“What do you mean? It’s the queen?” Anders asked, deeply concerned.
Ivan handed him the letter, which Anders read aloud:
K,
I hope this letter finds you well. I’ve reported the time and departure to our lord, Merglan. He and Killdoor will ride out to squash the riders who fly among our elven troops. If the battle goes in his favor, we will no longer have to hide our true allegiance. I’ll force the will of my husband as king to see the greatness in the plan Merglan’s set out for us all.
I was instructed to tell you that if the battle doesn’t go in the favor of our lord, we are to escalate the quarrels between our people. We’ll need to keep our kingdoms distracted while he conquers the nations of humans. Once back in his prominent position, our lord will take us into the fold and assimilate all who will follow his plan.
Keep up the good work,
Signed Merglan’s humble servant, Lageena.
Anders raised his eyes in dismay, the parchment in his hand shaking.
“We need to inform Asmond as soon as possible,” Ivan said. “Get back to your rooms and gather your bags; we leave at once.”
“Wait,” Natalia said. “Can’t we just send word to him via the mirror?”
“No,” Ivan replied quickly. “Last I saw of the pair’s other half, Nadir had it. So, it’s probably among his possessions with the guards or in the queen’s possession. Besides, now that we know Merglan’s got the queen spying for him, who knows how many others she’s recruited. Anything said to the king via the mirror could be overheard by traitors’ ears. No, using the mirror is too risky. We must deliver the news ourselves.”
Remli butted in on their conversation, his voice commanding, “You were sent here to negotiate with us on the terms of our commerce. Seeing as how it was tampered with by two of our people’s highest ambassadors, we must forgive the damage they’ve caused to our relationship. I offer my sincerest apologies to King Asmond. May his wife burn eternally for what she’s done. If there’s anything my people or I can do to help, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Ivan looked off to the corner of the room, an idea forming in his mind, “Actually, there is something you could do,” he trailed off.
“Anything,” Remli said, stepping forward.
“After we deal with the spy, Lageena,” Ivan started, “we’ll be launching an attack on Merglan’s location in Southland. We can’t afford to let him take control of the human nations again. Our reports last placed him near Kingston. I expect he’ll attack the capital soon. Meet us in two days’ time where the mountains approach the sea. Bring as many able fighters as you can muster and sail with us to Southland. We’re going to war.”
Remli’s face went as stone as the castle walls themselves. Slowly nodding he said, “I will bring a host of dwarfs to fight with you, Ivan. It will be like the days of old when we fought side-by-side among the goblin pits.” He held out his hand and Ivan gripped it firmly, nodding in reply. “Go now. I’ll see you in two days where the mountains meet the sea.”
Ivan led Anders, Zahara, Maija and Natalia back across Hardstone and into the inn. He rushed them into their rooms, ordering them to gather their things quickly. Anders and Maija stuffed their clothes into their travel packs, not caring to pack them neatly.
“I can’t believe it was Lageena this whole time,” Maija said as she gripped one of the large saddlebags and held the door open for Anders.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Anders said “I know. It’s hard to believe she could do such a thing to her own people. And lead everyone to think it was her own son. It’s terrible!”
As they spoke, they dragged the large bags into the stairwell, where Natalia rushed to catch up with them. “Nadir isn’t Lageena’s son,” she said as she came alongside the pair.
“What? Of course he is. He’s the prince,” Anders said, hoisting the saddlebag onto his shoulder and crossing the lobby.
“Yes, he’s the prince because he’s Asmond’s son, but Nadir isn’t the son of Lageena. Asmond was married once before Lageena and he bore several children with his first queen. They were long dead, all but Nadir, by the time Maija and I were born, but my father would often tell stories about them.”
“What happened to them?” Maija asked while helping ready Zahara’s saddle outside the inn.
“One day Asmond found his wife dead in the throne room and all of his children except Nadir missing. It was tragic and the mystery went unsolved. Nothing in the known world can penetrate the elven city without granted access, not even Merglan and his dragon could do it,” Natalia said as they lifted the saddle onto Zahara’s back and began arranging the straps.
“Maybe it was Lageena?” Anders suggested.
Natalia shrugged, “I doubt it. She had no reason to. It was before all of this Merglan nonsense. Why would she do such a thing if she wasn’t working with him?”
Anders nodded as he cinched the second saddlebag onto Zahara’s saddle. He watched Ivan exit the inn, holding a piece of parchment in hand. “What’s that?” he asked looking at the letter in Ivan’s hand.
“It’s word from the elves. Asmond requests our immediate return for the execution of Merglan’s spy,” he said coldly.
“How did they figure that out so quickly?” Anders asked.
“Not Lageena,” Natalia said. “Nadir. They think he’s the one who’s been spying. While we were gone, Lageena must have faked evidence to convince the council to prove him guilty.”
“All the more reason to return at once,” Ivan said.
“Do you have the letters from Lageena to Korvir?” Anders asked.
Ivan patted his breast pocket, “Tucked safely against my chest.”
They rushed through the dwarf city and up the steps to the great entrance hall. Exiting through the massive stone doors where hours before they’d been training, they emerged into the open air. Zahara crouched for Ivan and Anders to climb on. Anders made to get on her, but glanced at Maija, noticing she hadn’t rushed out as her sister had. The look on her face was unlike anything he’d seen from her before. He knew something wasn’t right. Stepping over to her, he took her gently by the hand and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Tears welled in her eyes as she met Anders’ gaze, “I’m not coming with you.”
Anders stammered in surprise, “Wha, what are you talking about?” he said shaking his head and half smiling. The half-smile faded when he realized she was serious.
“I need to stay here,” she said the quiver in her voice disappearing. She wiped the tears forming in her eyes and stood firmly at the entrance to Hardstone.
“Why?” Anders asked.
“The dragon is calling to me. I can feel its draw pulling at me even now as I stand here. If I leave now, with you, the opportunity to discover what could be will be lost. I may never find him again. I need to go to him before he’s gone too far from here,” she said looking directly into Anders’ eyes.
Anders could hardly believe his ears, yet he understood what she meant.
