“Perhaps.” Rune’s scowl deepened.
Hanne touched his arm. “Let’s go inside,” she suggested again. “Now that you are king, there is some urgency in ensuring an heir is on the way.”
That made his expression lighten. “Hanne.” He turned to face her. “I wanted to thank you.”
“For what?”
“For helping me today.” Gently, he touched her forearm, then let his hand fall back to his side. “We did well together, I think.”
“We did.” Hanne smiled to herself. It had been a long day, beginning with the total and complete shock of finding out that King Opus had been murdered in the night. Followed by the funeral, followed by the brief coronation.
It had been a quick ceremony, given all the matters that now required a king’s attention. Council meetings. Troop movements. War.
Hanne was looking forward to the grander coronation, the second one, which would occur after Rune returned from putting Ivasland in its place. Then there would be feasts and dances, parties that lasted all night.
She had stayed with Rune throughout the day, a helpful and dutiful wife. She was careful not to overstep, because overstepping would alarm the councilors and others she needed on her side. But she was hardly a meek or silent presence. She offered thoughtful encouragement and advice every half hour or so—just often enough that people thought her wise and considerate.
“I worry about you leading the armies into battle,” Hanne said. “In Embria, kings never join the army. What if an arrow should strike you? We don’t yet have a child.”
Rune just gazed at her. “In Caberwill, a king who refuses to accompany his army is not king for long. But I assure you I will be well protected. John will be with me every moment, as well as the rest of my new guards. I’ll be as safe as anyone can be, I promise.”
“I just worry,” Hanne said softly, in the way she’d learned he liked. “I couldn’t bear to lose you.”
He gave her one of those looks, the kind that said he was never sure if she meant it when she said things like that. And, well, she didn’t, but she did need him. For now.
They went inside just in time to hear a knock on the main door.
“I’ll return in a moment.” Rune stepped out, leaving Hanne to finger comb her hair and check her reflection in the mirror. Her reminders of needing an heir had been serious. The death of King Opus had come sooner than she’d planned, and while she wasn’t sad to lose him, she needed to fully establish her power here in Caberwill.
Without a Highcrown child, she would have no legitimacy here if Rune perished. It was that simple.
Everything would fall into place, as long as she followed Tuluna’s instructions.
“Are you sure?” Rune’s voice came from the other side of the door.
Someone responded—a man—but his voice was too low to carry.
Worry set in Hanne’s stomach. If anyone had even a hint that Hanne had witnessed Opus’s death…
The door opened and shut, and Rune came back inside. His face was haunted, and he barely looked at her as he said, “We have information regarding the mal-device.”
She sat on the edge of the fountain. “Small Mountain?”
“It’s gone,” Rune said. “Completely gone. Reports say it was burned to the ground. No sign of the Nightrender.”
“And the people?” Hanne asked, infusing as much compassion into her voice as possible, because Rune worried about his people. Caberwillines were soft like this, worrying about the common folk like they were beloved pets. They didn’t understand what Embrians did: peasants needed to be ruled, and ruled strongly.
Hanne would cure him of this—eventually.
“There’s no one left.” Rune sat beside her, placing his hand on top of hers in a manner meant to be comforting. He faced her. “Silver Sun, thank all the Known and Unknown Numina, is still standing, but it, too, sustained heavy losses. Dozens of miners were killed before the evacuation began.”
Silver Sun. But that was—
“That’s in Embria. It’s nowhere near Small Mountain.” Alarm rose in her voice, no matter how she tried to tamp it down.
He nodded. “I’m sorry, Hanne. There was a second mal-device. There may be more we don’t yet know about.”
Deep, hot anger boiled inside her.
Queen Abagail had done this. She’d sent that assassin after Hanne, nearly ruining everything, and she’d destroyed one of Embria’s most useful towns. This was the sort of slight that could not be overlooked.
“Ivasland has so much to answer for,” she murmured. Then, a burst of inspiration pushed her to her feet. “Bring her to me, Rune. Bring Abagail to Caberwill so that I may be the one to rid our world of her treachery.”
“Rid the—”
“She had your father and brother murdered. She’s sent her malice machines to our kingdoms. She deserves to die.”
Rune’s words came slowly. “And you’d do it yourself?” He looked up at her, a strange distance in his eyes. Hmm. This Rune was not the guileless creature she’d married. “Do you think you could?”
Burn it. This wasn’t going how she’d planned. No, he should have been tripping over himself to do anything she asked. Something was definitely wrong here. She didn’t have the upper hand in this conversation, and now she hardly knew how to proceed.
“Conscious of what torment she has caused both of us,” Hanne said carefully, “I think I could do anything. It would mean keeping our kingdoms safe from her, her assassins, and the builders of that burning mal-device. Ivasland has inflicted so much pain.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “All right.”
Good.
Right?
He was still nodding, though not in reply to her anymore, but in response to whatever he was thinking. A decision. “You should know,” he said, “that I’ve heard yet more troubling news. So troubling I could not bring myself to believe it.”
“What is it?” She had the distinct feeling she wasn’t going to like whatever he told her, but information was the most valuable resource of all. (Aside from obsidian.) It could be wielded as a weapon or a shield, and there was no such thing as having too much.
“I’ve been told,” he said cautiously, “that someone helped Ivasland complete the mal-device.”
Oh.
Double and triple burn everything.
This. This was the heart of the news he’d just received from the hall—the alarm and disbelief. This was why he had the nerve to ask if she would kill Abagail herself.