“Not with Merle in between, no.”
For some reason I imagined the raven stuck between two giant wheels, holding them back with his wings—and they would crush him if anyone tried to shoulder in to help.
“Close enough,” Ambrose said, nodding at me, as if he’d plucked the thought from my head.
“What about Anure’s wizards?”
Ambrose poured himself more tea. “What about them?”
“You said they’re worsening the situation, so is there anything we can do to stop them?”
“‘We’? Oh no. You shouldn’t take that on yourself, Conrí,” Ambrose assured me. “More tea?” The tower trembled slightly, the ground shifting far below, and Ambrose cocked his head at the ripples in his tea. “Definitely a sign,” he announced, “that you should focus on the immediate problem, which is Calanthe.”
“If you can’t do anything about Calanthe,” I replied, “then we need Lia. And we need her healthy and strong.”
“Conrí,” Sondra said, “you can’t just—”
I held up a hand to stop her, concentrating on Ambrose. “You can’t save Calanthe. Merle can’t keep doing whatever he’s doing, which isn’t enough anyway. Is there anybody else who can save Calanthe and all the people on it, besides Lia? Yes or no, Ambrose.”
He met my gaze soberly. “If you insist on a dichotomy, then no.”
Good enough. By eliminating options, we at least narrowed our focus. “Your elixir seemed to help Lia. Is there anything else you can do for her?”
“Oh, I’m sure there is.” He looked vaguely toward one of the workbenches I couldn’t quite make out, as if it remained in shadow, though parts of the room next to and beyond it were well lit by lanterns. “The death part is tricky, but in general what a wizard has done, a wizard may undo. That’s not a hard-and-fast rule, but it gets the point across.”
“What?” Sondra burst out, advancing a step, hand going to her sword. “You can help Her Highness and you haven’t done it?”
Ambrose didn’t even look at her, still focused on the shadowy work area. “She hasn’t asked.”
“She isn’t even strong enough to get out of bed, you numbskull!” Sondra shouted. Vesno jumped to his feet and barked in agreement.
Giving the two of us a hurt and puzzled frown, Ambrose fed Vesno a cookie. “Well, why didn’t you say so? I’ve never brought anyone back from the dead before, so I can’t know these things. Really, Conrí, I don’t know why you didn’t ask me that in the first place.”
Sondra threw up her hands and paced away, muttering how she should’ve let me pitch him out the window. Ambrose wandered over to the bench, disappearing into the shadows, even the lamplight glittering off the stars and jewels on his wizard’s robes dimming. “Of course what I do depends on what She asks for,” he called out, sounding as if he stood at the bottom of a well. “It won’t do anyone any good to give Her something She hasn’t asked for.”
Giving me a look, Sondra circled her hand with impatient prompting, wanting me to say something. Wonderful. What had Lia actually asked for? “She wants to be stronger. And she says her mind isn’t sharp. Her memory is full of holes and she says she can’t think.”
“No?” Ambrose stuck his head out of the gloom, his face a floating bright spot. “That’s not good. Not good at all. Brains rot first, you know.”
Sondra shot up a finger in vindication, leveling a grim look at me, as Ambrose vanished again. Then we waited. Sondra paced while I ate cookies, which felt like throwing crumbs into an empty pit. Maybe feeling hungry for real food was a good sign. Finally Ambrose emerged, arms full of jugs, vials, and various other implements—all piled up so that it seemed impossible they’d stayed balanced this long, let along another second.
“Can I help you carry some of that?” Sondra asked him, starting forward, hands outstretched.
“No, child, no,” he answered vaguely as he juggled. “These things aren’t for you to touch.”
She dropped her hands helplessly, exchanging a glance with me. “But how will you get down the ladder?”
“Oh, I’ll meet you there in a bit. After all, you two still have to figure out how to gain an audience with Her Highness. It is quite late, and—”
“Oh, I’ll get in to see her,” I said. It was my own bedroom, too. I wasn’t relinquishing that hard-won territory without a fight. “It’s for her own dammed good.”
“The queen has to ask for help,” Ambrose cautioned me, no longer vague at all. “Especially mine. That’s a critical point, for very good reasons.”
I waited, but he didn’t explain. “I’ll see to it,” I promised. When they both looked dubious, I headed for the trapdoor and opened it. “I’m a man of action, right? I might not be able to force Lia into full health or make her want to live, but I can make her listen to me.” Maybe.
When Sondra, Vesno, and I reached the royal chambers, the guards admitted us—though I’d been braced for a refusal there—and Ibolya rose gracefully, gliding to intercept me as I strode purposefully for Lia’s private chambers.
“Welcome back, Conrí. I’ve ordered food for you, if you’d care to—”
“Later.” I reached the door and put my hand on the knob.
Ibolya put her slender hand on mine, staying me. I might’ve imagined the light prickle, like a static spark, but continuous. Probably not, as her pretty dark eyes took on a determined gleam. “I’m sorry, Conrí, but Her Highness’s orders have not changed. I cannot admit you.”
“You don’t have to admit me. I’m going into my rooms on my own.”
“Please, Conrí. I don’t wish to harm you.” The prickle increased in clear warning.
“Have you been in to see her since I was here last?”
“I checked on Her Highness several times. She’s sleeping.” Though her serene face didn’t so much as twitch the wrong way, she didn’t quite meet my eye.
“I smell a lie,” I said softly enough that it came out like a low growl.
Her eyes widened slightly. “I’m not lying. Her Highness is…” Ibolya sagged ever so slightly. “She is not well. I wish the other ladies were here. I don’t know what to do for Her.”
“I’ll take the responsibility,” I told her gently, but adding the firmness of command. “I know what to do for Lia. She’s not in her right mind. Let me help her.”
Ibolya searched my face for an endless moment. “If you harm Her, or if She calls for me, I will take action to remove you, Conrí. I can do it.”
“I love Lia. I’m trying to save her life.”
With one last searching look, Ibolya nodded in decision. Stepping back, she decorously folded her hands. “I’ll keep Vesno,” Sondra said. “Good luck.”
I opened the door and went to confront Lia.
* * *
“Your Highness, I do hope You will pay attention. I have no doubt You’ll find this as instructive as we do.” The red wizard lowered the knife, sliding it deftly through the space between my ribs. The cold metal poked uncomfortably inside my empty chest cavity, not painful but disconcerting. What had happened to my heart? “You must understand, Your Highness, Your kind aren’t truly human at all, thus You lack the capability to feel emotion. Otherwise, You wouldn’t be so heartless, if You’ll pardon the word play.” He smiled, gentle and dispassionate.