Queenslayer by Sebastien de Castell

Author:Sebastien de Castell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2019-05-01T23:00:00+00:00

32

Trust and Loyalty

She waited until the tent had cleared out. Martius was one of the last to go, leaving me with a sympathetic look and a brief squeeze of my arm before joining the others in whatever revels await those not about to get their arses handed to them by a child.

I walked over to the throne. Reichis followed behind me. Even he kept his tail down low.

For a moment the queen said nothing, waiting instead until the last stragglers were out of earshot. “I had thought you my friend,” she said.

“Your friend?” Despite myself I was taken aback by her words. I’d expected anger, fury, even threats, but not the distressed plea of a sad and uncertain eleven-year-old girl. “It wasn’t my intention to harm you,” I said at last. It sounded exactly as lame spoken out loud as it had in my head.

“But harm me you have. You’ve weakened me before the court and further divided me from a powerful segment of my armies.”

“Again, that wasn’t my intent.”

“Then you’re a fool who acts without thinking.”

Well, that much is true anyway. “You didn’t leave me much choice, Your Majesty.”

She slammed her little fists on the arms of the throne. “All you had to do was leave it alone!”

“And let Tasia die?”

“Yes! And let her die! People die, Kellen. In fact, as I understand it, sometimes they die because you kill them!”

“She doesn’t deserve it.” I hesitated, unsure whether to say the next part. I really wasn’t trying to hurt the queen, or even coerce her through guilt, but in the end I couldn’t stop myself. “Tasia’s been covering for you. She seems to love you greatly.”

The queen looked heartbroken, but she quickly steeled herself. “And I love her, Kellen. The Countess Mariadne wasn’t always my favourite cousin, you know. When I was young I was terrified of her. You may have noticed that she has something of a temper. It was Tasia who took care of me when my father brought me for visits.”

“Then—”

“The law is the law, Kellen. I don’t get to break it on a whim. In fact, a queen must follow her laws closest of all.”

“Why did you send me there then?”

“I told you—to give her some comfort in her final hours.”

“She’s lying,” Reichis said.

The queen’s eyes flared angrily.

Reichis’s tail twitched. “Give me all the stink-eye you want, kid, I’m a squirrel cat.”

The queen turned back to me. “Are you loyal to me, Kellen?”

“I…” How do you answer that question? With a lie, obviously. Why, yes, Your Majesty, of course. I mean, I barely know you at all and I’m pretty sure you’re using me and will discard me just as quickly as you have Tasia, but let there be no question of my absolute loyalty to your royal person. “No, Your Majesty,” I said. “I’m not loyal to you. You’re queen of the most powerful country in the world and I’m a guy whose only friend is a squirrel cat.”

“Business partner,” Reichis corrected.

“Business partner,” I repeated.

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