Drawn in Ash, page 33
“So why are you leaving?” Everys hated the way her voice quavered.
“Because a person has to take a stand at some point or another.” She touched her forehead again, her fingers grazing her broken horns. “I knew I had to when I did this. And I realized this was another time too. Don’t worry. You’ll be in good hands with Rewether. Solid ground, Blessed.”
With that, Redtale turned on her heel and quickly marched from the room.
The moment she left, the strength drained out of Everys’s legs. She barely made it to a chair before she collapsed. Her body and mind felt numb, wrapped in a haze. The truth of what Redtale had said stabbed into her. She had known how important Redtale’s heritage was to her. She could have asked about the Ixactl’s treasures. And she hadn’t.
She’d have to do better.
Her gaze fell on the stack of designs. If she was going to make a change, she’d have to start right away. An idea started to stitch together. If the Dynasty was going to change, she would have to nudge it in the right direction. And she knew just how to do it.
51
Where was she?
Narius fidgeted, smoothing the front of his formal uniform. Dressing for the state dinner was easy for him. The king was expected to wear military regalia and a simple crown. He understood a queen had many difficult choices in regards to her outfit and makeup and entire appearance, but all of that should have been arranged far in advance. So why was Everys so late? The dinner was supposed to start!
He glanced at the ornate doors to the palace’s main ballroom. On the other side were the guests: ethnarchs, nobility, politicians, business leaders, people from all over the Dynasty’s holdings. And they were waiting. Yes, Narius and Everys could make them wait. According to family legends, his great-great-great-grandfather had once made his guests wait for two whole weeks before making his grand entrance. But that wasn’t a tradition Narius wished to revive. So what was taking her so long?
Footsteps clattered behind him and Narius turned. A flock of serving girls rushed forward, clearing a way for... Everys? Narius froze, surprised at what he saw. Everys’s dark hair had been swept up into an elaborate hairstyle, studded with small gems. Her makeup accentuated her features, making her look like she belonged in a masterpiece.
But what was she wearing? Such a plain and oddly shaped dress! The skirt swept the floor, but the off-white material hung in odd clumps, with silver strips woven into the fabric from her hips to the bottom edge. The top was a little bit better but was also shot through with the silver strips. Were those wires? He had seen some bold designs out of Erecone, but he had never seen anything quite like this. Was she trying to play an elaborate prank?
Then he looked up and saw her nervous smile. No, this wasn’t a prank.
“You look very...” She swallowed hard. “Very handsome, Narius.”
His mouth went dry, heat flashing through his body. He mouthed several possible responses, but his mind just couldn’t get past the dress. Paine was going to have a conniption!
Then Challix scurried up next to Everys, an impish smile on her face. And Narius paused, because as far as he could remember, he had never seen Challix smile, and definitely not with such a mischievous glint in her eyes. No, wait, he had. After the riots, when she had reported on the positive bump in poll numbers. Did that mean she knew what Everys was doing? And she actually approved?
“I do have a favor to ask you,” Everys said. “Can you go through the doors first?”
He frowned. It was a violation of protocol, but Challix’s smile broadened, so he found himself nodding. “As you wish, my queen.”
Everys blushed, then turned away from him.
Narius straightened, took a deep breath, and strode forward. As he did, the stewards on either side of the doors pushed them open, their timing perfect so they swung open in perfect sync. As Narius strode through the door, the high steward announced his name and full title. That took several minutes, as there were a number of traditional honorifics that had to be included.
As the steward explained that Narius was the “Heir of the Shattered Spear, Subduer of the Proud” and so on, Narius looked over the gathered guests. He could easily read the usual fault lines between guests. There, in one back corner, the nobility who sequestered themselves from their lessers. There, the cadre from the Hall who had been chosen to attend. He spotted six or seven ethnarchs and their coteries. Clarinda Gaines and a number of her fellow businesspeople formed another knot near the food and drink. Why was Clarinda smiling so broadly, so expectantly? Was she on the hunt again?
Eventually, the steward made it through Narius’s titles and started on Everys’s. Hers wouldn’t take nearly as long, so Narius forced a thin smile and continued to face the guests.
“Queen Everys, Embodiment of the Water Bear—” The steward’s voice cut off suddenly with an audible gasp.
Narius frowned as a ripple of surprise flashed through the assembled guests. The murmured conversations stopped, and all eyes were on Narius. No, not on him. On something behind him.
He turned and his breath caught.
Everys had stepped through the door, but her entire appearance had changed. Instead of wearing the misshapen dress from just a few moments earlier, she wore woven light, which flowed like water to the floor. But as she stepped forward, the radiance faded. Instead, it was replaced by... Was that a desert? Now it appeared as if she wore sand dunes underneath a crystal blue sky. No, not just any desert, Narius realized, but those were images of the Plissk Sanctuary Oasis. As soon as he realized what the image was, though, Everys’s dress shimmered, and the sands were replaced by a mountain vista. The Ixactl Highlands! Another shimmer, and Everys wore the cityscape of Bastion itself.
Narius gaped as she glided forward, stretching out her hand to him. She wasn’t the embodiment of the Water Bearer. She had transcended the Water Bearer, a divine figure in her own right, her face radiant, her eyes alight with silent laughter. A wave of pins and needles washed over him, chased by a delicious shudder as she slipped her hand in the crook of his elbow and squeezed. A haze fell on his mind, but thankfully, his body knew what to do. He lurched forward, and the two of them descended the stairs. Every fourth step, Everys’s dress displayed a different vista: the coasts of Maotoa, the ruins of Elregan, even Tall Reach’s shade. The announcer recovered and continued the litany of Everys’s titles, but Narius knew that no one was paying attention.
They reached the bottom of the stairs. Everys released him and took a step forward, dipping into a formal curtsy for the guests.
“My friends, thank you for joining us.” If she was nervous, her voice didn’t betray it. “May we celebrate the foundation we have built for the Dynasty, one of peace, stability, and mutual cooperation. I believe I speak on behalf of my husband when I invite you to enjoy yourselves as we celebrate a new day dawning for all of our people.”
The smattering of applause shook Narius out of his reverie. He joined in, then realized he wasn’t supposed to. Blunted sword, what was wrong with him?
Everys leaned in closer and whispered, “I need some food. I haven’t had anything to eat all day!”
And with that, she headed toward a table laden with food. She didn’t make it far, because guests swarmed in to speak with her or to simply stand in her presence. He took a long, stuttering breath. Focus, Narius. He couldn’t lose himself now. The dinner was a celebration, yes, but there was plenty of work to be done. Ethnarchs to mollify. Alliances to strengthen and build.
But every step Everys took away from him opened a wider gulf inside him, one that made his mind itch.
52
The dress had gotten the reaction she'd hoped for. If only the smudging thing wasn’t so inkstained heavy!
It was her fault. The modified display panels were bad enough, but it turned out the battery packs needed to power them tripled the weight. And her secret additions made the rig even heavier. Just walking from her quarters to the ballroom had almost been too much, but the reaction more than made up for the inevitable sore back and chafed shoulders. The look on the guests’ faces were reward enough, but the way Gaines’s face had lit up when she saw Everys was even better.
And then there had been the expression on Narius’s face...
Everys shook her head to dislodge the thought. Focus. Stay focused. She had to finish making the rounds through the ballroom before Trule and the other girls met her for the change. As much as she would have liked to wear her creation for the rest of the night, she knew she couldn’t. Not only was it too heavy, but the panels could only display a limited number of vistas and the batteries would run out of power. It had been good for shock-and-awe, but not a sustained campaign. By her estimation, she had another fifteen minutes, maybe twenty, before she’d need to change, and she had covered—a quick look around the room confirmed it—three quarters of the guests. She’d have to pick up the pace.
“My queen, you look radiant!” Clarinda stepped into her path.
Everys suppressed a wince. She had to be polite. After all, if Clarinda hadn’t been willing to donate the prototype displays, her dress would have never come together. Granted, Everys had promised to credit TelleGlin in the press, but it would be rude to ignore her unless—
Her gaze caught on a dignitary she hadn’t been able to speak to yet, Ethnarch Rockflow of the Ixactl Highlands. Everys swallowed a groan. Given how upset Redtale had been, she had planned on spending some time talking to the ethnarch while she was wearing this dress. Maybe the ethnarch didn’t share Redtale’s opinion, but at least she could take a few steps in smoothing things over.
But no, it wouldn’t be polite to ignore Clarinda. She fixed a smile on her face and said, “It’s all because of your technology.”
Clarinda laughed. “Be sure to tell the press, won’t you? And maybe a few more words about how TelleGlin will help shape the Dynasty’s future? Or is that too much to hope for?”
Everys managed to keep her face stoic, even though she wanted to scream at Clarinda to stay quiet. The last time she heard, the launch of the first Falling Sword prototype was at least two years away. But if the wrong noble or ethnarch overheard Clarinda’s idle comments, the entire plan could be in jeopardy. But if she called attention to that, Clarinda might speak louder.
Change the subject, maybe? “Tell me, have you ever had the chance to take a stroll through the royal gardens?”
Clarinda’s smile broadened. “I can’t say that I have, but to be perfectly frank, you’re not the royal I hoped would take me on such a walk.”
Everys’s mouth popped open. Was she still upset about what happened so many months ago?
But then Gaines laughed and playfully swatted at Everys’s arm. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. Although I would like to set up a time to speak with you regarding some other new technologies we’re developing. I was thinking that maybe you could help us come up with a new and innovative way to showcase them. Sort of like what you did with this dress!”
Everys fought the urge to gape at her. What did she think she was, some sort of PR consultant?
Before she could respond, though, Narius stepped up next to her and placed a gentle hand on her arm. “I’m sorry to interrupt, ladies, but I’m afraid I need the queen to speak to someone with me.”
Clarinda nodded. “Of course, Your Strength. Blessed, we will be in touch.”
And how Everys looked forward to that! Once they were out of earshot from Clarinda, she whispered, “Who do you want me to talk to?”
“Just me.”
“What?”
“I’ve seen that sort of look before. The ‘someone rescue me’ look,” Narius said, “From what I understand, Mother and Father developed a series of signals to indicate if they needed rescuing. She would tug on her earlobe. He would smooth the tips of his mustache.”
“And that worked?”
Narius smiled. “Until Mother got caught at one of these events by a particularly boring Riokan diplomat. The press ran stories for weeks about how they were afraid she had somehow developed an ear infection given how much she tugged on it all night.”
Everys snorted, then quickly cast a look around the room. It was good that Narius had saved her from Clarinda, but that just meant that she could maybe go and speak to Ethnarch Rockflow before she changed out of the dress after all.
“Who are you looking for?” Narius asked.
She glanced at him. “Ethnarch Rockflow. I was hoping to speak with him, but—”
“—but you didn’t realize your husband spent the first twenty minutes with him.”
Her head snapped around, and she gaped at him. “You what?”
“So you don’t have to worry about talking to him.” Narius nodded toward the edge of the room. “Besides, the way Challix has been watching you suggests it’s almost time to change into another outfit, yes?”
She looked to where he was indicating. Sure enough, Challix hovered at the edge of the room, a pained look on her face. Why did she look so worried? By Everys’s reckoning, she still had plenty of time.
But better to err on the side of caution. The last thing she’d want is for the power to run out early. She could imagine the scandal if they saw what her dress really looked like once the displays powered down. Maybe she should make the change now.
Everys started to pull away from Narius, but just as she did, music floated through the air. Narius gently tugged on her arm.
“I know you need to change, but would you do me the honor of dancing with me first?”
Everys blinked at him. Dancing? Challix hadn’t said anything about that. She started to object, but then she looked into Narius’s eyes and her mind froze, even though it felt like fire cascaded through her body.
“Sure,” she said.
Narius smiled, and any worry of timing or changing or Challix slipped from her mind. Narius led her toward the center of the room and spun her gently, drawing her into a loose embrace. He positioned their hands: his left and her right on each other’s hips, his right and her left held low.
Worry crested inside Everys. “I’ve never danced this way before,” she whispered.
“Don’t worry, it’s pretty easy,” he said. “Just follow my lead.”
And then they were off, stepping and turning at the center of the room. For the first few moments, Everys was painfully aware of how all the guests were staring at them, but gradually, others joined them. With each new dancing couple, she felt more and more relaxed.
“Is this protocol? Dancing at a state dinner?” she asked.
“Not usually, but it felt right.” Narius chuckled, looking around the room as they spun. “I can honestly say that I’ve never seen such a relaxed state dinner before, especially with so many different factions here at once. Truly a miracle. One of your making.”
Everys blushed. If he only knew. “You’re giving me too much credit.”
Narius shook his head. “No, I’m sure of it. I’ve been to enough of these to know how they usually go. People stick to their friends and supporters, everything is very formal. Even if there is music, there’s never any dancing. Take a look around.”
Everys did so. Close to a dozen couples twirled around them. Those who weren’t dancing seemed relaxed as well. People were circulating and chatting amiably, laughing and joking. She spotted Masruq and Oluna chatting up the Plissk Ethnarch. Clarinda had moved on to a new victim, Duke Brencis, who was actually listening to what she had to say with a smile. The only exception was Vizier Paine, who stood in one corner and glowered at everyone else. Everys winced. She hadn’t had the chance to make it over to him yet, but she wasn’t even sure if he would tolerate her presence.
Narius chuckled, his voice silky. “That dress is quite amazing.”
Heat painted across her cheeks, and she wasn’t sure what he said. “I... What?”
“Your dress. Reminding us of the Dynasty’s beauty. We can get past the ugliness and just focus on the positive. Right? That was your intention.”
Everys winced. He was partially correct. That was why she had borrowed the displays, but that was mostly for show. More like a distraction to keep people from guessing what she was really doing. And it had worked, well enough that she even fooled Narius.
He swung her around, almost lifting her from her feet entirely. His smile was dazzling, an expression of joy.
And that was good, right? If he knew what she was really doing, he would be horrified. It was better for her to keep this secret from him along with all the others.
Except...
Except that was what the Dynasty had done with the archives. That was what they were doing with Falling Sword. The weight of all the secrets was too much. Just like the dress, which suddenly felt like it might drag her straight through the floor. She stumbled, almost tripping Narius as well.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
She nodded but pulled herself free. “I-I should probably change. This is...”
It was too much. Too heavy. The dress. The secrets. She had to be free of them. All of them. She could feel the secrets crawling through her mind, wanting to escape. But could she actually do it? Could she really break her promise, the one she had carried with her for so long? Could she really tell him?
She looked into his eyes, the confusion and curiosity warring in them. His golden eyes.
She could.
“Meet me in the gardens in fifteen minutes. Please.”
Before he could say anything else, she hurried toward one of the exits. Challix met her there to escort her into an antechamber where Trule and the other girls waited with her other outfit for the night. But as the door closed behind her, Everys turned and looked over her shoulder. Narius watched her, a concerned look on his face. But when their gazes met, his face melted into a smile. He nodded once, then turned toward the glass doors that would lead out to the gardens.
She let out a shuddering breath. She had to tell him. The truth. All of it. He deserved nothing less.
