96 Calay Castle

Buried in grief, anger, and regret, Anjine stopped noticing the sun in the sky, the changing weather, or the dark clouds of a large storm approaching from the Oceansea. By now, she was sure the horrific deed must be done—she could count on Mateo. She couldn't change her mind, couldn't call him back… didn't want to.

He had tried to talk her out of it—begged her, in fact, to reconsider—but she had refused. It might not have been the right decision, but it was the only decision she would consider.

Anjine had not held court for nearly two weeks, preferring to remain in her private chambers. She didn't want to face any unwanted but well-meaning visitors. She could not bear their sympathy or grief, their growls of outrage, or their vows of vengeance upon the enemy. She was the queen. She wore the crown. She had made her decision.

Anjine climbed the dusty stone stairs to the tower room where King Korastine had kept Aiden's Compass for so many years. Without the Compass, the room was just a dusty chamber with narrow windows that overlooked the harbor. Her cat followed her, wanting attention but also showing her a kind of love that none of her other subjects did. It was what she needed. She scratched Tycho's ears absently, and he lifted his head to accept the affection.

In the upper room, she stood at the segmented panes of glass, surprised by a sky knotted with black clouds. Safe and sheltered in the castle, Anjine had been unaware of the worsening weather. But she saw that down at the bustling harbor, ships were already lashed tightly to the docks, their sails tied up securely. As she noted the activity, she wondered how long the storm had been brewing.

Sen Leo na-Hadra knew exactly where to find her.

The Saedran scholar had been a close friend to her father and tried to continue in that role with the queen. Anjine appreciated the old man's advice, though she had not been in the mood for company, conversation, or counsel since the Uraban emissary had delivered his answer onto the floor of the throne room.

She hadn't been in the mood for much of anything at all.

Sen Leo cleared his throat at the doorway to the tower room. “Majesty, I must speak with you. I sympathize with your grief and anger, just as I shared Korastine's pain after the death of Ilrida. I understand how difficult this is, but the people have not seen you for days. As queen, you don't have the luxury of uninterrupted grief, as a normal person does. As your heart goes, so goes the entire kingdom—and Tierra cannot afford empty despair. Not now.”

Anjine's eyes were burning and puffy, yet she couldn't remember the last time she had actually cried. No matter which direction she looked, she was confronted by memories of Tomas. How she wished Mateo could be here with her. But she had sent him away….

Her expression hardened. “So you think I ask my subjects to indulge me too much?”

Sen Leo scratched his gray beard. “No, my Queen, but I do think you need to open your eyes and heed what is occurring around you. I care about you. You have lost your father to illness, your brother to unspeakable crime, but you still have your people. They need you to be strong, to care for them, to be a true leader. Tierra is beset by threats other than the Urecari.”

She stiffened coldly at that. “What threats?”

“Majesty! Have you not looked outside? The hurricane has been approaching for days. Ships raced in from the Oceansea seeking the protection of Calay harbor. Fishermen report horrific winds and waves far out at sea, worse than anything they've seen in generations. And the storm is coming here. My Queen, Calay has to prepare, or we'll all be washed away. You must call out the city guard, issue instructions, have your city hunker down, so that it can survive the whirlwind that is to come.”

Tycho strolled up to the Saedran scholar, but the old man gracefully dodged him. Anjine picked up the cat, held him close, and he melted into her arms, where he belonged. “If Ondun is lashing out at us with a storm, how can I stand against His will?”

“Ondun would be happy for us to prepare and take care of ourselves. Here is what Guard-Marshall Vorannen can order.” The scholar ticked off items on his fingers. “First, we should reinforce the dockside buildings and warehouses, batten everything down, shutter the windows. All the ships in port must prepare for the gale. Vorannen should send the entire city guard out to assist the people. And you must give them strength and encouragement, too. Dark days are ahead of us.”

His words were just noises, and she could not grasp the relevance. “Dark days are already here.” Keeping her back to him, Anjine stared out at the dark clouds, trying to imagine the howling gales and turbulent waters that were churning the depths of the Oceansea. “The storm only mirrors what I feel in my heart. Maybe I even summoned it myself.”

“I don't believe that, my Queen—and neither do you. The people grieve with you for the loss of Prince Tomas, but please don't let them lose everything else. Summon the resources of the city!”

She thought of sailing away herself, as her father had always longed to do, aboard a large, beautiful vessel that simply charted a course to the edge of the world—perhaps going beyond the boundaries of all maps and looking for Terravitae… as the Dyscovera had done. Thinking of the ship, she felt a new fear. “How far might this storm reach? What about Captain Vora and the Dyscovera?”

Sen Leo gave her a reassuring nod. “For now the ship is safe. I checked the model in its warehouse building, and there's not a splinter or thread out of place. After months of sailing, the Dyscovera should be far beyond the reach of this storm. But we do need to protect the model from any damage the storm could cause. I added reinforcements to the walls, doors, and shutters, and the building is as strong as we can make it.”

“Then how far will this storm reach?”

“All of our signs and weather instruments show it could be the worst storm in generations. It will affect the entire Tierran coastline.”

A chill ran down Anjine's back as she pictured Mateo having to struggle through the gale to come home to her. But he wouldn't let a mere storm stop him… even after what she had asked him to do.

Shifting Tycho in her arms, she turned to the Saedran scholar. “Very well, Sen Leo. Your wisdom is clear, as always. Call Marshall Vorannen and tell him, on my authority, to dispatch all of the city guard to assist in making necessary preparations. And before the worst weather hits I will walk through the city and address the people, encourage them, strengthen their resolve. It's time they see they have a queen again.”