answers.

I spent the rest of the afternoon with them, showing them around the public areas of the palace, warning them of who to avoid angering. Sergeant Ferris and another guard trailed after us, not quite invisible as I familiarized my friends with the
library, ballrooms, and training rooms.

A copy of the Wraith Alliance had already been delivered by the time we returned to their suite, so I bade them good evening and happy studying. Only Kevin looked truly chipper at that.

At the door, I turned back to the small group and forced cheer into my voice. “Remember, we’re here as ourselves—
not
to steal valuables—but be guarded, too. Secrets remain secrets.”

They all nodded.

“Remember your lessons.”

“Our lessons on eating the fastest?” Kevin asked.

“Or picking pockets without being detected?” Theresa offered a sly smile.

“Or,” Carl mused, “do you mean the lesson we all learned when you and Mel threw knives at us and we had to be faster?”

“They were wooden knives. They wouldn’t have hurt you. Much.” But I smiled, just a little, even though Melanie’s name hurt. “Your lessons on
manners
.” With an utterly false grin, I left the suite and hurried back to my own quarters, Sergeant Ferris close on my heels.

Maybe Tobiah and his mother had been right: I should have gone after Patrick when I had the chance.

In my bedroom, I tore open the bag of Black Knife supplies. The clothes and boots were my size, the latter with black ospreys embroidered around the top, invisible except to those looking closely. The belt—black, obviously—accommodated several weapons and tools, including
my
daggers that had been taken, my grappling hook and line, and a pouch with coiled silk cords. There was also a tiny handheld crossbow and a black-handled
sword, meant to fit in a baldric strapped across my back.