I don’t get it.

As usual, there were terrible knots in Borisin’s mane, and it was taking Rudiger a lot of effort to ease them out. He had to wonder what Borisin got up to in the week between each of these visits.

Believe me, you don’t want to know.

Rudiger chuckled. So, what don’t you get?

She obviously doesn’t trust you, so why name you head of the Kingsguard?

Rudiger paused his brushing, and sighed. I don’t know. She’s playing at some game or other. Since being given the appointment a few days ago, nothing had changed. He still wasn’t allowed out of his apartments, except under the strictest supervision, and he certainly hadn’t been allowed to do any of the training his duties supposedly entailed. He hadn’t even met any of the soldiers under his command—not formally, at any rate. I think she gets some sick amusement out of it all.

“I’ve never eaten so much pie in my life, and believe me Rudiger, I’ve eaten a lot of pie. But this...oh...uh...yes, there was a lot of pie.” Malef had been describing the reception following his wedding to Lidda two days ago. Another thing Rudiger had been forbidden from attending, even though the marriage of a monarch would normally require the head of the Kingsguard to be present.

He says he doesn’t know either, Borisin said. She hasn’t said anything to him about it.

“Yes, a lot of pie. Different kinds. I mentioned that, didn’t I?”

Rudiger nodded. “Yes, you did.”

Malef still hadn’t mastered talking aloud about one subject and thinking a different one at the same time. To be fair, it had only been a couple of weeks—and only once a week, at that. Rudiger had had years and he still hadn’t mastered it either.

You got that right, Borisin said.

Rudiger rolled his eyes. Ask him if he knows anything more about her departure for Singea.

“You would have loved it, Rudiger. I wish you could have been there. I...um...oh.”

“Wish I could have been there, too, but her Majesty wanted me in my apartments, and I go where she commands.” Rudiger glanced over at the guards at the stall doors, and shot them a smile. Head of the Kingsguard and still under heavy guard. It had to be some weird political ploy.

“I completely understand, my friend,” Malef said.

He says he thinks she’s intending to leave in the next couple days, but she’s said very little in his presence. He thinks she might be trying to leave without anyone noticing, though he has no idea how she intends to do that.

Maybe there’s a way we can make other people aware she’s gone. She’s taking a huge risk leaving when her position is so precarious. Having eased out what he hoped was the last of the knots, Rudiger brushed Borisin’s back in silence while he waited for an answer. He should probably say something aloud so the guards didn’t get suspicious, but they’d had silent moments before and the guards hadn’t thought anything odd. He was just being paranoid.

He agrees, but reminds you about the dragon. People aren’t really terrified of her; they’re terrified of it, and it will still be around.

Rudiger sighed. Should have killed her when I had the chance.

Malef agrees, but I don’t. You would have died.

That was part of the original plan. The trick was to kill her faster than they could kill me. I went in knowing that.

I know, and it was a stupid plan. Even if it had worked, what about the dragon? We don’t know what it will do if she dies. It might go on a rampage and a whole lot more people die.

Then what’s the point of even plotting to kill her?

Borisin snorted. I don’t know. You tell me.

We have to do something.

I know.

“You’ve been very quiet,” Malef said.

Rudiger looked across at him. “Sorry, just thinking about...my new duties. What they entail. That sort of thing.”

“I’m sure Lidda will put you to work soon, don’t worry.”

Rudiger nodded and gave him a smile, which quickly turned to a frown as Huuh appeared at the stall door.

“Her Majesty demands your presence,” Huuh said. “Both of you.”

Rudiger tried not to groan too loudly, while Malef, who had his back to Huuh, mouthed, “Fuck.”

Continuing to brush Borisin, Rudiger smiled at Huuh. “Be right with you.”

“Now,” Huuh growled.

“Coming.” Moving slowly, Rudiger gathered the brushes and put them away before patting Borisin. Take care, buddy. Might be a while before we see each other again.

Don’t get killed.

I’ll try, but remember, Lidda’s death is the priority. Love you, buddy.

I’ll return the sentiment if you don’t die.

Rudiger laughed.

“What are you laughing at?” Huuh said.

“Your beautiful face,” Rudiger said as he limped past Huuh. The look of confusion on Huuh’s face almost made the abrupt end to the time with Borisin worth it.

The journey back to the Palace was slow and awkward. Rudiger didn’t need to play up his limp much as the sheets of ice caused by snow that had melted and refrozen (possibly multiple times) made movement naturally difficult. At least the temperature was a little warmer, indicating winter was nearing an end at last. Rudiger had only experienced a couple northern winters, and he knew they could be long, but this one had seemed especially long.

Climbing the icy stairs to the Palace doors was particularly difficult. He really should have brought his crutches with him, but he was trying to get used to moving on his own.

Even Huuh slipped a little on the climb, but that only seemed to make him angrier at Rudiger. He reached the top well ahead of Rudiger and glared down at him. “Move!”

Rudiger considered pretending to slip and fall down the stairs, but that could result in actual injury in his condition, so he just ignored Huuh and continued climbing. Malef offered him a hand, and he gratefully took it. When they reached the top, Rudiger patted Huuh’s cheek, and the man practically turned beet red.

Huuh shoved Rudiger’s arm away. “Don’t you fucking touch me.”

“Sorry. You looked like you needed comforting.” It would have been so easy to knock him down the stairs, or smash his face into the Palace wall. Or maybe even snap his neck. Of course, the guards would be on Rudiger a split moment afterwards, but it almost felt worth it.

Interior stairs were easier, especially with Malef’s help, but Rudiger still kept it slow. He wanted to annoy Huuh and keep Lidda waiting as long as possible.

Finally, they arrived at a small dining room Rudiger had never been in before. As he understood it, this was the Royal Family’s private dining room, where they ate when they wanted a more intimate setting. The main dining room had been damaged by the dragon’s fire, so Lidda had been using this room.

It was a small room as Palace rooms went, though still with a lot of space. The dining table sat in the centre of the room surrounded by red-cushioned chairs—eight places in total, so not actually enough space for the entire Royal Family before most of them had died. Additional chairs lined the walls, like in most Palace rooms, and smaller tables in the corners held dishes, glasses, cutlery, trays, and wine.

In the centre of one of the longer cream-coloured walls, directly overlooking the dining table was a strange blank space. A rectangle of less faded colour indicated the spot where a large painting had once hung. Rudiger wondered what it had shown. Probably a portrait of King Wavon or someone else Lidda didn’t want to look at.

Lidda herself was seated at the head of the table, Lamaën to her left. She rose as they entered, and curtsied slightly. “General Lord Fonivan, thank you for attending us.”

Rudiger bowed. “Your Majesty.”

She came forward and embraced Malef. “My love.” They kissed, the kiss going on uncomfortably long. When it finally ended, Lidda took Malef’s hand and led him back to the table, where she sat at the head again, and Malef sat to her right. “Lord Fonivan, please join us.”

Rudiger bowed again and took the seat beside Malef.

“You may leave us, Huuh,” Lidda said. “Please collect our other guest.”

Other guest?

Huuh bowed and left the room, the guards following directly behind him. A pair of servants closed the doors, while a third carried a bottle of wine over to the dining table and filled Lidda’s glass, then Malef’s, Rudiger’s, and Lamaën’s.

When the servant backed away, Lidda raised her glass. “A toast to a wonderful marriage and exciting times ahead.”

Rudiger raised his glass, but didn’t join in with the others in repeating the words of the toast. If it bothered Lidda, she didn’t show it.

A pair of doors across from the ones they entered by opened, and several more servants poured into the room, all carrying trays of food ranging from roast pheasant to steamed tubers to large piles of crusty bread. No oranges, though. The orangery had been burnt to the ground by the dragon.

“Thank you,” Lidda said to the servants as they finished laying out the table and left the room they way they’d come. She looked to Malef, then Lamaën, then Rudiger, and motioned to the food. “Please, enjoy.”

It had been a while since Rudiger had eaten well. He was brought food to his apartments every day, but it was never like this—neither in quantity nor quality—so he dug right in, grabbing a thick cut of pheasant breast, which he covered with tubers. There was a gravy of some sort as well, which he poured liberally over his food. After he’d stuffed some of it in his mouth and swallowed, he said, “So, can I ask what this is all about?”

“As I said, I wish to celebrate my marriage and the exciting times ahead.”

Lidda had only placed small portions on her plate, probably because there would be other courses still to come, but Rudiger didn’t care that he might overstuff himself too quickly. “Right, and the real reason?”

Lidda chuckled. “You think there’s another reason, Lord Fonivan?”

Rudiger glared at her while he finished his latest mouthful and swallowed. “Cut to the chase, Lidda. You don’t like me. I don’t like you. What’s really going on?”

Lidda smirked. “So bold.” She placed her fork back on the table, then put her hands in her lap. “Truly, I wish some entertainment while we do some business. You’re right. I don’t like you, but we’re stuck with one another for now.” She glanced at Malef and her fake smile dropped into a scowl. “I’m quite convinced the two of you are plotting against me, though I haven’t yet managed to figure out how. Huuh gives me detailed reports of what you say and do when Malef visits your apartments, and I’ve watched some of your time with your horse myself. The guards give me reports when I’m not there. There are often moments of awkward silence and stumbling over words like you’ve forgotten what you were saying or you’re not really paying attention. Care to comment?”

“We’re being watched, my love,” Malef said with a smile. “It can make one self-conscious.”

“You can drop the act, Malef,” Lidda said. “There’s no one here who doesn’t already know. You don’t love me anymore.”

“And you never loved me.” Malef stuffed a piece of bread in his mouth and looked away from her.

“So true. But there’s something going on between you two. I just wish I knew what.” She looked Rudiger in the eyes. “The Will-Breaker didn’t pass on her mind abilities to you, did she?”

“Haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about.”

Lidda smirked again. “Of course you don’t.”

“Their plots are irrelevant,” Lamaën said. “They’ll be separated soon.” He had no food on his plate.

Lidda looked at Lamaën and sighed. “I suppose you’re right, but it’s going to bother me endlessly.” She looked back to Rudiger. “The Will-Breaker killed my uncle, you know.”

“Did she? Good for her.”

Lidda picked up her fork again. “It might not have been her personally, but someone working with her. Either way, my uncle failed to acquire Belone for me. She also killed a very powerful Isyar mentalist.”

Rudiger shrugged. “Again, good for her.”

“You don’t understand. Accomplishing all these things means she’s getting more powerful.”

Rudiger laughed and accidentally spat out a piece of tuber. “No, I understand completely. Like I said: Good. For. Her.” He chewed some more and swallowed. “Why are you telling me this?”

“She’s a threat to me. She even sent me a letter promising to see me dead at her feet. She’s got quite the gall, let me tell you.”

Rudiger didn’t respond, and just kept eating. He was getting tired of these games.

After a moment, Lidda snapped, “I need Daemonslayer.”

“You’ve already got it,” Rudiger said, “and I’ve agreed to use it for you.”

“That’s the problem. I can’t be sure it is Daemonslayer. I must know.”

There was a rap at the door.

Lidda smiled broadly. “That must be our other guest. Come!”

The doors opened and Huuh entered side-by-side with a woman who… Rudiger had to take a quick look back at Lidda to be sure. Dressed in an identical pale-blue gown, the newcomer was almost the spitting image of Lidda; the same thin face and pinched nose, the same small ears, the same thin arms. The newcomer’s hair was only lightly styled and hanging straight, while Lidda’s was tied up in a bun and adorned with roses, but otherwise, everything else was virtually identical.

Clapping enthusiastically, Lidda pushed back her chair, stood up, and walked around the table towards the newcomer. “Oh, marvellous! Absolutely marvellous! You’ve excelled yourself, Lamaën.” She circled the woman, gazing over her. A quick wave of her hand dismissed Huuh.

“It was not easy finding someone so close in appearance,” Lamaën said. “You have your handmaid to thank for most of what you see. It’s her excellent work that has made the similarities so precise.”

“It’s stunning,” Lidda said, coming to a stop so she was standing beside the lookalike, both of them facing towards the table. She made a circling motion with her finger. “Spin.” The lookalike turned slowly around, as did Lidda.

With the two of them close together, it was possible to see that Lidda was a little taller than the other and her hair was paler, but Rudiger had to admit if he saw the newcomer alone without Lidda present, he might be fooled.

Once the two had made a full circle, Lidda said, “What do you think, my love?”

“A remarkable likeness,” Malef said. “Though the hair—”

“Nothing a wig won’t deal with,” Lidda said.

“Who is she?” Malef asked.

“Me, of course.”

“Yes, but what is her name?”

Lidda smiled and motioned to the lookalike. “Care to inform him?”

The lookalike curtsied. “I am her Ladyship Lidda Plavin, Lady of Plavin-Tyl, and soon-to-be Queen of Arnor.”

Lidda’s smile drooped a little and she looked to Lamaën. “Do I really sound like that?”

Lamaën stroked his moustache while he spoke. “The pitch is a little low still, and the accent isn’t perfect, but we’re working on it.”

Lidda looked over the lookalike again for a moment. Then her smile widened once more. “With luck, she won’t need to speak much anyway, and it truly is a remarkable achievement.” She turned dramatically, causing her skirts to sweep across the floor, and returned to her seat at the head of the table.

“You’re leaving us?” Rudiger said.

Lidda pulled her seat in, picked up her fork, and jabbed at a tuber. “Leaving them. You’re coming with me.” She waved at the lookalike. “You may leave us. Huuh will escort you back to your chambers.”

The lookalike curtsied and turned for the doors. With no servants in the room, she had to open them herself.

“You think people will believe she’s you?” Malef said.

“She won’t need to do much,” Lidda said. “The story will be that I have developed an illness. Not a serious one. Not life-threatening or anything. But one that will keep me sequestered most of the time. She’ll show her face from time to time, maybe make a short statement, but hopefully nothing more will be needed.”

“You’re confident no one will notice?” Rudiger said. “She’s a close likeness, but…”

Lidda shrugged. “The truth is, most people here have had very little interaction with me. They only see and hear me from a distance. The only people who know me well enough to tell the difference are already in on it.”

“You hope.”

She gave him a forced smile. “I know.”

Truth was, she was probably right. As Rudiger had already noted, he himself might be fooled, and he had interacted with Lidda more than most people in the Palace.

“What about the day-to-day things?” Malef asked. “The running of the Palace. Disputes. Those sorts of thing.”

“Lamaën will be guiding her and telling her what to do and say.”

“And I suppose you want me appear with her, call her your name, and otherwise legitimise the illusion?”

With a smirk, Lidda leaned across the corner of the table and patted Malef’s cheek. “Oh, my love, you are so cute. I don’t need to want it. I know you’ll do it.” She sat back, still smirking. “You can sleep with her if you like. I won’t mind. In fact, it will help sell the situation if you spend nights in her chambers, which will be my chambers. We are married, after all. And if you happen to impregnate her, all the better. I can claim the child as my own without having to go through the whole pregnancy thing myself. What do you think, my love?”

Malef stuffed some pheasant in his mouth and mumbled something in reply.

“What was that, my love?”

Malef swallowed and smiled broadly at Lidda. “I will, of course, do whatever is needed to convince people she is you.”

Lidda stabbed another tuber. “See? No need to want anything.”

“What about her?” Rudiger said.

“What do you mean?” Lidda said.

“I mean, how can you be sure she’ll do everything you want? What if she tries to take advantage of being you?”

Lidda laughed. “For someone who’s been so good at hiding his plotting, you’re being very transparent right now, Rudiger.” She reached over and took Malef’s hand. “Malef here won’t try to corrupt her, will you, my love?”

Malef choked on his food a moment, then coughed. “No, of course not, my love. The very suggestion.”

“Good boy.”

Rudiger sighed. It had been very transparent, as she’d said, but he had a strong suspicion he wasn’t going to see Malef again after this dinner.

“The young woman in question also knows the consequences for betrayal,” Lamaën said. “The rewards for loyalty are much more appealing: the safety of her family and a very sizeable payment when this is all over. She will remain in line. I’ll see to it.”

Lidda placed her hands, palm down, on the table to either side of her plate. “That settles everything then. Lord Fonivan, we depart tomorrow. Huuh will be accompanying us, but no one else. Don’t let that give you any ideas. If anything happens to me, Ezuna will know immediately. Your horse will die, as will numerous others, I’m sure. Understood?”

Rudiger nodded. “Understood.” Something didn’t make sense. With only Huuh along, it would be easy to get at her. He could overpower Huuh with breaking a sweat. The threat to Borisin’s life was a worry, yes, but there had to be a limit to the range of her connection to the dragon. If he could just find that out, and wait until they were beyond it… Lidda had to have concerns that her threats were not enough to protect her.

Which meant there was something else going on.

She wouldn’t do this unless she could be certain of her safety. Which meant he had to figure out what her additional precautions were before killing her.

“Good.” Lidda leaned over and kissed Malef, then stood up. “I’ll see you in my chambers later, my love, but first, finish your meal. Lord Fonivan, I’m sorry to interrupt your meal, but please escort me back to my apartments.”

Rudiger finished chewing the piece of pheasant he’d just put in his mouth, and stood up. He bowed. “Of course, your Majesty.”

Lidda glided around the table and to the doors. There she rapped on them and a moment later, servants on the other side opened them.

Rudiger grabbed one more bite of food and followed her.

Two Palace guards moved into place behind Lidda, but she waved them away. “General Lord Fonivan will escort me.”

“I should remind you, your Majesty,” Rudiger said, “that I have no weapon should you be threatened.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “I doubt that will happen, and if it does, I’ll trust to your superior strength.”

They walked in silence after that. Rudiger watched her carefully—not so much for her protection, but to ponder what her game was.

A pair of Palace guards at the entrance to her apartments opened the doors as she approached, and she and Rudiger entered. In the entry chamber, she waved away a group of servants who flocked to her side.

When the servants had cleared the room, she faced Rudiger and looked up at him with a smirk. “We’re going to be spending a lot of time together, Rudiger.” She then turned away from him, and strode over to the wine table along the wall. She poured herself a goblet and took a sip. “Believe me, I dislike the idea as much as you do, but we will both need to learn to live with it. Wine?”

Rudiger shook his head. “What the fuck’s really going on here, Lidda?”

She smirked again. “You’ll find out tomorrow, Rudiger. I promise.” She approached him again, sipping at her wine. “For now, just know that I am going to let you carry...what do you call it? Slay? Yes, Slay. I’m going to let you carry Slay. However, I need to remind you of the dangers of turning Slay against me.”

Maybe she was nervous about her safety. Why else did she need to keep reminding him of the consequences? She still had to have something else up her sleeve though, even if she wasn’t entirely convinced it was enough.

“Nothing to say?”

“There a point?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I suppose not. You may return to your apartments now. I’ll even let you go without an escort. A show of trust.”

With a shake of his head, Rudiger turned for the doors.

“Oh,” Lidda said. “You’ll find Slay already there when you arrive. I had it delivered while we were at dinner.”

“Thanks,” Rudiger said and continued to the door. He reached for the handle.

“Oh, one more thing.”

He stopped and turned around.

“I’ve also had my lookalike delivered to your apartments. I know it’s a long shot that she’ll conceive in one night, but you never know. If she does, everyone will think it was Malef, I can claim the brat, and not go through the whole pregnancy shit. I’ll have both the heir to the throne and the heir to Daemonslayer.”

Rudiger forced a smile. “How will you know if the child is mine or Malef’s? After all, you told him to sleep with her.”

Lidda snorted and spat out some of her wine. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Malef won’t sleep with her. He’s too noble for that.”

“Yeah, well, seems like he and I think similarly then.”

Lidda shrugged and took another sip of wine. “A shame. But she’ll be there if you change your mind. Good night, Lord Fonivan.”

“Fuck you.”

She laughed as he left the room.