"But your dress . . ." the caretaker sputtered.
"Wrap it tight above their wounds, as tight as you can. Stanch the flow." She remembered Hamon doing that for other wounded. "Stop the blood loss. Tell them to lift the injured limb up. Prop it up. Healers will be here soon." She hoped.
Half the eyes she passed looked at her with gratitude-she saw their relief etched into many of their faces. Their queen was alive. The spirits were subdued. But others looked at her with stares that felt like daggers. She flinched each time but forced herself to meet their eyes. They thought she'd abandoned them, that she deliberately let the spirits attack.
I have to tell them the truth. Soon. Speculation would be running wild. But if she told them she was dying before she had an heir, there would be panic in the city, across all of Aratay. "How ready is your candidate, Champion Havtru?" Daleina asked quietly.
"Frankly, she isn't. She can boss around one at a time very well. Have it going up, down, sideways, acrobatics, you name it. But she can't stretch herself to command more than one. We're working on it. She'll get there. She's a good girl. Tries hard. You'll like her."
It didn't matter if Daleina liked her or not. If she couldn't command multiple spirits, she wouldn't be suited to be queen. "How many days away is she from success?"
"Don't know. Never trained a candidate before. But Esiella tells me she's been trying for a year and almost did it twice. Maybe a few months? I don't know if my candidate will be the one, Your Majesty. I wouldn't say that in front of her, of course, but I'm thinking you want honesty."
"I do. Thank you, Havtru." She hoped the others were farther along. She'd need to announce the trials soon, ideally at the same time as she announced her illness. The trials would distract the people and push the candidates to be ready. "Please push her as hard as you can. I cannot let this kind of disaster happen again."
"If I am to be honest . . ."
"Please do."
"Many of the other champions were, let's say, optimistic in their reports. I don't think any of them are ready yet. At all."
"None?" Surely he was exaggerating. They had to be close.
"Well, Yanan had one that was close, but she died. And Gura's . . . she thought hers could be ready, but she died too. The best ones keep dying off. We're pushing them too hard, I think. People have limits. You have limits. You should let me take you back to your quarters. The healers should tend to you."
At last, they reached the east staircase. The walls were buckled out, but there was no trace of the spirits anymore, or any hint of who or what had brought them here. This hall didn't look any more special than any other. She expected to find a slew of bodies, but there were none. Why had they congregated here if not to attack? She thought this would be the worst of it, but it was oddly empty.
"Let me take you back to your quarters," Havtru repeated.
"I have to find my sister," Daleina said. "I have to be sure she's safe."
"A guard can do that." Havtru called to one of the guards, and an uninjured woman with a streak of blood on her cheek jogged to them. "Find the queen's sister, and make sure she's in a secure location."
The guardswoman bowed and hurried away.
"Now will you rest?" Havtru asked Daleina.
She nodded and didn't ask him to let her walk. She just rested against his chest and endured the stares as they passed by more and more of her people.
As they approached her quarters, Captain Alet ran toward them. Her helmet had slipped, and her hair had unraveled. Her armor was streaked with blood and soot, and her sleeve had a jagged slit. "Queen Daleina!"
"I'm all right," she told Alet. "I'm relieved to see you in one piece." Here, at least, was one friend she hadn't lost. She thought of Linna and Revi and Mari, and how she was failing them.
As Alet checked the room for spirits, Havtru carried the queen inside.
It was pristine: perfectly made bed, beautiful sunlight through the open doors to the balcony, a slight fire in the hearth. For a moment, she was shocked, and then she realized there hadn't been anyone here to hurt. The spirits had gone after only the parts of the palace where there were people to kill. "It's my fault," she gasped. As Havtru opened his mouth to speak again, she waved away his words. "I know I didn't intend this. But Piriandra was right: I failed. I'm failing. We need the trials now."
"More candidates will die," Havtru predicted. "They aren't ready."