Page 83 of Golden Queen
"Burned it?" I asked, my voice a near whisper. Caraduin was an island nation that produced a huge portion of the world's grain. It was second only to Windemere in terms of food production.
He nodded, sorrowfully. "They burned it all," he confirmed.
"Why?" I asked, struggling to understand why an invading army would burn so much wheat when their own men would need to be fed just as surely as any other army would.
"Perhaps to strike terror in the hearts of the world? To create a stranglehold on the food supply? Who can say why evil people do evil things?"
I stared at the wall, my eyes glued to the pattern of swirls. The image of the godsgrass burning across the kingdom, from the Sorn to the Thyella, seemed momentarily superimposed on the cheerful yellow wallpaper.
He continued, "I need to get word to my brother. Windemere needs the armies of Nightfall."
I shot my gaze to his. "Will he help us?" I asked, hardly daring to hope.
His jaw was a tense, hard line as he considered. "I can't say. My brother was once very reliable, but since he took the throne, the weight of duty has changed him, as duty so often does. But even if he is inclined to offer aid, he will have to answer to the lords of Nightfall."
My face must have registered some of the fear that was slowly building inside me, because he grasped my chin in his hand and tipped my face up.
"Whatever my brother decides, Aelia of Windemere, you will not stand alone. Darkwatch will be with you."
I was shocked. I was considering how I might use what had developed between us to my advantage—considering how I might manipulate him into helping my people—and here he was offering his dragon riders for my defense.
Even in my ignorance, I knew Darkwatch didn't have enough soldiers to take on an army of that size—one that might number in the millions. Yet, he was pledging his riders to my cause.
I looked down at my hands as shame and terror mixed with the honor of his words.
"Come," he said, taking my hand and pulling me up from the bed. He put a hand to my back to steady me as my wobbly legs found their strength. "If you're up to it, I would like to introduce you to someone."
Mistress Cazmiri Duraehr brought me clothes and banished Io from the room as she fussed over me, helping me put myself back in order. I realized her voice was one I'd heard while I was still half unconscious.
"Are you certain you feel well enough to go out?" she asked in her deep, velvet voice. She had only a hint of a northern accent. "Men can be terribly thoughtless when it comes to our comfort. You should see the boat Juriae had planned to bring me here on. Little more than a longship! I had to put my foot down."
I smiled at her reassuringly. "Thank you, Mistress. I feel fine, and Io is nothing if not thoughtful."
She narrowed her eyes slightly, and I wondered if perhaps I’d made a mistake by being too informal and calling him Io. Or whether the idea of him being thoughtful was what she reacted to.
She made no remark either way as she handed me a stack of clothing.
Cazmiri and I were of a similar size and shape, and by the time I was dressed, I was amazed at what I saw in the mirror.
She had deftly braided my hair back and pulled out little curls to artfully frame my face. I wore a lovely blouse with flowing sleeves gathered at the wrists, cut to a feminine shape so that the buttons lay perfectly down the front in a neat row without hanging limply off my chest as my men's shirts always did.
The trousers were cut similarly, high waisted and made for a woman’s body in the way they covered my hips and encased my long legs. "I've never even seen pants made for a woman before," I told her, smiling at her face in the mirror behind me.
"That is hard to believe," she said, holding out a soft, dark-green hooded coat so that I could slide my arms inside. "Do they really expect you to wear gowns for everything, even riding and hunting?"
I laughed as I pulled the lapels of the jacket around me. "We delicate females are not permitted to go hunting," I told her.
"You will like it in Nightfall, I believe," she said, giving me a sly grin.
At my quizzical look, she added, "If you ever come to visit us there, I mean. We appreciate the strengths of women as much as the more brutal strengths of men."
"I hope that my reign will see Windemere learning to do the same," I told her, feeling a knot of unexpected emotion form in my throat.
She led me from the room, but just before we passed through the door, she reached out to take my hand. She studied the gold plated mellitrium cuff at my wrist.
"Why do you wear this—" she wrinkled her nose as though just speaking of it was offensive. "—this metal?" she finished.
I laughed uncomfortably, having once again forgotten the ever-present cuffs that had been on my wrists for as long as I could remember. "It's intended to be protective, though I don't know whether it really does anything at all."
