Page 52 of Echoes of the Raven
“Perhaps she hasn’t,” Nana says hopefully. “Perhaps all she needs is a reminder. Have you tried talking to her in private?”
“I have. More than once.”
“I guessed that much.” She shakes her head.
“She refuses to listen, Nana. She’s hurting so much, and she keeps pushing me away. I don’t want to oppose her in front of everyone, but I don’t know what else to do.”
“It seems to me you’re at a difficult crossroads, mi niña. All I can advise you to do is to follow your heart.”
Does listening to my heart mean the same as listening to my gut?I wonder as I make my way to the council meeting. If it does, that means that Father’s advice would be the same as Nana’s, and I should completely ignore the nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach.
When I get to the double doors leading to the meeting, I stop and take a deep breath.
Gods, help me!
I push the door open and walk in. Several faces turn in my direction, each one expressing surprise. Inclining my head in greeting, I move further into the room. Amira isn’t here yet, but I find my way to the head of the table, where a chair larger and more elaborate than the rest presides.
When Amira and I attended with Father, she sat to his right and I to his left. There aren’t any additional chairs next to the leading seat anymore, but an attendant standing in the back of the room quickly finds one and sets it to the right of my sister’s, sparing me the embarrassment of appearing clueless and out of place.
Sara shoots me a glower from across the table. She’s not the only one. Ministro Flores and Ministro Covarrubias do too. The rest seem indifferent, and only Ministra Eva Aquina, the minister of war, offers me a welcoming smile. She was one of Mother’s few friends. We used to see her often when we were little, but not so much after Mother’s death. The Ministra and Father never seemed to see eye to eye on most important policies.
I don’t take a seat. Instead, I stand next to my chair and wait for Amira to arrive. When she does, it doesn’t take long for her to notice me. Her expression hardens, and it’s obvious she knows why I’m here.
“Your Majesty,” all murmur as they stand and nod their heads in greeting while she makes her way to the head of the table.
She stands in front of her chair, and the attendant pushes it in when she takes a seat. Everyone else sits down, including me.
Taking advantage of the rustle of chairs and clothes, she hisses out of the corner of her mouth, “What are you doing here?”
“Trying to help you avoid making the biggest mistake of your life.”
She turns to face me and leans closer. “Have you stopped to think it is you who is making a mistake?”
I blow air through my nose and smile sadly. “Trust me, I have. I don’t want to do this. Please reconsider.”
“Oh, Valeria, always so naïve.” Calmly, she straightens and sets her hands flat on the table. “The main topic of our agenda pertains toThe Haderia.”
What? They even have a name for it?Hadameans fairy in our old language, so Haderia would mean a place where fairies live or in this case… a place where they’rekept. They can’t be serious.
“Every proposal has been presented,” she continues, “including financial information of how the project will be funded. I trust you have read each page and every painstaking detail I’ve put together with the help of some of you. Are there any questions?”
Everyone has a stack of documents in front of them, except me. I realize how woefully unprepared I am, but I have a feeling Amira wouldn’t have facilitated a copy for me if I’d asked beforehand.
Ministra Aquina is leafing through the pages, wearing a frown. “I have a question, as a matter of fact.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Sara says, her mouth twisted to one side.
The Ministra ignores her. “Funds from our efforts against Los Moros in the south are being diverged into this… unnecessary endeavor.”
So she is against the project. I wonder who else. My gaze travels quickly around the table, trying to judge everyone’s mood. Some are hard to read, while others like Sara are nothing but open books.
Amira opens her mouth to speak, but Sara puts a hand up and demurely asks for permission to speak. Amira grants it.
“Our alliance in the south isn’t as precarious as we believed it to be only yesterday. Other members of the family may not care or be willing to make sacrifices for Castella, but I’m certainly not one of them.” Her gray eyes flash in my direction for a split second. “I have secured an alliance with Don Justo Ramiro Medrano. He will continue to make his resources available in support of our sovereignty.”
Oh, gods!
So Sara’s ambition proved greater than her haughtiness, after all. An awful turmoil stirs in my chest, emotions clashing, the biggest one… apprehension. This doesn’t bode well. Yet, I can’t focus on their so-calledalliance now. That’s a problem for another day. I’m here for a different reason.
