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The queen took a deep breath. “There was once a hopeful girl. So hopeful, and yet so hungry. Do you know what it’s like to have only one loaf of bread to share with your sick mother and four siblings?”
“I cannot assume to know.”
“It was relief, joy. It meant we had something to eat.” She frowned. “Hope when you have so little is tragic, you know? People fight for scraps and crumbles and it’s sad, so sad. Such a dreadful, meaningless existence. But the girl with hope had a chance, had a chance to change her life—and she embraced it. Ironhold always has a competition to find the brides for their princes. It’s meant to see who’s resilient enough, who has the qualities of a future queen or princess. Only the most focused and ruthless get to the end, I’ll tell you. You need to want it more than anything else. And this girl wanted it. Perhaps she had to poison some rivals, perhaps she had to sabotage others. It doesn’t matter, does it? All that matters is winning, and so she did.”
The queen looked away, a shadow crossing her face for a brief second, but then it was gone.
“The girl told herself she did it for her family, but I don’t know how much of it is true.” She turned to River. “Once she won, the king told her that her family would never starve again.” She laughed. “The silly girl had tears of joy, tears of relief, she even told herself that any murders she had committed had been for a worthy cause. Very worthy, as her youngest sister was only seven, so thin and small that she looked like she was five. Her youngest brother was ten, always trying to look braver than he actually was, and yet also so thin, especially when he always gave his portions to his siblings. He just had to share, he just had to give. What mattered was that her sweet, generous brother would never starve again. Wasn’t it worth it? Wasn’t it a noble goal, a noble pursuit? The girl didn’t even think she was doing it for herself.”
River knew that the queen was talking about herself, and wondered where she was going with this. He would do anything for his sister, or rather, would have done, if he could.
The queen smirked. “It was a lovely day when they were brought to the Iron Citadel. The girl was there, and she was thrilled to see her family so joyous and excited. Her mother was so proud. It was a day of joy and happiness as they were brought in. None of them had any luggage, as they were told that they wouldn’t need it. They made an exception for the little sister, who still clutched her favorite doll. And so they came. They were brought to a room down in the low levels of the Iron Citadel, and the silly girl still didn’t realize there was anything wrong. When ten guards surrounded them, she still didn’t realize there was anything wrong, or perhaps she didn’t want to believe there was anything wrong.
“It was a dream, right? There were four more people with her then, the old king Stevan, who was still alive, and his wife, Lady Celia. They told the girl that this was the final test, a test to see if she would be loyal to Ironhold and Ironhold only, a test to see if she had an iron heart.”
A chill ran down River’s spine and he almost told her that there was no need to continue, that he didn’t want to hear it, but perhaps this was a good opportunity to understand the woman. Maybe she could be an ally, even if he had serious doubts about her moral standards.
She continued, “The girl was told she had a choice: Ironhold or her family. And she had to watch—it was part of the test. The girl told herself that if she refused, they would all die, so the choice was only whether she died with them or not. It was obvious, right? They wouldn’t simply let her and her family walk away with no consequences. She wasn’t ready to die. There was so much more she could do, she could achieve. The only way to do that was to say the word, to choose Ironhold. The girl was a coward, so while she kept her eyes open, they were unfocused. Her mind was elsewhere while those sad people screamed in front of her. But in a way, the silly girl also died that day. In her place emerged a future queen with an iron heart, and she understood that they had kept their promise: her family would never starve again. Isn’t it wonderful?”
The woman stared at River, as if waiting for a reply.
He cleared his throat. “It depends on your idea of wonderful. I guess the iron-hearted woman is happy now?”
“Happyis a silly word. If people can behappywith a loaf of bread to share among five, you can see how that word is meaningless.Powerful, now that’s a different thing. There are only two kinds of people in the world: the powerful and the powerless. You want to survive, stick with the powerful.”
“I appreciate the advice.” River didn’t know what to say. The woman, despite her tragic story, or maybe because of it, was cuckoo. He wanted to understand what her necklace meant, and also figure out that voice and the statue. Well, she had given him the answer.Stick with the powerful.It meant that she had sought someone more powerful than the king. The question was who. “And I’m wondering if there’s any deal your majesty would like to make with me?”
She laughed. “Of course, of course. It’s always thedealwith you fae. Let’s make a deal, shall we? You tell me how you became immune to iron and I let you go.”
“I’m a unique fae.”
“Oh, not that.” She waved a hand. “I want to know exactly how, when and where you became immune, with details. You know exactly what I’m asking for, don’t you?”
A kiss flashed through his mind like lightning, but he tried to focus on something else, afraid that even his thoughts would escape him. If he told the story in detail, she would know about Naia, know where to hurt him, know how to threaten him.
“We don’t always know details about magic, your highness.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You, white fae, or Ancients, as you so presumptuously call yourselves, don’t know everything. Do you have any idea what is it on the floor? What plant?”
River looked down at the small leaves. “I’m not a specialist in plants, you know? I’m pretty sure most humans can’t name it either.”
“Humans in Aluria obviously can’t. Because it doesn’t grow on this continent. It’s sepialy, a silly little plant. Oh, I guess youdoknow it, except that you have a different name. Doesdeath grassring a bell?”
That was something from quite old texts, a plant that could impact an Ancient’s magic, but it was considered extinct. No plants rang bells, though.
“No,” River said.
At this point, he had definitely heard enough and should focus on getting out of that room as quickly as possible. He tried to slip into the hollow, but couldn’t.
The queen laughed. “No, no. You won’t escape. You’re trapped.”
With an open door right behind her? No.
River was about to walk past her, when the necklace emitted such bright light that it dazzled him, and he fell back.
“Oooh, not so strong now, are you?” The queen laughed again. “Tell me, how did you become immune to iron?”
“What makes you think I know?”
