“We should probably discuss my elder brother.”
Frost nodded. “You think he’s responsible, then? If anyone could do this to Helian, it makes sense that he’d have access to the people and the resources necessary.”
“Have you received any missives from him? I’m guessing his goal is for you two to divorce, so he can marry Helian and use her to cement his claim on the throne.”
“No, nothing. And it’s not as if I’d agree to that, anyway. I’d sooner-”
I had the distinct impression that rebellion was always on Frost’s mind – perhaps it was Solana’s influence, but she seemed like an anarchist from the day I met her, and her affection for espionage and assassinations was a little alarming. “Yes, I know. Your mother has spoken of similar matters before. Let’s table that option for now though, okay?”
Aifé stared at me. “Not to repeat myself, but you two are far too casual about a great many things.”
Frost shrugged. “You get used to it after you’re around my mother for long enough. By the way… I want to thank you again for looking after Helian. I can’t imagine anyone else would have been able to keep her safe the way you did, and I know you put yourself at risk to do it.”
“Thank you, Frost, but it was nothing. I’d put my life on the line for my friends any day. But back to the discussion. The kind of ritual necessary to do this requires the work of a great many mages acting in shifts – only a large mercenary circle would be capable of it, I think, which narrows it down quite-”
Aifé interrupted me. “As much as I hesitate to say it, it’s also possible to perform the ritual using divine power. Only the central temple could be convinced to do such a thing, though, so I’m going to contact some old friends to try and rule that out.”
If she was willing to include the central temple in our list of options, she probably was already certain of its involvement. I’d rather not drag her into this, if possible…
“I’d prefer to have my contacts investigate that, if you don’t mind. I don’t want to put your friends at risk of offending the crown. Elder Brother is all too willing to kill people if there’s any chance they’re going to get in his way.”
Frost was looking at me with concern. “Are you sure it’s safe for you to get involved? You’ve been laying low this whole time to stay safe, but that won’t be possible if you draw his attention like this.”
I shook my head. “If he’s willing to go this far to seize the throne, I can’t stay out of it. I had been hoping my younger brother would step up – he’s more than qualified – but I suspect there’s something keeping him out of the picture. Extortion, most likely.”
Aifé nodded. “He wasn’t explicit about it in his letters, but I got that impression. I think it’s probably his wife, but he may have also thought he was protecting you by staying out of the limelight.”
I suppose this confirmed that she had been hearing about me from him. Better that than a spy network, at least.
Frost appeared to be doing arithmetic on her fingers. “Thanks to Coroban’s gold mines, I think we could probably afford to hire a few thousand mercenaries… between that and our knights, that might be enough to seize the capitol. It’d be hard to hold it for a long period of time, though.”
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I sighed. “I thought I said to table that topic. The problem is, Elder Brother’s likely to use the civilian population as hostages. I suspect the council wouldn’t take kindly to mercenaries entering the capital city, either, even if you have a good reason for it.”
“These matters are always so complicated… it’s annoying.”
Aifé clapped her hands. “The temple knights could help, you know. With all the sins your brother’s committed, it should be no problem to convince the elders. And the people’s support would be easier to win with the temple’s aid.”
Assuming the elders haven’t already been paid off… still, she was right. “That’s a good point. It’s worth trying, at least. If we can turn the temple against him, that’s one less weapon in his arsenal.”
“But Rosa, if we get rid of your brother, won’t you have to become queen?”
Marie certainly wouldn’t let me hear the end of it once she found out. I couldn’t exactly tell her about this while I was in hiding, so it would be an unpleasant surprise to learn that I was not only going to support the monarchy but become the monarchy.
I’m back, Marie – sorry I was away for so long, I had to massacre some priestesses and then plan a coup. By the way, how do you feel about becoming Queen Consort?
I still hoped it would be possible to abolish the royal seat in this generation, but the depth of the nobility council’s corruption was far worse than I had expected – something I only could have learned with Solana’s help, so I was glad I chose to work for her instead of just hiding on a rural farmstead. The burden of responsibility was truly heavy.
“Yes, I suppose I will have to. Considering the benefits that come with the station, I suppose I should be grateful to even have the opportunity.”
Frost grimaced. “It sounds like a huge pain in the ass, honestly.”
“I had been hoping to solve the problem a different way, but it’s starting to seem unlikely. If Elder Brother is going this far to claim power, he would never relinquish it willingly. And I have no doubt that the noble council will support him unless we do something.”
“Why would the noble council prefer him over you, if he’s unqualified? Does your father favor him?”
“Oh, of course not. No, his appeal to the noble council is that he’s a fool who doesn’t care about minor details, so they’ll be able to plunder and exploit to their hearts’ content while he amuses himself with whatever grabs his attention. The ideal arrangement between a ruler and their vassal lords.”
Aifé frowned. “There are certainly men of a similar disposition among the temple elders, I’m afraid… so he could probably win them over too.”
“In any case, it sounds like our agenda is set. I’ll verify what my brother’s been up to, Aifé will negotiate with the temple elders, and Frost will take Helian to visit the dragon. Any objections?”
Frost nodded. “It’ll probably take a week or two. I trust you won’t let things get out of hand in my absence, Lady Rosa.”
“I hope you won’t feel left out if he’s dead by the time you return?”
“Well, if the situation demands it, I’ll understand.”
Aifé sighed. “I’ll draft some letters to send to my contacts in the satellite temples. I think we’ll need to build support there before approaching the central temple, since it might be aligned with your brother.”
------
By the time we arrived, guest quarters had already been prepared for Aifé on the second floor, and she retreated to them immediately. I expected she’d need at least a few days to process her feelings about what happened at the temple. Hopefully she’d be able to move past it sooner rather than later, but I couldn’t be certain whether she was close with any of the dead priestesses.
Once Solana learned what had happened, she ordered Frost to get multiple days of bed rest, then called me into her office for a private discussion.
“So, you’ve made your mind up, then?”
“I suppose. At this point the alternatives aren’t appealing…”
“We’ll miss having you around the estate, but you could always come to visit and call it an inspection.”
I laughed. “I’ll be far too busy for that, and you know it.”
“In that case, we’ll have to visit the palace from time to time. Make sure to reserve your most luxurious guest rooms for us.”
I had a feeling that she would find an excuse to visit on a regular basis, if only to avoid dealing with her responsibilities back home.
“By the way, do you want me to contact Atropa for help? He’s probably on a first-name basis with anyone capable of performing the ritual you spoke of.”
“That would be extremely helpful, Solana. I really appreciate it.”
To my surprise, despite his treatment at the hands of her daughter, he and Solana had struck up something of a friendship since his stay at the estate. I suppose it didn’t hurt that he was fond of Helian.
