A minute later, tears welled up in my eyes… from laughter. Oh, I couldn’t stop cracking up. I just lost it. The vigor sat there, politely sipping whatever was in his cup—coffee, probably—and waited for me to get a grip.
“Are you seriously telling me you cooked up this whole mess just to get me into the selection? Why? I’m not gonna win, no way. We both know who’s more or less guaranteed to become queen. So why ruin my life? What’s the point of me joining that circus? If you need eyes in there, I can help you way more as a havror without dragging Adalin back from the dead.”
“If I just needed eyes, I wouldn’t have bothered you at all,” the vigor grumbled under his breath. “It’s a lot more complicated than that, Dee.”
“Elizabeth?” I was completely thrown off by this. Elizabeth, or little Lily as she’s called at home, is Gerald’s only daughter. A blonde little angel, eighteen years old, a pampered flower who, as far as I knew, never left the governor’s estate without an escort. And now this?
“Don’t look at me like that,” the vigor snapped, irritated. “I was just as shocked. Turns out, she convinced her dimwit mother and submitted an application behind my back. I was still holding out hope she wouldn’t make the top fifty. But no, fate wasn’t that kind to me. Somehow, in a way I can’t even fathom, she got through. And now she’s an official participant in the selection.” The vigor was furious. He drummed his fingers on the desk, raised his voice, and kept fidgeting. Something was off here. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it yet, but my havror instincts had never steered me wrong.
“Okay, but what’s the problem? I don’t get it. So Lily gets to parade around in pretty dresses, maybe even meet Reynar. She’s not gonna make it far. Just send a reliable maid with her, and that’s that. After the selection, she’ll have no shortage of wealthy suitors knocking on your door. You can pick the best one, as they say. And Elizabeth will have a nice little adventure to remember.”
“Oh, how neatly you wrap it all up. But you don’t know everything, so don’t go judging,” Gerald said, his tone calmer now.
“What don’t I know?” I asked immediately.
“Hold on, I’ll lay it all out for you straight.”
What a sly old fox.
“Fine. Let’s say I get in there. Though I still don’t fully get how that’s even possible. The selection’s over, the candidates were finalized like a week ago, right? But let’s say your crazy plan works. Then what? What’s next?”
“Next, you become my daughter’s shadow. You’ll be wherever she is, never taking your eyes off her until she’s out of that damned queen selection. I don’t care how you do it. You’re a havror, so I’m guessing there’s no task too tough for you. Right, Dee?” He seemed to be trembling, either from some unexplained anger or maybe nerves.
And why are we so nervous? Hmm...
“You think it’s gonna be dangerous? In the most secure place in the kingdom, crawling with every kind of guard imaginable?” I said, my voice dripping with skepticism. Come on, you old fox, spill it.
“If you think I’m gonna lay everything out for you on a silver platter, then you don’t know me very well. And here I thought you were in the top ten havrors,” he said, cutting right to the quick.
I took the most pride in my achievements in the underworld. Not every self-taught twenty-year-old mage could boast a ranking among the best of the best.
“But I’ll tell you one thing so you understand the importance of your mission. This queen selection won’t be some simple formality. It’ll go down in history as the bloody selection. There’s a lot at stake. So it’s in your best interest to get out of there as fast as possible. Which means you’ll do everything to make sure Lily gets sent home sooner rather than later.”
“Then why can’t you just keep Elizabeth from going to the selection? I don’t know, lock her up at home, post some guards. From what I’ve heard, they don’t force anyone to stay. There are plenty of candidates; they’d find a replacement for her in a heartbeat,” I said, trying a more diplomatic angle.
My goal was clear—squeeze as much information out of this slimeball as I could. Third rule of havrors: the more intel you have, the easier the job.
“To avoid raising suspicion, you idiot! Do you think anyone could dodge the iron grip of the inquisitors and their truth stones after that?!” The governor snapped, losing his cool again. Then, realizing he’d said too much, he added in a calmer tone, “Alright, that’s enough talk. You’re heading to Gorlom tomorrow, and you’ll do exactly as I said. Here, take this sonar for communication.” He handed me a metal plate artifact that connects mentally to the intended person when activated by the owner’s touch. “Leave yours at home. After the hearing, report back with the results.”
I silently took the artifact and stood to finally leave this rotten place and think through my next move in private. I had one small backup plan to get around our not-so-dear governor, but it would mean saying goodbye to this town for good. Well, maybe the time had come...
With those thoughts swirling in my head, I headed for the door of Gerald’s office.
“Diana!” His voice caught me at the last second. I was almost out of there, but, gritting my teeth, I had to turn back to face him.
“Any more requests?” I asked, my tone dripping with sarcasm.
I’ll admit, I couldn’t help myself.
“No requests, just a warning,” the governor said, his voice too calm, almost sinister in its quietness.
Very deliberately, without rushing, he rose from his seat and approached me, narrowing his already small eyes. Probably trying to intimidate me with his so-called authority. Yeah, right.
“I want to warn you right now, my dear, before you go and do something stupid. If you even think about using your little havror tricks to run from me, rest assured, I’ll hand you over to Scar. I’ve still got the imprint of your aura for a tracking spell, as you might recall.”
I stopped breathing. That was it. Now it really was the end.
“You wouldn’t dare,” I hissed through clenched teeth. He really did have my aura imprint, from back when I was just a kid, weak and broken by grief...
“Why so pale all of a sudden? I’m not planning to throw you to Scar for dissection, as long as you do what I ask. And if you pull this off, I’ll even give you back that imprint. There’s your extra incentive. You’ll be free of me for good.” Pleased with my defeated expression and knowing he’d gotten what he wanted, the vigor gave me a cheerful pat on the shoulder and ushered me out of his office.