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There was no way to know if what Naia was about to do was right or wrong, but she’d always heard that kings sometimes had to act with their gut.
She got up and went to the communication mirror, which hung on a wall in her father’s office, and pressed her palm on it, hoping it would still work, hoping her father hadn’t removed her authorization when he had disowned her. Her stomach sank as the mirror showed only her own image, with no sign of magic. Perhaps she had been excluded from the royal family, and if that was the case, it was going to be a big problem.
And yet she kept watching the mirror, her hand stuck on it, hoping that it would work for her, hoping she wouldn’t just sit here like a useless fool while important pieces were being moved in Aluria.
She took a better look. There was a faint blue glow by her hand. Relief washed over her as she saw the glow growing and growing, until she could no longer see any reflection, just a source of light. These mirrors were very old, and said to be made from dragon magic. Most of her life she suspected that maybe it was just some kind of forgotten magic, and they said it came from the dragons just to make it seem more special and mysterious, and to justify why they couldn’t understand or replicate it. Now she wasn’t sure. Perhaps there was dragon magic in that mirror, which only opened a dam of questions about her own power.
But what she had to do now was try to play the diplomat.
“Ironhold,” she said. Yes, she was about to contact the kingdom who was their enemy, the kingdom River was spying on.
After many seconds, she repeated, “Ironhold,” then added, “This is a request from Umbraar.”
There was only silence answering her, which was normal. No king would spend all day in front of the mirror. That said, in this case, they should be watching it closely, which meant she should get a reply soon.
Meanwhile, she had to try another kingdom. She decided to try one of the non-magical ones. “Varana.”
Instead of the blue light and silence, Naia was greeted by a man in his forties with a thin beard. The king.
He frowned. “Who are you?”
“Umbraar’s princess, your majesty. My father, King Azir, is ill right now and I’m taking his place trying to alert Aluria.”
“Were you attacked as well?”
As well? What did he mean? “You’re the first king I’m speaking to. I don’t know of any attacks other than here.”
“Frostlake. I just received a message this morning. The fae were there, killed the king and queen.”
Naia’s heart was about to stop—or explode. Fae in Frostlake? This had to be River’s illusions. And in Frostlake? That didn’t make any sense. They were allies.
The Varana king then said, “So youwereattacked.”
She nodded, trying to gather her thoughts and speak at the same time. “We think it might have been the fae, but this is why I’m contacting everyone and why it’s so urgent; they were dressed in Ironhold garb.” Naia almost choked on the stupid lie she was saying.
The king’s frown had to be the longest lasting she had ever seen, but it got even deeper. “Why would they do that?”
“I’m not privy to their motivations, but if I were to venture a guess, I’d say they want to seed mistrust and conflict among us, they want to weaken us.” There. She was anticipating what Ironhold could accuse Umbraar of doing, and making the first move.
“How do you know it was the white fae?”
“It’s an assumption. Who else could it be?” She managed to make it sound natural, and not sarcastic. “It’s an alert, too. If you see forces from Ironhold, or any other friendly kingdom, you need to pay attention.”
“Who’s friendly to us? Does anyone care about us?” he snapped.
Naia was surprised, even though she shouldn’t be. She knew well that these kingdoms were always neglected in terms of diplomacy. Still, she pretended she didn’t hear the accusation in the man’s tone. “All human kingdoms are allies, isn’t that right?”
The king burst into laughter. “Great allies. And what is it you want, girl?”
“Nothing. I just figured other kingdoms should be warned.”
“Warned not to trust Ironhold? Hmmm.” He then seemed concerned rather than annoyed. “How are you doing? Did you sustain any losses?”
“We managed to defeat them, at great cost for us, but they have been neutralized.”
“Is your king alive?”
“He’s sick.” Naia had to clear her throat, an annoying itch bothering her.
