Gavin bent over to take off his shoes. His spine stood out from his skin. Cora looked away.
She heard his voice say, “You can still turn back. One of the guards will take you to your room.”
“Do I need to undress as well?” She was wearing her rough-spun shift and trousers. They had offered her nicer clothes. Cora felt most like herself in what she last wore with her mother.
A chorus of voices rose around her from the guards. “All face the Dragon in truth.” The sound was tremendous and strange.
Cora looked around her and smiled. There were a dozen or more people in this place. She took off her shift and they all looked away. She asked Gavin, “The guards are all wearing armor?”
Gavin sighed. “They never leave this room. Thus they remain true.”
None of them would meet her eye. She stripped off her remaining clothes and stepped out of her shoes.
Gavin folded his and laid them on the chair. He still carried the baton.
Does he want me to turn back so he doesn’t have to see me?
Cora stood with her hands at her sides. Gavin addressed one of the guards. “We will be seen now.”
The guard moved toward the wall and fiddled with something. A horrible grinding noise sounded from the wall.
Do they not have grease? Those poor gears.
The wall slid to the right in slow procession. Cora shivered but did not hug her arms around herself.
Gavin stepped through into a dark room, another wall blocked his path. Cora followed.
The wall behind them closed, returning as slow as it had left. Then the next proceeded to unveil an iron grate. Behind the grate hung a white curtain. A hint of light shone through from the room beyond and it cast a dim illumination. In the comparative gloom, a horizontal crack shone brilliantly through the silk.
Cora walked toward it to look inside, but Gavin grabbed her shoulder.
“Is that you, Sovereign? Are you still unblemished?” The voice that spoke was high, nasal and frightened. The stench of urine emanated from behind the curtain.
Gavin took a step forward. “Yes, my liege.”
The voice hissed, “How do I know that? What’s the day’s password?”
“Seven. Nine. Circle. Swan. Three, four, two.” Gavin did not stumble over the string of words.
There was a rustle of movement from beyond the curtain. A silhouette of cast shadow on silk outlined a rotund male figure. Cora heard a loud clink and a bright light blinded her. She turned her eyes away, but it came from every direction above. She closed her eyes and stood tall.
“Stay where you are and be inspected, Sovereign.” The voice was closer, and Cora peeked past the glare and saw opera glasses peering through the slit in the curtain.
Gavin held his arms out to his sides.
The king asked, “Who is this? Who have you brought? Is this an assassin?” The opera glasses fixed on Cora.
“This is Coretta Hart, as promised. The duchess?”
“You say it’s Coretta Hart, but how can I know?” There was a tremor in the silk and she saw the outline of a hand pressed against it. It grabbed the bar through the cloth.
How do I know what this man knows of me?
“When we last met, you had in your possession a silver statuette of a Nomad soldier.” Cora thought back, grateful for the memory. “Its sword did not look like the ones I have seen.”
“I still have it!” His voice changed tone sharply. “It’s in my other room, though. I can’t show it to you. I could send for it!”
“My liege,” Gavin interrupted. “Today’s briefing?”
“Yes, yes, of course.” The king sounded deflated. “Let me inspect you first.”
Gavin raised his arms again. The opera glasses moved up and down.
“And turn.”
Gavin turned to face the opposite wall.
“And bend.”
Gavin bent to touch his toes.
“And the bottoms of your feet.”
He turned back around and raised one foot at a time.
“You seem clean.”
The lenses pointed at Cora. She stood, eyes closed, chin up. Cora knew how she looked, after such long captivity.
The inspections in Terndowns were in private, and with a nurse.
She went through the procedure, expecting to be finished after she showed her feet. The king said, “Lift up your necklace. Hiding poison underneath it?”
Cora worked to keep from making an expression, and lifted her mother’s necklace. The blue was striking in the bright light.
“You both seem clean.” The opera glasses and the silhouette moved away from the curtain. She heard the sharp click again and the lights went out. A desk drawer opened and a shuffle of papers came from the depths and Cora stood.
The king’s voice called out, nasal and high. “How many were exterminated today?”
“Seven, my liege.”
“It was twelve yesterday, that seems low.” The sound of a scribble.
“How many homes were cleansed?”
“Two homes burned today.”
“Any progress on the river problem?”
“The Plaund is still polluted. We have teams working to extract the corpses.”
“The deserters? Have the heads been put on display?”
“On pikes, as you requested, are on prominent display at both gates.”
“Have we news from the excursion to the Foothills?”
Gavin paused. “No runners have returned.”
A pregnant stillness filled the air. The king broke it, asking, “How much of Switforst has been burned?”
Gavin shifted his feet. He moved the baton to the other hand. Cora saw him open and shut his mouth a few times. He said, “The soldiers feel uncomfortable… That is to say…”
The king snapped, “That is to say what, Sovereign?”
“Many of the soldiers have family in Switforst.”
The king erupted from the other side of the grate, screaming. “There is no life in the infected duchies!” His silhouette raced towards the sheet. “You are the one that told me fire would cleanse this land of the plague!”
“Yes, my liege, it is difficult for the men to burn the entire forest.”
Cora heard the king panting. The silhouette paced back and forth. His words came abrupt. “Burn any soldier that refuses. Alive.”
“Yes, my liege.”
“The garrison in Terndowns. Are there still attacks?”
“It is hard to say if they are attacks or further traps laid.” Gavin’s jaw was clenching, and a piece of mint leaf stuck to his lip.
“Onto new business,” the king continued, “Conspirators abound in the city.”
“My liege?”
“In the noble houses. In the Guild halls. I have devised a solution. As there is no way to know who is conspiring against me, we will select a random member of each house and guild daily for questioning.”
“Yes, my liege.”
“That brings us to you.”
She couldn’t see his face, but she could feel his eyes on her through the sheet. “The Sovereign tells me of incredible weapons deployed against our forces in the siege of Terndowns.” He tapped his fingers against the cloth, throwing nervous shadows of his ticking fingers. “I believed this to be a lie at first, but the generals confirmed it. Unless they all conspire against me, and their casualties are in fact due to their incompetence.”
“What good is my support of their existence to you? Have you not had one shipped to Kalden?” Cora’s voice was soft.
“The pieces we recovered from the shattered towers were but hollowed husks of iron.” His tone shifted to that of an excited boy. “Of course I had them added to my collection. I collect armaments, swords mostly.”
“I could make you a working one the size of the model Nomad.” Cora put her hands together, a little over a hand’s width apart. She mimed a projectile. “It would contain a pinch of the powder we use to launch the assault. One sixteenth scale is standard?”
The king’s tone grew icy. “Sovereign, you told me she was a duchess. You told me you were raised with her.”
“Yes, my liege, this is Lady Maribelle’s daughter.” Gavin swallowed.
The voice grew colder. “Is she as clever as she claims?”
“It would be dangerous…” Gavin started, and trailed off.
“Sovereign, you know I’m never scared.” The man’s voice raised from a whine to a demand. “How long have you had her in captivity?”
“I became aware of her presence two weeks ago.” Gavin was squeezing the baton with both hands horizontally in front of his hips.
The silhouette turned. “Coretta Hart, have you offered to make me this gift before?”
“I would speak with no one but you,” She bowed her head. “About anything as important and dangerous as this weaponry.”
“Gavin. I have asked you to retrieve me one thing from the Foothills, from the Plains. What have I asked you for, Gavin?”
Gavin’s words came out in a tremor. “We have tried to retrieve an intact blade. We only breached Terndowns a month ago.” His voice rose. “Half of the forces are on the Plains now, while the city falls apart around us!”
The silhouette moved away from the sheet. “Coretta. Do you have experience leading?”
“My mother was the industrial intelligence behind Terndowns. She raised me to follow her in every regard.”
“Yes, and she resisted us at every step. How do I know I can trust you?”
Cora heard the sound of the wall behind her opening. “I stand in truth and I speak in truth.” She gestured to her body. “I cannot do any more than that.” Heavy boots echoed behind her words.
A guard behind her asked why the panic bell had been rung.
The king said, “I am uncertain if our Sovereign is such. Take him to his mentor. It will give him some time to consider why he has failed me.”
The armored man grabbed Gavin by the shoulders. Gavin did not resist.
He does not even argue for himself.
“Wait!” The king called out. “Take the scepter, Coretta.”
Cora pressed her lips together and took the scepter out of Gavin’s trembling hands.
Mother, help me. Wherever you are.