CHAPTER ONE
Where does solace hide when discord
warbles its tumultuous strains?
In silence or in sound, Harmony is found.
—THE HARMONY OF BEING
Queen Jasminda ul-Sarifor Alliaseen held a maelstrom of Earthsong within her. She found herself connecting to the stream of energy in times of distress, without any real intention of doing something with the power, but holding it inside herself brought comfort. She was on alert at all times now. She’d already been assassinated once, after all.
The current cause of her anguish was not the terrorists who’d taken her life mere weeks ago, nor the ongoing strife between Elsiran citizen and Lagrimari refugee playing itself out in the streets. These were on her mind at all times, but at this precise moment, it was the undervalets scurrying in and out of the royal suite who had her on edge. Usher, the king’s valet and longtime friend, directed them as they brought in piles of clothing and shoes for inspection.
“No,” the man said, shaking his gray head. “Not those—in fact, send those to the Sisterhood for charity distribution. He’s nearly worn the soles off them.”
The servant nodded and rushed off.
“That trunk is full, young man,” Usher said kindly to another. “No use overstuffing, just place those vests in the other one.”
Jasminda swallowed, taking in the organized chaos, a pulse of life energy rushing through her veins. “Is he going away for a fortnight or a year?” she muttered.
Usher led her out of the path of the servants, saving her from a collision with a young woman carrying a stack of shirt boxes that nearly reached her eyes. “His Majesty will require options. Prime Minister Buchanan has not provided us with an itinerary, so we don’t know how many formal and informal dinners there will be, whether he’s organizing a hunting carnival, wilderness explorations, or other entertainments. We must be ready for anything.”
“Hunting carnival?”
“The elite of the south are quite fond of reveling after a kill. Rather intensely, as I recall,” a new voice announced. King Jaqros Alliaseen emerged from the adjoining sitting room. “They do not even use the meat for food, they drape it over themselves and parade around taunting the birds of prey.”
Jasminda shuddered, her face twisting in disgust.
“I know, I know, it’s barbaric, but it’s part of their culture, and it would be wrong to judge.” Jack pulled her even farther away from the packing action to sit on the settee in front of the fireplace, now burned down to embers. The weather had turned colder with winter nearly upon them, but with all the activity the room had been warm all day and no one had stoked the fire.
“This is a terrible time for you to go off on vacation, you know,” she said, crossing her arms. She didn’t pout; she was constitutionally unable to do so, or so she’d always thought. But her husband was leaving on this ridiculous trip—where he would apparently be dancing while wearing raw meat and waiting for vultures to attack. And she would be left here for the first time to run the country on her own, stalked by her own birds of prey.
Jack gently untangled her arms and held her hands. “It’s the worst timing ever, but Buchanan is an idiosyncratic old man. He believes in star alignments and makes decisions according to the phases of the moon. My invitation was not only last minute, it was apparently sparked by some sort of celestial event that we can only hope will induce him to give aid to his needy northern neighbors.” He smiled. “But if not, I’m going to convince him to help.”
“Maybe he can ask the stars and moon to end our drought.”
Jack chuckled and brought her hands to his lips. Her shoulders softened. The invitation from Fremia’s Prime Minister couldn’t be ignored, especially when Elsira was in such a difficult situation.
“Or maybe the celestial beings can intercede with King Pia and ask her to stop this fecking embargo.”
Jack’s lips quirked. He raised a brow at her language and she rolled her eyes. She didn’t normally curse, but desperate times and all. “I think we’re going to have to handle that one ourselves,” he said. “That last message from Ambassador Nirall was positive, wasn’t it?”
She nodded. Both Jack and the Council had thought putting the situation with Raun on Jasminda’s plate was a good idea. Not because of any skill she had with foreign relations, but because her younger brother Roshon was engaged to the daughter of the female king of Raun. And their new ambassador, Lizvette Nirall, had instantly created a rapport with the notoriously difficult leader. Jasminda herself was the weak link.
“Listen, I know you’ve been busy with the needs of the refugees,” Jack said, “we all have, but if the embargo doesn’t end soon, even Fremia’s aid won’t be enough. We need to get Raun back on our side and you’re the best option for that.”
“I know, I need to brush up on their history and culture and make some overtures, but honestly, if your brother made a misstep with them that caused this fiasco, there’s little chance that I can fix it.”
Jack sighed, shaking his head. “My brother was a great Prince Regent, but his people skills left something to be desired. I believe if you prove to Pia you understand and respect Raunian culture, you can smooth over whatever Alariq did to get us in this mess.”
She nodded, though she wasn’t convinced. Perhaps if Earthsong could create additional hours in the day, she would have time to handle every item on her to-do list. The drought, the embargo, the lines of hungry refugees waiting for food, the protests of Elsiran citizens wanting to push the refugees out of the country. She shivered, recalling the devastation that the fall of the Mantle had wrought when the defeat of the True Father changed their world forever.
A loud snap brought her attention back to the other side of the room. Usher had just closed the second trunk and the other servants were clearing out. Jasminda took a deep breath and pulled her hands from Jack’s. They immediately felt cold, plus a chilly dread began to spread across her body at the thought of piloting this massive, damaged ship by herself for two weeks. The length of the visit was another thing predestined by astronomical forces.
She stood and Jack followed, tracking her with his gaze. He was worried and she didn’t want him to be, so she tried to put forth an air of confidence she absolutely did not feel. Of course he saw through her.
Copyright © 2021 by L. Penelope
