5. Dagmara

The throne room always captivated Dagmara with its three-story ceilings and sparkling glass chandeliers, made to look like glittering pieces of pink salt. All around the outside of the room, were two layers of balconies that faced the raised dais, creating a theatrical element to the space. Large banners in pink and blue pastels hung from the rafters and salt-carved statues of the royals were placed in stained glass windows. At the front of the room, the Krol family crest hung over four thrones, and a majestic waterfall streamed down the wall behind them. A large fountain at the center of the room added a soundscape of rushing water to the area.

Now, only two thrones were occupied. One by King Bogdan, the ruler of Azurem, and one by Prince Aleksy. Dagmara forced herself not to make eye contact with Aleksy for fear her face would flush.

It had taken every ounce of her strength to show up at the meeting this morning. Her neck and shoulders throbbed, and her scalp prickled, similar to the pins and needles that danced in her fingertips. She was both cold and sweating, and her brain felt as though it were blanketed in thick fog. However, she didn’t have time to rest. She couldn’t let the king question her absence and discover her illness. Having an invisible condition was a double-edge sword; she was able to hide it, but no one believed how much it affected her.

Taking a deep breath, she approached the throne. The king and the prince quickly stopped talking about the salt trade and turned their attention to her. After giving the king a low bow, Dagmara extended her palm out toward King Bogdan. Jacek’s ring was in the center of her hand.

Bogdan eyed the jewelry. His face was filled with wrinkles, and he had bushy, gray eyebrows which were more expressive than his personality. For his age, he still had a large head of silver hair. His face was clean-shaven, and his light blue cape, lined with white fur, hid his figure.

“He is dead?”

The comment jarred Dagmara. The king knew what her job was. He had never asked for confirmation before. By the way Aleksy shifted forward in his throne, he was taken aback too.

“Of course.”

As you requested. She wanted to add. She kept her hand extended toward him uncomfortably, waiting for him to take the ring. Did she not powder her face enough this morning? Could he see her cheek was swollen? Did he know that there had been a complication?

Bogdan let out a deep sigh before rising from the throne. “My gut is telling me our intel was wrong.” He approached his first knight who willingly handed the king a scroll of parchment. Bogdan unraveled it and examined the scroll with a furrowed brow.

“Father,” Aleksy rose, “Jacek was the target.”

“Yes, but what if there’s another one? What if he has a team?”

Aleksy took the ring from Dagmara. When his fingertips grazed her palm he lingered a moment longer than usual, sending a shiver down her spine. He glanced at her softly before becoming rigid once more as he approached his father.

“You sound paranoid,” the prince said.

“I have a right to be,” Bogdan replied, his voice staying calm. “What if King Claude has been wrong all along?”

Dagmara’s blood turned to ice. “The Mad King? What does this have to do with him?” To her knowledge, the people she had been assassinating were conspirators against the Azuremi throne. They were from Azurem. Rebels, for lack of a better word. They weren’t foreigners or associated with King Claude in Ilusauri. She had never wanted to know specific details in case she ended up in a similar situation as her mother—kidnapped and tortured. Someone could easily use truth serum on her and all the secrets of Azurem would be exposed. But sometimes she wished she knew more about why she was assassinating these people. What put them on the list?

Aleksy started, “Someone said they witnessed Jacek with…” his voice ran dry when he saw his father’s eyes widen in warning. She, and perhaps the other knights in the room, weren’t allowed to know whatever secret the king and the prince shared.

“What motive would King Claude have to conspire against us?” Dagmara asked. “He outright attacked Celestaire. Why would he enlist our people instead of outright attacking us too?”

“Well, he isn’t exactly predictable,” Aleksy countered.

“But he is predictable,” Dagmara insisted. “He killed his parents to have full control of Ilusauri. Now he’s attacking Celestaire. Maybe he wants control of every kingdom. Thank goodness Celestaire’s forces are impenetrable.”

“We don’t know that for certain,” Bogdan said. Bogdan let out a low sigh before he rolled up the parchment and shoved it into his first knight’s chest. Then his expression fell somber. “Celestaire’s head of foreign correspondence wrote to me personally through the Scribestone this morning. Guardian Sora has been in and out of hiding.”

Dagmara knew the Scribestone was a magical system designed for the royals of each kingdom to communicate with one another almost instantly. Anyone had the ability to use it, but as it was a tablet stationed in the royal library, it was mainly reserved for the royals. Supposedly there were identical versions in each kingdom.

“You think King Claude is going after Celestaire’s guardian?” Dagmara asked.

“I don’t know what King Claude’s intentions are, that is the problem,” Bogdan said. “The illness plaguing children—zowach—has spread through almost all the villages in the north. Without the trade routes open, we can’t get medicine from Claude’s kingdom. Eight years ago it wasn’t a problem, but I’m receiving word that a third of the youth are dead before adulthood. Our population will be wiped out in a few decades at this rate. Claude is withholding medicine, and it’s killing us at the same rate as if he was killing us with his army. Maybe this was his plan all along. I’m telling you, he can’t be trusted.” Then the king of Azurem looked at the crown prince. “For all we know, everything he said to us has been a lie.”

Aleksy nodded, but his expression was laced with skepticism.

“All of this is just to say…” Bogdan’s words were slow and precise as he deliberately shifted the conversation away from Claude, “...we need to keep our wits about us this evening. No one connected to the men we have previously taken care of can be present, including Jacek’s friends. I don’t need to remind you, Dagmara, that Magdalena’s life is in our hands. She will be in front of hundreds of people tonight. If one person slips by our guard, I entrust you to keep her safe. Don’t leave her for a second.”

“Your Majesty, Magda—the Princess—is like a sister to me,” Dagmara said. “Her safety is always my priority.”

“I guess that makes you my second daughter.” A tender smile formed on his face.

Dagmara couldn’t help but smile back. She had barely known her real father.

“If you ever feel unsafe in your current position…” the king paused to scratch his temple. No…he wasn’t scratching his temple. He was gesturing to Dagmara’s bruise. Her heart sank, both concerned and pleasantly surprised that he had noticed. He finished his sentence, “I could transfer you to be Magdalena’s full-time knight. She will need one now that she is a guardian.”

It was as if the floor fell out from underneath Dagmara. Stop being an assassin and become Magda’s full-time knight? If she accepted a new role, she could be with her best friend at all times and ensure her safety. But would Teos still have the same access to the royal nurses?

“I’ll let you think about it.” Bogdan said. “Let’s make tonight a trial run, and we can discuss in the morning.”

She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost missed the relief on Aleksy’s face. He looked at her with a pleading expression, almost as if he was begging her to take the job right there.

“It would be an honor,” Dagmara said, having to calm her shaking voice. She dipped her head respectfully before turning to the exit. Then a thought struck her. “Last thing, Your Majesty. Do you know an Ilusaurian noble by the name of Sabien?”

“Sabien…any surname?”

She shrugged.

“No…I can’t say I know of any noblemen with that name.”

Dagmara tried to suppress her sigh of relief.

“But…”

She froze.

“...Sabien Renaud is the captain of the Ilusaurian royal guard. Only been there for a few years. A real ass if you ask me, and he’s far too young to be so entitled. I guess he takes after King Claude. Why?”

Goosebumps ran down her arms. She didn’t spare a glance in Aleksy’s direction, afraid her expression may reveal too much.

Shoving aside the fear, she leveled her voice and said plainly, “No reason.”

The king didn’t seem convinced, his head inclining slightly. “If there is something you know that I don’t then I implore you to speak.”

If the Sabien she had stabbed and sent off the bridge to his death was truly the captain of the Ilusaurian royal guard, King Claude would be after her head. She wouldn’t admit to killing Sabien in this room, especially with all these witnesses. She would wait until they found his body—if they even did in the spiraling rapids at the bottom of the ravine. Suddenly she regretted asking the king this question so publicly.

However, Sabien had been in town. People had seen him. She had to tell part of the truth.

Dagmara kept her expression calm. “I saw him at the Wilk Tavern last night. He was arguing with the barkeep.”

“He’s here?” Bogdan questioned. “On Azuremi soil? Why?”

Sabien had explicitly told Dagmara that he was there for the coronation, but there was no reason to confess she had spoken to him. It wasn’t like he would be going to the coronation anyway.

Dagmara shook her head. “I don’t know, Your Majesty.”

“Hmm,” Bogdan mused. He turned to his first knight. “Patrol the town, I don’t want him here. Ask if anyone spoke to him. I don’t care if he came to provoke us or came for a night at the brothel. I want him gone. But don’t think about touching him, I don’t need King Claude to have a reason to attack. We’re walking on thin ice as it is.”

The first knight nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty. We will scour the streets until we find him.”

Dagmara swallowed the lump in her throat. She hoped they wouldn’t find him. Maybe when he washed up on shore his body would be too mutilated from the rocks that he wouldn’t be recognizable.

“Thank you,” Bogdan said to Dagmara.

“You’re welcome.”

She turned to go once more, and couldn’t help but meet Aleksy’s gaze for a half-second.

His expression was unwavering, his jaw clenched.

The prince knew.

Hastily, she exited the throne room. Her heart was pumping so fast, she could hear the blood rushing to her temples. The wound from Sabien’s blade still stung underneath her clothing. She had to get back to her room and lie down.

How could she have killed Ilusauri’s Captain of the Royal Guard? Surely she couldn’t have gotten herself into this mess. If anyone found out, would King Bogdan cover for her? Or would she be sold out to the Mad King?

She didn’t have time to reach a conclusion. Someone grabbed her arm and yanked her into the shadows.