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She’s sick of your voice. You hear that, Greshta?Ace deflated against the wall behind her, her eyes practically rolling into the back of her head as soon as Sylik started the bickering all over again.
But is it a deal? Yes?Greshta ignored the bait to fight further.
“Yeah, I guess.”
That pleased the gods and she could feel the hum of their excitement as if it was her own. Or maybe it was her own?
Because no matter how she fought the gods and avoided doing as she was told, the smallest part of Ace wanted the queens dead too.
Queen Sienna
All power must come with sacrifice, Queen Sienna reminded herself as she watched the gates to the castle open. Though considering what she had already given up she felt her debt had been paid. Apparently, that was not the case.
Carriages were lined up down the road as far as she could see. How many suitors would she be meeting today? More than she'd like. She glared down at them from her room filled with riches and wished she could set their teensy tiny unimportant buggies on fire. She could…the thought rose with rapid interest like the swell of the ocean inside of her. She struggled not to give in to the urge to use the magic at her disposal.
After months of growing unrest, there seemed to only be one answer that pleased the people. A king and then eventually an heir. Queen Sienna was happy to rule by herself. In fact, all of the queens were.
But perhaps if the citizens of Pasia considered the kings as a way to help balance the queens, then she could appease them. And decidedly not let her future husband make any decisions whatsoever. She'd have to make sure he understood that before she allowed him on the throne.
So who would be her best match? Whoever was the most pliable.
Carefully, she twirled her staff in her hand and examined it as she had a million times over. Though she wielded it at every hour of the day, even slept with it within arm’s reach, the wood had never worn to show signs of use. A clear glass bulb sat at the top of the twisted handle where a gray storm cloud resided. Small specs of water dripped down the glass where it fogged with humidity. Some days the cloud inside was light and fluffy but other days, like today, the cloud was dark.
The other queens had similar staffs that also allowed them access to the powers they'd been granted. Theirs were topped with the same glass globes that contained other aspects of nature. Farah's sloshed with water. Ambrose's contained a tangle of some sort of vining leaves. Idalia's glowed with fire. As the eldest of the sisters, Idalia had been given first pick, even though the staffs held equal amounts of power.
Sienna was stuck with the last staff. Not that she hated her little storm cloud, no after the past twelve months she'd grown fond of it and its ability to sense her moods. Others had picked up on that little fact too and her servants made sure on murky days to give her distance.
She and her sisters had concluded that to appease the people they needed husbands. They neededheirs. That didn't mean Sienna wanted a husband nor cared to have the same man lying in her bed every night.
Since becoming queen she'd had her share of affairs. Most any man she found of her liking was more than excited to be welcomed to her bed. It was never more than that. They never asked and she never offered. She expected to see some of those faces today. The thought that they might consider themselves at an advantage because they'd already slept in her bed made the queen chuckle.
We must marry but we cannot love.Idalia had been quick to remind them the last time the four of them met in The Tower of Divinity. Idalia had rattled on about choosing a husband based on how well he could be controlled. Sienna was inclined to agree with the sentiment.
Still, she couldn't stop thinking about how much she'd changed since taking her crown. She wasn't certain that either herself or her sisterscouldlove. Perhaps that was what Idalia really meant.
More carriages toting suitors from all of Pasia came careening down the drive. Men of all shapes, sizes, and status would be filling in their largest ballroom already. Women had been invited to the event too—only married ones of course. Queen Sienna wasn't about to offer the entire city a buffet of the finest men in her country. They were hers for the choosing and hers only.
Her guests didn't know what was coming. They were showing up in their formal attire excited with the new prospect of what they thought would be power. What they didn’t know was how exactly the party would begin.
She'd stalled long enough watching as the people rolled up; her presence would soon be required. Plus, she itched for release. Her staff demanded its use daily and she'd fought off the urge to use it for anything big for quite some time. It seemed to please the staff when she used it for trivial things. Now it was hungry and so was she.
The only thing that could satisfy it now was death.Today was good for it too, Queen Sienna thought. A show of power and the reward of watching the light drain from someone's eyes. The first time Sienna had watched someone die she'd been horrified. It didn't take long for her to get used to the bloodshed though. Eventually, when she took the last life before she gained the power of the throne she'd realized she actually enjoyed watching someone die. It was like lowering the flame on an oil lantern until it sputtered out. Or sometimes, when it was particularly bad, it looked more like someone had blown the flame out completely.
Sienna gripped her staff, putting her weight onto it. She pushed herself away from the window. The end dragging against the floor as she walked to the exit of her bedroom.
The room she slept in was lavishly oversized and stuffed to the brim with all sorts of material objects. At one point, Sienna hadn't been a queen. She had been a girl who became an orphan and she knew what it was like to own nothing. But since she and her sisters had found a way to save the country and then came into the powers the staff had, she vowed that she would never have nothing again.
So her room collected objects. Her bed was covered with the finest, most expensive furs. Her walls were adorned with paintings done by artists who had mastered their craft. Any lip or ledge was covered with knick-knacks. Small golden statues, figurines made of marble, a few glass blown pieces, and, of course, books. Anything you could think of she had, even if it wasn't in this room it was somewhere in this castle. And she liked that any moment she could call on her whim and have whatever she wanted before her.
When she left her room and headed toward the ballroom no guards followed her. No guards were posted at her door. She didn't need them. With the warlocks enslaved and the Fae outside of their borders, she and her sisters were the most powerful beings in Pasia.
Conversations flowed down the quiet hall, the chatter of her guests talking amongst themselves as they gathered, waiting on their queen. They hummed like music with a thousand lyrics or maybe no lyrics at all. The murmur of the crowd was almost beautiful until that thought twisted in her head. The beauty was in the way that all of these people, all of these voices, bowed toher. She was a far cry from the sad orphan girl now.
Her laugh bounced off the walls and back to her as she rounded the corner. Not far from the ballroom was a door that led to the room where her royal advisor was waiting. Ophelia had been appointed when Sienna took the crown, another girl who’d risen from poverty. The royal advisor was her official title, but Ophelia was more of a catch-all when it came down to it. She helped dress the queen, style her hair, and she was the go-between for her and the court.
Sienna pulled at the door, stepping in quickly, and letting it slam shut behind her. The heavy door rattled the glass panes on one side of the room, drawing a scowl from Ophelia. The petite woman’s features had hardened, wrinkles permanently creasing her skin between her brows. Ophelia was not the once optimistic girl she used to be. The light in her green eyes had faded, even the shine of her black hair had dulled.
Ophelia gave her a shallow curtsey before her eyes traveled down the emerald-colored dress that draped the queen's body. While the neckline gave away a bit of cleavage a sheer piece of fabric came all the way up to the queen's neck giving her a false sense of modesty.
