“Disconnect,” I whispered, withdrawing with relief.
“It’s done?” my aunt asked.
I nodded. “You’re free,” I said to Matthis.
He blinked and then blinked again. “I told the junior steward all about Conall and his plans.” He sounded utterly shocked. “I felt compelled not to keep it to myself, and he was there, so I told him.” He frowned, as if searching further back in his memory. “And I met someone strange on my last trip to the Sekali Empire.”
He focused on the two of us, his eyes widening. “I think I encountered Conall himself.”
“That’s a relief,” my aunt said, sinking down into the chair behind her desk.
When I looked at her, she gave me a strained smile. “I was having nightmarish visions of Conall being able to reach across such a vast distance and ensnare any one of us.”
“Oh! No. I’m sorry, I could have relieved your mind on that. Tyron said he needs vicinity, just like Tyron himself does. And Conall actually implanted two commands into Matthis with the energy he was controlling. One was to keep silent on his encounter with Conall, and the other was essentially the opposite. He couldn’t use any particular finesse, but he built in an undirected element of…indiscretion, I suppose. I think he must have known Matthis was privy to important information, and he wanted to make sure Ardann’s secrets became known.”
“I suppose he has a way of ensuring any rumors that start circulating make their way back to him,” my aunt mused. “Although we’ve seen from Tyron that he’s as interested in causing chaos here as he is in directly advantaging himself. He must have seen the situation as beneficial either way.”
She nodded briskly as if a weight had lifted from her mind. “I will have everyone who has been in the Sekali Empire in the last few years gathered together.” She steepled her hands, her face considering. “I will throw a party. Just an intimate gathering of a trusted few.” She gave me a wry look. “That will ensure no one misses the occasion. With any luck, none of them will notice that all the invitees have been part of various delegations or trade ventures.”
“You’re worried Matthis isn’t the only one.” I could understand her concern. It was a valid one.
“You can check them all, Verene. Which means you’ll have to delay your return to Kallorway. But if I move quickly, we should still be able to get you back in time for the start of classes.”
I looked at Matthis. “Do you remember anyone else from your delegation being there when you encountered Conall?”
He shook his head. “It was a chance meeting, or so it seemed. He was a hulking man, with white-blond hair which he wore in a number of thick braids.”
“He wasn’t at court, was he?” I asked, a new worry rearing its head.
“No, we had traveled up north at the invitation of one of the clan heads who wished to host us at his estate.”
“Thank goodness for that.” The situation we faced was bad enough without imagining the emperor already in thrall to Conall.
“We must turn this to our advantage,” the queen said. “Now that you have been given free access to all your memories again, Matthis, you must dredge up every tiny detail you can recall about Conall himself and his methods. Who knows what valuable information may have been lurking inside you all this time?”
“Certainly, Your Majesty. I am eager to be of service in any possible way after being used in such a manner.” Matthis sounded angry, and I couldn’t blame him. But when he turned to me, there was only gratitude in his eyes. “And while I don’t understand precisely how you assisted me, Princess Verene, I am deeply grateful. If I can ever be of service, please let me know.”
My aunt nodded her approval and dismissed him before turning back to me.
“You needn’t worry about him saying anything about your ability—or asking any awkward questions. This aberration aside, he is far too disciplined a soldier for such a thing.”
“Yes, I could see that inside him. I’m not concerned.” I bit my lip. “What I am concerned about is what happens if you gather everyone at this party, and I discover they are all similarly afflicted. It is reasonable enough to hope that Matthis’s liberation will go unnoticed by Conall. But if every seed he has in Ardann is suddenly cut off at the same time…”
My aunt sighed. “It is a valid concern. I don’t wish you to disconnect any of them. At least not initially. Let’s begin by discovering how far the rot has spread. We can decide a course of action from there.” She paused. “And you must accept my own gratitude—to both you and your servant. Your intervention has prevented what could have been a disastrous breach.”
I dropped a shallow curtsy. “I just hope it goes some small way toward proving to you that I have loyalty enough for both my family and Darius.” And seizing the moment, I added, “And no one could be more loyal or trustworthy than Elsie.”
My aunt nodded absent-mindedly, her attention already turning to the papers on her desk and the tasks before her. I hurried from the room, hoping that Elsie’s name would at least stick in the recesses of my aunt’s mind somewhere. Every little thing I could do to prepare the ground for Stellan’s announcement could only help.
I saw little of my parents or Lucien over the next few days, all three of them spending long hours closeted with the queen discussing the latest development and all the possible ramifications. I knew from their reports that the invitations had been sent and acceptances were pouring in.
I, meanwhile, prepared to return to the Academy the morning following the queen’s soiree. I gave Elsie several rest days, knowing how desperate Stellan was to spend time with her, and she accepted them gratefully. I just wished, after all my promises, I could have done something more significant to help them.
But when I encountered the two of them in my family’s otherwise abandoned sitting-room-turned-library one afternoon, we discussed the matter and came to a reluctant conclusion.
“You’re going to have to wait,” I told them, letting my regret tinge my voice. “Mother and Father are refusing to budge about Darius and me. They believe we’re too young to be trusted with such a momentous decision about our own future.” I gave them both a significant look. “And I’m nearly two years older than you, Stell, with only one year to go before I graduate. And Darius is even older with responsibility for an entire kingdom.”
Stellan grimaced. “If they think that about you, I can only imagine how they would react to us.”
“I have hope, though,” I said. “I’m going to find a way to turn their minds around about me and Darius. And when I do—once I’ve softened them for you—that will be your moment.”
“It’s so ridiculous!” he burst out. “As if they weren’t exactly the same at our age! Falling in love with someone they shouldn’t and running off to try to save an entire kingdom.”
“Don’t think the irony has escaped me,” I said. “But I’m told that no matter how grown up and responsible you felt in your own youthful days, you don’t think that looking back at yourself. And it doesn’t make it easier to watch your children caught in the same youthful passions.”