Page 33 of The Threadbare Queen

“How can we? There are still servants working in the palace who were hired by the old queen, although we’ve gotten rid of most of them. Someone will talk.” Heival scowled as if those servants were in front of her right now.

“They need to be removed.”

“It’s too late.” Fervanti shook her head. “The guards called you when they found her missing, and some of the servants were in earshot. By now, they’d have gossiped to the others, and perhaps people beyond the palace walls.”

“Then we say we found her. She went out to the camp to see Deni and her friends, because she was missing Luc, and spent the night there.” Erdene didn’t think that was a bad story, actually.

Dak lifted a shoulder in agreement. “Even if they don’t believe it, as long as we stick to it, what can they say?”

“They can say she isn’t here. If she isn’t missing, why isn’t she back in her rooms?” Heival flicked her long braid behind her.

“But she will be back in her rooms.” Erdene crouched down, pulled a key from her pocket, and unlocked a drawer. The necklace she drew out had belonged to the man who’d tried twice to abduct Ava. Luc had killed him, and the necklace had become the property of the Rising Wave.

“What is that?” Dak sounded so suspicious, Erdene had the feeling he knew exactly what it was.

“It changes the appearance of the wearer. The Grimwaldian spy who was in our column, who tried to take Ava from the camp, and then from the palace, used it for himself, to hide in plain sight because Ava knew his face.”

“The one who got into the palace by making himself look like one of the guards?” Fervanti held out her hand for it, and Erdene gave it to her.

“How does it work?” Raun-Tu leaned closer to peer at it, then stepped back as Fervanti slid the necklace over her head.

“Who do I look like?” she asked.

“Yourself.” Erdene frowned. She didn’t know how it worked, but it couldn’t be that difficult. “Think about looking like someone else.”

Fervanti’s face wavered a little, and then Erdene found herself looking at a close approximation of herself. Only older and more tired looking than she really was.

There was a beat of silence. Dak coughed.

Erdene frowned.

“Try looking like Ava,” Heival said, and there was a slight wobble to her voice, suspiciously like suppressed laughter.

The false face wavered, collapsed back to look like Fervanti, and then shimmered into something that looked a bit like Ava, but not quite.

“She doesn’t look like that,” Dak said.

“She doesn’t have to look exactly like Ava, just more or less like her from a distance.” Erdene didn’t think anyone could pass off having a conversation as if they were Ava.

“Fervanti is too tall to be Ava, anyway. We’ll need to find someone who’s closer to her body shape.” Raun-Tu narrowed his eyes, as if mentally considering who amongst his soldiers might be suitable.

“The one who guards her rooms,” Erdene said. “She’s the right height, and a similar shape.” The guard Erdene had noticed a number of times was older than Ava, but that wouldn’t matter if they were using the necklace to change her features.

“Talika.” Dak nodded slowly. “She also already knows Ava is missing, so we wouldn’t have to bring in someone new to the secret.”

“Get her down here.” Erdene had the sense that they couldn’t afford any delay.

The Rising Wave had the advantage here. Two thousand battle-hardened soldiers surrounded the city and had access to it through the open gates, but she’d heard the rumors circulating about people going missing, and that she and some of her people were spell casters.

Someone was fomenting trouble, stirring the pot, and the disappearance of the queen would play right into their hands.

If things were not exactly running smoothly right now, at least there was no violence. Once the killing started, it was hard to go back.

People were unforgiving when standing over the bodies of their loved ones, no matter who had started the fight.

She needed to find who was undermining the Rising Wave with the people of Fernwell. And she needed to create the illusion that nothing was wrong in the palace.

A guard knocked at the door, and Raun-Tu opened it, took the scroll that was held out.

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