Chapter 20

I shmyel and Wyett returned while Anyka was drinking her coffee. She was dressed for breakfast but wasn't ready to go down. She set the cup aside as they came in, eager to hear their report. "Is Nazyr awake yet?"

Ishmyel looked pale. He ignored her question and went straight to the side table, where he poured himself a cup of coffee with trembling hands.

Obviously, her uncle wasn't going to tell her anything. She stared at Wyett, waiting. "Out with it."

"No, my lady. Nazyr is not awake. He remains unwell. His mumbling is occasionally interrupted by…" Wyett swallowed.

"Just say it."

Wyett took a breath. "A female voice asking for you."

"Your mother's voice," Ishmyel said. He'd poured the coffee, but was staring out through the windows, eyes glazed over as if he was struggling with what he'd just witnessed.

Anyka didn't want to go see Nazyr, but she supposed she must. It couldn't be as bad as these two were making it out to be. "Who is with him?"

"No one at the moment," Ishmyel said. "The guard remains at his door. He knows not to let anyone but you, Wyett, or me in." He turned, coffee cup in hand. "We need Vice-Minister Evenshade brought up from Dearth. This is magic beyond any of our understanding."

Grylan Evenshade was mostly unknown to her. Nazyr had supported his appointment, but she'd never met him and knew nothing of his abilities. It was highly possible that he had very few abilities. But she was without another option. After a moment, she nodded and looked at Wyett. "Have Chyles write up the request and get it sent immediately. You know what to say. And tell him to come by portal. I cannot wait."

"Yes, my lady," Wyett responded.

He and her uncle looked about as morose as she'd seen them.

"Nazyr did this to himself," she said.

Neither Ishmyel nor Wyett said a word. Not even a, "Yes, my lady." She knew what they were thinking. That this was her fault. If they supported her more and had better ideas, she'd never have had to summon her mother in the first place.

Anyka got to her feet, shaking out the skirt of her gown. Steel blue silk trimmed in black silk embroidery. "I'll go see him before we go down for breakfast. Hawke will be here any second. Wyett, go. Get that letter sent."

He departed.

Princess Beatryce wandered into the sitting room, dressed for breakfast. She yawned. "When are we leaving for breakfast? I'm going on the morning nature ride through the mountains."

Anyka was about to tell her daughter she preferred her to remain in the palace, then thought better of it. Getting Beatryce away from here might be smarter. "If you're hungry, I'd be happy to have your uncle escort you to the dining hall, but I have a matter to take care of first."

Beatryce nodded. "All right. I want to go now so I don't miss the ride. And Merylynn will be waiting on me to eat."

"Ishmyel, escort Princess Beatryce, please?"

He nodded. "I'll see to it." He finished the coffee in his hand.

Anyka went to her room, checked herself in the mirror, found everything in order, then returned. Ishmyel and Beatryce were headed out as Hawke was coming in.

He bowed to Anyka. "My lady."

"Hawke."

"Any news on Nazyr?"

"I want to go see him. Come with me. My uncle and Wyett tell me there is no change."

Hawke frowned. "Do you truly believe your mother's spirit is inside him?"

Anyka shrugged. "I don't know what else to make of what I saw. I'm sending for Vice-Minister Evenshade. I hope he can help but…" She didn't want to express her lack of confidence in the man, but she imagined Hawke understood that. "I want to go immediately."

"Of course."

"Trog." She headed for the door, Hawke at her side, her bodyguard falling in behind them.

Nazyr's quarters weren't far, but she still passed several of her ministers on the way. One attempted to speak to her. She raised her hand and kept walking. "Not now."

The guard at Nazyr's quarters bowed, then opened the door for her.

She went in but stopped in the small sitting room. "Stay here. Both of you. I'll go in alone and call if I need you."

Without waiting for their answer, she went through to Nazyr's bedroom. It was dark and smelled faintly of body odor and rotten eggs. She wrinkled her nose at the unpleasant scent. "Lights."

The bedside lamps came on, revealing Nazyr in his bed, the linens tangled around him, his skin damp with the sheen of perspiration, his body occasionally twitching. A soft moan left his throat, then he laughed.

Anyka sucked in air. That was not Nazyr's laugh. It was her mother's.

His eyes came open but focused on nothing. He looked on the verge of madness. Or perhaps he was already there.

She swallowed and wished she did not have to be here. But if that was truly her mother…

"Anyka." Nazyr's mouth moved slowly, drawing the name out, the voice not his own.

She screwed up her courage. "Mother?"

He looked at her, little flames dancing in his pupils. "My darling girl. You did it. You freed me."

She didn't know what to say to that. Freeing her mother from the Beyond had never been her intention. She hadn't even known it was possible. And while she loved her mother dearly, this was not truly her mother.

This was…something else. Evenshade could not arrive soon enough.

There was only one thing Anyka could think to do until the Vice-Minister was here. "Mother, I need to speak with Minister Nazyr. Can you…" She didn't quite know what to ask for. "Can you wake him up? Let him speak to me?"

Those fiery eyes narrowed. "Am I not good enough? Do you still mourn me?" The gaze tightened further. "Or has the crown upon your head made me easy to forget?"

"Of course I still mourn you. You and father. I would gladly give up the crown to have you both back."

Nazyr's lips pulled into a gruesome smile. "I can do nothing about your father, but he was never the real power behind the throne. I am here now. I will retake my rightful place as queen and you may rest, my darling."

That was never going to happen. This thing was not her mother, and this thing would never be queen.

Anyka forced herself to smile. Until she knew how much the being that had taken possession of Nazyr could see and understand, Anyka had to be careful. She didn't want to lose Nazyr—he was a valuable tool—and she did not want to rile the spirit.

His eyes rolled back in his head, and Nazyr moaned, his own voice this time.

"Nazyr?" She whispered his name.

"My…lady…" he breathed the words out, weakly clawing at the bed linens.

She took his hand. His skin was feverish, the scratches she'd made red and puffy. He needed a doctor, but she wasn't sure one could actually help him. "Tell me what to do, Nazyr."

For a moment, he went very still, making her think he'd gone delirious . Then with another weak moan, his eyes came open. No flames this time. His head lolled to one side and he managed to look at her. "You must…kill me."

She recoiled. "No. I cannot do that. I need you." She really did, she saw that now. For all her doubts about him, he'd been loyal. He'd created the amulet for her, never once trying to take Lady Cynzia's grimoire for his own.

She grimaced. If Queen Sparrow hadn't stolen that book, none of this would have happened. This was her fault. Anyka's mother might have been tainted by the Beyond, but she was right that Sparrow had to be eliminated. The Radiant queen had caused enough trouble, enough heartache.

"I will get you a doctor. And I will find a way to help you. I swear it. Please, Nazyr, stay strong. Do not leave me." She was surprised to find herself on the verge of tears.

Perhaps it was because she knew this was her responsibilty. She had to fix this. She gave his hand a soft squeeze, let it go, and stood. "I will be back soon. With help."

She opened his windows enough to let fresh air in, before going into the sitting room. Hawke looked at her expectantly.

"How is he?"

She shook her head. "Not well. I have to help him."

"He's not a bad man, my lady. The time I've spent talking to him—"

"I know. I was wrong to doubt him." She put her hand to her brow. So much had gone wrong lately. She could not lose Nazyr.

Hawke came closer. "What can I do to help? Anything you need me to do, I will do it."

She put her hand on his arm, thankful to have him close. "I must find a nurse to look after him. Someone I can trust. Someone who will keep their mouth shut."

Hawke nodded. "I have a half-sister. Clary. She is young and strong. She could do it. I will vouch for her."

"How soon can you get her here?"

"Today, if I can use your scribe to send a message to her."

"You can have use of him. Let's go down to breakfast and I'll have Wyett fetch him for you." She put her hand to her stomach. She felt unwell. She needed to eat and prepare herself for the rest of the day.

"Thank you, my lady."

They walked into the dining hall. There was no sign of Wyett, but she was sure he'd come in when he'd taken care of sending for Evenshade. Ishmyel, Princess Beatryce, and her friend, Merylynn, were seated and eating.

The three stood as Anyka approached. She quickly sat so they could return to their food. Ishmyel, next to her, gave her a questioning glance.

"He is worse than I thought," she said quietly.

Hawke, on the other side of her, filled her cup with coffee. A footman arrived, but Anyka held her hand up for him to wait.

Ishmyel shook his head. "I don't know what to do."

"Neither do I, not exactly, but I pray Evenshade will. As soon as Wyett returns, I am sending for Hawke's half-sister, Clary, to be Nazyr's nurse. If his physical health fails, nothing Evenshade does will matter."

"Wise," Ishmyel said.

She addressed the footman. "Porridge with berries and cream."

"Yes, your highness." He went to fetch her breakfast.

"Mother?"

Anyka looked across at Beatryce, reminding herself her daughter knew nothing of these troubles. "Yes, my darling?"

"Will you join us on the ride today? We would love to have you."

Beside Bea, Merylynn nodded enthusiastically. As if a mere citizen's opinion might influence Anyka. She held onto her smile as best she could. "I'm sure it would be delightful, but I have important matters to attend to. You must pay careful attention so you can tell me all about it over dinner."

Beatryce sighed in obvious frustration. "Fine."

"Bea, I know you're disappointed, but I cannot ignore those who rely on me."

"I know." Beatryce gave her a little smile. "But I still wish we could spend more time together. We had fun at the baking class, didn't we?"

Fun was not the word Anyka would have chosen, but she nodded anyway. "Yes, we did. And I promise that as soon as I'm able, we will do something else together."

The footman returned with her porridge. She sprinkled sugar over it, then added cream from the small pitcher he'd brought.

She'd taken two bites when Wyett came to the table.

He bowed. "The request has been sent."

"Good. Hawke has another one that needs to go out. Get the information from him, then see to it immediately."

"Yes, my lady." He turned toward Hawke.

Anyka spooned up another mouthful of porridge, her thoughts drifting through all the problems that lay before her. Something good had to happen soon.

She was starting to understand why Lady Cynzia had taken to the hills.