empress of storms (12 page)

More comfortable in the saddle now, she gazed around her new country with interest, listening to Matthias’s running commentary on the different ranches that dotted this area and tales of tracking down horse thieves with the cavalry patrols when he was a prince. “How far does the Great Grassland extend?” she asked.

“For at least a hundred miles, from the base of the Arpinnes in the east to the River Caalen in the west,” Matthias said. “The landscape changes after that, turning drier as it approaches the border of Ghobos. Next year I’ll have to take you on a proper tour.”

“And you’ll need to come on a tour of the islands,” Danaë said. “Hellaspont is on Rhodope, of course, and we can take a day trip across to Minos, which is beautiful. But I’d love to show you the rest of the archipelago. There are tiny islands with bays where the water is so clear it looks like your boat is floating in air.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Matthias said. “I’ve always enjoyed our visits to Hellas. You do have a beautiful country.”

“As do you,” Danaë said, nodding at the rippling plains surrounding them. “At first I thought I would feel trapped, surrounded by so much land. But this is like sailing on a golden ocean.”

Her bay took the opportunity to snort, tossing its head. “Although you’re nothing like a dolphin,” she said with a laugh, patting the horse’s neck.

“Have you ridden a dolphin?” Matthias asked, curious.

“Not since I was a child, and even then it wasn’t so much riding them as holding onto their fins as they pull you along,” Danaë explained. “But it was a great deal of fun, and I still enjoy swimming with them when I get the chance. There’s a small bay near the palace that’s reserved for the royal family’s use. We swam there often, and the dolphins always came in to say hello and play with us.” An amused smile danced over his queen’s face. “There was one female dolphin that I swore had a crush on Darius. It followed him everywhere in the bay like a puppy.”

“Why does that not surprise me,” Matthias said, chuckling. His attention was diverted by one of the riders ahead of them dropping back. Even if he hadn’t seen the uniform insignia he would have recognized Lars Schrader by his short shock of pale hair.

The lieutenant commander maneuvered until he was alongside Matthias. “The advance scouts report that the road ahead is clear,” he reported. “I have outriders flanking us in the grass alongside the road as well. If nothing untoward happens, we should reach the estate of Count d’Vrengny by late afternoon.”

“Excellent,” Matthias said. “We’ll make camp outside the estate. Set up the usual patrols.”

“Yes, sire.” Schrader clucked at his horse and headed back to the front of the convoy.

****

“Who is Count d’Vrengny?” Danaë asked.

“An old friend of mine,” Matthias explained. “He used to be a councilor until his gout got the better of him and he decided to retire to his estate. He’s almost as cunning as Reniel and has a finger in any number of noble pies. I’m hoping he may know something about Lukas’s connections. If there are any other smoldering plots out there, I want to know about them.”

She leaned across, touching his hand. “I’m sorry you have to deal with this,” she said. “I know it’s part and parcel of ruling, but still.”

Matthias rode along silently for a few moments. “Looking back, I now see the signs of Lukas’s unrest, little moments here and there,” he said. “I should have done something about it earlier, but I put it down to youthful high spirits, something he’d grow out of. That was my mistake, and Hanne paid the price for it.”

That
she had to nip in the bud. “No, Matthias,” Danaë said, her tone firm. “You cannot blame yourself for Hanne’s death. Lukas didn’t have to choose the course he did. If he wanted to rule, he should have come to you and asked for more responsibility, more chances to learn and grow as a ruler. But from what I could tell, Lukas was far more interested in himself than in his country. And I say that as someone who was also raised as the heir of a king. ”

“I know,” Matthias said, bleak. “He’d had that selfish streak since he was a child. But it was paired with so much charm that you wound up laughing at the same time you wanted to throttle the little imp.”

Danaë could understand that. The crown prince had been personable enough to her, making her laugh and keeping her entertained during their visits. But even then she could feel something underneath his charm, something brittle and self-serving. “It would help if we knew more about the mirror and its provenance,” she offered. “I suppose he could have misunderstood what it was and thought it some sort of amusing prank to pull on you. Or perhaps he honestly didn’t know about the spell.”

Matthias shook his head. “It’s very kind of you to try and ease my mind. But the more I hear about his dissatisfaction with me, the more I wonder what else I didn’t know about my son.” He looked ahead to the plains and the pale blue shadows of mountains in the distance. “I’m hoping that d’Vrengny can help with that.”

The nobleman’s estate turned out to be a large compound set near the banks of a shallow river lined with short, scrubby trees. The royal party passed through the gates and found themselves in front of a three-story stone building that struck Danaë as oddly featureless apart from a large reinforced set of outer doors. A curious Darius commented on this to Matthias.

“It’s for safety,” the king explained as they dismounted, handing off their horses to waiting stable hands. “This far out from a town or city, d’Vrengny is on his own against horse thieves or other bandits. Thus the house is built around a large inner courtyard and the windows face onto that.”

As a defensive design it made sense. “Is there much threat from bandits?” Danaë asked.

Matthias chuckled. “Not since the cavalry patrols were formed by Bardahlson’s predecessor. But every so often a handful of rascals show up at one of the more remote estates and try their luck. D’Vrengny considers it excellent target practice for his guards.”

Danaë understood what he meant as soon as the compound’s doors opened, revealing themselves to be reinforced with iron bands on the inside as well as the outside. They passed through a short covered corridor to the main courtyard, a large cobblestoned square that was shaded with assorted fruit trees. Potted decorative plants gave the space a lush, tropical feel, and a beautiful white marble fountain gurgled water in the middle of the courtyard. 

Next to the fountain sat a very portly man with a thick shock of grey-streaked brown hair, one bandaged foot propped up on a padded stool. He struggled to get up at their approach.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Caspar,” Matthias said, waving at the other man to sit back down. “If you do any more damage to that foot Marthe will have my guts for garters.”

“Ha. You have nothing to worry about, sire,” the nobleman huffed, settling back in his seat. “Marthe likes you. It’s me who has to live with her, and her with a tongue sharper than a saber blade.”

“And you wouldn’t have it any other way.” Matthias put his arm around Danaë. “My dear, allow me to present Lord Caspar d’Vrengny, one of the finest politicians it’s been my regret to match wits with.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lord d’Vrengny,” Danaë said, smiling.

“Not nearly as much of a pleasure as it is to meet you, your majesty.” D’Vrengny gave her a respectful seated bow. “I was very happy to hear the news of your wedding. I would have attended, but,” he waved at his wrapped foot.

“We got your present, never fear,” Matthias said, glancing around the courtyard. “Where is your good lady wife, by the way?”

D'Vrengny looked chagrined. “Dealing with the twins, I’m afraid. They were working on a festive presentation for your arrival and things got a bit carried away—”

A carrying wail interrupted him as two children coated in various colors of paint streaked out of a doorway and across the courtyard. The children skidded to a halt next to d’Vrengny’s chair. “Father, I don’t want to take a bath!” the first child said, clinging to the armrest. “It’s not my fault Ellie spilled paint!”

“I don’t want to take a bath, either, and Gaspie shouldn’t have thrown paint at me,” the other child said, stamping a tiny foot on the cobblestones.

“Enough,” d’Vrengny said with unmistakable authority. “Your majesty, allow me to present two of your more unruly subjects, my son Gaspar and my daughter Elusine.”

As he spoke an exasperated woman in a green dress dashed out of the same door as the twins, trying to smooth a mass of auburn hair escaping from her snood as she trotted up to them. “Hello, your majesty,” she said, curtseying to Matthias before capturing a wrist from each child. “I’m so sorry about this. Let me get these little hoydens cleaned up and presentable and I’ll be right back.”

She towed the arguing children with her back into the building, d’Vrengny watching all three of them with an unmistakable fondness. “I won’t have a brown hair left by the time they’re ten, but they do make life worth living,” he said, summoning more servants.

****

Danaë took the opportunity to freshen up in her well-appointed room with Flavia in attendance while Matthias spoke with d’Vrengny in private. Dinner was an hour later, with a now-serene Lady d’Vrengny supervising and two freshly scrubbed children glowering at each other across the wide wooden table. They didn’t seem impressed by the fact that their king and queen were dining with them, but their eyes widened when they were introduced to Ife. The mage indulged their pleading for a magical demonstration by making the water in their cups leap across the table, landing without a wasted drop in the opposite cups.

To Danaë’s surprise the food surpassed that served in the palace. The count himself explained it. “My cook is a wonder, and I’m a martyr to her art,” he said, nodding at the gouty foot propped up on yet another padded stool. “When one is graced with the food of the gods, one has to put up with a bit of discomfort as payment.”

Lady d’Vrengny snorted in fondness. “That’s an excuse if ever I heard one, my love,” she said.

“True, but I’m sticking to it,” d’Vrengny said, forking up another bite of braised beef in wine sauce.

In addition to the marvelous food, the conversation was far-ranging and most entertaining. Danaë noted the sharpness in both d’Vrengnys’ gazes and how they were evaluating their visitors. Unlike their children they hadn’t blinked at the inclusion of Ife in the royal party, but she could sense their heightened interest in the mage.

“So, did you find out anything useful from our host?” she asked Matthias in bed later that night.

The king slid an arm around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. “Caspar did note rumbles of discontent from the circles Lukas used to run in, but it was only among the younger nobles and faded over time. He promised to look into it in more detail, but I’m more interested in what he said about the mirror.”

Danaë twisted her neck to look at him. “He knows where it came from?”

“Possibly. One of our more eccentric nobles, the Earl of Bevaan, is a collector of magical arcana, as it turns out. All of it is supposedly despelled and harmless, but I’m not foolish enough to trust in an obsessed man’s word. Caspar remembered hearing Lord Bevaan complain about an item stolen from his collection a number of years ago. He’s going to nose around and find out if it was the mirror.”

“And if it is?”

“Then I summon Lord Bevaan to the castle for a private chat about his collection.” Matthias’s smile was humorless. “I’m sure the Grand Synod will be most interested in it as well.”

Danaë knew the magical ruling body took a dim view on magical items in the hands of non-practitioners. “I almost wish I could watch.”

“I’ll schedule it for one of your official visits,” Matthias said, then went quiet. The look on his face made his thoughts clear. She didn’t want to think about saying goodbye, either.

“The children were charming, weren’t they?” she said, changing the conversation topic. “Elusine told me all about her horse, and Gaspar is a budding natural philosopher.”

“Yes, they’re clever children. A late surprise for Caspar and Marthe, you see.” Matthias chuckled. “He thought he had a peaceful retirement ahead of him, and then Marthe presented him with the Twice the Trouble, as he calls them.”

Danaë remembered the times she and Darius turned the palace onto its ear after one of their adventures. “We might have twins, you know,” she warned. “They do run in my family.”

“We’ll double up on the palace guard and outfit their nursery with cages.”

“That’ll might work for a little while. But Darius knew how to out-argue our nanny and the guards by the time he was six, and if logic didn’t work he used charm to get his way. If I know my brother, he’ll be more than happy to pass his skills along to his nephews or nieces.”

“Noted. And what skills did you bring to your twin reign of terror?”

“I was an accomplished sneak thief. I could get in and out of the kitchens without anyone noticing, and I was a dab hand at picking locks.”

“Shocking,” Matthias said in mock disapproval. “And who corrupted the crown princess of Hellas in such a way?”

“Nidas, the palace chamberlain.”

It was Matthias’s turn to lift his head and stare at her. “Your chamberlain?”

“Yes. Apparently he had a bit of a spotted background when it came to criminal activity, but he also saved Father’s life many years ago,” Danaë explained. “When Nidas got married and needed a steady job, he asked Father for work. Within a year he’d been promoted to chamberlain. Father used to say that all chamberlains stole as a matter of course, so at least he was hiring a professional.”

“Your father was a wise man,” Matthias said. He eased a bit closer, resting a hand over her stomach. “Back to the subject of children. Gaspar and Elusine approve of you, you know. They said you should have babies as soon as possible so that they can play with them.”

“Oh, really?” She pretended to think. “Well, if we want some of our own, I suppose we should get started on making them.”

She stretched back and kissed him, enjoying the gentle firmness of his mouth and the way it opened under her own. Their tongues danced together in a long, slow swirl, ending when Matthias pulled back and nipped at her lower lip.