Finnikin stepped away. ‘Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak to the King’s mother. Can you reintroduce us, Froi?’
Froi did just that and Finnikin bowed to Quintana.
‘A trinket from my wife to your son,’ he said, holding out a little purse.
Quintana stared at it.
‘A trinket?’ she said. Froi could see she was hurt. She wanted more from Isaboe. ‘I would have preferred a letter addressed directly to me. If the Queen of Lumatere wants a friendship between us, then she must learn to communicate, not send trinkets.’
‘Hmm, yes, I’ll pass that on,’ Finnikin said. ‘She’s always so appreciative of being told what to do.’
The Provincari returned and when they were all seated, Orlanda of Jidia stayed standing. Not a good sign, Froi thought. If it was good news, De Lancey would have been chosen. Not Orlanda. Froi’s stay in Jidia was disastrous. Lirah had attacked Orlanda; Orlanda had insulted Quintana and Lirah. Gargarin had rejected Orlanda. It couldn’t get much worse.
‘We have many strong young men presented here today,’ Orlanda said over the noise of the room. ‘All with so much to offer us, in what we call … our infancy. For we are infants in many ways and we must choose well.’
She looked back at Quintana.
‘If there is one thing I am certain of … we are all certain of, based on the events of this kingdom during the months before the little King’s birth, it’s that we need to ensure Charyn’s safety. There’s no better way of doing that than to keep the King well taken care of under the guidance of his mother’s consort …’
Her eyes met Froi’s.
‘The Lumateran has already played a great role in Charyn’s peace and will play a greater role in our future.’
There was silence. Froi’s eyes met Quintana’s and then Gargarin’s. He blinked. Once. Twice. And there it was. The moment Lirah spoke of that day in the fortress beyond the little woods. Froi shook his head with wonder. But then he saw Quintana’s face. She was confused. Disbelieving.
‘One moment,’ he called out.
There was an uproar.
‘What? What’s he doing?’ the Nebian Provincaro asked.
‘I would just like to speak to Quintana of Charyn. Can we have a moment or two? Talk amongst yourselves,’ Froi suggested.
He leapt onto the platform and took her hand.
‘What is it?’ she whispered.
‘Do you want this?’
‘What a thing to ask, you fool!’
‘I just want you to feel normal for a moment.’
She shook her head, confused. ‘Normal? Why are you using that word? To taunt me?’
He laughed. Only Quintana would consider being called normal a taunt.
‘Will you be my wife?’
She looked taken aback.
‘You’re asking me?’
‘Well, no one else is.’
They turned back to see the entire room watching them.
‘What are you doing over there?’ the Provincara of Jidia demanded to know. Froi shrugged.
‘I just wanted to ask her to be my wife.’
‘And what say you, Quintana?’ the Provincara of Jidia asked.
‘Well, if the truth be known, I’d very much like him to be my husband,’ Quintana said coolly.
And then everyone was shouting and jostling to surround them and Froi was separated from Quintana, and he found himself embraced by Lord August and Lady Abian and the boys, stunned by how quickly the events had unfolded.
‘We lose you, Froi,’ Talon said. ‘How can we celebrate when we lose you?’
‘You will never, ever lose me,’ he said.
Lord August took him by his shoulders.
‘I’m angry at myself, Froi, because it wasn’t my idea,’ he whispered. ‘It should have been. I should have done this years ago, but I didn’t. It was his. Gargarin of Abroi. In his letter, he wrote that I owed him because of the water system introduced by the Charynites that saved our first crop. He wrote, Give my son a name that will buy him happiness. Have I done that for you, Froi? Is this what you want?’
‘It’s everything I want.’
And then the Charynite lastborns were lifting Quintana on their shoulders and the Lumaterans had Froi on theirs, and she was laughing and he thought he’d never seen her look so beautiful. And over everyone’s head, Froi could see Gargarin and Arjuro staring up at her with their bittersweet smiles, and Froi imagined two boys with the same face all those years ago in a filthy cave beneath the swamps of Abroi, praying for a better life.
Later in the night, Finnikin was there, gripping his arm.
‘We’ll be leaving tonight, Lucian and I, and Perri. We’ve invited the Provincaro of Alonso to travel home with us and Lucian wants to see Rafuel before he leaves. The others will stay.’
Froi nodded, his throat constricting. He wasn’t ready for this so soon. He hadn’t even had a chance to speak to Perri.
‘Come,’ Finnikin said, leading him outside of the great doors. Finnikin retrieved his dagger and a moment later they were surrounded by Scarpo’s men, who were surrounded by Finnikin’s guards, all ready to attack.
‘Sagra!’
‘Mercy!’
‘Go. Away,’ Lucian shooed the guards back.
The three stood alone in the alcove. Finnikin cut into both Froi’s hands and then into one of Lucian’s and finally his own. Froi clasped both their hands.
‘A pledge, with your blood mixed with ours,’ Finnikin said.
Froi nodded, unable to speak.
‘Brothers always. Balthazar is with us, too. We make this work,’ Finnikin said fiercely. ‘We bring peace to these kingdoms. We deserve it. Our women do. All of us have lost too much, Froi. We’ve lost the joy of being children. Let’s not take that from Jasmina and Tariq and those who come after them.’
The three embraced and Froi felt the tremble in their arms and then he followed them to the stables where Perri was waiting for them with their mounts. And it was only then, when Perri gripped a hand to Froi’s shoulder and pressed a kiss to his brow, that Froi wept.
He stayed there a while at the portcullis until he could see nothing more of his friends in the darkness. Behind him, he heard voices, and Gargarin, Arjuro and De Lancey approached with Tariq in Arjuro’s arms.
‘You may need to go inside,’ Arjuro said. ‘She’s surrounded by the Provincari parrots and she has that caged-animal look that’s beginning to frighten everyone.’
Arjuro placed Tariq in Froi’s arms.
‘Tell Lirah we’ll visit with the Lumateran Flatlanders tomorrow,’ Gargarin said quietly. ‘We’ll celebrate amongst ourselves then.’
They watched Arjuro and De Lancey leave and Froi felt awkward alone with Gargarin. He didn’t know what to say. Not after the last furious words he had exchanged with his father. But it was Tariq’s strange little chatter with himself that made them both smile.
‘At least I get to be with Quintana and Tariq,’ Froi said quietly as they returned to the great hall. ‘What will you possibly get out of all of this, Gargarin? You don’t have Lirah. You hold such little power and you’re as much a prisoner here as you were nineteen years ago. It’s like the dead King won.’
Tariq had recognised his name and chortled. It brought a soft smile to Gargarin’s mouth.
‘I get to raise a king, Froi. We all do. We’ll make a good king. And when he comes of age, his shalamar will live with us in the palace because I can’t imagine Tariq wanting it any other way.’
Gargarin reached out a hand and touched Tariq’s face. ‘Your Priestking told me just now that he once dreamt that you would hold the future of Lumatere in your hands. Perhaps Tariq is Lumatere’s future. As a powerful neighbour, he will ensure Lumatere will always be protected. Because regardless of everything, yours is still a small kingdom and any one of us larger kingdoms can crush Lumatere at a moment’s notice.’
Gargarin’s eyes met Froi’s. ‘They know that. It’s why their queen ga
ve you to us. Because she and her consort trust that you can raise a good and powerful leader. That’s how I’ll win against the dead King, Froi. We share a grandson and I’ll live to see him become a great leader.’
Froi remembered what Lirah once told him. Don’t ever underestimate him. He’s the most powerful man you’ll ever know.
Gargarin turned towards the revelry. ‘It’s best that we get back to your Lumateran family.’
‘They’re good people,’ Froi said.
‘Very demonstrative,’ Gargarin said. ‘All that embracing Lord August does with you. Are all Lumaterans like that with their sons?’
Froi shrugged. ‘That’s just Lord Augie. He’s like that with everyone. He says he wasn’t embraced enough as a child and he’s making up for it now.’
Froi stepped forward. He pressed a kiss against Gargarin’s brow much the same as Perri had kissed his. Then he pressed one against Tariq’s.
‘That’s how Lumaterans give thanks between fathers and sons.’
Gargarin looked away, overwhelmed.
‘You make sure our boy learns the Lumateran ways, then,’ he said.
There’s a song that I hear at the back of my heart that I feared for so long, when I sensed you were there. And I think of those times when you crept into my dreams and I thought you a threat to curse my sweet king. But it was the boy in your belly that whispered to mine, and even before that, you lived in my spirit.
Because I think of those times when I was a child. I prayed to the gods and I begged for a sign. I know that they sent you, despite the blood of all those you loved shed at the hands of my kin. For you were the one who found him in exile and though it took time, you led Froi to his home.
And you’ve sent me this trinket that hardened my heart, because I wanted your words and a sign of true peace. But I’ve opened it now after all these long weeks and Froi stares at it, speechless, when I hold out my hand. And we see it before us, our spirits shaking. The brilliance of colour: the same ruby ring.
Oh, you’ve outdone me twice now, you queen of forgiveness. The ring’s a promise of peace and I’m greedy with hope. It’s a song that we sing in a tongue that we share. And though you say it’s a gift from a king to a king, I say it’s a sign from a queen to a queen.
In the palace of Lumatere, Finnikin woke to the sound of Jasmina crying.
‘I’ll pay you all the gold in the land if you get out of this bed and see to her,’ Isaboe said sleepily.
‘I don’t want all the gold in the land,’ he said, placing his pillow over his head. ‘It’s your turn anyway.’
He felt her lift the pillow to place lips close to his ear.
‘I will do anything you want.’
In her little bed, Jasmina stared up at Finnikin from under the blankets, refusing to surrender their warmth until she was certain to get what she wanted in return.
‘Isaboe,’ she whimpered.
If there was one thing Finnikin understood, it was the yearning in his daughter’s voice when she spoke her mother’s name. He held out his arms to her, saw the smile of satisfaction on her beloved face. He chuckled at her brazenness.
‘You’ll make a brilliant queen one day, my love,’ he whispered.
‘Finnikin!’ Isaboe reprimanded from across the residence. ‘Remember our rules.’
Finnikin kissed his daughter’s cheek. ‘But for now, there’s room for only one queen in this kingdom.’
He waited until she slept and then returned to their bed.
‘So you’ll do anything I want?’ he asked, trapping Isaboe, a knee placed each side of her body. ‘Can we play any game?’
‘Which game were you thinking of?’ she said with a laugh.
He pretended to think deeply. ‘The one where you are a novice named Evanjalin.’
In the dark, he kissed the smile from her lips.
‘And you’re a farm boy named Finnikin?’ she asked.
‘No,’ he scoffed with arrogance. ‘I’m the King.’
‘Ah,’ she said. ‘That game.’
On Lucian’s mountain someone hammered on the cottage shutters.
‘It will be for you,’ he said drowsily.
‘No, it will be for you,’ Phaedra said, wrapping the blankets around her.
‘It’s your turn,’ he insisted.
Phaedra pulled the blankets from the bed, leaving him cold and exposed as she wrapped them around herself. She was back soon enough.
‘Sheep. Looting. Cousins.’
Lucian cursed and got out of bed.
It was too cold a morning to be settling disputes between two neighbours over marked sheep, but he knew he would have to see to it. The mountain was still dark, but down in the valley he could see the twinkle of lantern light as they woke to milk the cows.
Back inside their cottage, the fire was lit and Phaedra was dressed. As always, she left for the valley before first light.
‘Can they not go one day without you?’ he asked gruffly.
‘Can yours not go one day without you?’ she asked.
She took his hands and wrapped them in a cloth warmed by the fire. ‘They’re ice,’ she murmured.
‘You’re going to have to learn to ride a horse on your own, Phaedra,’ he said. ‘It will make the journey faster.’
‘The mule and I have an agreement.’
‘The mule and you have similar traits,’ he said.
He helped her with the fleece Yata had made for her and then he warmed her face with his hands. ‘If I don’t get called to the palace and if Raskin’s sheep don’t take all day to birth and if the Mont cousins don’t create a drama, I’ll come down the valley to collect you. The days are getting shorter and I don’t want you to travel in the dark.’
She pressed a kiss to his mouth and then she was gone. Sometimes when he watched her ride away on these cold mornings he’d want a better life for her, but then she’d return at night and they’d dine with Yata or visit the cousins or feast with friends and Lucian would hear her laughter, and he imagined that this was the better life.
In the Citavita, Froi lay beside Quintana, both knowing that any moment now a cry would be heard from the other room and one of them would need to leave the warmth of their bed.
‘What’s creasing your forehead this morning?’ he asked.
She turned on her side to face him. ‘I was thinking of all the babes to be born today in this kingdom and what if you and I were to have another and it was a girl with Solange of Turla’s eyes or a boy with Arjuro and Gargarin’s face?’
‘I can see your concern,’ he said, nodding. ‘An awful thought. The idea of a babe born with Arjuro’s beard.’
She laughed. ‘Fool.’
He kissed her dimpled chin. ‘Let’s not worry about having to explain the past. If the palace does the right thing by the people, they won’t care who our children resemble.’
‘It’s still a worry, isn’t it? All this talk about balance of power and neutral consorts and neutral regents and there’s nothing neutral about this household at all.’
‘Everything’s a worry if you let it be, Quintana.’
‘But what will you do today when the Nebian Ambassador’s wife asks you if her garden is better than Lirah’s? Will you choose hers over your mother’s?’
He was trying not to think of that.
‘How did I get to be the judge?’ he asked, suddenly worried.
‘Your Lord August was speaking to the Nebian Ambassador’s wife about your skills in the garden when he was here and one thing led to the other.’
The cry sounded from Tariq’s chamber.
‘I’ll go,’ Froi said. ‘He may shine light on the matter.’
‘He’d choose Lirah.’
Froi stepped out into the cold morning air with Tariq in his arms. Gargarin was already on the balconette beside theirs and the palace was beginning to stir.
‘My lord,’ Froi heard Dorcas call out from the battlement above.
‘Yes, Dorcas.’
‘You’re going to have to cover his head. He’ll catch a chill. Fekra made him a cap.’
‘Thank you, Dorcas.’
Gargarin laughed softly.
Quintana joined Froi soon after, placing a thick woollen cap on Tariq’s head and then she took him and wrapped him in a blanket against her, murmuring to their son. Sometimes when she spoke to Tariq she sounded like the Reginita.
‘Good morning, Gargarin,’ she said.
‘Good morning, Quintana.’
She looked above to the battlements. ‘Good morning, Dorcas,’ she called out.
‘Good morning, Your Highness.’
‘Good morning, Fekra. The little King loves his cap.’
‘Good to hear, Your Highness.’
Froi wrapped all three of them in his fleece and they watched Lirah and Arjuro step onto the balconette across the gravina. Today Rafuel was there, leaning on them both. But he was standing and that was enough for now.
Little steps led to big achievements, the Priestking would always say, and sometimes Froi had to remind himself of that. The days here were long and full of work to be done and worries to be had. Today, no less than any other. There were talks with Osterians about a cotton crop, and arranging with Perabo and Hamlyn about the arrival of Serker horses from Lumatere, and the first planting of maize across the bridge, and helping Scarpo train the riders, and scribing for Gargarin’s well project, and Provincari demands, and merchants to be placated. And of course, the impending births. They frightened and thrilled people at the same time. And then soon they would take Tariq into Charyn’s provinces. Quintana wanted to meet the men and women who had lost their babes on the day of weeping. She wanted to introduce Tariq to them because she believed he would bring the living some sort of peace. They would also visit Serker. After months and months, Lirah had recorded as many of the names found in the journals Perabo gave her that night in her province as she could. Arjuro had promised to sing those names home.
‘Why are you smiling?’ Gargarin asked Froi, from across the balconette. ‘When you’re going to have to learn a lesson in diplomacy today and choose between the gardens of two women?’