Page 30 of The King is Dead
That was partly why I’d been so unsettled by his agitation since we’d returned. I knew it was born of personal emotionrather than the pressures of the job.
The man was a rock. He had beenmyrock as well as the nation’s, though most of the people hadn’t known that until my highly anticipated bond-vow was announced.
Seeing him now, eyes shadowed by circles so dark they looked like bruises, lines in his face growing deeper, aging him, though he was barely older than Melek, and that tension in his shoulders…
I hadn’t seen that until the night we farewelled. I had left him here, leading the Advisors Council so they could all manage decisions and the security of our land in my absence.
He’d broken that order to come for me himself when I was weeks past my return, even though the messengers continued to insist that I was instructing them not to remove me. He hadn’t believed I would make that decision myself. Convinced that I’d been cornered, he’d come to save me from soldiers and shadow walkers who, he believed, lacked the confidence to assert themselves on a Queen whomusthave been coerced by their enemy.
Finding me not only alive, but in my right mind had been disturbing for him.
And now this…
“The Council is gathered, Your Majesty,” he said quietly, eyeing me from the path a few feet from where we stood.
“Thank you, Turo,” I said quietly, praying he heard the depth of my gratitude. Because it was real—and not just because he’d saved me from yet another round of debate on the number and location of warming-fires we would need in the autumn night.
I apologized for needing to leave, assuring the servants I’d be available later.
“Of course, Ma’am.”
I turned and started toward the path back to the Palace. When Turo offered me his arm, I hesitated before taking it as I would any other appropriately ranked gentleman or soldier who offered to steady me on the uneven paths.
Neither of us spoke until he’d walked me well out of earshot of the others.
“Are you well?” he asked quietly, his eyes remaining on the Palace ahead and the doorway we were aiming for on its eastern face.
“I am… unsettled,” I said honestly. “I need to get my head in the game. Four hours of flowers, lanterns, menus, and Jubilee games have addled my brains. I need to focus. These meetings are more important.”
For the foreseeable future, I would meet with the Council every day. They would fill me in on any new intelligence or advancement of troops until we learned that the Nephilim had breached the Shadows of Shade and we were marching to war, or that by God’s grace, they had turned back.
Of course, my deepest hope was that, somehow, Melek would be at the center of finding peace in this. But I wasn’t going to hold my breath.
But focusing my mind on strategy for war and death after planning the frivolities of the Jubilee was… jarring.
“Ah, the pendulum swing of royal life,” Turo said, patting my hand on his arm. “Your mother spoke of it often.”
“Usually through gritted teeth,” I chuckled.
“No!” Turo said, making his eyes comically wide. “Her Majesty wasnevera grumbler.”
“No, just very good at fake smiles. Much better than me.”
“I find I appreciate your transparency… at least, I used to,” Turo said quietly.
My small bubble of easy comfort popped. “Turo, I know this is difficult—”
“You don’t have to explain,” he said. “I had a good, long look in the mirror this morning after my… tense words. And I came to the conclusion that I have been adding to your stress rather than alleviating it.” He turned to look at me then, his dark eyes sad. “That was never my intention, Yilan.” He tucked his elbow tighter against his side, pinning my hand there.
“I know,” I sighed.
We reached the palace wall, and the guards stepped back as Turo opened the door to usher me inside. Within minutes we were in the Council Chambers, a long, narrow room with a massive rectangular stone table at one end that was long enough to seat twelve. A wall of maps, and shelves holding history books, spellbooks, and other resources loomed at the other.
It was the one room that I always associated with my father, and the one place that still made me feel small. I rarely entered this chamber and felt like a Queen. Usually I became a flustered little girl, surrounded by her father’s friends. A young princess being indulged by those loyal to their King.
Today was no different, but there was no time to indulge in angst. There was a war on our doorstep, a Nephilim in my tower, and a Kingdom without a King.
Holy shit.
