The White Room is one of my favorite spaces in the palace. Weโre on the topย oor, and the windows are massive, allowing the best view of the entire Royal Sector. Sunlightย oods the room during the day, while the moon and stars gleam among a wide swath of blackness during the night.ย ๎ขe walls are all white, but hung with abstract paintings in every color: swirls and slashes of yellows and reds in one,ย ickers of black and shades of pink in another. Wide stripes of gray and green and blue coat a wide canvas that hangs above the hearth.ย ๎ขe room always seems to gather quiet and calm, a space for peaceful reย ection.
When we were young and Harristan was in poor health, he would sit
bundled by theย replace, and our mother would paint with whatever colors he requested. I would grow bored and beg to leave, but he would sit for hours.
Harristan rarely comes here anymore. He says the room reminds him of what it felt like to be weak. I think theย truthย is what makes him feel weak: this room reminds him of our mother and what we lost.
Tessa turns a page, and I have to remind myself to focus. I had servants bring the stacks of paperwork here because the table is large and the lighting abundantโbut my thoughts are full of uncertainty, and now I wish weโd remained in my chambers.
My attention should be on these documents. On the disparity between the deaths in far southern sectors like Sunkeep, versus those that lie closer to the Royal Sector like Artis, Steel City, and Traderโs Landing. On Tessaโs notes, and whether we can convince people to adjust their dosages. On Allisanderโs threats, made in the open air of the Circle. On the prisoners still waiting to be questioned.
My attention should be on Harristan, on whether his medicine is truly working.
Instead my focus is on Tessa, bent over a sheaf of papers in the drawing room, wisps of caramel hair coming loose from her pinned curls. My attention is on the tiny yet precise movements of her fountain pen as she takes down information as she reads. My attention is on the so๎ย pink of her mouth and the gentle curve of her cheek and the determined look in her eyes.
My attention is on the fact that, out of every diversion available in the palace, she asked to read dry, boring documents.
My attention is on the fact that, instead of claiming escape, she stayed in the carriage.
Likely, neither of these choices have anything to do with me. But still, she stayed.
โ๎ขis would go a lot faster if you were reading, too,โ she says.
โI am reading.โ But Iโm not. I have no idea how long itโs been since Iโve turned a page.
โHmm.โ Her pen keeps moving.
I canโt decide if Iโm amused or irritated. โAre you accusing me of something else?โ
She ignores me and shu๏ฌes through the papers she reviewed earlier. โSunkeep receives less medicine than the other sectors.โ
โConsul Cherryโs sector has fewer people.โ She frowns. โAnd signiย cantly fewer deaths.โ
โSome speculate that the high heat somehow staves o๏ฌย the fevers.โ
She looks back at her notes. โBut there are fewer deaths even in the winter months. If heat had anything to do with it, there would be fewer deaths in all sectors during the summer months. Artis seems to fare the worst in the summer.โ
โI didnโt say it wasย myย speculation.โ
She taps at her mouth, thinking. I can almost see the wheels in her brain turning, and the familiarity of it tugs at my heart. I have to shove the emotion away.
A๎er a moment, she glances up again. โConsul Cherry. Arella.โ โYes.โ
โ๎ขe girls were gossiping about her, how she was seeking additional funding for her sector.โ
โGossiping? What girls?โ
โOn the day I was able to get into the palace. Serving girls.ย ๎ขey said that Consul Cherry and Consul Pelham had to be hatching a plot toย eece silver from the king.โ She pauses. โI didnโt know who they were at the time.โ
I want to roll my eyes at the idle gossip, but something about this lodges in my head for examination later. โAll the consuls seek additional funds for their sectors.ย ๎ขey expected Harristan to grant a funding request to Artis to build a new bridge, but it was declined, so Iโm expecting them all to scramble to put a request together.โ
โYou donโt want Artis to build a bridge?โ
My voice is dry. โNot one that costs four times as much as it should.โ
Her mouth twists as she considers the implications of that, but then she looks back at the papers in front of her. โSo Sunkeep has few deaths, but Emberridge and Moonlight Plains seem to have a healthier populationโโ
โBecause they control the medicine. Allisander canโt guard his entire wall with dying soldiers.โ
She looks up. โIโve spent two hours reading all this to come to the same conclusions everyone here already knows, havenโt I?โ
โDonโt be ridiculous.โ I pull my pocket watch free. โYouโve spent three hours.โ
She glances at the pitch-dark window, then at the brightly lit chandelier overhead. โItโs a wonder anyone here ever sleeps, when you can chase the night away.โ She stiย es a yawn.
โYou should retire.โ
โI thought you said this was going to take all night.โ
โI said it was going to takeย meย all night.โ I set my own papers on the table. โIโll see you to your room.โ
โNo!โ She grabs hold of the armrests like Iโm going to physically wrestle her out of her seat. โ๎ขis is important.โ
โI know.โ
She narrows her eyes at me. โYouย knewย people here were taking more medicine than they needed. Why didnโt you do something about it?โ
โFor one thing,โ I say, โI donโt know that. Not with certainty. Youโre the apothecary, not me.โ
โYou do know it. Youโve seen it.โ
โYes, Iโve seen it.โ I pause. โAnd Iโve still seen people die, Tessa.โ
She stares back at me, and I feel as though a wall of ice has formed between us.
โIโm not challenging your knowledge,โ I say. โBut it wasnโt enough. I didnโt have proof. And where would I say Iโd gotten it? Do you think the Kingโs Justice could suddenly have suggestions on dosages and additives? We get hundreds of messages at the palace gates every day. A good portion of them declare the fevers are some kind of plot to keep the people subdued. Many promise miracle cures. None work.โ
Her eyes narrow further. โMine isnโt a miracle cure. Itโs better medicine.โ โI know. But the Royal Sector is rationed just like all the others. Anyone
who takes more than their allotted dose is spending their own silver. I canโt control what people want to spend their money on.โ
โYour brother can.โ
โOh, you think so?โ My eyebrows go up. โI cannot simply take a hypothesis, snap myย ngers, and have my brother turn it into a royal decree.โ
She frowns.
I lean in against the table. โCan you imagine the outcry if Harristan told his subjects they couldnโt purchase as much as they want? Can you imagine Allisanderโs reaction? Or . . .ย anyoneโs, really?ย ๎ขe hoarding, the panic? Every sector has pockets of wealth. Every consul purchases more than their allotment.ย ๎ขere is too much fear already. Even if you are able to prove that we can make the medicine stretch further, it may not matter.โ
โBut your brother is the king! Why canโt he make Allisander provideย more?โ
โBy law, the consuls can set the prices on their sectorโs exports. But say Harristan overturned that law, and suddenly Moonย ower petals were free. Who pays the thousands of people who harvest the petals in Allisanderโs sector? What motivation does Allisander have to keep hisย elds in good condition?โ I pause. โAnd then, whatโs to stop other sectors from hoarding their goods in fear that weโll seizeย thoseย assets as well?โ
I see her expression and sigh. โWe buy what we can from the taxes we
collect, and we distribute it among the people. But there is never enough: not enough silver, not enough Moonย ower. Ruling a country takes more than just medicine, Tessa. Weโre stretched thin everywhere. Jonas asked for
too much money to build his bridgeโbut he surely still needs one. His people are just too sick to e๏ฌciently build it.โ
Her frown deepens. โSo you think this is hopeless.โ
โSickness has plagued Kandala for years. If royal physicians and advisers have not been able to discover a pattern as to who is a๏ฌected by the fevers, then we are unlikely to overturn it in this room in the dead of night.โ
She picks up her piece of paper again, sighing through her teeth. โWell, they havenโt had to.โ
Iโve been in this room and gone through documents just like this many times. Iโve seen the same glimmer of hope that shines in her eyes die in a dozen others. I could call for the physicians and advisers to join us right this minute, and Iโd watch it again.
I think of the way Harristan read every single request for leniency on the day we were to execute the eight prisoners, or the way he sent me all of these documents and granted Tessa an audience with the royal apothecaries. Iโve been thinking he was indulging me for keeping her here, but maybe itโs something else.
โHarristan doesnโt think itโs hopeless,โ I say. Her eyes li๎. โHow do you know that?โ โBecause youโre here.โ
She bites at her lip, considering thatโbut then she sets down the papers and rubs at her eyes. โWell. Like you said, I donโt think the answer is in these documents.โ
โVery well.โ A๎er the way she clutched at her chair, I didnโt expect her to give up so easily. Iโm surprised that I donโtย wantย her to give up so easily. โIโll see you to your quarters.โ
โOh, Iโm not done.โ She taps the table decisively. โI need to see a map.โ
 |
Sleepy servants bring half a dozen maps, as well as a tray of black tea and warm mu๏ฌns, with pots of honey, milk, jam, and sliced berries arranged around a small pot of pink and lavender blooms.ย ๎ขey set cups and saucers in front of us both, but Tessa ignores everything in favor of theย rst map. It unfurls across the next table, and she slides herย ngers along the edge, surveying it.
โTell me your thoughts,โ I say.
โMaybe itโs not the weather in Sunkeep that makes a di๏ฌerence.ย ๎ขey have the greatest exposure to the ocean.โ She points to the southernmost sector, running herย nger along the lengthy border. โWhich makes me wonder if there is something about the ocean that has some kind of . . . preventive e๏ฌect.โ
โEmberridge, Artis, and Steel City also border the ocean,โ I say.
She makes a face. โWell, yes.โ She points to the eastern border, running herย nger along the edge. โBut these are cli๏ฌs along the oceanside of Emberridge and Artis, right? So they donโt have as much access to the water.โ
โ๎ขatโs true.โ I pause, surveying the map. โBut Steel City and Artis share a port where the Queenโs River joins with the ocean.โ I point to it. โAnd the Queenโs River runs straight through both Emberridge and Artis.โ I point to the western side of Kandala. โHere, the Flaming River runs alongside Moonlight Plains and the Sorrowlands and also joins with the ocean. Nearly every sector has direct access to free-ย owing water.โ
She looks at me. โExcept the Royal Sector.โ
โTo prevent an attack by seaโbut the Royal Sector is just as a๏ฌected by the fevers, despite our water sources.โ Unbidden, my thoughts turn to Harristan. Iโve hardly seen him today, so I have no idea if his cough has returned. A small spike of fear enters my heart and lodges there.
He wasย ne when he came to my chambers. He must beย ne now.
One servant has lingered, fastidiously wiping a drip of tea from the silver platter. Hoping to catch an earful of gossip, no doubt. โLeave us,โ I snap.
He jumps, then o๏ฌers a quick bow and leaves. I look back at Tessa. โContinue.โ
Her eyes are dark with reproach. โYou donโt have to be so cruel.โ
I drop into a chair. Worry for my brother has caused my mood to sour. โI didnโt killย youย and Allisander threatened to stop shipments of the Moonย ower, so I beg to di๏ฌer.โ
She glares at me.
I glare right back. โContinue.โ
She looks at the map, then back at me.ย ๎ขe censure hasnโt le๎ย her eyes.
โI bring nightmares to life,โ I say. โIf you think a dark look will a๏ฌect me, you will quickly learn otherwise.โ
She hesitates, then sighs. โPerhaps there is something di๏ฌerent about the sea life, then.โ
It takes me a moment to realize sheโs talking about Sunkeep again. โMistress Solomon uses ground seashells in one of her fever lotions,โ
Tessa continues. โItโs ridiculously expensive because the shells have to travel so far, but it is one of her few concoctions that actually seems to make a di๏ฌerence. I always thought it might be the white willow bark, but maybeโโ โWait.โ I sit straight up. โSomething other than the Moonย ower can cure
the fevers?โ
โWellโno. But the lotion does seem to make the fevers more manageable, so the Moonย ower elixir is more e๏ฌective.โ She grimaces. โMaybe. Honestly, I think that all sheโs really selling is a cheaper version of hope to desperate people.โ
Desperate. Like I just was. I sit back in the chair and run my hands over my face.ย ๎ขe room is so silent I can nearly hear the gears shi๎ย in my pocket watch.
I need to move. If I keep sitting here, Iโll spin worry into a frenzy. I shove away from my chair and move to the window.ย ๎ขe sky above is dark and thick with stars, but the Royal Sector makes for aย ne match, random candles and electric lights twinkling throughout the city.ย ๎ขe Hold is a massive rectangular building, easily spotted because torches burn all night beside the men standing guard. In the distance, the spotlights sweep along the wall.
Fabric rustles as Tessa leaves her chair and moves to join me. Her voice is very low, very quiet. โYouโre worried for your brother.โ
โ๎ขe king needs no oneโs worry, least of all mine.โ She hesitates. โOthers must suspect he is sick.โ
โHeโs not sick.โ I want my voice to be hard, to scare her away from this line of conversation, but itโs not. I sound petulant. Worse: I sound so๎. Weak and afraid.
Without warning, her hand closes on mine, and she gives it a light squeeze.
I look at her in surprise, but her eyes are on the city lights, and she lets go of my hand so gently that it feels like I imagined the touch.
Especially when her voice is all business again as she says, โWhat about Ostriary?โ
I blink. โWhat?โ
Ostriary is the kingdom on the opposite side of the Flaming River, which runs along the western side of Kandala.ย ๎ขe river is rough, fast-ย owing, and wideโoverย ๎een miles wide in spotsโwhich would make trade di๏ฌcult in the best of conditions. But on the opposite shore, Ostriaryโs terrain is dense marshland in the south and mountainous in the north, making for treacherous travel. We donโt have a hostile relationship with Ostriaryโbut thanks to the di๏ฌculty of travel, we donโt have a very good one either. Our father had just begun sending emissaries into the region to see whether it would be worthwhile to try to establish trade routes, but then he was killed and Harristan was le๎ย to deal with a dying population.
โAre they a๏ฌected by the fevers?โ says Tessa. โI donโt know,โ I say.
โDonโt you think itโs worthย nding out?โ
I inhale to reject the notionโbut itโs not a bad question. I look at her. โMaybe.โ
โIf the Moonย ower grows in the northย here, maybe it grows in the northย there. And if theyโre not sick there, maybe youโd be able to get it forโโ
โ๎ขese are a lot of ifs and maybes.โ I pause, mentally tabulating how much silver it would take to outย t ships that could withstand the river current and hire people willing to take on the task of traveling and mapping unknown terrain. โIt would be costly, too. Iโm not sure Harristan would be able to justify the expense.โ
๎ขat said, Allisander would hate the idea.ย ๎ขat alone makes me want to draw up a funding request this very minute.
Tessa sighs. I sigh.
I wish she hadnโt let go of my hand so quickly.ย ๎ขe motion was meaningless, Iโm sure of it.ย ๎ขe same momentary compassion she would give to a worried mother when we wore masks and tried to help the few we could.
You donโt have to be so cruel.
She may have felt something for Weston Lark, but she hates Prince Corrick.
โItโs worth discussion,โ I o๏ฌer.
She turns to look up at me in surprise, her eyes lighting up. โReally?โ
Sheโs so heartfelt about everything she does that I nearly smile at her reaction. โYouโre at court now, so you shouldnโt be so earnest.โ
โWhat on earth does that mean?โ
โYou should say, โIf thatโs the best you can do, Your Highness.โ โ I say this with an intonation that sounds a lot like how I mock Allisander in my head. โOr, โI suppose that will do for now,โ with a heavy sigh so itโs clear youโre unsatisย ed.โ
She folds her arms across her chest and looks back out at the city. โWell, thatโs just ridiculous.โ
I laugh.
She startles, then frowns.
A weight drops between us again, hot and sudden. I donโt know what just happened.
Tessa swallows. โYou remind me so much of Wes when you laugh.โ Her eyes gleam. โI canโt tell whoโs real and whoโs the illusion.โ
๎ขose words carry so much pain that I nearlyย inch. I hold my breath for a moment.
I reach out and touch her hand the way she just did to me.ย ๎ขe way we did a hundred times in the woods, when the nights were too di๏ฌcult.
I wait for her to pull away, but she doesnโt. I close myย ngers around hers, and we stare out at the lights of the city.
โYou see through all my illusions,โ I say, and my voice is rough.
She turns to look up at me, and I hate that thereโs hope in her eyes. It reminds me so much of our last night in the woods, when I promised to returnโand then I didnโt. Iโm destined to disappoint her.ย ๎ขereโs a prison full of smugglers that are proof enough of that.
Even still, I canโt let go.
I li๎ย my other hand to touch her face, tentatively atย rst, but then more sure when she doesnโt pull away. โYou remind me of how it felt to be Wes.โ
Her breathing shakes, and her eyes fall closed. โI hate you.โ
โI know.โ My thumb strokes across her mouth, and her lips part. Weโre closer somehow, all but sharing breath.
๎ขen her eyes open, and she gasps. She puts her free hand in the gap between our faces, herย ngertips against my mouth. Her eyes blaze into mine.
I want to take her hand and push it out of the way. I want to press my mouth to hers. I want my hands on her waist, on her back, on every inch of skin this gown leaves bareโand some inches that it does not. I want her scent in my head and her taste on my tongue and her arms wound around my neck.
I canโt move. I want her to want those things, too. โYouโreย notย Wes,โ she whispers.
๎ขe words hit me like an arrow, and I step back.ย ๎ขe distance between us is suddenly immeasurable.
Light and sound explode outside the window, so bright and loud that I jerk her away from the glass. We stumble back six feet, but nothing comes close to the palace. Fire has erupted a few blocks away, at the Hold,ย ames billowing high into the night. I can already hear shouts from distant parts of the palace, and people running in the streets down below.
โWhatโwhatโs happeningโโ she begins.
โGuards!โ I shout.ย ๎ขe door to the room swings open, and guards burst in.
Another explosion in the city makes the windowpanes rattle. Near the Hold again.ย ๎ขeย ames are three stories high.ย ๎ขe alarms in the sector start blaring.
Another explosion. I donโtย inch this time. Another.
A guard is speaking to me. โYour Highness. You should move away from the windows.โ
But I canโt. I canโt look away.
๎ขe Royal Sector is onย re.
