Staring up at the windows of the foreign queen, Lovisa was beginning to understand how much she wanted a bigger world than she’d ever been promised as a child. There were monsters in the sea who returned lost items, and silbercows she could talk to, and a pig wandering the Devrets’ heat ducts. There were smugglers pulling off questionable feats of engineering in the north, and glaciers calving icebergs into the sea, and problems here in Parliament, for people to argue about as if they cared. Some of them actually did care.
And she was thinking now not about what it would mean to her brothers if she did or didn’t testify against her father, but about what it would mean to her. What did any of this mean to her? What had her father done to her? Her father had lied to her, playacted. He’d pretended to be her ally against her mother, then betrayed her repeatedly. He’d killed a boy she’d brought home. He’d compelled her to do desperate and destructive things—set fire to a house, throw an explosive egg—to save other people. And now, finally, he’d put her in the position of having to decide whether to tell the truth about him, then live with the consequences forever.
I believe you think you love me, Papa, she thought, in your way. But I’m worthy of more.
She stepped into the light of the hotel’s entrance. The guards, recognizing her, glanced dubiously at the sodden lower half of her coat, then let her in.
* * *
—
She found the queen and Giddon in an upstairs library, sitting on a sofa together, eating cake that, inexplicably, had flaming candles stuck into it.
“Lovisa,” said Bitterblue in a glad voice, patting the space beside her. “We’re celebrating Giddon’s birthday. Have some cake.” Her eyes were wide and trusting. Bitterblue’s eyes had used to track Lovisa anxiously, as if Lovisa was about to do something desperate. Lovisa had known what Bitterblue had been thinking then. She’d understood why the queen had asked her questions to distract her, or created jobs to keep her away from a cliff’s edge. Lovisa was grateful, for the queen had been right.
Now Lovisa could feel herself standing on solid ground. The queen had offered to shoulder her burden, but Lovisa wanted strong shoulders of her own, to carry well whatever she was given.
She indicated the state of her coat. “I’m a mess,” she said, “so I won’t sit down.”
Abruptly, Giddon stood and left the room. “Have you been in the sea?” the queen asked.
“Something like that.”
Giddon came back with a towel. “Oh,” Lovisa said, touched by this thoughtfulness. “Thank you.”
She took a moment to rub down her coat and legs. Then she said, “I’ve been thinking about your offer.”
“Yes?” said Bitterblue.
“I’m grateful,” said Lovisa. “For that, and for everything.” She took a careful breath. “I’ve decided that it’s my truth. I’ll say it myself.”
The queen’s eyes were bright. “You know you can always change your mind?”
“I know,” said Lovisa, who wasn’t going to change her mind.
The queen nodded. “I’m proud of you.”
“And now,” said Lovisa, reaching into her pocket, enclosing the small, cold ring in her hand, and holding it out to the queen. “Are you ready for a little magic?”
Cast of Characters
From Winterkeep
Ada Balava: An importer of Monsean zilfium.
Adventure Fox (Adventure, Ad): A blue fox bonded to Ferla Cavenda.
Arni Devret: The father of Mari Devret. A banker.
Benni Cavenda: The father of Lovisa Cavenda. An owner of a shipping business, an importer of Monsean zilfium, and an Industry representative in Parliament.
Davvi: The father of Nev. A builder.
Dev Dimara: A zilfium shipper and a Scholar representative in Parliament.
Earmuff: A blue fox bonded to Gorga Balava.
Ella: A housemaid at the Cavenda property in Torla’s Neck.
Erita Cavenda: A brother of Lovisa Cavenda, seven years old. Observant.
Ferla Cavenda: The mother of Lovisa Cavenda. The co-owner of a silver mine with her brother, Katu, a Scholar, and the President of Winterkeep.
Gorga Balava: A professor in the school of politics and government at the Winterkeep Academy and an Industry representative in Parliament.
Katu Cavenda: The brother of Ferla Cavenda, with whom he co-owns a silver mine. The uncle of Lovisa Cavenda. A traveler and adventurer.
The Keeper: A mythical undersea creature in the fairy tales told by the silbercows. The keeper of the planet, she exhorts silbercows and humans to help her protect the earth and the sea.
Kep Gravla: A student at the Winterkeep Academy and a childhood neighbor of Lovisa Cavenda and Mari Devret.
Little Guy: A blue fox kit living with Nev in the dorms of the Winterkeep Academy.
Liv: The cook at the Cavenda property in Torla’s Neck.
Lovisa Cavenda: A student of politics and government at the Winterkeep Academy. The daughter of Ferla and Benni Cavenda. The sister of Viri, Erita, and Vikti Cavenda. The niece of Katu Cavenda.
Mara Devret: The mother of Mari Devret. An Industry representative in Parliament.
Mari Devret: A student of medicine at the Winterkeep Academy. The son of Mara and Arni Devret. The oldest friend of Lovisa Cavenda.
Mirni Tima: An importer of Monsean zilfium.
Minta Varana: An airship engineer and an importer of Monsean zilfium. The sister of Quona and Sara Varana. A Scholar politically.
Nev: A scholarship student of animal medicine at the Winterkeep Academy, from Torla’s Neck. The daughter of Davvi and Nola and the granddaughter of Saiet.
Nola: The mother of Nev. A healer through massage.
Nori Orfa: A student of animal medicine at the Winterkeep Academy, from Torla’s Neck.
Ona: The firekeeper on Trader’s Beach.
Pari Parnin: A student at the Winterkeep Academy.
Quona Varana: An animal doctor and an environmentalist. A professor of animal medicine at the Winterkeep Academy. The sister of Minta and Sara Varana. A Scholar politically.
Saiet: The grandfather of Nev. An animal doctor.
Sara Varana: A Scholar and the Prime Minister of Winterkeep. The sister of Minta and Quona Varana.
Ta Varana: A student at the Winterkeep Academy. The daughter of Minta Varana.
Vera: The proprietor of a bath north of Ledra. An airship smuggler.
Vikti Cavenda: A brother of Lovisa Cavenda, nine years old. Quiet.
Viri Cavenda: A brother of Lovisa Cavenda, five years old. Curious.