The City of Veils Read online

  "To the castle," I said. Then, to his raised eyebrows, I added, "Don't look so surprised."

  "With you, Brynn, I am constantly surprised."

  Chapter 16

  Felix was a man of his word, and neither Katarine nor Beata came to my room until mid-morning. It was the longest I'd slept in days, and it certainly put me in a fine mood. Not only that, tonight was the night for my little chat with Eric Poole.

  First, though, I had to get through my agenda. My lesson with Katarine was cut short due to yet another Council meeting. I could scarcely believe it had been a week since I'd been plucked off the street. But I was feeling a bit surer of myself, especially after my dinner with Garwood.

  When Beata was finished dressing me (I was finally able to convince her that a tunic was just as formal as a dress), Joella escorted me down the stairs to the Council room. Vernice and Garwood stood just outside the door, discussing something in hushed tones.

  "Good morning," I said, by way of announcing my presence. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

  "Princess," Garwood said with a nod toward me. "Thank you, again, for an enlightening evening last night."

  Vernice shot us both a look, and I could practically see the wheels turning in her head. Whether she thought us plotting against her or sleeping together was debatable.

  "I was glad to do it," I replied. "Lady Vernice. Always a pleasure."

  "Hm," she said, nodding her deference as an afterthought. "Much to discuss today, Garwood."

  "Indeed. Shall we get to it?"

  I followed them into the Council room, which somehow felt more familiar and more stressful at the same time. I sat in my chair, taking the time to feel the velvet under my fingertips and move around on the cushion until I found a comfortable spot.

  General Godfryd was the next to arrive, shaking hands with everyone in the room before coming to sit in her customary spot. Zuriel came after, looking harried and ruffled as he smoothed his hair.

  "I apologize for being late." He glanced at the last empty chair. "Though at least I made it before Octavius."

  "Are we sure he's coming at all?" I said.

  "Well," Zuriel replied, leaning in close to me, "we usually have a pool for how late he's going to be. Five silvers per guess."

  "Oh, well, put me down for not coming at all," I replied with a smile.

  "Fifteen minutes," Garwood said, glancing at the clock behind him. "Vernice? Godfryd? Care to wager?"

  "We could always begin without him," Vernice replied.

  "I've left my coin purse at home," Godfryd said, although she probably found the whole thing as distasteful as Vernice.

  In the end, he was ten minutes late on the nose, and Zuriel collected the silvers from the group with a grin. Even from across the table, the stench of booze was palpable. It was amazing he even got himself dressed.

  "We have several items to discuss today," Vernice announced, clearly eager to get moving. "The first is, of course, this treaty with the Niemenians."

  The one that had been ratified on the day of my brother's wedding to Katarine. "What about it?"

  "Well, I believe the Niemenian queen is wondering if it's still valid, considering her sister is now a widow."

  "I don't see why it wouldn't still be valid," I replied. "Unless you're asking me to revisit what's been a settled agreement? If Ariadna wants us to marry her sister to someone else, I can find her a suitable replacement from somewhere in Forcadel."

  Vernice sniffed, obviously expecting me not to know much about the subject. "That particular agreement may have been settled, but there was another one that has yet to be fulfilled. Your marriage to the prince of Kulka."

  I groaned. "Not this again."

  "King Neshua has been excessively patient with us. But I fear he won't be patient forever. The eldest son is obviously not an option anymore, but perhaps one of the younger siblings."

  "I've been in this seat less than two weeks," I replied with an even tone. "How about we wait a few months before you start lining up suitors, hm?"

  "It would be a wise move," she said. "To ally yourself with Kulka and prove you are a queen of your word. They have such a low opinion of you…"

  "Why? Because I didn't want to be whored off at thirteen?" I snapped.

  "It's not a game," Vernice said.

  "No, it's not," I said. "It's my life. And if I don't get to choose where I go or what I do or even who I dine with, I damned well get to choose who I'm going to sleep with for the rest of my life. If the Kulkans want their treaty ratified, I'm sure I can find them a suitable breed cow. It just won't be me."

  "Perhaps it's wise to wait," Garwood said, holding up his hand. "Princess Brynna is right—we've already had several leadership changes this month alone. She's obviously very capable of leading us on her own, and we can deal with the Kulkans in some other way."

  My brows shot up in surprise and he winked at me. Around the table, no one made any further objections, and Vernice just bristled.

  "What's next on the agenda?" I asked Garwood, feeling very affectionate toward my uncle.

  "The queen of Severia has asked for an official invitation to your coronation," Zuriel said, after a moment.

  Based on the expressions in the room, I only supposed that wasn't normal, and it was confirmed when Garwood said, "That's awfully presumptuous of her to invite herself to a Forcadel coronation."

  "Queen Ilara is a presumptuous woman. I believe she wants to renegotiate some trade agreements while she's here," Zuriel said. "Your father, Princess, wouldn't meet with her. But perhaps you might?"

  I narrowed my eyes. The Severians were supposedly one of the two countries Beswick was working with, along with the Kulkans. Inviting the queen here might be a good way to flush Beswick out.

  "I'll consider it," I replied, Felix's voice ringing in my ear. "I have a few months to decide, don't I?"

  "We'll need an answer sooner," Zuriel said. "It takes months to get messages across the desert plains of Severia to the castle. And if she doesn't leave soon, she'll be stuck there while the sandstorms rage."

  "Then perhaps Queen Ilara should move her home a little closer to civilization," Vernice said with a snort. "Princess, I must object to giving the desert people an audience. They offer pottery and glass for trade, the bare minimum compared to Kulka or even Niemen. What kind of message would we be sending to our other trading partners if you let such a lesser country come to your coronation?"

  "Have they asked?" I asked casually.

  Her mouth hung open like a fish. "Pardon?"

  "Have they asked to come to my coronation?" I asked, buying myself a little time to think.

  "Well, n-no, but it's not usual for the royals of a foreign country to witness. Envoys are one thing, but…"

  "I said I'll consider it." I shrugged and turned to the mayor, offering a smile. "I'll have an answer for you next week, Zuriel." By then, I'd know more from Poole and I'd be better able to decide if inviting the queen was worth the complaining.

  "Our next item of business happens to be your coronation itself," Garwood said, adjusting his glasses on his nose. "Am I to understand that you will have your coronation the same week as the summer festival?"

  I nodded. "Might as well have a celebration. I've discussed it with Captain Llobrega and he has no objections. I would much rather pare down the coronation celebration to the bare minimum and allow the people their celebration."

  "The Forcadel coronation is one steeped in tradition," Vernice said. "We can't just throw out tradition—"

  "And we aren't," I said, glancing around. "We can do both. It won't strain our resources too badly. And I would much rather the focus be on the people than on me."

  She huffed but said nothing else. Perhaps Vernice was used to getting her way on the Council, as she spoke over the other four in the room. I would have to think about how I could win her over. As much as I didn't want to, she would be less inclined to cause trouble if she thought me in her pocket.

  "Llob
rega mentioned it to me," Godfryd said, clearing her throat. "I don't think it will be an issue."

  "Well, if Llobrega thinks it's a good idea, then we should take our time in considering it," Garwood scoffed. And to my surprise, the look was shared by Vernice and Godfryd—even Octavius looked doubtful.

  I sat back, schooling my expression. "And has the Council lost faith in the good captain's abilities?"

  "Of course not," Vernice said with a heavy wave of her hand. "But his abilities are stretched thin at the moment. Between a coronation and the summer festival, finding a murderer seems to have dropped off his list."

  I nodded slowly. "Then it's a good thing I've ordered my own internal investigation."

  Every eye on the table—even Octavius's bloodshot ones—swept to me.

  "You…have?" Garwood asked.

  "Indeed. I have my own sources looking into it." I smirked. "She's very good."

  Vernice bristled. "And who, pray tell, is she?"

  "Unfortunately, I've said too much already," I replied, sitting back. "Because you see, I have my theories that the killing was done by someone internal to Forcadel. Perhaps even to this Council."

  "You can't be serious," Godfryd said.

  "I'm not saying any of you are under investigation," I replied, my voice naturally dipping into a lower octave as I channeled The Veil. "But of course, if you're innocent, there's nothing to fear, am I right?"

  Chapter 17

  The meeting ended shortly after that, with Vernice and Octavius rushing out deep in discussion. I steepled my fingers together as they disappeared through the door, casting a look at Garwood. "Curious behavior, don't you think?"

  "Oh, leave them alone," Zuriel replied with a laugh as he rose. "I'd wager they're more worried about the other skeletons you might uncover."

  I tilted my head toward him. "And you don't have any skeletons, Mayor? General?"

  "None worth mentioning," Zuriel replied.

  "You can count the skeletons on my medals of honor," Godfryd said, gruffly. "May I have a word with you privately, Princess?"

  I nodded and followed her out of the room, leaving Garwood and Zuriel at the table. I would ask Garwood what he thought about the whole exchange later.

  "No need to follow us, Lieutenant," Godfryd said to Joella, who'd fallen into step behind us. "If I'm unable to protect the princess from attackers then I might as well give up my position."

  She hesitated, only for a moment, and I gave her an affirming nod. "I promise I won't disappear into thin air. Or disappear at all. General Godfryd will take me down to the captain."

  "Very well." She bowed and walked away.

  "Those guards keep a tight watch on you, don't they?" she said as we walked the length of the hall outside the Council room.

  "More than you know," I muttered. "So what did you want to talk about?"

  She grumbled for a moment, rubbing her wrinkled chin. "I'm concerned that you're being too flippant with your naval forces."

  "In what way?"

  "You've sent two of our best ships to help a merchant on the eastern coast instead of positioning them here, in the bay, where they need to be." She turned to me, a frown on her old, weathered face. "We can't simply send ships to every merchant marine who cries for help. We have priorities, resources to allocate. First and foremost, we need to maintain the protections around the bay."

  "What ships remain in harbor to defend us?" I asked.

  "Just two, and both are older and have less firepower than the ones you sent." She cleared her throat. "But more importantly, you didn't seek my counsel before making this decision."

  "I'm sorry," I said softly. "I thought I could help someone. But it appears I just made things worse."

  "I would like to help you help others," she said. "But first you need to come to me. Your father and I had weekly talks over tea. You've yet to even speak to me outside of a Council meeting."

  Ah, so she just wants face time. "It's been a whirlwind these past few weeks. I'm just coming to terms with all the meetings I'm supposed to be having. It's a miracle Felix lets me out of the tower at all."

  "Yes, your captain." She pressed her lips together in a thin line. "He came highly recommended, of course. But there is clearly someone out to destroy the kingdom, and there's yet to be any progress on the investigation. It's not right for the princess herself to have to hire her own staff."

  "That's purely for my own benefit," I said. "I have full faith and confidence in Felix as a captain."

  "That makes one of us," she said. "It was clear after Prince August was assassinated that a leadership change was required. Felix was the obvious choice. He was smart, he was dedicated, and he had a personal investment in finding the assassin." She shook his head. "But it seems he's become distracted as of late. I wonder if it's time to find someone else to replace him."

  Last night, I would've jumped at the chance to replace Felix with someone much less clingy, but as we walked out onto the garrison where he was holding drills with his young cadets, I didn't have it in me. We'd come to an uneasy truce the night before, and I preferred the devil I knew.

  "Thank you for your insight," I said. "If you'll make an appointment with whoever is responsible for managing my schedule, I would love to take tea with you weekly."

  She beamed and nodded once, leaving me to cross the green grass alone.

  "Was that the general?" Felix asked when I came up beside him. Today, the youngest were running around the track while the older ones had paired off to spar with wooden weapons. It reminded me a little too much of Celia's camp, although we'd trained with real weapons.

  "Yep. Wanted to know why I haven't been paying her any attention."

  "I'm sure." He turned his gaze back to the sparring teens. "The Council meeting went well, then?"

  "Mostly," I said, wincing as the girl landed a particularly painful blow to the boy's head. "Garwood was especially helpful."

  "Oh?"

  "Told you it was smart to visit him." The boy yielded, and the girl returned to her friends, sharing a short celebration before sitting on the bench. Head hanging, the boy walked to another bench and poured water over his head.

  "How was the rest of the meeting?" Felix asked, taking my attention away from them.

  "Vernice continues to be a pain in the ass. I don't like how everyone's already trying to line up suitors. It's like everyone's trying to kill or marry me."

  "Unfortunately, that's how it goes when you're the queen." The ghost of a smile played on his lips. "What else?"

  "The Severian queen wants to come to my coronation."

  "Queen Ilara wants to come to your coronation?" Felix turned to me, brows knitted. "Why?"

  "I think she might be coming to renegotiate with Beswick," I said.

  "Uh-huh." He shifted back to his cadets. "And what does that have to do with the Council?"

  "Oh, nothing. Just wondering if it's a good idea to bring her here," I said. "It's treason for Beswick to enter into agreements with countries I haven't sanctioned. Perhaps if we brought her here—"

  He stopped me with a hand on my arm. "Brynna, I know it's tempting to want to use your position as queen to get to Beswick, but you have to be careful about it. There's a very fragile alliance between our four countries, and that alliance is the only way we retain our borders. If you invite Ilara and neglect the other two nations, they could revolt. We could lose our carefully crafted agreements, and our industry. Without our industry, your people starve—"

  "So I invite them, too."

  "It's not that simple. Kulka considers themselves to be Forcadel's number one trading partner, even though it's been Niemen for the past few years," he continued. "They'd consider it an insult if you invited them as an afterthought. There are other ways to find out what he's up to without potentially endangering the entire kingdom."

  "I got it, I got it," I said, waving him off. "Fine. I won't invite her. But I still think it would've been a good idea."

  "What els
e did they talk about?" he said, turning back to his soldiers. Most of them had shrugged off their losses, except for that one boy. He hung his head, staring at the grass as his fellow soldiers compared notes.

  "I don't think they have confidence in your abilities," I said.

  His eyes widened, and I knew what I'd said had hit somewhere deep, even if he didn't want me to know. "Oh."

  "So I suggest, Captain, that you find us a murderer. And soon." I chewed my lip. "Any…news on that?"

  "Unfortunately, no. We've questioned everyone with access to August's food and bed. We don't even know what poison was used."

  "Katarine see anything?"

  Felix shook his head. "No. Just…found him dead one morning."

  "Wasn't she sleeping next to him? Why didn't they kill her, too?" I stared at the moon out the window. "Did you check the bedsheets?"

  "Yes, Brynn. We've checked everything. And unfortunately, until they…try again, we won't have anything more to go on."

  "Well, you'd better hope I can sniff out a poison before I drink it," I said. "Luckily for you, I can."

  "Luckily, indeed," Felix said. "Stay here, I'll be right back."

  He dismissed the rest of the group, but halted the boy, taking a seat beside him. It was clear this kid hadn't been performing; none of the other kids seemed as affected by their loss. And based on Felix's gestures, and the lost look on the boy's face, Felix's help wasn't useful.

  "Maybe I can help," I said, picking up a wooden sword and walking over there.

  "I don't think Page Jeremy wants a lesson from the princess," Felix said, his eyes warning me against it.

  "Oh, come now," I said, tossing the sword from one hand to the other. "I'm already in my tunic." I thrust the dull tip into Felix's chest. "And now you're dead, so you can't stop me."

  "Enough, Brynna," Felix said, tapping my sword away. "Go wash up for dinner, Jeremy. You'll try again tomorrow."

  The boy jogged away, and I shrugged. "I could've helped him."