Copper Veins(7)

4


A few heartbeats later, Micah and I stood before the glowing radiance of the Golden Court. Unlike our prior visits, the court was less than welcoming. Oh, the walls and floors were still the same rich, warm metal, and the roof had once again been retracted to let in the sunlight. The servants were as attentive as they’d ever been, smiling and genuflecting and inquiring if we would care for any refreshment, and we were quickly escorted to Oriana’s receiving hall. Still, there was a coldness to the air, a chill that had little to do with the temperature.

When Micah and I entered the receiving hall, we found the source of the chill—Oriana herself. The Gold Queen wasn’t seated upon her throne, but on the topmost step of her dais. She was shrouded in what looked like a monk’s robe, with only her head and golden fingertips left uncovered. The robe was the color of old parchment, and though it was only a single garment, it gave the entire hall the appearance of being overcast.

Micah opened his mouth to greet the queen, but she whispered, “You killed my advisor. His body was found choked by silver yesterday morning.”

I blinked, I didn’t remember killing—oh. Him.

Oriana was correct—Micah had killed Old Stoney. What she apparently did not know was that the rock had had us followed from the Goblin Market and had gone out of his way to try to kill us first. Lucky for us, Micah was faster and stronger than the stone Elemental had been.

“My lady,” Micah began, “it was an act of defense.”

“Defense?” Oriana asked, not bothering to look at us. “Why would you have a need to defend yourself from Grey?”

“Do you not recall the many messages that were sent to you stating that I was unwell?” Micah countered. When Oriana nodded, he continued, “Sara’s family and I had reason to believe that her father was at the Goblin Market. We traveled there to intercept him, but instead of locating him we were attacked, kidnapped, and drugged as part of a ransom attempt. Once we escaped our captors, Farthing Greymalkin approached us. The five of us were alone on the road, and he was accompanied by nearly a score of iron warriors and orcs. I believe that he was the one responsible for our kidnapping.”

“And what makes you hold Grey responsible for that incident?” Oriana asked.

“As I stated, he met us on the road, iron warriors in tow. Why would one of stone be accompanied by those of iron? How would he have known we were at the Goblin Market if he hadn’t been privy to the plot? Moreover, how would we have been captured if Greymalkin hadn’t offered his resources? I can assure you, those orcs were no mercenaries,” Micah said, a hint of desperation in his voice. I wondered what the penalty was for killing another Elemental lord.

“So, instead of bringing your concerns to me, you killed him.” Oriana raised her head then, and we saw her eyes were red from crying. “I do not like those close to me dying.”

“My lady, I promise you I had no choice!” Micah approached the dais and knelt before it. “I did not intend to kill him. Greymalkin lashed out at Sara, and my first instinct was to protect my wife.”

“Wife?” Oriana regarded me for the first time, her head cocked to the side, birdlike. “When last we met, she was naught but a consort.”

“She is now my wife,” Micah stated. I stood beside him, my hands on his shoulders. I probably should have knelt, but the crazy queen didn’t seem to care one way or the other.

“I was once a wife,” Oriana murmured.

“I remember,” Micah said. “Your husband was a great man, and a great king.”

“Didn’t Ferra kill him?” I blurted out. Micah shook his head slightly, but the words were already said. Oriana descended the dais and walked a slow circle around us, her fingers trailing across Micah’s shoulders and my hips.

“Ferra did indeed kill him.” She sang the words like a nursery rhyme. “She wanted to punish me by using him as her plaything. Even after his head had been severed, she animated his body, made it dance before her. But she was too rough, and his form did not last long under her iron touch. Then she threw me into the oubliette, so Grey couldn’t have me.” Oriana took up a length of my hair and began plaiting it. “It’s why Ferra had Selene killed.”

“Selene?” I asked as Micah shot to his feet.

Selene Silverstrand. Ferra wanted to eliminate all of the female royal Elementals so Grey only had her to lie with. Selene was quite lovely, you see.” My stomach dropped to my feet, but the queen went on plaiting my hair as if we were friends at a sleepover. “She even tricked Grey into doing the deed himself. Surely you knew this, Micah?”