Page 105 of Requiem of Silence

Jasminda wanted to laugh.Under control?How could that remotely be possible? But no one wanted to hear her frustration, exhaustion, or grief—they didn’t want the truth, they wanted reassurance that the queen could do the impossible and keep them safe.

She cleared her throat. “I have put together an advisory counciland we are doing everything possible to safeguard our citizens and our land from the violence we expect. We have never faced quite such a situation before. We will need the assistance of the people. All of the people, staying alert and helping one another. We’re all facing this threat together.”

Others shouted for her attention, but Hazelle Harimel wasn’t done. “Isn’t it true that the Goddess Awoken installed you as queen, abdicating Her throne to you, independently of your marriage to King Jaqros?”

Jasminda narrowed her eyes. “Yes, that is not new information.”

“Why was that, Your Majesty?” The woman tilted her head to the side.

“I fail to see why that is relevant.”

From the corner of her eye, Jasminda saw Camm step forward. Below the podium, out of sight of the crowd, she raised a hand to halt him.

“It’s relevant,” Harimel said, smiling cruelly, “because with this revelation that the Goddess knew about the True Father’s escape and kept it from us, many will question Her loyalty and legitimacy. And if you rule only by Her word, then your legitimacy would logically come into question as well.”

A blanket of silence fell across the room. Jasminda could barely hear her own breaths, though her heart drummed ferociously in her chest. She’d practiced answering hostile questions that morning with her assistants and thought she was at least partially prepared. But this avenue of logic took her quite by surprise.

She cursed her lack of imagination.

The silence dragged on as she could not come up with a single thing to say. Perhaps she should have taken the out that Camm had offered, and now she was stuck.

A low thumping began, vibrating the floor. The doors flew open and half a dozen Royal Guardsmen marched in. Every pair of eyes—except those of Hazelle Harimel’s—moved to the doorway. The canny reporter held Jasminda’s gaze for a long moment before looking away.

For her part, Jasminda turned slowly, feeling as if she were almost not in control of her own body. And then, the tension broke.

“King Jaqros!” The murmur went up and was repeated by a dozen mouths. He stood there, amidst the Guardsmen, looking weary and beautiful. Heavy circles ringed his eyes and while the military uniform he wore was sharp, his hair was a fright. It was as if he’d spent his entire trip running his hands through it.

Jasminda raced off the stage and ran to him, throwing herself into his arms, heedless of the others watching. His embrace was tight and she sank into it for long moments. His coat and skin still bore the chill of the early winter day, but she barely felt it.

He pulled back and looked into her eyes, regret and grief pouring from him. She squeezed his hand and wordlessly they turned to walk back to the podium, to face the microphones and the salivating pack together.

“Good morning everyone,” he said, dredging up a remarkably sincere smile from somewhere. “I’m very sorry to interrupt, but I couldn’t stomach not seeing my wife the instant I returned from abroad.”

Several female reporters beamed, and Jasminda’s own heart melted a bit.

“King Jaqros, has the Prime Minister of Fremia promised aid?” someone shouted.

“Are they responsible for this latest attack?”

“Do you think that the monarch of Raun should have such steady access to the palace?”

Jack held up his hands, chuckling. “My trip was lovely, thank you for asking.” He gripped Jasminda’s shaking hand again and sobered. “I did not come to steal my wife’s thunder, I know she has things well in hand. I was briefed on the attack on my journey home and came merely to lend my support to her actions and decisions. Hard days are ahead for Elsira, but we will band together to rise above it as we always have.”

Though Jasminda stared at Jack, in her periphery she saw Hazelle Harimel fight her way back to the front of the group. “You supportallof your wife’s decisions, Your Majesty?”

Jack stiffened and nodded. “As I said.”

“What about the continued incarceration of Zann Biddel on trumped-up charges? Inquiries into his case keep getting handed off with some nonsense about paperwork.”

Dread filled Jasminda’s belly. She squeezed Jack’s hand, hard, as beside her he slowly turned to stone. She had intended to tell him about Biddel, it’s just that communication had been infrequent between them the past few days, what with King Pia’s arrival and the whims of the Fremian leader.

But in truth she hadn’t wanted Jack to know. Hadn’t even had time to consider what to tell him when he returned, busy as she was handling one crisis after the next. To his credit, his outward appearance didn’t change.

“I will repeat it once more in case anyone did not hear me clearly. I support the queen’s decisions.” He took a step away from the microphone, releasing her hand.

Jasminda nodded to Camm, who rushed to the front of the stage. “The king and queen have much to discuss. Thank you all for attending, please direct any further questions to the press office.”

Reporters grumbled and complained, but all the noise was just the roar of the ocean in her ears as the Royal Guardsmen hustled her and Jack out of the ballroom and down the wide palace hallways.

---