I sit down in a chair nearby, but Idrina refuses to look at me. She stares into the flames, her jaw jutting out in defiance. She holds something in her hands, the thing too small for me to see in the gloom. The metallic gleam it catches from the fire makes me think it’s jewelry.
“Has Magnar tried to convince you to see the medic, then?” I ask, doubly grateful for Khay’s interruption. Conversing with my mother-in-law is challenging when she’s in a foul mood, but my well-sated body refuses to tense up in her presence today.
She waves her hand. “I don’t need a doctor. I need Hrognar by my side.”
I sit up, frowning. Hrognar, Idrina’s husband, has been dead for years.
“Is your brain addled?” I ask, knowing she prefers directness. “Your husband is long gone, Idrina.”
“Addled!” She spits with vehemence, looking at me for the first time since I came in. “I know he’s dead, you hoyden! I need him with me as he is now!”
I shake my head, non-plussed. “He’s… he’s ash now. Isn’t he? Or do you mean his spirit that’s gone to the gods?”
“Gods. Pish! No, you had it right the first time.”
I sigh, sitting back. Idrina seems calmer, and she looks away into the flames, bringing the gleaming object to her lips for a dry kiss. Her outburst makes me none the wiser.
“Please, tell me in plain words what you mean.”
“Ashes, girl, ashes.” She waves her hand with impatience. “My Hrognar was burned and put into a set of jewelry—a brooch, a necklace, and a ring. There hasn’t been a day I haven't had him by my side since he passed away.”
Her explanation takes me aback, and I spend a moment digesting it. “Do you mean—you wear jewelry with your husband’s ashes? That’s…”
I don’t finish because I can’t say any of the words crowding on my tongue.Strangeis the best-mannered of them, but it will only lead to Idrina making fun of me for being an uncivilized human. The other words are uncivil indeed:disgusting, horrifying, morbid.
Idrina turns to look at me. Her eyes are used to the gloom, and she must see my expression clearly. Her lips stretch in a mean smile.
“Oh, don’t make that face. It’s not a custom every queen is required to keep. Once Magnar breathes his last, you’ll be quite welcome to scatter his ashes on the wind and take a younger lover.”
I shake my head with a wince. “So what are you saying, Idrina? You want to have Hrognar by your side in his ashen, jewelry-bound form?”
She grunts, opening her palm. I lean in to see an ornamental silver orb hanging from a thick chain. Idrina taps it with her finger, her claw clicking against the silver. Then she turns her palm, showing me a matching ring intricately carved with ornamental symbols.
“I lost the brooch, the third piece in the set. I don’t wear it usually, but a few weeks ago I went to look in my box, and it was gone. There’s a piece of him missing and I don’t like it, Caliane. It’s like having a man with no cock. I need that brooch.”
I cough to cover the half-choked sound of shock at her words. Idrina harrumphs, letting me know my coughing doesn’t fool her, so I clear my throat and ask.
“So the brooch is his… organ?”
Magnar would scold me from shying away from saying the wordcock, but it’s one thing to say it referring to my men, and quite another—to my deceased father-in-law.
“I saidlike.I don’t know which ashes are from what, silly girl. We didn’t chop him into bits before burning him, did we? What an idiotic idea. Unless that’s what you humans do with your dead. It wouldn’t surprise me a bit.”
I hide my face in my hands. My shoulders shake from silent laughter that I’m afraid to give in to, because I fear I’ll sound quite hysterical. Idrina scoffs with evident contempt, but I know she’s enjoying our conversation. Otherwise, she would ignore me, thus letting me know I’m not worthy of her attention. That’s what she does to people who bore her.
Once my laughing fit is over, I compose myself. Idrina stares into the fire, the corners of her lips drooping. I realize she is truly upset despite her fiery manner.
“Is this why you haven’t been eating?” I ask. “You’re worried about the brooch?”
She shrugs and doesn’t answer. My shoulders drop with relief.
“Thank the gods. I thought you were ailing. Well then, we only have to find the brooch, and you’ll be all better.”
She scoffs, shooting me a piercing look. “Onlyfind it, will you? You think I haven’t looked? It’s nowhere in this room. Someone took it, Caliane. Someonestolea part of my husband.”
“Where have you worn it last?” I ask, undeterred.
Idrina is frail and her room—dark and cluttered. I won’t be convinced the brooch is gone until I look for it myself.
