Page 61 of Rise of the Vicious Princess

The last thing they needed was a full-blown panic on their hands, though Charis remembered the ship owners who were arguing in the corner of the ballroom and felt sure word of the tragedy was already spreading.

Finally, when the queen had felt confident they could slip out without causing an uproar, she’d sent a page to discreetly round up the council members for an emergency meeting. Now the queen murmured instructions to the page who’d escorted the council to the war room and then closed the door firmly behind the boy’s back. Tal took up his position against the wall directly behind Charis, watching each council member with unwavering intensity.

“Be seated.” The queen moved to the map of the sea and its kingdoms that was tacked to a wall. There was a soft scuffle behind her, chairs scraping against the floor, silk rustling against wood, and then silence again.

Charis moved to the opposite wall, the better to have an unobstructed view of the entire map. Tal followed at her heels.

Arborlay was located at the southern tip of the kingdom. Calera’s sea border was a wavy line of jutting peninsulas and deep curves. There were a few sheltered coves, a handful of small harbors, but nothing of consequence after the capital’s port until she reached Ebbington, far to the north, just before the kingdom’s borders stopped at the edge of the large expanse of sea.

The other sea kingdoms were ranged across the map with small, neatly printed numbers below their names to indicate their longitude and latitude and their distance from Calera’s major port.

There was Morg, a good distance south of Calera with nothing between the two kingdoms but water. Nowhere to hide the ships that had helped Montevallo commit their latest atrocity. To the east, Solvang, Thallis, and Rullenvor were lined up like buttons on the back of a dress, their large borders so close to each other that it would take less than a week to sail from one to the other.

Beyond them, far to the north, lay Verace, with its swift channels connecting its string of islands, and then the kingdom of Embre, its inhospitable coastline and rocky outcroppings broken up by its two small ports. To the west of Rullenvor, the basilisk cave was marked in bold red. And just past Embre were the uninhabitable islands, treacherous coves, and deadly whirlpools that littered the northernmost part of the sea. Somewhere past that was the kingdom of Te’ash, but Charis couldn’t imagine the offer to help them was still on the table now that Calera’s trade relationship with Rullenvor had broken down.

Where was Montevallo hiding its ships? In the stretch of water between Calera and Solvang? And how had a kingdom that was completely landlocked managed to get both ships and sea access? Was Mother right about Montevallo using the road from Irridusk to Portsmith to access the small fishing harbor?

“Here are the facts,” the queen said. Her voice was calm, though fury sparked in her eyes. “A short while before sundown, just as the delegates’ ships were due to enter the harbor, they were attacked. Every ship from Solvang and Thallis went down. Rullenvor’s ships were far enough behind them to see the ships sink, but not close enough to see who attacked. When I received Rullenvor’s palloren with the news, I ordered nine of our naval ships to pursue the attackers and either capture or kill them. None of those ships has returned. I’ve sent for Admiral Peyton so we can discuss our next steps.”

“Did Rullenvor’s message say how many ships were in the attacker’s fleet?” Lady Ollen asked, her cheeks flushed, her tone sharp. “Because Montevallo can’t possibly have a full fleet of ships. They have no harbor, no port, and no way to build ships without water access.”

“You think one of our allies turned on us?” Lord Thorsby’s voice trembled, and he whipped his purple silk handkerchief out of his dress coat to dab his forehead.

“I think Montevallo doesn’t have ships, so that means we have to take a hard look at who does.” Lady Ollen stared at the map.

“No one else would have a reason to attack us,” Lord Everly said, his tone dismissive.

Lady Ollen glared at him. “Montevallo has jewel mines in several of their mountain ranges. They must be sitting on a pile of wealth, just waiting for the opportunity to open trade relations with another kingdom so they can spend it.”

“So you think King Alaric bribed another kingdom to turn against us?” Lady Channing asked, her voice as calm and measured as always. “It’s not a bad theory.”

“Perhaps Rullenvor attacked the other ships,” Charis said quietly. After all, it was Rullenvor who’d offered to make Calera a protectorate and take over the throne. This could be their way of applying pressure to make sure their offer was accepted. The queen hadn’t told the council about their meeting with the ambassador. She wanted to wait until Alaric replied to their offer of peace before broaching a topic that would surely cause distress and division.

Everyone in the room turned to look at Charis. She studied the map while her mind raced, sorting through the facts, forging connections, coming to conclusions.

“Rullenvor is one of our oldest allies,” Lord Everly said, spreading his hands wide as though inviting others to join his incredulity.

“An ally is only an enemy who believes your interests briefly align with theirs,” Charis said firmly. “If Montevallo offered them a wealth of jewels in exchange for cutting us off from trade or assistance, perhaps it was an offer they couldn’t refuse.” She met Mother’s gaze and saw that the queen had also realized the other reason Rullenvor could have been behind the attack. Especially if Te’ash had pressured them into gaining access to the jewels they wanted so badly.

“And what . . . they also managed to take down nine of our finest naval ships?” Lord Everly met her gaze. “Sinking so many ships would require battle frigates. Don’t you think the other kingdoms’ delegates would’ve found an escort of Rullenvorian battleships a bit suspicious?”

“Why would they?” The queen stared at the map, her finger tracing the path the ships would have taken to meet up together and travel south. “They’re all allies, and there’s been rumors of strange ships in the northern seas. If Rullenvor said they had information about risks from those ships or perhaps had heard a rumor that Montevallo had a few ships patrolling the waters near our shoreline, the others wouldn’t have protested the inclusion of battleships.”

“We’re taking Rullenvor’s word that the report they submitted was accurate.” Lady Whitecross tapped her short nails against the table in front of her. “And while their word has always been good, we’d be remiss not to look at the big picture. As Lady Ollen said”—she inclined her head toward the lady in question—“Montevallo has no way to build ships. No place to house them. While they are the most obvious threat in terms of motive, they don’t have the means.”

A knock sounded on the door. “Enter,” the queen called.

Admiral Peyton, her uniform as crisp as always, but her face drawn and careworn, stepped into the room, one hand firmly grasping the arm of a young man whose uniform looked bedraggled and damp, and whose wide eyes seemed to take up half of his face.

“Admiral, who is this?” the queen demanded, her gaze sweeping the scratches on the man’s dark cheeks, the drops of water still clinging to his black hair, and the way his fingers were clenched tightly around the outside seam of his uniform pants.

“Junior Officer Jeremiah Meadows.” Admiral Peyton shut the door behind them and pulled the man farther into the room. He looked once at the queen and then instantly dropped into a deep bow.

“That will do, Junior Officer Meadows,” the queen said curtly. “What is your report, Admiral?”

Admiral Peyton straightened her spine and spoke in a brusque, businesslike tone that failed to hide the horror she felt. “All nine ships are lost, Your Majesty. Junior Officer Meadows here was one of eleven sailors who managed to escape their ships before they went down and swim back into our harbor, where patrol boats picked them up. As he is the least injured in the group, I brought him along to answer your questions.”

Every eye in the room landed on Junior Officer Meadows. He swallowed hard, his gaze darting from person to person until he finally chose to stare beyond Lord Everly’s shoulder at a point on the far wall.

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