I’d debated whether to wear a pantsuit or a dress before finally deciding that a dress would probably be more fitting, and then hurriedly applied makeup and fixed my hair. Ridley had already gotten back in the driver’s seat when I climbed into the front, carefully so he wouldn’t get a look up my skirt. With dresses, I never wore anything with a hem that went past my knees, so it wouldn’t restrict my movement if I needed to fight.
The Skojare palace was supposed to be quite beautiful, and as we approached it, with the rising sun backlighting it with pinks and yellows on the lake, it did not disappoint. The palace was half submerged in water, with the top half sitting on the lake like an island. The entrance was on land, a docklike walkway made of rocks and wood that led to the front door.
Ridley stopped at the end of the dock, where a footman told us he’d alert the King to our arrival, before taking our SUV to park in a nearby garage. As we walked out on the dock—stretching nearly a mile out to the palace—I raised my hand over my eyes, shielding them from the sun, so I could get a better look at the palace.
It was astounding, unlike the palace in Doldastam or the Trylle palace in Förening that I had visited once. Those were beautiful, but they looked like mansions or castles. This was otherworldly, with glass walls shaped into swirls and spirals that pierced the heavens.
When we reached the doors—made of heavy iron—Ridley knocked loudly, and I stared up at the fantastic structure that towered above us. The Skojare must’ve had a very strong power of persuasion, so they could convince locals around here that they weren’t seeing this majestic castle. It was translucent blue, which helped camouflage it with the lake, but the only real way to get humans from interfering was to trick them with psychokinesis.
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“You look really nice,” Ridley said, pulling my attention back to him. His hands were folded neatly in front of him, and he looked straight ahead at the door. “I always thought you looked good in dresses. You’ve got the gams for them. ”
“Gams?” I asked in surprise.
He smirked. “It’s a cooler word for legs. ”
I gaped at him, trying to think of a way to respond, but then the palace door swung open, and we stepped inside.
THIRTY-ONE
great water
Inside, the palace reminded me of ice. Many of the walls were made of frosted glass several feet thick. The glass itself appeared bluish, but it had been sandblasted to make it opaque. The other walls were covered in a silvery blue wallpaper that looked like frost.
The glass walls that surrounded the spacious main hall had been shaped to look like waves, making it seem as if we were standing in the center of a whirlpool. The floor was made of several large panes of glass, allowing us to see down into the pool below.
“Look at that,” Ridley whispered, and pointed to a girl in a bathing suit as she swam beneath us.
We’d been left here by the footman who greeted us at the door, while he went to retrieve the King. That gave us plenty of time to admire the unusual and lavish décor of the Skojare palace.
“So good of you to make the trip,” a woman said, startling us from our admiration.
As she strode across to meet us, a length of her elegant sapphire dress trailed on the floor behind her, and her lips pressed into a thin smile that didn’t quite reach the ice-blue of her eyes. Her porcelain skin had been softly lined by age, and I suspected she was in her early sixties, although she still held all of the beauty she had certainly had in her youth.
“We’re very glad to help,” Ridley told her.
“And you are…?” She turned to Ridley, her sharp eyes now fixed on him.
“Ridley Dresden. I’m the Rektor for the Kanin. ”
“Hmm. ” She considered us both for a moment, then let out a resigned sigh. “I am Marksinna Lisbet Ahlstrom. My granddaughter is the Queen, Linnea. ”
“We’re sorry for your situation, and we will do our best to help you find her,” I said.
Her eyes rested on me. “You must be Bryn Aven. You look so much like your mother. ” She smiled when she said it, but there was something about her voice that made me believe it wasn’t a compliment. “Runa was my niece. ” She corrected herself. “She still is, of course, but since she defected so many years ago, I’ve gotten in the awful habit of referring to her in the past tense. ”
“That’s understandable,” I said evenly.
“Anyway, to the business at hand. ” Her smile twitched, betraying the sadness underneath, and she absently touched her blond coif. “Linnea is my granddaughter. A tragic car accident left her orphaned eleven years ago, and I’ve been raising her ever since. ” Tears formed in Lisbet’s eyes, but she blinked them back. “She’s all I have. ”
“Do you have any idea where she might have gone?” Ridley asked. “Was there any indication that she might be unhappy, or that she’d wanted to leave?”
A massive door on the other side of the hall was thrown open, the heavy wood slamming loudly into the wall, and King Mikko burst through, accompanied by his brother Kennet. Like Lisbet, Kennet was dressed formally. He wore a gray suit made of a material that reminded me of shark’s skin.
Mikko, on the other hand, looked like an absolute mess as he hurried over to us. One of the tails of his shirt had come untucked, the top few buttons were undone, and his suit jacket didn’t match his pants. But beyond that, he was unshaven, his eyes were red-rimmed, and his hair was disheveled.
“You need to find my wife,” he insisted, his voice a low rumble. Kennet put his hand on his shoulder, trying to calm his brother.
“They’re here to help,” Lisbet told him, speaking to him the same way one might speak to a frightened child. “But they’ve only just arrived. ”
“She’s…” Mikko shook his head, then gave me the most demanding, panicked look. “Something bad has happened. She wouldn’t just leave. You need to find her before…” He choked up, and Lisbet put her arm around him.
“This has been very hard on the King,” Lisbet said. “Perhaps it’s best if I take him to lie down while the Prince fills you in on the details. ”
“I want to help,” Mikko insisted, but though he was much bigger and invariably stronger than Lisbet, she pulled him away from us without a struggle.
“You need to rest now. That will be a great help to us,” Kennet assured his brother.
He watched as Lisbet led Mikko away, and turned back to us once they’d disappeared through the doors that Mikko had burst in through.
“The King seems to be taking it very hard,” Ridley commented.
“I’m a little surprised by his display,” I said, choosing my words as carefully as I could. “When I met him before, he seemed somewhat … aloof. ”
Kennet gave me a knowing smile. “My brother is a very complicated man. ”
“What exactly has happened with the Queen?” Ridley asked. “What do you know of her disappearance?”
“The King and Queen retired to their chambers two nights ago,” Kennet explained. “Linnea couldn’t sleep, so she told the King she was heading down for a swim. He went to sleep, and when he awoke at three in the morning and realized she hadn’t returned, he alerted the guards and began a search for her. ” Kennet gave a helpless shrug. “She hasn’t been seen since. ”
“We would like to speak to the guards who conducted the search, if that’s possible,” Ridley said.
“Definitely. ” Kennet nodded. “We’ll have a meeting to brief you with the details as soon as the others arrive. ”
“The others?” I asked.
“Yes. The Trylle have offered to send help as well, and they should be arriving shortly,” Kennet said, and though his expression was somber, a light played in his aqua eyes as he looked down at me. “But we very much appreciate you coming. I’m not sure what we would’ve done if you hadn’t. ”
“We’re always happy to help our allies,” Ridley said rather brusquely, and Kennet
glanced over at him.
“I’m sure you’ve had a very long drive here. ” Kennet’s expression shifted instantly from grave to megawatt smile. “I’ll show you to your rooms, so you can rest and freshen up for a bit. As soon as the Trylle arrive, we’ll have the meeting. ”
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“Don’t you think it’s best if we start the search now?” Ridley asked. “Whether the Queen has left of her own volition or been forced away against her will, the trail to find her will only get colder as time goes on. ”
“The Trylle are set to arrive within the half hour. ” Kennet still had a smile plastered across his face, but his tone didn’t sound pleased. “The trail won’t have frozen over by then. Besides, this was as the King wanted it, and I’m certain you know how to properly follow the King’s orders. ”
Ridley smiled back. “Of course. ”
“Now. ” Kennet faced me. “Let’s go to your rooms. ”
He turned and led the way out of the main hall, speaking in slightly bored tones about the history of the palace. The main floor was entirely above the surface of the lake, while the private quarters and the ballroom were located underneath the water. It had been specifically built so from anywhere in the palace, anyone could access the lake within five minutes.
As we went down a spiral staircase to the lower level, I noted that despite the recurring marine theme, the Skojare palace was decorated similarly to other palaces. A sculpture that appeared to be a Bernini sat in the center of the great room at the bottom of the stairs.
“That’s Neptune and Triton,” Kennet said offhandedly as we walked past it.
The floors were marble tiles, alternating between white and navy, and the walls were covered in the same paper as upstairs—blue with an icy sheen. Crystal chandeliers lit the hallway that led to our rooms.
We reached Ridley’s room first, with Kennet opening the door and gesturing inside before quickly walking away. I gave Ridley a small smile, then hurried after Kennet to my room at the other end of the hall.
“And here you are. ” Kennet held the door open for me, and I slid past him. “I’ll let you get settled in a bit. There’s a bathroom across the hall. My room is at the other wing of the palace. ” He pointed toward it. “But if you ask any of the servants, they will tell you where to find me.
“If you need anything,” he said, his voice low and deep, “anything at all, don’t hesitate to find me. ”
“Thank you,” I said, and he smiled at me in a way that I was sure plenty of girls had swooned over before, but I was not the swooning kind, so I merely smiled politely back.
Once he left, shutting the door behind him, I turned to check out my room, and I realized that an underwater palace sounded much nicer than it actually was. The walls facing outside were rounded glass, making me feel more like I was in an aquarium than a luxury bedroom.
The bed and the furnishings were nice, all silks and velvets in blues and silver, but through the windows the lake looked dark and murky. I pressed my hands against the glass and peered upward through the water at the few rays of sunlight that managed to break through.
A small tuft of dark green mold grew where the window met the frame. That explained the smell. As soon as I’d stepped downstairs, I’d noticed the scent of moisture and mold. It reminded me of a dank old basement.
I noticed a small puddle of water dripping down from a leak somewhere near the ceiling. I looked closer and saw water dripping down the wall, leaving a patch of wallpaper faded and warped.
Once upon a time, I was sure, this palace had been absolutely magnificent, but the Skojare’s wealth—and thus their ability to maintain a palace of this caliber—had begun to diminish. Since most of the royalty had gills, the Skojare were often unable to leave their offspring as changelings. Humans might overlook an ill-tempered child with odd habits, but they would definitely notice a set of blue gills on their baby.
If they were to reverse the situation, leaving common gill-less Skojare as changelings, the commoners would inherit the wealth, which the royalty did not approve of. Titles and rankings were determined by abilities, so most of the gilled Skojare were in positions of royalty, leaving the entire system to stagnate.
Those born with gills were trapped in Storvatten, unable to live or work among the humans, while those born without them were left doing the brunt of the work. Fishing was the main source of income for the Skojare, with the gill-less being forced to do the trading with the humans, and the royalty survived through insane amounts of taxes. The ones who could leave and get jobs with the humans often did, so the population of the Skojare had dwindled.
“Bryn?” Ridley asked, rapping on the door once before pushing it open. “How are you doing?”
“Fine. ” I turned around to face him. “What do you make of all this?”
“I don’t know. ” He flopped back on my bed and folded his hands behind his head. “It was in poor taste for that Prince to flirt with you while we’re supposed to be looking for his missing sister-in-law. ”
I scowled down at Ridley. “He wasn’t flirting. ”
“You never know when anyone is flirting with you,” he muttered.
“I do agree that everyone’s behavior feels a little … off. ” I sat down on the edge of the bed. “When I met Mikko last week, he was cold and barely spoke. Now he’s falling apart?” I shook my head. “It doesn’t quite add up. ”
THIRTY-TWO
suspicion
The meeting room was even more like a fishbowl. It stuck out from the rest of the palace in a bubble, with one interior wall and one extra wall of glass domed out around us. Half the room was still under the palace, with a white antique tin ceiling and plenty of lighting to keep the darkness of the lake around us at bay.
A very long table sat in the center of the room, but there were only three other people in there when the footman showed Ridley and me in. Papers were spread out over the table, but nobody was looking at them. Prince Kennet stood at the far end of the room, and the other two men had their backs to us.
“Come in!” Kennet waved for us to join them, and then the young men turned to face us as we approached. “These are our allies from the Trylle. ”
The first had unruly chestnut hair that landed just above his ears, and his tanned skin had an almost greenish hue, subtle but noticeable enough that it meant he had strong abilities for the Trylle. The more powerful a Trylle was, the greener he or she was in coloring. He was dressed the less formally of the two—wearing only jeans and a button-up shirt, while his companion wore a suit.
His companion had short dark brown hair, kept smooth and neat. His features were delicate, almost feminine, with a small nose and smooth skin. It was his eyes that stood out the most to me—they were a bright blue, which meant that although he came with the Trylle, he must have Skojare blood in him, too.
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“I’d like you to meet our friends from the Kanin,” Kennet told them, motioning to us. “These are two of their finest trackers, Ridley Dresden and Bryn Aven. ”
“It’s nice to meet you,” the blue-eyed one said, leaning forward and shaking our hands.
“This is the Trylle Chancellor, Bain Ottesen,” Kennet gestured to Blue Eyes. “And this is Markis Tove Kroner, adviser to the Trylle Queen. ”
“Pleasure to meet you both,” I said, bowing slightly to them, since they were both apparently my superiors.
The Trylle were peculiar, and growing more so since their new Queen had begun her reign four years ago. They sent white-collar advisers and Chancellors—high-ranking members of their society—while the Kanin had sent blue-collar trackers. Not only because it made sense for us to go, since Ridley and I knew more about going after missing people than an adviser would, but also because our Markis never would do something like this.
But maybe the Trylle just viewed the situation differently. They may have sent Bain and Tove more as figureheads to lend suppor
t rather than actual aid, while King Evert had sent Ridley and me because there was a real fear that something dangerous might be afoot.
“If we’re all here, maybe we should get into it, then?” Tove asked, tucking his hair behind his ears.
“Yes, I was saying before, we have the reports from the guards that night, and I have the layout for the palace, if that will help you. ” Kennet stepped back and motioned to the papers on the table.
“So will we actually be able to interview the guards that searched for the Queen?” Ridley asked.
Kennet shook his head sadly. “The King thought the reports would be adequate enough. ”
Tove stepped over to the table and started going through the papers until he found the report. I stood next to him, peering over his shoulder so I could read it. It was handwritten, and I couldn’t make out every word. But the general gist seemed to be that the guards had looked everywhere and found no trace of her.
“So the King was the last person to see her?” Tove asked as he reached the end of the report.
“Yes,” Kennet said. “They were in their chambers together getting ready for bed when she went for a swim. ”
“Or at least that’s what he told you. ” Tove looked up from the report, fixing his mossy green eyes sharply on Kennet.
Kennet met his gaze evenly and replied, “Yes. That is what he told me. ”
“This must be a terrible hardship for the King,” Bain said, rushing to soften his companion’s veiled accusation. “How is he holding up?”
Tove set down the file and moved on to rummaging through the rest of the papers. I’d turned to face Kennet, wanting to see his reaction about his brother, but I kept half an eye on Tove.
“He’s very broken up about it,” Kennet said.
“Will we be able to speak with him again?” I asked. “I think it would be a great help to get more details from him directly. ”
“Perhaps later on this evening. ” Kennet appeared regretful. “But you saw him this morning. You know he’s in no condition to see anyone. ”
“We understand,” I said. “But you will let us know when he’s feeling better?”
Kennet smiled easily. “Of course. ”
“There’s at least a hundred rooms in here,” Tove announced. He stood hunched over the blueprints for the palace. “Are they all occupied? How many people live here?”
“Storvatten is a very small town, so many of the Markis and Marksinna are invited to live in the palace with us,” Kennet explained. “At the present time, there are seventy-eight royal members living here, not including servants. ”
“There’s not enough time to interview them all,” Tove mumbled.
“On a related note, who exactly can we interview?” Ridley asked, doing his best not to sound harsh. “The King and the guards are off the table, which is disappointing, since they’re the closest thing we have to eyewitnesses. ”