But first, Ehuna asked us if we’d accompany her to take Tannin to the Caputo queen. There was a portal spell in the library that would allow us to get much closer to the queen quickly.
Spells like this were dangerous and often terrifying to use, not to mention rare, but it would save us days of travel, days where we ran the risk of Tannin escaping or coming to harm before he could tell the queen what he had told us. It was a necessary evil, and it also meant that we could leave now, rather than wait until the morning. The sooner we were in front of my queen, and then Legacy's in the Montrose kingdom, the better chance we had of stopping the war.
We made our preparations quickly, and a small party of us used the spell—me, Legacy, Tannin, Ehuna, and a few guards—to make sure that we weren't overwhelmed.
My stomach lurched as we stepped through the portal, finally arriving at our destination. I gulped and leaned over with my hands on my knees, nausea rising in my throat.
Legacy struggled just as much, bent over with her hands on her knees as she heaved up the contents of her stomach. I stayed with her while Ehuna stepped away, leaving us and the guards to guard Tannin in silence.
Ehuna had enough influence to get us a meeting with the queen, and we shuffled into the meeting space outside the throne room, waiting none too patiently to be allowed to enter.
I gritted my teeth, trying to keep a handle on my magic. Tension radiated, thick enough in the air to make my skin crawl.
The guards watched us, their gazes wary. No doubt they knew Tannin, as most everyone did, and wondered why such an important man was chained in the middle of our small party.
Finally we were allowed into the throne room. Legacy and I walked inside with Tannin between us. He shuffled forward and immediately threw himself on the ground in front of the Caputo queen's throne, his forehead braced against the plush line of carpet that led toward her.
The queen looked down at us, her gaze like cool blue flames. Her hair was raven black, half curling over her shoulders and half in an elaborate updo on the back of her head. Her gown was richest green, studded with glittering gems along the bodice. A slim dagger at her belt was the only indication that she had ever once fought alongside her Battle Mages.
I counted on that brief stint to be enough to inspire her to end this war.
The queen narrowed her eyes. "And why, precisely, is one of my generals holding one of my advisors captive? And if I'm not mistaken, there is also an enemy dressed in Montrose colors in my throne room."
Legacy. Ehuna and I hadn't given bringing her here as much thought as we perhaps should have.
I bowed. "My apologies, Your Majesty. It will be explained, but I assure you Legacy is no threat to you."
I winced briefly as I realized I likely shouldn't have spoken her name, nor brought her here at all, as it might undermine our case, but I had never even considered that she shouldn't come with us.
I bowed again, even lower this time. "My name is Collie. I work with General Ehuna and have for several years. It was in the course of performing my duties that I discovered Tannin's treachery."
It took quite some time to explain, as a lot had happened since all this had started. Still, I did my best as clearly and concisely as I could, although some aspects of it certainly didn't shine the best light on me in front of the queen.
While most of what I had done was not technically illegal, it also didn’t make me look like a professional Battle Mage that she would want to let run amok with important information. Like the fact that one of her top advisors was the reason we hadn’t managed to stop the war in so many years. Ehuna filled in the blanks in my story during the numerous times I’d been unconscious.
The queen was all but snarling by the time we finished, and Tannin shrank into himself as her lips peeled back from her teeth, her eyes frigid as she looked down on him from her throne.
From here, it was easy to see that she was a ruler. This was the type of woman who could end wars, who could have a man killed with a simple wave of her hand.
Tannin knew that, and no doubt he wanted to attempt to save his skin as he babbled through tears that he hadn't meant to hurt anyone.
"If this war ended, the kingdom would fall apart," he said.
Despite how quietly he spoke, and the difficulty of hearing him through his hiccuping tears, the room grew painfully silent as we listened. Even the guards, who I could typically hear clattering when they breathed, seemed not to move at all. Everyone stayed still as they listened to the excuses Tannin gave to the queen.
“And somehow you seem to believe that you should be the one to make a choice like that?” she snapped. “A choice that could shape the lives of millions of people?”
Tannin shrank back from her. She had not moved, other than one dark brow rising toward her crown, and yet Tannin looked like she had struck him.
“My queen,” he said, “I never intended to make a choice that should have been laid at your feet. I only intended to help keep this from ever reaching you. Ease your burdens in the only way I knew how.”
Immediately I cringed, and even Legacy winced. Big mistake. He shouldn’t have said that. That might be the last mistake he ever made.
The queen sneered at him, but she controlled herself, rising from her throne and waving her hand at the guards to seize Tannin. The guards stepped forward, their faces grim and determined. A few stayed back, spears ready to strike at a moment’s notice, but they were still more than a match for him.
They dragged Tannin away in a matter of moments, his struggles and protests, shouts of pleas for clemency, still audible as he disappeared from the room. Heads turned to follow the sound, cut off as the heavy wooden doors slammed shut after them.
Silence blanketed the throne room as we all waited to see what would happen next.
