By not revealing unsubstantiated ideas to me, he'd protected everything we were trying to accomplish.
"And does it even matter?" Konstantin asked. "Mina is an evil bitch regardless of who her father is."
"Well, now it matters, because the information might be enough to get the Trylle involved and help the Kanin," I said. "This is proof that Mina got the crown under false pretenses, murdered the King, and she should be dethroned."
"By dethroned, you mean executed." He looked down at the floor, his arms resting on his knees.
For the first time it occurred to me what this might mean to him. He'd once loved Mina, very deeply by his accounts, and even though he realized how awful she truly was, that didn't necessarily mean he'd want to see her dead.
"Yes. Mina will be executed. Are you okay with that?"
He breathed in deeply, then nodded. "I will be."
"You can tell me how you're feeling," I said, then added, "If you want this whole friendship thing to work and want me to trust you, you can't keep things from me."
"I think you know all my secrets now," he replied wearily.
"Thank you for coming back for me."
He smiled crookedly at me. "I'll always come back for you."
THIRTY-THREE
tisane
Finn led Konstantin and me down a narrow gravel trail. Hedges grew up around it, blocking out the world and reminding me of Alice playing croquet in Wonderland. The path curved around the palace, and I glanced back at Konstantin to make sure he was still following.
The Queen had invited us to join her for lunch, and Konstantin seemed convinced it was some kind of trick, so I kept expecting him to run off at any moment. But he'd agreed to come and even dressed up for it.
Finn had procured a black dress shirt and vest for him from someone in town. All Finn's clothes were slightly too small, since Konstantin was taller and broader-shouldered. Before we'd left the Holmeses' house, I'd told him that he cleaned up nicely.
He'd looked down at me, his eyes going over my body in a way that made my skin flush, and then he'd gruffly said, "You too, white rabbit," before quickly averting his gaze and walking away.
Mia had given me something--a lovely white dress with an empire waist and a subtle train in the back. It was slightly too small for me, squeezing a bit on my ribs, but fortunately, my wounds were healing up nicely. It had only been a little over a day since I'd arrived in Forening and begun recuperating, but the psychokinetic healing had lingering effects, causing accelerated healing long after the healer had stopped.
The trail opened up into a lush garden on the bluffs. The balcony from the palace hung over, leaving some of the garden in shadows, but the warm spring sun bathed the rest of it.
Brick walls surrounded the garden, covered in flowering vines, with large fragrant blooms of pink and purple. Fruit trees of all kinds populated the garden--with pear, plum, and fig being just a few that I spotted right away.
The gravel trail had given way to a soft, mossy covering that felt wonderful on my bare feet, and Finn led us deeper into the garden. Konstantin had to hold back a few branches to keep them from hitting him in the head.
In the center of a small clearing, surrounded by flowering trees of white and blue, was an elegant wooden table with high-backed chairs. Wendy sat at one end of the table, while her husband Loki sat directly across from her, leaving two chairs open on either side.
A spread of tea and fruits was laid on the table. As Konstantin took a seat next to me, I was again reminded of Alice in Wonderland.
"Thank you for joining us for lunch today," Wendy said, smiling at us.
I returned her smile warmly. "We're more than happy to."
"It seems like you're recuperating all right, then?" Loki asked as he leaned over and took a crumpet from a plate.
"I'm doing much better. Thank you," I said, alternating between looking at the King and the Queen. "I wanted to come see you yesterday, but Finn insisted I rest."
Finn was pouring himself a cup of tea and looked over at me. "You're better off taking your time and making sure everything is healing okay."
"Finn has always been the cautious one." Wendy laughed lightly, then turned her eyes onto me.
While she still held herself with the same authority I'd seen in the throne room, she seemed relaxed today. Her gown had been traded in for a peridot sundress, and the sunshine played well on her bronze skin. She'd done her hair more casually today, so the soft curls were ruffled by the breeze that went through the garden.
"We invited you to lunch to see how you are all doing and what your intentions are," Wendy said directly, looking from Konstantin to me.
Loki laughed. "You make it all sound so formal." With a softer gaze, he turned to us. "We're just curious to know how long you planned on staying."
"Since you granted me temporary amnesty, I hadn't intended to outstay my welcome," Konstantin said, speaking in the low, formal way a Hogdragen would speak to authority. "I only wanted to make sure Bryn was stable, and now that she is, I am prepared to head out on my own again. If that's all right."
I shot him a look, unable to hide my surprise. He'd spent most of the past twenty-four hours with me, trying to get me to rest by reading to me, preventing Liam from climbing all over me, telling Ulla and me old Kanin stories, and just generally keeping me company. And he'd never once mentioned leaving.
I knew that he couldn't stay here forever, and I hadn't planned on it myself either. But I hadn't expected him to leave so soon, and the thought sent an unwelcome pang straight to my chest that had nothing to do with my injuries.
"If you want to go, we won't stop you. You're not a captive here." She'd leaned back in her chair, appraising him with the calculated gaze of a ruler twice her age. "But we're also not throwing you out."
Konstantin had taken a sip of his tea, and he dabbed at his mouth with an embroidered napkin before replying. "Thank you, but I think it's best if I take my leave sooner rather than later."
"What about you, Bryn?" Wendy asked. "Finn told me you absconded to find out what was happening with the Kanin. Did you find what you were looking for, or are you planning to leave again?"
"Thank you for extending your amnesty to me again, My Queen," I said as gratefully as I could, clearing my mind of thoughts about Konstantin's departure.
"You can thank my husband for that." Wendy turned her loving gaze to Loki. "He pointed out that if I want the Trylle to be a more welcoming, accepting kingdom, then it must begin with myself."
"What better way to do that than housing those that no longer have a home?" Loki asked.
"I cannot thank you enough for your hospitality," I said, and turned to face Wendy. "But there is something that I wanted to talk to you about. You know that there is a great deal of unrest in Doldastam right now."
The lightness fell away from Wendy, and she pursed her lips. "The loss of your King has had a tragic effect on the kingdom, and my sympathies go out to you."
"I appreciate that, but I was hoping that perhaps you'd be willing to go beyond sympathies," I said carefully, knowing that I may already be pushing my luck.
"I thought that Chancellor Bain already spoke to you and explained that while I am empathetic to the plight of your people, we are in no place to get involved with a possible civil war." Wendy spoke with the air of a Queen giving a proclamation, but that was sort of what she was doing, so it made sense.
"I'm not advocating civil war," I clarified. "The Kanin people are innocent bystanders. It's only Mina Strinne that needs to be dealt with, and I have found new evidence that I thought you might find more compelling."
Wendy exchanged a look with her husband, her expression unreadable. He shrugged one shoulder, then turned his attention to me.
"Go on," Loki urged me.
"Do you know who Viktor Dalig is?" I asked.
"The Kanin have apprised us on him previously," Wendy said. "We know of his attempts on the King Evert's life in the past."
"For years, he's been considered the greatest threat to the Kanin kingdom," I said, expanding on what she'd said. "I've just learned that Mina--Queen Mina of the Kanin--is actually Karmin Dalig, Viktor's daughter."
Wendy didn't say anything for a moment. She simply stared off at the garden while I waited with bated breath for her response. Still staring off in the distance, Wendy asked, "Can you prove that?"
"Her sister lives in Iskyla and confirmed it," I said. "If you were to send someone to do some digging, it would be easy to prove."
"I believe you, and that is very disturbing." Wendy finally faced me again. "But it does not change my stance."
"But Mina has no right to the crown," I insisted, barely able to keep my voice even. "She's not the rightful monarch of the Kanin. That's an offense to the entire troll kingdom."
"That may be so, but how would you propose we get the crown from her?" Wendy asked me. "We can't simply phone someone in Doldastam and ask her to surrender."
"We send in a reconnaissance mission," I said. "Konstantin and I are familiar with the palace and Doldastam at large. With as few as ten men, I think we could get in and kill Mina."
Konstantin made a soft, guttural sound next to me, but I kept my eyes on Wendy, so I didn't see his reaction.
"And if we are discovered?" Wendy pressed. "Either before or after the mission is completed, the results would be the same. The Kanin would declare war on us, rightfully so, since we'd just assassinated their Queen.
"And the war would not be with Mina, but with the actual Kanin people she's commanding," she went on. "The innocent people you want to protect." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but we cannot do that."
Dark clouds began to roll in overhead, blocking out the earlier sunshine and warmth. A breeze came up, stronger and cooler than before, as the garden fell into shadows.
Loki offered me an apologetic smile. "We've had four years of peace after a war that cost us many innocent lives--both of the Trylle and the Vittra. So as you can imagine, we're reluctant to jump into another conflict so soon after that one, while our people and our kingdom are still recovering and rebuilding."
"What about the people of Kanin? She's trapping them and exploiting them. What will become of them?" I asked in desperation.
"If she's as cruel as you say she is, they will have to form an uprising themselves," Wendy said. "That's their only hope of regaining their independence."
THIRTY-FOUR
return
"This is not what the Queen meant," Konstantin groaned. He stood beside me, the top few buttons of his dress shirt undone, glowering down at me with his arms crossed over his chest.
Unlike him, I'd changed out of my borrowed clothes the second we'd returned from lunch and put back on my ripped jeans and tank top. After I'd given Mia her dress and thanked her, I'd gone to Hanna's room to start packing.
"I don't understand." Ulla sat on the bed next to my bag, with her knees folded underneath her, and looked from Konstantin to me. "What exactly did the Queen say?"
"She said that the people of Doldastam need to rise up against Mina, and I'm going to go back and get them started." I stopped what I was doing to look around the room, which had gotten rather messy over the last day or so. "Just as soon as I find my passport."
"You don't need your passport because you're not going back," Konstantin said. "They will kill you on sight, Bryn!"
Liam toddled into the room, unfazed by the apparent tension, and crawled up onto the bed beside Ulla. He'd become just as fascinated by her unorthodox looks as he had been with mine, and when she pulled him onto her lap, he immediately began tugging on her dirty blond tangles of hair.
While Konstantin had been busy entertaining me, Ulla had been helping Mia around the house. She'd been sleeping in Liam's room and helping take care of him and Hanna, which seemed to make both Mia's and Finn's lives a bit easier.
"Who will kill Bryn?" Ulla asked, trying to follow along with the conversation as I went around the room, tossing aside toys and books in search of my passport.
"The guards. The Kanin. Maybe the Queen herself." Konstantin shrugged. "It doesn't matter who. But somebody will kill her. Mina can't let her live."
"I'll sneak in," I said absently.
"You are being ridiculous, Bryn, and you know it." Konstantin sounded exasperated.
"I'll go with you, and I can help," Ulla chimed in.
I shook my head. "No, you can't come. I told you I won't let you go anywhere dangerous."
"Why not?" Ulla whined. "I saved your life. If it hadn't been for me, that polar bear would've killed you."
"I know, and thank you." I paused long enough in my search to look at her sincerely. "But this is different. I'm not going to let you risk your life like that. You haven't had any training, and you're too young."
"I could say the same thing to you," Konstantin countered, giving me a hard look.
"What would you have me do?" I asked, nearly shouting at him. "Twiddle my thumbs and hope Mina isn't killing and torturing everyone I care about? No one will help me, Konstantin! The Omte said no. The Trylle said no. The Skojare don't have anybody left. If I don't do something, who will?"
"It's still early in the fight," Finn interjected, and I turned back to see him standing in the doorway. "There's still time for Wendy to change her mind."
"And what do we do until then?" I asked. "Wait for Mina to start killing innocent citizens off?"
"You're not the only one that has people there," Finn reminded me darkly. "You think I'm not worried about my parents and my sister? Of course I am. But I know that getting myself killed won't save them."
"He's right, Bryn," Konstantin said. "There has to be a better way."
Liam began to babble happily about something--I'm not sure what--and Ulla started to say that she could help me come up with a plan, while Konstantin and Finn were both staring me down, and suddenly it all felt like too much.
"Enough!" I held up my hands. "I just need everyone to go and let me think for a minute. Okay? I just need some space."
Ulla mumbled some kind of apology as she scooped up Liam and headed out. Finn followed behind her, but Konstantin lingered a moment longer.
"Take all the time you need to sort this out," he said softly, then he left and closed the door behind him.
I sat back on the bed and ran my fingers through my hair. I wanted to scream in frustration, but that would only frighten Liam and Hanna, not to mention Ulla and everyone else. Finn and Konstantin were right, returning to Doldastam would be a suicide mission, but I didn't see any other option.
I couldn't just sit here and hope that something would change for the better. It had been over two weeks since I'd left Doldastam, but it felt like a lifetime. Two grueling weeks where I had no idea if my parents or my friends were okay, and from what I'd heard, things only seemed to be getting worse for them.
How could I just stand by and let it happen?
Someone knocked gently on the door, and based on the meekness of it, I assumed it was Hanna or maybe Liam. I still wasn't ready to talk to anyone, especially a child who probably wanted to play, but I didn't want to yell at them.
"Just go away for a little bit," I said as kindly as I could. "I'll be out soon."
The door creaked open anyway, and I was about to snap this time so they'd get the message, but then I saw who it was, poking her head around the door. Long chestnut hair, dark gray eyes, bronze skin, and her full lips in a timid smile.
It was my oldest friend, Tilda.
THIRTY-FIVE
compatriot
At first I could only gape at her, in part because I wasn't even sure if she was real. But also because there was so much I had to say to her, so much that had happened since the last time I'd seen her that I hadn't been able to apologize for. Not that I'd ever be able to make up for it.
And top of all that, here she was, alive and safe. I'd spent so much time worrying about her, and now here she was at my bedroom door.
&nb
sp; "Can I come in?" she asked quietly and opened the door a bit farther.
I meant to say, sure, or hello, or anything normal, but what tumbled out of my mouth was one big hurried, desperate apology, "Ohmygod, Tilda, I'm so sorry."
As soon as the words escaped my mouth, she began crying. In all our years of being friends, I'd only really seen her cry a handful of times, and never like this. These were big, heavy tears streaming down her cheeks, and she looked completely shattered in a way that I'd never imagined Tilda could be.
I wasn't sure if she hated me or not--I wouldn't blame her if she did. But at that moment, I didn't care. I rushed over and threw my arms around her. She leaned against me, letting me hug her, and sobbed into my shoulder. The fullness of her pregnant belly pressed rather painfully against the wounds from the bear attack, but I didn't care.
For a long time, we didn't say anything. We just stood that way--me holding her as she sobbed. Eventually, she began to collect herself and pulled away from me, wiping at her eyes.
"I'm so sorry," I said again.
She shook her head, sniffling a little. "You don't need to be sorry. I know that you never would've hurt Kasper or let anything happen to him. Not if you could help it."
"I never meant for things to happen the way they did," I said.
"What did happen?" Tilda asked, looking down at me with moist eyes. "I don't believe anything the Queen says, and nobody else was there. Nobody knows what really happened but you."
I motioned to the bed, and Tilda and I sat down. Then I began telling her the story of how her husband had been killed. How we'd gone to tell the Queen about how Kennet Biaelse and the Skojare head guard Bayle Lundeen had been working together to hurt the Skojare royalty. And how Kasper and I had escaped from the dungeon and went to confront Kennet, and he'd gotten the best of us and killed Kasper, and how I'd fought with Kennet and he'd fallen to his death.
She didn't say anything as I spoke. She only stared at me, listening intently as I wove together the whole story. I even added in the pieces I'd learned from Konstantin, and how I'd found out that Mina was Viktor Dalig's daughter.
When I'd finally finished, she nodded once. "It's good that Kennet is dead. I'm in no shape to hunt him down and kill him, but that's what I would've had to have done. Thank you for getting rid of him for me."