His hand was gone from her throat, but she still couldn’t breathe. She was dead by morning. She glanced down at her hands and saw they were shaking, blood had splattered across her skin. She didn’t know what had come over her, and there was no way to explain away what had just happened. She’d touched the King, assaulted a King.

  In the corner of her eye, the Quwavia kids both vanished with a cry of alarm. The reaction was muted as the blood roared in her ears. She was vaguely aware of Bukidai cupping his nose, attempting to stop the blood flowing freely from his nose. She glanced across at the tribe leaders, seeing each of them staring at her. Even Aric stared. She turned to Wil, only to see his expression mirrored her own. The colour had drained from his face and the Eldwylle Prince was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Wil gripped a scrap of cloth tight in his fist. It was the same dark colour as the prince’s cape.

  Queen Rhoswen slowly rose from her chair, shuffling over to Wil and reaching for the cloth but not touching it. She then wailed. Loud and shrill, she would have fallen if King Faustus hadn’t caught her. The silence that had claimed the space moments ago felt heavier, frozen in its tension as the Eldwylle Queen wept at her now gone son. Everyone else, the lords, the ladies, marquis’, commanders, ambassadors, all frozen in a state of shock. Even the Resei – a small handful of them still serving food and wine – were slow and careful in their movements.

  The Tribe Chief who’d spoken for her gripped his wife’s shoulder, both of them shaking and pale. The Quwavian Minister had her hands over her mouth, her tears silent over a reddening face. Bukidai had finally gotten the blood under control, and had pulled a smaller cloth out from under the food to wipe it up. The High Empress still stood at the highest table, hugging her pregnant belly and hyperventilating as the Emperor shook violently, opening and closing his mouth like a gaping fish.

  Tseren saw no magic. There was no waver of air where the two worlds had opened for each other, no strings of paths the creatures had torn to snatch each child through. Nothing had come before, and nothing remained. For the first time in her entire life, Tseren couldn’t see the magic that was obviously there.

  ‘You!’ Bukidai barked the word at the tribe leaders, at the same moment one of them pulled Mala into a tight hug. ‘What is the meaning of this? Why is she the one who gets to stay?’

  Both tribe Chief’s stood in front of her protectively, while one of their wives reached out and took her arm. ‘She is a member of our court,’ one said. ‘It seems this attack was focused on our children, not on all of us.’

  The twins weren’t Bukidai’s children, Tseren pointed out silently. Though he’d introduced them as such for the sake of secrecy. It surprised her to think that the Wild Folk had brought into the same lie.

  ‘You would sooner suggest they also take your knight,’ the Quwavia Minister said. ‘Or Eldwylle’s retainer. The most important thing right now is finding out what happened, and who has taken them.’

  ‘The Wild Folk,’ the tribe chief said. ‘They made their threat and now they’ve delivered.’

  ‘I dislike your tone,’ Bukidai growled. ‘Are you suggesting we are being punished for our part in a war everything else took part in?’

  ‘Quiet,’ The High Emperor barked. ‘Watch your tone. Each of you are part of the commonwealth; you exist under the single crown. As all of us have delivered the final blow to these… fairies, we will see the petty display of power met with the same response. For now, I believe I hand the room to Commander Telesinus.’

  The commander in question straightened, fixing the ceremonial armour adorned on his chest before studying the room. ‘Grand majesty, if I might open with a personal suggestion?’

  The High Emperor nodded.

  ‘Tonight’s celebration has been called upon after the full force of the entire Shihoan army,’ Commander Telesinus said. ‘Perhaps if they don’t see a need to take that seriously, then a more dramatic response is required. We come down hard and fast, and we show these monsters that humanity will always be in charge, no matter their protest.’

  The High Emperor nodded again. ‘You are talking about implementing the Red Guard.’

  ‘I am, grand majesty.’

  ‘And you can assure the complete safety of Princess Caedicia through the actions of this plan?’

  ‘Indeed I can, grand majesty. I will see to it that she is returned to you by my personal hand.’

  Tseren pressed herself against the pillar, trying to make herself as small as possible. She glanced over at Mala, who was also shifting back. It was strange to her that she felt something of a connection to this woman, even though they’d come to be in the same circumstances and nothing more. The reality was that both of them had drawn attention to themselves in this mess, and the promise of violence could very easily turn on them. How far could Tseren realistically get if she ran now? Would it matter if she ran before, they called for her arrest or the moment it happened? Maybe it didn’t matter at all. All she could hope for was that the court overall forgot about her act of violence and left Bukidai to deal with it later.

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  ‘Sir,’ the tribal chief stepped forward, ignoring Mala as she motioned to stop him. ‘Might I request the same protections for our own—’

  ‘There will be no more conversation on this night,’ the High Emperor said. ‘The evening has been called to a close. Commanding officers will report to the battlements.’

  ‘Sir?’ The Quwavia Minister stood, wiping tears from her face. ‘Our children, our—’

  ‘No more!’ The High Emperor barked. ‘This situation will be dealt with.’

  ‘You don’t care about us.’ Queen Rhoswen’s voice was small but carried through the air like a knife. ‘You never cared about us! I want my baby back! Please, make sure he comes back. I just want him back!’

  ‘If you seek to bring this situation to its end,’ the High Emperor said. ‘Then find those responsible. Assist my Guard as the information comes.’

  Without another word, he swept from the room and down the stairs, a handful of lords and commanders following close behind. The High Empress stayed where she was, staring vacantly down at the table.

  In the silence, Tseren considered the second staircase, how easily she could reach it, how long she would have to wait till the hall beneath was empty of people. The slap broke her from her thoughts, skin hitting skin reverberating through the ballroom as King Faustus struck Rhoswen.

  ‘You speak so ill of my brother?’ he demanded. ‘Of your High King and your family? Never say such a thing again!’

  Rhoswen was still openly crying, her cheek now red and raw, and Tseren felt a pang of pity for the woman.

  ‘And you…’ Faustus charged at Wil, grabbing him by the collar of his tunic. ‘Will never set eyes upon my son again as long as I live and breathe.’

  ‘You suggest he is responsible?’ Bukidai demanded.

  ‘He is a spy,’ Faustus snapped. ‘Ever since he joined my court. My wife might have been too stupid to see it, but I will ignore it no longer. Have him sent to the gallows.’

  ‘Wait.’ Colour had drained from Wil’s face as he scrambled to pull himself free of the Eldwylle King’s grip. ‘I’m not a… I didn’t do this! I swear!’

  Bukidai grabbed Tseren’s arm before she could pull away, shoving her around the table and into the middle of the room. Tseren struggled against his grip, but he held firm. ‘This one too,’ he ordered. ‘The incompetency has made her a threat to all kingdoms.’

  He tossed her forward, to where a nearby lord grabbed her arm, but she shoved him off easily, glaring at the still bloody face of her king.

  ‘Don’t start with me, Tseren,’ Bukidai said. ‘You are… were… one of my best. My most valued. But never happy, never content, never loyal. Now your actions have destroyed the Kingdom you call home. Are you happy now?’ He whirled around and thrust his arm towards Mala. ‘I order her to be held also. Until it comes to pass why she has been spared when all others saw no mercy.’

  The tribe chief’s face knotted in anger. ‘I have already told you—’

  ‘Take both women.’ High Empress Aelswith spoke up. ‘All three will be held under suspicion. Their actions alone are enough for a gallows order.’

  No. Tseren was in a nightmare. An impossible, all consuming nightmare. Breaking Bukidai’s nose was one thing, but she would not face judgement for the twins, or any other child now missing. She hadn’t seen it, hadn’t witnessed anything to intervene. It wasn’t possible. Yet, it was happening.

  She was going to die here.

  Another hand grabbed her arm and pulled, but Tseren yanked free, only for another lord to step forward and take her shoulder. A growl rumbled deep in her throat, but the first lord swung a wild fist, narrowly missing her face. She saw Wil struggling similarly out of the corner of her eye, and the tribal people were pushing back against their own assault. She saw Aric break away from the chaos and climb onto the table, and the entire room froze as he smashed a vase down on Bukidai’s head.

  The Bulartuug King crumbled to the floor, blood and shards of clay surrounding him. Aric pulled in a deep breath as eyes turned to him, and he puffed out his chest.

  ‘The chains on the North,’ he said. ‘Tonight, they break.’

  The Resei around the room yelled out a shrill, animal call, then charged into the space and threw themselves at the stunned nobles.

  Pandemonium erupted as grey-uniformed slaves attacked every moving thing in the room, biting and clawing, punching and throwing anything they could get their hands on. Some, like Aric, climbed onto the table and smashed the plates and cups, some directed at people while others took glee in mindless destruction. The hands grabbing Tseren were ripped away as the lords made to protect their faces, and Tseren broke through the crowd, trampling over the still unconscious body of Bukidai and rushing for the stairs. When a hand grabbed her collar, she whirled on it to attack, but it was a small Resei girl who pulled her out of the way of a flying pig’s head before pushing her out of the chaos. Tseren pressed against the wall to break from it all, at the same moment Wil fell free of the stampede and crashed into the wall next to her.

  ‘Just so you know, I don’t trust you for a second,’ he said. ‘But truce?’

  Tseren nodded. She held out her hand, and Wil took it, letting her pull him out of the ballroom and down the stairs. The revolt had travelled through the palace like a maelstrom as other Resei who couldn’t have heard the initial call dropped their tools and trays, running up to join the carnage or sprinting through service doors and disappearing. The threads of magic still ran along the walls, the icy crystals of the man in black scattering under chaotic footfalls, but nothing else gave any sign that the Wild Folk were here. Either her powers had failed her completely, or the chaos was all human.