Page 68 of Crown and Dragon
“Thank you, Witch,” King Lysanael said. He turned to face the queen. “Now, I must relay some changes my knights had to make to the plan.”
Tahlia stood straight as the king detailed the appearance of Ragewing, the town’s response, and then finally, how Tahlia had been forced to kill Durniad.
“I will consider whatever corrections you have in mind to rectify the peace in your town of Midhampton. How can I help?” the king said, crossing his arms and giving the young queen an encouraging look.
The regent whispered into the young queen’s ear, but she was foolish if she didn’t think King Lysanael and Marius couldn’t hear every word. Tahlia couldn’t quite catch the whole statement, but she heard her name in there along withdonation.
Shaking her head, the queen looked up at King Lysanael. “I’m glad to be done with Durniad. I will simply address the city and declare that we had an agreement with your kingdom. There will be rebellion because of it. A knot of folks there are staunchly set against the Fae. But I will deal with that. You have done us a great service, and I’m glad your knights and your dragon, Ragewing, weren’t mortally harmed in the completion of this mission.”
“How did you get Lady Tahlia out of the city after the killing?” the regent asked, nearly cutting off her queen.
Marius’s eyebrow lifted. “If I may, King Lysanael?” he asked, wanting permission to address the regent.
Tahlia bit her lip. How was this going to go? Gods, she was sweating. She was a damned fountain.
King Lysanael nodded. “Of course, Commander Marius.”
Marius spread his hands wide, palms up. “We were the recipients of luck, really.”
He couldn’t lie. How was he going to keep Queen Revna and Arkyn out of this tale? Why had he offered to speak up?
“A thick fog rolled in that night. Ragewing and I used the cover to evade the ballistae. As my king explained, Lady Tahlia had escaped the guards and climbed to the roof. We simply picked her up and fled before the fog had completely lifted.”
“Luck.” The queen grinned and studied his face. “A great tale for the ages. I look forward to sharing it with my children someday.”
The regent glared but held her tongue.
Tahlia exhaled. Ah, the deceit of simple omission. Of course, Marius was wise enough to keep it simple. She was, once again, so incredibly grateful for him. And for Queen Revna, Arkyn, and Ragewing. She didn’t want to imagine what would have happened to her if she’d been stuck in Midhampton with Durniad’s blood on her hands. His guards hadn’t just been city guards. They were pirates playing roles and Tahlia knew exactly how rough pirates played from the tales Titus and Maiwenn had told her.
“Will you tell me about the city’s defenses?” the queen asked, eyeing Marius.
Marius looked to King Lysanael, who nodded. “Well, they have at least four ballista machines…”
He went on about the weapons, approximate numbers of guards, details on the city walls, and so forth.
One thing they hadn’t brought up was Durniad’s claim that he was allied with the Witch and with the Eelsmen of the North. The Witch didn’t even flinch at the news of Durniad dying, soTahlia doubted he had been telling the truth. Perhaps he had only said it to see how Tahlia would react considering he knew the Witch had dealings with the Fae from time to time.
Should she bring it up? Probably not. She fiddled with her ripped skirts as she pondered. Why didn’t more of her Mist Knight training involve how to handle reporting like this? What if she got Marius into trouble by not mentioning Durniad’s supposed enemies? Maybe she should just interject. Marius was about finished. She didn’t want King Lysanael to mistake their silence on this for any sort of treasonous behavior.
“Also,” she began.
Marius looked at her, his usual scowl not giving anything away. She hoped this was the right move.
Tahlia cleared her throat. “Durniad claimed to have allies in the Eelsmen of the North. He said he was in league with the Witch, too.”
Marius’s face went very blank, as if he was hiding how he felt about her reporting these details.
King Lysanael’s mouth parted as if in shock. He whirled to face the Witch. He didn’t approach her. His movements were stilted as if he was plenty wary of the scary lady.
“Can you explain Durniad’s suggestion of your involvement?” he asked her.
“You have no right to question our Witch,” the regent snapped.
The young queen looked from the regent to King Lysanael, obviously unsure on what to do.
The ceiling flickered with blue light, almost like lightning. “Are you accusing me of being disloyal to my queen?”
“You sided with us against her father not so long ago,” King Lysanael said.