My brother nods at my command before moving out of my line of sight, where I hear him issuing orders to someone. I glance around the courtyard, noting that only Ranhold’s guards are gathered outside. Not a single guard of Midas’s. Not a bit of gold-plated armor in sight.
“Keon,” I call, and he immediately turns to me. “Have some of Ranhold’s guards go inside and confirm that the danger has passed. See if they can find Midas and if he needs help.”
He moves away with a nod, pointing at a couple of Fifth’s guards standing around a splatter of gold on the snow, kicking at the solidifying puddle warily.
As I continue to stare at the castle, the wind picks up, glazed slush starting to spit from the sky, as if it wasn’t miserable enough out here already.
Three of the Ranhold soldiers break away, walking forward with grim faces as they head for the broken doorway. The first one holds out his hands to the others, then kneels at the first splash of the spilled gold that lies motionless on the steps.
He presses his finger against it, and when it does nothing, he stands again, nodding to the others. Together, they walk up to the doorway, boots clicking over the solidified gold before they disappear inside.
We wait.
The crowd still gathered in the courtyard has grown quiet again, the anxiousness of the wait seeming to clog up their throats.
Despite my own warring thoughts, I walk to the front of the castle, stopping to face everyone as I put on a calm yet strong demeanor. Their prince is dead, Rot has fled, and Midas isn’t here, so I’m the one they need to look to, and it’s important that I cultivate that. Right now, I need to be seen.
“Do not fear,” I announce. “The danger is over, and I will find out if what has been claimed is true.”
The people murmur, my powers gathering the whispered relief, the admiration, the respect they have for me.
“Well done, sister,” Manu says beneath his breath.
When one of the guards reappears, I nod to Keon to go collect his report. My brother-in-law steps over, expression stoic before dismissing the man, but my eyes scan the crowd, magic picking up their mumblings.
I break off my magic when Keon comes over.
“Well?” Manu asks nervously.
“All the gold seems to have stopped its movement and is solidified,” he says quietly, keeping his voice down.
“And Midas?” I press.
His brown eyes center on me. “They believe he’s dead.”
I suck in a shocked breath. It stays stuck to my throat, just as the words themselves weave in my head, wrapping around my skull in trapping strands.
Dead.
My lips press together, and I feel my eyes chiseling into the face of the castle. All my hard work…all this time I’ve spent on my machinations, and now this.
King Midas does nothing for me if he’s dead.
I came here to negotiate deals, to exert my own wants through an impressionable prince and a rich king. Things changed, but they were for the better. I had a plan. I was going to be the first monarch in history to join two kingdoms together through marriage, while having a hand in a third.
Because power is everything, and though I may not have a physical magic like gold-touch or rot, I have words, and a queen can do a lot with a web full of people’s secrets.
I have been working endlessly since I took my throne to ensure that my people see me as just as much of a power threat as any other monarch. That would’ve been solidified even further with these alliances. Now, all of that is crumbling.
All because of Lady Auren. Lady. As if a saddle pet warrants the term.
Anger and fear clash inside my head, though I don’t let it show. Not when so many people are watching. As a woman in power, you can never let people see your true emotional reactions because they would only use them against you.
“I want to see.”
Before either of them can stop me, I stride toward the castle, toes frozen as more snow saturates my silk slippers.
“Sister,” Manu calls, but I don’t stop. I hear rushing footsteps as he and Keon catch up with me just before I make it to the steps.
“At least let me go first,” Keon says as he abruptly cuts in front so he can walk up before me.
“Be careful,” Manu cautions.
With a brisk nod, Keon heads up the steps, and as soon as he does, I follow behind him. “Kaila,” Manu hisses beside me. “Just because it’s stable right now doesn’t mean it’s going to stay like that. We don’t know how volatile it is.”
“It’s solidified,” I say, shoes rasping against the slick gold just before we make it to the top step. The doors are hanging from their hinges like teeth knocked loose and crooked.