Chapter 159: Her Kingdom

Renn’s map started as a rectangle and became less optimistic from there.

"This is the western guest stair," said Daphne, pointing, and Renn marked it. "The north wing doors are here."

Another mark. "Distance?"

Daphne looked at me. I looked at her.

"Thirty paces?" I said.

"Twenty-six."

"Then why did you look at me?"

"To see if you knew."

Apparently I had failed. Renn wrote twenty-six.

James leaned over the table. "There’s another way in from outside. A service courtyard along the north wall, with two doors. I saw it from the gallery."

"Guarded?"

"Yesterday, yes."

"Tonight?"

James thought about it. "At least four positions covering that side."

"Merrow’s?"

"Yes."

Renn added more marks, and the paper grew crowded. I sat against the wall with Dream Haven behind my back and watched other people draw lines, which is my preferred form of strategy.

Sorel noticed. "Are you contributing?"

"I found the prisoners."

"You are sitting."

"I’ve already contributed."

Her expression suggested the argument had not gone my way. I adjusted Dream Haven anyway. Renn ignored us both.

"Start again from the lower corridor," he said to Daphne.

She did: the sloping passage, the storeroom doors, the barred room, the gap beside the frame, the crates along the far wall. Then she traced the lower corridor further north. "These last storerooms run under part of the courtyard." Renn marked that too. Renn asked where the guards had stood, where the servant had come from, where the food tray had gone the night before, how long the two guards had stayed inside, and which way they had gone when they left. By the time he was finished, I understood that the worst thing about competent adults was the follow-up questions.

"Anything else?"

"The food," said Elizabeth, from the other side of the table. "Enough for fifteen to twenty more adults. Thirteen prisoners."

"Meaning?"

"We don’t know."

"There could be another holding room," said Sophie.

"Or extra guards," said James.

"The temporary guards are already counted," Elizabeth reminded him.

"Servants, then."

"Possibly."

"Or another room," said Daphne.

Nobody liked that answer. Renn drew a small question mark beside the north wing. It looked inadequate.

***

We were still awake when the lamps needed trimming, which felt unreasonable. Renn sent one Academy guard to check the outer rotation without changing anything, and nobody else left the room.

That became the first rule: Merrow could not know that we knew. The second was that nobody was rescuing anyone before morning. James objected.

"They’re twenty minutes away."

"They’re inside a guarded estate," said Renn.

"We’ve already been inside."

Renn looked at him.

James pointed at Daphne and me. "They have."

"That isn’t helping your argument."

"It proves it’s possible."

"It proves two students entered a restricted wing without my knowledge."

"Successfully."

"James."

James stopped. I admired the technique.

Sorel leaned against the edge of the table. "If we act now, what happens?"

"We get them out," said James.

"Through which exit?"

He looked at the map. Sorel waited. He looked at it for longer.

"Exactly," said Sorel.

Sophie folded her arms. "We can’t leave them there until tonight."

It was past two in the morning. Tonight was less than a day away.

"We won’t leave them there a minute longer than we have to," said Renn, and the room went quiet.

Elizabeth looked at him. "You have a plan."

"I have the beginning of one. Nobody changes anything until morning."

James made a sound. Renn didn’t look at him.

"If Merrow learns his prisoners have been found, they disappear. If his people realize someone opened that door, they move them. If we suddenly double our own guard again, they notice. If the First Princess demands access to the north wing at two in the morning, they will certainly notice."

Elizabeth nodded. "So we behave normally."

"Until we know how to get thirteen people, possibly more, through an estate full of armed retainers without turning it into a battle."

James looked at the map. "That sounds difficult."

"Yes."

"Good."

Renn stared at him.

"I didn’t mean good," said James.

"You did."

"A little."

***

The road report bothered Renn. He didn’t say so at first. He only asked for everything we remembered: Merrow’s western patrol, the abandoned freight cart, the blood, the scattered tracks, his captain’s estimate of eight to twelve, the set that looked like a large cat’s, the Academy scouts confirming the site, and nobody actually seeing a single beastkin.

When we had finished, he tapped one finger on the map. "Timing."

Elizabeth saw it first. "The report came the morning after we arrived."

"Yes."

"And now prisoners are being taken to the western road tonight."

"Yes."

Sophie frowned. "You think the first part was staged."

"I think it’s possible."

"With the prisoners?" asked James.

Renn shook his head. "We have no evidence of that."

"The tracks could have been made earlier," said Daphne.

"Or by other beastkin," said Elizabeth.

"Or faked," said James.

"Possibly," said Renn, and refused to give us anything more satisfying. I understood why. Indicators weren’t proof. We had spent enough time with Elizabeth that the phrase had become contagious.

Sophie was still looking at the map. "Why would Merrow want beastkin on the road?"

Nobody answered, until Elizabeth did.

"Because people believe what they’ve already been prepared to believe." She looked down at the western route. "Yesterday there were beastkin tracks, blood, and an abandoned cart, and we were told the road might be unsafe." Her finger moved back to the estate. "Tonight, actual beastkin leave this house."

James’s face changed. "Without collars."

Elizabeth nodded. Nobody said the next part aloud. We didn’t need to.

I thought of the older woman, and the man with the torn skin, and the two children who were staying behind. Leverage. The System had been silent for a long time, and I preferred it that way.

"What happens if they refuse?" asked Sophie. She had reached the same place I had.

Daphne answered. "The children stay."

Nobody spoke after that. I kept seeing the older woman’s arm tighten around the sleeping child when the guard said the small ones would stay. She hadn’t looked surprised. She had probably known for days.

***

Renn broke the silence. "We still don’t know what they’re being forced to do."

"No," said Elizabeth.

"But?"

"But I don’t need to know the final target to know that I won’t let Merrow put those prisoners on a Crown road."

Renn’s expression didn’t change, but something in the room did.

"You are here as a representative," he said.

"I know."

"Not as an officer of the law."

"I know."

"Your father did not send you west to raid noble estates."

"I know."

James looked between them. Sophie didn’t move. Elizabeth’s hands rested flat on the table.

"If we wait for authority through Merrow’s relay, he learns we’re suspicious. If we send one of your riders, he sees the rider leave. If we ride out ourselves, he knows something is wrong before we reach the gate." She held Renn’s eyes. "Some of the prisoners move tonight. Whatever they’re meant for happens after that."

"Probably."

"Probably is enough for the clock. If we do nothing because the right seal isn’t on the right paper yet, and those people are used against someone on a Crown road, that is still a choice."

Sorel was watching her closely.

"So is acting without authority," said Renn.

"Yes."

"And if you’re wrong?"

"Then I answer for it."

"You’re fifteen."

James looked at him. It was the first time anyone had said it aloud since this began.

Elizabeth’s face barely moved. "And the children in that cell are younger."

Renn looked at her for a long time, and then down at the map.

"This is your kingdom," he said quietly.

Her mouth tightened. "Yes."

"That doesn’t mean every problem in it belongs to you personally."

"No."

"Do you understand the difference?"

She took a moment over it. "Yes." She looked toward the north side of the house. "And this one still does."

Her voice didn’t shake. Her hands, still flat on the table, were pressing down hard enough that her knuckles had gone pale.

Nobody moved. Renn let out a breath through his nose. It wasn’t agreement, quite, but the argument was over.

"Then we do it properly."

James smiled. Renn pointed at him without looking. ℯ𝐥.

"Stop."

The smile disappeared. Almost.

***

The first part of the plan was breakfast, which I objected to on principle.

"We act normally," said Renn.

"Does that include breakfast?"

"Yes."

"Could normal include sleeping through breakfast?"

"No."

"Then your definition is flawed."

Sorel looked at me. "Alash."

"I’ll be there."

[You will.]

’Nobody asked you.’

[I know.]

"Merrow can’t suspect anything," Renn went on. "If he asks about the road, I tell him we’re waiting on another assessment."

"Will he believe that?" asked Sophie.

"He doesn’t need to. He only needs to believe I haven’t decided anything."

Elizabeth nodded. "And us?"

"You are bored students trapped in an estate."

James looked offended. "That isn’t difficult."

"For some of you," said Renn, and looked at me. I appreciated the recognition.

Daphne pointed at the map. "The north courtyard. The prisoners need a way out. There are two service doors, and both are watched from outside."

"I can move my people closer without making it obvious," said Renn.

"How?"

"Road security."

That made sense. Merrow had handed him the excuse himself. Renn could post Academy guards along the outer walls because of the supposed beastkin threat: not enough to surround the north wing, but enough to be close when it mattered.

Sorel tapped the map. "And once the prisoners are outside?"

"The western field."

"Too exposed."

"The orchard," said Sophie, and everyone looked at her. She leaned forward. "There’s an orchard past the greenhouse, on the south side. The trees are close together."

Daphne shook her head. "Too far."

"Not if the gate by the kitchens opens."

James pointed. "There."

Renn looked at him. "How do you know?"

"I saw it yesterday."

"When?"

James hesitated, and Renn’s eyes narrowed.

"While walking," said James.

"Where?"

"Around."

"James."

"I get bored."

Renn looked tired. I understood him more every day.

Elizabeth leaned over the map. "If we use the kitchen gate, Merrow’s household watches the prisoners cross half the estate."

"Unless they’re looking somewhere else," said Sophie.

Everyone looked at Elizabeth. She sighed. "Of course."

"You wanted to be useful," said James.

"I am useful."

"You know what I mean."

"Unfortunately, I do."

Renn didn’t smile. "You aren’t starting a riot."

"I wasn’t planning to."

Now everyone looked at Elizabeth, and I felt vindicated.

She ignored us. "I can keep Merrow occupied."

"How?"

"A formal conversation. The treaty delegation, border security, the road, his concerns. Anything sufficiently political."

James frowned. "That sounds awful."

"Yes."

I looked at her with new respect. Sacrifice takes many forms.

"If I ask for his advice privately this evening, he’ll come," Elizabeth went on. "His senior guards will come with him, even if they wait outside."

"And his steward," said Sophie.

"Good. That’s fewer of his people on the north side."

Renn turned to Sophie. "And you?"

"The greenhouse. People already expect me there, and I can watch the north courtyard through the glass."

"And if something changes?"

"I find James."

Renn looked at James. "No Spatial unless it’s necessary."

James’s mouth tightened. "I know."

"You say that often."

"Because people keep reminding me."

"There’s a reason."

James didn’t answer that. Renn tapped the central passage.

"You stay between the guest wing and the north corridor. You hold the route. If Merrow’s guards start moving unexpectedly, you warn the others."

"And if the route closes?"

"Then you use your judgment."

James raised an eyebrow. "That sounded dangerously like trust."

"It wasn’t."

"Shame."

Renn turned to Daphne. "You know the lower wing."

"Yes."

"You’re with Alash."

I looked up. Again? Daphne didn’t. She seemed to have accepted her fate.

"You get the prisoners ready to move," said Renn. "Quietly."

"What about the collars?" I asked.

Everyone went still. Black metal around thirteen throats.

"We need the keys," said Elizabeth.

"Or whoever carries them," said Daphne.

Sophie looked at Renn. "Can you get them?"

"Without exposing the plan?"

Nobody answered. Another question mark went onto the map, and then we had several. I distrust any strategy that involves punctuation.

***

The second problem was the people we hadn’t found. Renn circled the thirteen.

"We don’t start the extraction without trying to find the other room first."

"And if we can’t find it?" said Sophie.

"Then we search during the extraction."

"That’s dangerous."

"Yes."

"And if they’re somewhere else on the estate?"

"Then thirteen people still leave alive."

Sophie didn’t like that answer, and neither did I. But it was true.

Renn looked at me. "You smelled the salve in the north wing. Anywhere else?"

I thought back through the corridor, the dinner, the relief stores and the greenhouse. "No."

"Blood?"

Everyone looked at Daphne. She shook her head. "Only north."

"Then we start there."

Daphne nodded. Her hands were resting on the table. They looked normal, as far as I could tell. I looked away before anyone noticed me checking.

***

We left Renn’s room when the windows had started to turn grey. Morning. I objected internally, and possibly out loud; I don’t remember. James walked ahead with Sophie, and Elizabeth and Daphne followed them, talking quietly. I carried Dream Haven.

[You did not sleep.]

’Excellent observation.’

[Your cultivation should be shortened this morning.]

I glanced at the others. ’James too?’

[Yes.]

That was enough to stop me complaining, mostly.

At the guest stair Elizabeth stopped, and the rest of us stopped with her.

"Nothing changes," she said.

James looked at her. "Until it does."

"Exactly."

Sophie yawned. Daphne looked toward the north wing. I looked toward my room. Different priorities. Elizabeth noticed.

"Breakfast," she said.

I sighed. "Your kingdom is exhausting."

For a second she looked as though she might laugh. Then she didn’t. "So I’ve been told."

***

Lord Merrow was already at breakfast, and he stood when Elizabeth came in.

"Your Highness."

"Lord Merrow."

His eyes went around the table as we sat down. If he noticed that none of us had slept, he was either polite enough or careful enough not to say so. Renn came in last.

"Any change?" asked Merrow.

"Not yet. I’m sending another pair to the western junction after sunrise."

That was the first I had heard of it. Apparently Renn could lie, which was a useful skill.

Merrow nodded slowly. "There may be no need. My captain rode out at first light. The tracks turn south, well away from the road, and nothing has come back toward it." He spread his hands. "If your riders agree, I see no reason the convoy can’t leave tomorrow at dawn."

"If they agree," said Renn. "I’d rather lose another day than regret an hour."

"Naturally."

They sounded like two responsible adults discussing the weather. I ate bread. It was warm and very good, and somewhere beneath this room there was one bucket of water for thirteen people. I kept eating anyway, because normal was the plan.

Some of the prisoners were going to the western road tonight, without their collars. Tomorrow at dawn, the convoy carrying the First Princess would take that same road west.

I didn’t think the timing was a coincidence anymore. Across the table, Elizabeth set down her cup. Nothing showed on her face, but she held the cup a moment too long before letting go of it, and I knew she had done the same arithmetic.

"Lord Merrow," she said, "if your evening permits, I’d value your advice on something. I’d like to write to my father before we leave."

Merrow looked pleasantly surprised. "Of course."

"The western delegations. You’ve lived on this border longer than any of us. I’d like your view of what the Crown should expect after the signing."

His expression changed, very slightly, into something that looked like real interest. "This evening, then. I’d be honored."

Elizabeth smiled, perfectly.

James went on eating. Sophie reached for the fruit. Daphne drank her water. Renn looked bored. I considered going back to bed. Everything was normal, and somewhere beneath the north wing, thirteen people were waiting for a night that had already started counting down.

I took another piece of bread. We had until sunset.