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My voice came out deadly quiet and dangerous, but Camet didn't seem affected. He didn't even seem to notice. “It is the way of our people to seek joy and light in the hardest times.”
“You're having a party.” My voice came out brittle. “While you refuse to open the gates and fight. That's wonderful leadership.”
He waved his hand at me airily. “I've done what had to be done. The nobility had to be preserved. We can't lead if we're dead.”
“You can’t lead if your life is too precious to stand with your people.” I answered heatedly.
He looked at me. “I know you are a very wise young woman. I wanted to speak to you, to make sure you understood. I've been doing my best to keep the kingdom going after Jaik left the palace.”
He made it sound as if Jaik had abandoned them and run away. But Jaik had been fighting for the Isle this entire time. The protective hum of anger burned beneath my skin, but little insults didn't matter now. “I see that. But you aren't trying to take the throne?”
“No, of course not.” he sounded offended. “If Prince Jaik is ready to come and lead, I will happily step aside.”
“He signaled for you to open the gates. And yet, the gates remained closed.”
“I thought he was under duress. It would have been too dangerous to open the gates. All of Rylow could have been lost.”
“And with it the nobility.” My voice came out sarcastic. “A terrible loss.”
I knew there were nobles that had stayed and mounted defenses of the villages under their protection. But I didn't think the kingdom needed any of those that had gathered in this castle.
Just then, a few nobles swept by in the hallway, dressed in finery and talking and laughing between themselves. Camet noticed them too, noticed the look on my face, and motioned to one of the guards, who promptly shut the door.
“Honor, you do not understand,” he said, his voice condescending. “The nobles are maintaining their strength to do what must be done. Don’t judge them for finding one moment of levity. Rylow must be protected at all at all costs. It holds not just our nobles, but every villager who ran before Kallus’s forces and sought refuge here. They are packed in, with limited food and water reserves. We can withstand a siege for a while, but Kallus’s forces have to be banished from our shores.”
He levelled a hard look at me. “And I don't know how we're going to do that when you have destroyed our magic.”
He sounded as if he were scolding me, and I let out a disbelieving laugh. “I did what had to be done to stop the Scourge.”
“And yet, we still have Scourge.”
“It takes time for them to heal completely.”
He looked disgusted. “They can be healed with a quick sword strike cleaving their heads from their shoulders.”
“I used to think that was the only way,” I said shortly. “But I'm the queen of all the isle, and that includes the Scourge.”
“You're not the queen of anything,” he said, then softened his words with an oily smile. “Unless the people will follow you.”
“And you think the nobles will follow you.” I pinched the bridge of my nose, praying for patience. “We all have to sacrifice for the good of the Kingdom. We all have to unite.”
“You took our magic,” he said. “That's more than a sacrifice.”
He sounded so condescending. I gritted my teeth.
“You should come out and meet the nobles, Honor,” he said. “Talk to them about what they've been through. What they've seen. See if they will follow you when you call yourself a queen or if perhaps it's time to let someone else take the helm.”
“I notice you haven't called meyour majesty.”Although my men were supposed to hold the crown for me, that rumor had certainly spread beyond our control.
I'd expected that when I took the crowns back from Jaik and Caldren it would be with fanfare. Instead, I was streaked with blood and dirt and people still looked down on me as they had I felt like all my life.
“I thought perhaps those stories you are our secret queen were just rumors,” he said. “And perhaps it's just rumors that you took our magic.”
I wanted to tell him that I had fixed what my father had done, and that once we had fought this battle, the world will be put right by what I had done. But Damyn caught my eye, giving me the faintest shake of the head. He still looked completely unperturbed by the guards who held him against the wall, all his attention focused on me.
I decided to take his advice. For now, we would see what the nobles were saying.
“Lead on,” I told Camet, and he looked delighted.
