“You must’ve thought me savage when I suggested it,” he went on sullenly. “But with Halvar’s betrayal, the loss of my counselors, and Rakim…” His voice cracked. Torvald stared intently down at his oatmeal, wrestling with his grief. “It was the last straw.”
“I understand.”
He managed a half smile. “If I’ve managed to change my mind, so will Kalea. Give her more time. She’ll come to you when her mind has cleared.”
“There,” Dagmar said, running the brush through my hair one more time. “Isn’t that better?”
It made little difference to me, but I nodded all the same. “Thank you.”
“Your healing ability is a marvelous thing,” she said, smiling at me through the mirror. “Four days in the hospital and already your face looks good as new.”
This wasn’t entirely true; there were still blotches of pink along my jaw line and forehead, not to mention the red scars on my neck. I suddenly thought of General Halvar.
His face must have been burned to the bone, I thought with a shudder. Otherwise his skin would have grown back and he wouldn’t have any scars.
“It feels like ages since I’ve braided your hair. I think I’ll do that now.” She wove her hands through my hair and began to separate it before I could object. “I know you’re only resting and you don’t care what your hair looks like, but I’ve missed working on it. I won’t make it too tight, I promise. You’ll hardly know it’s there. How are her hands, Doctor?”
Dr. Ichiro had just finished applying a combination of burn cream and Bryn’s pain-relieving ointment over my inflamed palms. Now he considered them thoughtfully as he wrapped them with new bandages. “The blisters have miraculously disappeared, leaving only scars behind. If I hadn’t looked at these just yesterday, I would think they were only first-degree burns. Does it still hurt very much to use them?”
“They sting, but it’s nothing compared to the throbbing of two days ago. Thank you, Doctor.”
The old owl lookalike smiled and bowed his head. “You make it easy to care for you, my lady.”
“How are the king and queen faring?” I asked as he packed his medicines away.
“They are progressing quite well. I’d say a day or two more of the same treatment will do the trick. The king is walking now. He was pacing in his room when I went to check on his burns earlier.”
“Pacing,” I said, suddenly anxious. “Did he look distressed?”
Dr. Ichiro frowned. “He seemed lost in thought when I interrupted him, and he was hesitant to answer my questions, as if distracted.”
“What are you thinking, Lady Isa?” Dagmar asked. “Is something wrong?”
“I don’t know,” I said, preparing to climb out of bed. “But I’m going to find out. Thanks for coming to visit me, Dagmar. My hair looks lovely.”
My handmaiden held out a hand to restrain me. “Don’t even think about walking. I’ll wheel you over to the master’s room.”
“My hands were the most badly burned, and they’re very close to being completely healed. That should be enough to convince you that the rest of me is fine. I’m perfectly capable of walking.” I gave her a stern look when it seemed she would continue arguing.
My handmaiden forced her mouth shut with great difficulty and accepted my verdict. “Well, I guess I should be going then. I’ll be back tomorrow to hear what you found out from the master. You will tell me if anything is bothering him?”
“I will,” I promised.
“Good.” Dagmar gathered her hairbrush and knitting supplies, bid the doctor good day, and proceeded to leave the room.
The doctor lent me his elbow as I made to rise. I took it with a murmured thank you and eased out of the bed. My feet touched the cool floor for the first time in days, causing me to shiver. I smiled. It felt good to not be so restricted by pain. My legs, empowered with new strength, took me to the king’s hospital room.
Torvald sat on his bed with his legs over the side and his stare fixed on the wall. His brow was furrowed and his lips moved from side to side as if he were chewing on something. Or mulling something over.
“My lord?”
His eyes shifted in my direction but he didn’t move. “Why would General Halvar want to speak to me the moment I’ve been discharged from the hospital?”
I did a double take. “I haven’t the faintest idea.”
“He sent a guard to invite me to lunch. The note said he wanted to be sure I’ve completely recovered. I told him he was welcome to visit me in the hospital. The guard returned, saying the general had no intention of walking among the sick and injured. He wants something, Asta.” His hands clenched in his lap. “What does he want from me?”
I went to stand by his bed, just as puzzled as he was. “I don’t know, sire.”
“Could he want to convince me to elect the men he nominated for new counselors?” Torvald speculated, as if he hadn’t heard me. “He might want to talk about the disastrous end to the island’s anniversary celebration, but he was very insistent about seeing me the moment I’m released. Could he want to question me about my reasons for halting the Quest for Resources?”
“Sire—”
“I think it’s safe to assume my diplomats are dead,” he went on hoarsely. “The men my counselors and I interviewed, and so carefully selected to represent us overseas… murdered.”
“Torvald.” I gripped his shoulder when he didn’t look at me. He winced and I immediately released him. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”
“I’m losing my mind,” the king groaned. “It might be that he really only wants to see me well, but the more I think about it, the more suspicious it seems. I’ve spent too much time around you and your friends.”
I pursed my lips to keep from smiling.
He sighed. “But I can’t blame you or your men, can I? You’ve just opened my eyes to the truth about the people around me and the dangers of letting down one’s guard. Argh, but I hate this uncertainty!”
“I’m sorry you’re distressed, my lord. Is there anything I can do to ease your mind?”
Torvald released the wall from their staring contest and twisted around to look at me. “You can tell me what I should do.”
“You’re the king. I can’t tell you what to do.”
He gripped my wrist and leaned forward. “Yes, but we’re also friends, aren’t we? Please, Asta. I need your help. I’m not thinking clearly. What would you do if you were in my position?”
That was simple; if General Halvar had asked me to join him for lunch the moment I was released from the hospital, I would have refused. It was in my power to refrain from being in his presence when there wasn’t an audience, an army, or a god forcing me to be. If Torvald didn’t want to see the general, he shouldn’t have to either. He was the king. But if he refused… Up until the meeting with the counselors last week—was it really only last week?—Torvald had never openly defied or disagreed with Halvar. The general had kept his king ignorant and under control. He’d had no need to suspect Torvald could be a threat. It was different now. Torvald forcing an end to the Quest for Resources the way he did, with the public declaration that returning soldiers would be questioned about suspicious conduct overseas—it might as well have been a declaration of war.
I took a deep breath. “You have to go. You have to convince him you’re still as naïve and oblivious as he’s always thought you to be. If he pushes you about his counselor nominations, say you’re still looking into the candidates and then change the subject. If he asks why you decided to end the Quest for Resources so abruptly, tell him you’ve heard rumors about your diplomats behaving unseemly overseas and would like to know the truth. If he offers you a story that defends your ambassadors, pretend to think on it and say you have to go through with your plans just to be sure.