I brushed the back of my hand against Legacy's, the briefest instant of comfort, but I dared not hold her hand fully in front of the queen. Perhaps it had been a mistake to bring her here in the first place, but now that we were here together, I would take whatever comfort I could get from her presence.
The queen's copious amount of jewelry jangled as she looked down at us. I gulped.
"So. What am I going to do with you two?" she asked.
Neither of us answered, and none of the guards moved either.
"You have dragged one of my finest, most trusted advisors here in chains and accused him of a sin akin to treason,” she continued. “You, a Battle Mage in my army, and you, an enemy who stands in my throne room as if you have a right to be here."
I shifted, placing myself between Legacy and the queen, but she gripped my elbow gently to pull me back to stand next to her. I glanced at her, startled, but she smiled gently and squeezed my arm.
I nodded, raising my chin. "Your Highness, we did only what we had to do for the good of the kingdoms. Both kingdoms. Legacy has been instrumental in discovering the plot that has allowed the war to go on for so long. I could not have done it without her. She deserves your gratitude, not your ire."
I flushed, cringing back slightly. I had gone too far, but it was too late now. I was just a Battle Mage, and often not even a very good one at that. I was more like a pet monkey that caused chaos and occasionally did what Ehuna said. I didn't know how to speak to royalty, but I did know how to protect the people I cared about.
Legacy bowed her head then knelt in front of the Caputo queen. "Yes, we are enemies, but I have found Collie to be intelligent and kind, not to mention loyal. It took a while, but we realized that we had the same goal in mind—ending this war. I could not have done it without her, and I do not seek your gratitude. I only want to live in peace once this war is over."
The queen sighed as she flicked her gaze to me. "For now, you will remain here in the castle in case I need you further. Butyou…" She leveled a look at Legacy.
I bristled. Legacy did not deserve to be treated poorly, whether by my queen or anyone else.
"I'm not leaving Legacy," I burst out. "So if you send her to the dungeon, I'm going with her."
I wasn't exactly enthusiastic about spending the foreseeable future in the dungeon, especially since I had spent most of the last however long either tied up or locked up, but I also wouldn’t let Legacy go alone. We'd been through too much together. I’d lost her once, and by some sheer force of luck, I’d only just found her again.
The queen chuckled, although there wasn't much humor in it. "As you wish. For now, you will both be my guests."
Chapter
Thirty-Four
It was strange to be welcomed in a fortress instead of being held captive there. It was even stranger to be kissing the woman who had held me captive in her own fortress a few weeks ago and enjoying it more than anything else under the sun.
"You know, we should get up and go," I pointed out, pulling away. "The caravan will be leaving in a few hours, and someone is going to wonder where we are."
I gestured to us. Fully dressed, yes, but curled up on Legacy’s bed and wrapped around each other. I had been in the process of putting on my boots to check on my horse before we left, and now we had been kissing for who knew how long.
Not nearly long enough. We were meant to be leaving soon, and it wasn't as if we could just take off on our own. We certainly couldn't stay up here while the rest of the caravan waited on us.
"Fine," Legacy grumbled. "But know that I do this under protest."
I snorted sarcastically. “Hey, you never mentioned why you went to Tannin’s fortress the night of the advisors’ meeting.”
She shrugged. “I had a vision about the meeting, but I didn’t know when it was. I arrived a few days before, demanding tosee him. I wanted to know how he made it out of the fortress collapse alive, and you didn’t. The guards told me he wasn’t there yet. I was screaming my head off, so they told me if I surrendered peacefully, they would make arrangements for Tannin and me to talk.”
“And by talk, you mean make him run away from three little girls?”
She laughed, the most perfect sound in the world. “That wasn’t what I had planned, but I’d say it worked out quite nicely.”
“Agreed.” I pressed my lips to her cheek.
It took some time, but finally we made it outside and waited for the caravan to ride out to the Montrose kingdom. We had been sent to speak with everyone of importance in our two kingdoms, from nobles all the way up to our own royalty, explaining the truth and what had happened with Tannin and the advisors, showing them his signed confession and the other evidence, and answering any questions they had. Thankfully, our next destination was our last.
There, royalty from both the Caputo and Montrose kingdoms waited. Together, for the first time in years. The fact that Legacy was coming with me was the only reason that I hadn't completely lost my mind yet.
Once we arrived, I bowed low, waiting for the queen of the Caputo kingdom to acknowledge us. With so much royalty in one room, I cringed while waiting to hear what would happen.
The queen of my kingdom, and the king and queen of Legacy's Montrose kingdom, plus a few princesses and princes, were all here. The two kingdoms had been warring for longer than Legacy and I had been alive, all seated in the same room on thrones that had been hastily arranged for all of them.
