“What news?” Zandrue asked.

  Anita shook her head. “I don’t know yet. He’s being shown in shortly.” She indicated the throne. “Your Highness?”

  Felit?a shook her head. “Oh no, I couldn’t. It’s your…” She trailed off at the exasperated look from Anita. “All right.” With a silent groan, she went over to the throne and sat down. Despite its cushions, she really didn’t find it to be a comfortable seat.

  Nin-Akna leaned over. “You actually do look good in it.”

  Felit?a allowed an audible groan this time. “Please, I…”

  Nin-Akna laughed and stood back up straight again. “Sorry.”

  Zandrue came over to Felit?a’s other side. “Do you think I should leave?”

  “No, stay. You’ve been banned from the Cathedral, not here. If he wants to come here, he can put up with your presence.”

  Zandrue leaned her arm over the back of the throne and smiled. “Thanks.”

  Mikranasta approached the throne and walked around behind it.

  In the centre of the room, Sinit?a was packing up her paint supplies. Several courtiers were assisting.

  “Careful with that!” she said as one went for the easel. “Don’t smudge the paint.”

  The courtier bowed and carefully lifted the easel, still with the canvas on it, up and carried it away.

  As other courtiers carried away her paints and brushes, Sinit?a came over to the throne and stood beside Nin-Akna. She smiled at Felit?a, her cheeks and nose smudged with paint.

  After another moment, Anita moved over beside Felit?a, Nin-Akna backing behind the throne to give her space. Elsewhere in the room, Captain Gen had taken up a spot beside Miana, the dog lying on the floor between them. Anita’s mother, Siba, and her Uncle Horaz were also present.

  Anita nodded to a courtier, who hurried out the side door.

  Then they waited in silence, the only sounds being the ragged breathing of some of the people around Felit?a—and the sound of her own heart beating. Her stomach was also starting to tie itself in knots. This is what they had been hoping for for what seemed forever now.

  At last, the herald’s voice rang out, “Father Victrin Bandren of Saints Cathedral!”

  The main doors opened and a short, balding Folith in gold priestly robes with green trim walked into the room and along the carpet towards the throne. He stopped several feet before the steps to the throne, and bowed. “Your Highness.” His eyes darted across the dais, and he corrected himself, “Highnesses. Your Ladyship.” His gaze stopped on Zandrue. “My Lady.” He looked around the room. “My Lords and Ladies.”

  There was silence for a moment before Anita nudged Felit?a.

  Felit?a gulped. She’d been waiting for Anita to say something, but of course, everyone had been waiting for her. “Welcome, Father. I understand you’ve had news from Arnor City.”

  He bowed again. “Yes, your Highness.”

  “I take it the reason you’ve come personally to deliver it is because it is...somehow concerning?”

  He closed his eyes and nodded sadly. “I’m afraid so your Highness.”

  “Is there something wrong?” Sinit?a asked.

  “Unfortunately, yes, your Highness.”

  Sinit?a whimpered, and croaked, “What?”

  “Please, tell us the message,” Felit?a said.

  “In the last few hours, we have actually received several messages, your Highness. The first was dated the twelfth.”

  Felit?a leaned forward. “So a little over two weeks ago.”

  Bandren nodded.

  “Isn’t that a long delay?”

  Bandren nodded again and shifted the weight on his feet. He was sweating. “Yes, though I would remind you that it is still much faster than conventional means would allow.”

  “Let’s not bandy words, Father.” Felit?a reached over and took Zandrue’s hand. Zandrue was shaking—or maybe they both were. “It’s obvious you’re disturbed by what you’ve received. Please tell us the message.”

  Bandren cleared his throat and shifted his weight again. He unrolled a sheaf of papers. He looked at the words, then looked up at the throne, and then back at the papers, clearing his throat once more. “Help. Fire. So much fire. They’re killing us. Please help.” He lowered the papers. Despite the lack of emotion in which he had read the message, he was visibly shaking. Even his thick robes couldn’t hide that.

  Another—louder—whimper emerged from Sinit?a.

  Zandrue’s fingernails were digging painfully into Felit?a’s hand. Felit?a paid it no mind and just clutched Zandrue’s hand even tighter.

  “And the next message?” Anita asked.

  Bandren moved the first page to the back of his small stack, and looked down at the next. “The second message is dated four days later. It is more coherent and is signed by his Grace, Patriarch Ardon. It reads as follows.” He took a deep breath and cleared his throat once more. “We can confirm at this time that Lady Lidda Plavin of Plavin-Tyl has staged a coup at the Royal Palace. With the aid of traitorous Palace staff in league with Darkness Worshippers…” His voice cracked, and he glanced again in Zandrue’s direction. “And a…” He cleared his throat several times. “A...a dragon, they have attacked the Palace and have executed several members of the Royal Family, and killed countless loyal soldiers in the Royal Family’s service.”

  Sinit?a began to whimper again.

  Bandren glanced briefly at her before continuing. “Confirmed dead: King Wavon. Queen Annai.”

  Sinit?a’s whimper turned into a wail and then a scream, and she doubled over, hands over her mouth. Anita bent over her, offering a comforting arm, and Captain Gen rushed to her side.

  Zandrue’s nails dug deeper, and Felit?a found her jaw trembling. Her stomach tied itself in an even tighter knot.

  Bandren continued. “Princess Gabriella and Prince Thilin. Missing, presumed dead: Prince Pastrin and Princess Annai. Confirmed alive: Prince Malef, who remains in the Palace, and is presumably being kept alive due to his engagement to Lady Plavin to provide her a claim to the throne. Also confirmed alive due to not being at the Palace at the time: Prince Cerus, currently in Lockanith, and Princesses Felit?a and Sinit?a, both currently in Quorge.”

  Sinit?a’s screams continued, as both Gen and Anita tried to comfort her. Gen took her arm and gently led her away. “I’ll look after her.” He guided her, still wailing, across the room towards the side door.

  When they were gone, Felit?a looked back to Bandren. It was hard to get words out, but somehow, she managed it. “Is there more to the message?”

  “Yes, your Highness. It goes on to say, ‘We believe Lady Plavin is attempting a takeover of Arnor, and we urge all provinces to begin organising a defence against her. The greatest threat is the dragon at her command, which is capable of killing dozens at a time.’” He lowered the papers again and wiped his brow with the sleeve of his other arm.

  “Does it say anything about anyone else?” Zandrue asked. “About any of the other lords and ladies at the Palace, or anyone else?”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Bandren shook his. “I am sorry, but no, my Lady. I have read you the entire message.”

  Zandrue’s nails pressed deeply enough that they broke the surface of Felit?a’s skin.

  Felit?a let her be, though she could see blood pooling. She opened her mouth to say something, but she wasn’t sure what.

  “Thank you, Father,” Anita said, taking Felit?a’s other hand. “We will plan a response and have that—”

  “I’m sorry, your Ladyship,” Bandren said, “but there’s more.”

  “More?”

  “Shortly after receiving those two messages, we received four more messages in quick succession. All of them are dated yesterday, and all are one word in length. None of them are signed.”

  Felit?a blinked tears from her eyes. “What do they say?”

  Bandren didn’t even look at his papers this time. “The first says, ‘Burn’. The second, ‘Crumble’. The third, ‘Drown’. The fourth, ‘Suffocate’. We have no idea what they mean.”

  Burn. That was the word Meleng had said the creature that attacked him and Feviona had said repeatedly.

  “Is that it?” Anita asked.

  Bandren bowed his head. “It is. I will now excuse myself to allow you to plan your response.” He looked at Felit?a. “My deepest condolences, your Highness, for your loss.” He bowed deeply.

  “No,” Felit?a croaked. “Please stay. I will have a response for you very shortly.” She gently pulled her hand away from Anita and motioned to one of the courtiers, who came forward. “Please take down what I’m about to say exactly. The letter is to be addressed to Lidda Plavin. Under no circumstances is she to be addressed as Lady. Is that understood?”

  The courtier bowed. “Yes, your Highness.”

  Another courtier came forward with paper and a pen, which the first took. The second also held out a jar of ink for the first to use as needed. The first bowed again. “Ready, your Highness.”

  Felit?a closed her eyes and took a moment to go through her concentration exercises. Calm. She needed to be calm right now. There would be time to grieve later. Gods, she wasn’t even certain what her grief would be like for a family that had… No. No distractions. Calm, but firm. Forthright. She opened her eyes and began.

  “Cousin, your disgusting attack on the Royal Palace, along with the resulting deaths of my father and other family members, is a declaration of war against the rest of Arnor, and we will respond accordingly. You have made a mistake in your timing as we are already well into the process of preparing for war. We will not hesitate to turn that preparation against you. Enjoy your short-lived victory while you can. I promise you I will see you, your dragon, and your Darkness Worshipper allies dead at my feet.”

  She paused and blinked away more tears. “Bring it forward so I can see it and sign it.”

  The courtier bowed and approached the throne. He held out the paper to her, along with the wooden board providing the backing for the paper, then handed her the pen. The second courtier came forward with the ink jar.

  Felit?a dipped the pen and looked over the letter. It said everything she’d said. She held the pen over the spot where she should sign her name, but hesitated—long enough that a drop of ink fell onto the paper. However, it didn’t blot out anything, so she didn’t worry about it. Beside the blot, she signed something different.

  “Will-Breaker?” Anita said.

  Felit?a allowed herself a small smile. “She knows who I am. Her kind fear the Will-Breaker far more than they fear Princess Felit?a. She chose to fuck with me. I’ll fuck her right back.” She handed the paper back to the courtier, who carried it over to Father Bandren.

  Bandren bowed. “I will have this delivered immediately, your Highness. However, it will go to the Cathedral of the Gods, not directly to Lidda Plavin.”

  “That’s fine,” Felit?a said. “It’ll get to her. His Grace is a wily fellow.”

  Bandren smiled and bowed again. “He is, indeed, your Highness.”

  “There will be more messages soon, Father. I will be sending messages out to the other provinces. Be ready for them.”

  “I will, your Highness. Once again, my condolences.” He bowed once more, and retreated to the doors.

  Felit?a looked at Anita. “Your Ladyship, can I trust you to handle the other letters?”

  “Of course, your Highness.”

  “First and foremost, I want a letter sent to Cerus in Lockanith. He’s king now. Tell his Majesty I’d like to discuss our response together. I want letters sent to all the other provinces as well, except Orwin. I’ll do that myself as I know Lord Padara. I’d like to write a more personal one.”

  “Of course, your Highness. They will be done.”

  “Also, can you send someone to get Agernon? Don’t force him to come, but tell him it’s an emergency, I need his help, and I am begging him to come.”

  Anita started to respond, but Miana came forward. “My apologies, Felit?a, your Highness, but perhaps I can go instead. I’ve only met him briefly, but from what I know of him, he will not respond well to courtiers or guards. I can be very persuasive and I’m certain I can convince him. Plus, I’d like to help if I can.”

  Felit?a nodded. “Thank you, Miana. I appreciate it.”

  Miana bowed and headed from the room.

  Felit?a turned her attention back to Anita again. “Now, your Ladyship, I’m going to retire for a short while. I need…” She breathed in noisily through her stuffed nose, and wiped her eyes with her free hand. “I just need…”

  Anita smiled comfortingly. “I completely understand, your Highness. I will see that you’re not disturbed.”

  Felit?a placed her free hand over the one Zandrue was still gripping. “Zandrue?”

  Zandrue was staring ahead.

  “Zandrue?”

  With a shake of her head, Zandrue blinked several times, and looked down. “Oh gods, Felit?a, I’m so sorry!” She let go of Felit?a’s hand and pulled away. “I didn’t mean…”

  Felit?a cradled her hand. The wounds weren’t bad. “It’s all right. Don’t worry about it.”

  Zandrue looked furtively about and settled her gaze on Mikranasta. “Felit?a, Rudiger. Please, I need to know.”

  Felit?a leaned around the side of the throne to look at Mikranasta, who was standing behind her, near Nin-Akna, expressionless. She motioned Mikranasta over. “Please lower the shield.”

  “I don’t recommend that,” Mikranasta said.

  “Just a few seconds. That’s all I need.”

  Mikranasta shook her head.

  Gods, she didn’t need this right now. “Lower the fucking shield, or I’ll tear it down myself. You know I can do it!”

  “And you know I can respond with something stronger.”

  “Please, Mikranasta. I’m begging you. Just a couple seconds. Please.”

  Mikranasta stared blankly at her for a moment, but then sighed. “Very well. A couple seconds. No more.”

  Felit?a quickly spread out the Room in her head. As the walls formed, the line of figures reappeared, as did the Staff above.

  Emotions flooded in as well. As did thoughts. So many thoughts. She did her best to ignore them and focused on Rudiger in the line-up. “Rudiger’s alive.”

  “Oh, thank the gods,” Zandrue said, her voice hoarse.

  “His condition is pretty much the same as last time. A broken leg, but I think it’s healing.” She moved to the next in line. “Borisin is alive too. Still suffering those burns, but alive.” She zipped farther down the line. “And Quilla’s alive too. She looks sad, but in good physical shape as best I can tell.”

  With a sigh of relief, Felit?a prepared for the shield to go back up. It could only have been a fraction of a second, but in that time, some of the thoughts around her grew in volume, louder and louder until they filled the volume of her head.

  Kill.

  Disparate images flickered about her, most of them barely discernible, there for a moment and then gone. But one lasted longer and was a little more clear and solid. A woman. She looked a little like Zandrue, only older. Zandrue’s mother. There was warmth and affection there. Love. Heavy love, but overshadowed by the fear and anger that was everywhere else.

  That is the only response to those who hurt you. Kill them. Without mercy.

  Was that Zandrue’s mother speaking? Felit?a couldn’t tell.

  Gods, Zandrue. I wish I knew what I could do to help you. There was so much fear and anger, most of it buried deep down, but ready to explode at any moment.

  And some of the images. Such pain.

  And then there was Rudiger. Like a shining beacon amidst all the darkness around him. So much love was centred there.

  Then it all vanished as the shield went back up.

  Felit?a looked up and realised she was crying. The tears started to flow more freely.

  Zandrue took her hand and helped her to her feet, then hugged her tightly. “Thank you.”

  Felit?a couldn’t hold it back any longer, and she started to wail.

  Zandrue continued to hold her tightly.

  Felit?a didn’t really notice the movement, but somehow Zandrue led her back to her room. At least, she assumed it had been Zandrue. All that really mattered is that she ended up back in her room with just Zandrue and Mikranasta there. There, she and Zandrue cradled each other for the next while, sobbing into each other’s arms.

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