The Spirit War(40)

It was the woman herself who broke the silence. One second Eli would have bet his bounty she was deep asleep, the next her voice rang clear and cold through the room.

“I gave strict orders I was not to be disturbed,” she said, pale eyes cracking open under her narrow, furrowed brows. “If this is not a matter of national emergency, I…” Her voice trailed off when she spotted Josef, and her whole, skeletal body went white as chalk.

Josef stiffened, and Eli leaned back to watch. He loved family reunion  s. He rather hoped the old woman would cry, if for no other reason than to see how Josef’s stony swordsman routine would hold up under a mother’s tears. But when the queen spoke again, her voice was even colder than before.

“Home at last,” she said. “Why am I not surprised to find you sneaking in like a thief in the night, Thereson?”

“You put the bounty on my head,” Josef said. “How else did you expect me to arrive when you made me a criminal, mother?”

The anger in Josef’s voice made Eli wince, but the woman, whom Eli now knew was Queen Theresa, seemed unmoved.

“You left me little other recourse,” she said. “It is a sad lot for Osera when her prince requires such drastic measures to bring him back to his duty.”

Josef crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not here to relive old fights,” he growled. “I came only because you made it clear that you were willing to bankrupt Osera to get me home. So here I am. Now tell me what you want so I can tell you no and we can be done with this idea that I’m still yours to command.”

Theresa’s pale lips curled in a long, slow smile. “But you are, child. You’ve proved it, just now. You came back. It is but a tiny shred of the responsibility my son should hold, but it is a shred more than many thought you had.”

Josef gritted his teeth. “Get on with it.”

Slowly, with great effort, Queen Theresa sat up. She pulled her thin, bony hand from beneath the blanket and held it out, pointing out the tiny window east, toward the Unseen Sea. “The Immortal Empress has returned.”

Josef’s shoulders tensed, but his voice remained insultingly casual. “So? What do you want me to do about it?”

Theresa’s eyes narrowed. “Your duty,” she spat. “After fifteen years of silence, the Empress’s shipyards are active again. My spies report a fleet of palace ships nearly finished. You are Oseran; you know what that means.” Her voice began to quiver. “She is coming, Thereson. If we are to stand against her, Osera must be strong.”

“Osera is strong,” Josef said.

“But I am not,” Theresa said, her bony hand clenching into a shaking fist.

Josef sighed. “You don’t look that bad.”

“Really?” the queen snapped. “Look at me again.” She raised her hand to her face, pressing her thin fingers into the deep hollows of her cheeks. “Look.”

Josef looked, jaw clenched. “Fine, you look terrible. Is that what you want me to say? I’m sorry you’re sick, but—”

The queen’s gray eyes grew stony, shutting Josef’s mouth with a single look. “Sick?” she said softly. “Sick is what I’ve been for the last five years, not that you would know. But I’m no longer sick, Thereson. I am dying. Even my doctors have stopped pretending I will see another year.”

Eli could hear Josef’s teeth grinding, but the queen didn’t flinch. For the first time, Eli could see the family resemblance. The queen looked like Josef did right before he threw his sword away and grabbed the Heart.

“Disappointment that you are,” she said, “you are my only child, the only full-blooded heir remaining to the Throne of Iron Lions. If our line is to continue, you must—”

“Must what?” Josef said with a bitterness Eli had never heard in his voice before. “Maybe you’ve forgotten in your old age, mother, but you were the one who told me I would never be king. That you would disown me if I continued my ‘swordsman nonsense.’ ” He laid his hand on the Heart of War’s wrapped hilt. “My sword has stood me better than your throne. I won’t abandon it just because you’ve changed your mind.”

“My mind remains as it ever has,” the queen said through clenched teeth. “So does your stubborn ability to hear what you want instead of what I say. Listen closely, boy. I’m not asking you to be king.”

Josef froze. “You’re not?”

“Of course not.” Theresa lay back on her lounge with a huff. “Do you have any idea how hard I fought to inherit when my father died? How hard I fought to stay queen when my own cousins said a woman could never lead Osera? Do you think I’d leave that hard-won legacy to a selfish, violent, shiftless brat who doesn’t have the presence of mind to be a prince, much less a king?”