The Royal Hunter (25 page)

“This way, please,” they said in deep-throated unison.

“Not exactly Munchkins from the Lollipop Guild, are they?” Talia murmured.

Archer leaned closer. “What are you talking about?”

Whatever she might have said was lost as they traversed the long room and stopped in front of what Archer knew to be the door to the queen’s bedroom. The guards stepped back, and with what seemed like a flourish, the door, though much smaller than the ones they’d just passed through, slid silently open. The room was dimly lit, and the bed on the opposite side was deep in shadow.

“Step forward where I might see you,” the queen commanded, sounding far older than her years. Yet Archer heard the underlying fatigue. She sounded weaker than she had at their last meeting. He looked to Talia, wondering if she was picking up on anything. The tension in the room seemed to pervade even his senses.

Talia stepped in front of him, her face cast in shadows. She squeezed his hand one last time, then let go. He marveled at their silent communication, at how easily they’d fallen into that type of partnership.

Partnership.

Did he truly view the two of them that way? He who worked alone? He didn’t waste time wondering. Instead he watched with a sense of pride as she stepped to the middle of the room.

“Stop there.”

Talia faltered, but quickly regained her composure. She stood in a pool of light that came from a recessed lamp in the ceiling far above them. Archer stayed just outside the circle, close enough to signal his presence to anyone who cared to question it.

His attention was jerked toward the bed, lost in the shadows, as a gasp from the queen filled the chamber.

E
leri.” The queen’s shocked whisper filled the small chamber. “I couldn’t imagine it, but you look too much like her to be an imposter. How can it be?”

“I’m not Eleri.” Talia began to step forward. She couldn’t see the queen and it was more than a little unnerving.

“Come no closer.”

She froze. Archer hadn’t been kidding when he said the queen was mature for her age. Catriona’s voice alone scared the bejesus out of her. “Okay.”

“Explain yourself.”

Talia decided that she would have to stand up and not be intimidated. “I’m Eleri’s daughter. My name is Talia.”

There was total silence.

Talia forged ahead. “I understand she served your father before she left your kingdom under threat to her life.”

“And you are only now coming forward? I find that suspicious in the extreme.”

“I didn’t know about her past until recently.”

“Where is your mother now?”

“She was killed in an accident when I was a child.”

Since the moment Talia had stepped into the
room she’d had to work at resisting making a connection with the queen. She fought against the urge, mainly for the sake of self-preservation. Until she understood more about where she was and what was really going on, she wasn’t going to make herself vulnerable in any way, and that included inviting an assault of any kind against herself.

“You say your mother never told you of her position in this court?”

Talia shook her head. “She told me many tales as a child, tales I grew up believing were nothing more than bedtime stories. Only now I realize she was telling me where she was from. She died before she could tell me the whole truth. I suppose I wasn’t old enough to understand.”

“You have an accent. American?”

“Yes. I’ve lived in the U.S. all my life.”

Again silence. This time Talia took the initiative. It helped her focus against the increasing demand to reach out. The need all but hummed inside her. “I was never trained as a healer. I’m an empath, but that is as much as I know.”

The fight to keep from reaching out suddenly took on mammoth proportions. Talia had to use all of her focus to keep the feelings out. Which made no sense. Why such a strong bond with someone she’d never met? Then she realized. She was born to serve the royal family. The daughter of the royal healer. For the first time she felt a tiny shred of hope. Maybe there was a real connection after all!

“You have no healing powers?”

“I—I haven’t had much time to explore the extent of my … gift.”

“And yet you came willingly.”

“Yes, ma’am. Your Highness, I mean.”

There was a long, very uncomfortable pause. “I see,” she said at length.

Talia didn’t have a clue what that meant. This entire meeting was nerve-racking.

“You have given me much to think on,” the queen said, sounding dismissive. Then abruptly, she asked, “How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight,” Talia replied, caught off guard. When the silence grew long, she finally said, “I know you were counting on my mum to help you. I don’t know if I can do anything. I wasn’t able to learn much from Baleweg—”

“The Old One?” The queen seemed stunned. “You actually found him? Eleri was rumored to have a strong affection for him. My father searched far and wide for him after her disappearance. How did you find him, Mr. Archer?” she demanded.

Archer stepped into the pool of light beside Talia. “Trade secret.”

“I do not find your arrogance amusing. Explain how you found him. And where, exactly, she hid herself and her daughter. Obviously you were not the only one to uncover Eleri’s secret, so either you tell me or I will summon the High Parliamentarian directly. I believe he was likely the one responsible for commanding the actions of both Mr. Anteri and Mr. Dideon. Am I not correct?”

Archer swore. “What do you know of that?”

There was a pause and Talia was surprised to hear the queen answer his question. “My sources tell me Chamberlain was actively working against your cause and had sent agents of his own to thwart you. But where, when, and how they planned to do so, I was unable to determine.”

“Did you question him? Or Dideon? Anteri?”

There was a frosty pause that made it clear the
queen was not happy being interrogated, yet she responded again. “I did not. Not directly. I have no tangible proof of his mutiny and I do not wish to force a confrontation until I am certain of a swift victory.”

“So you knew nothing about Talia?”

There was a brief pause. “No,” she answered, her voice strangely tight. There was a pause, then her tone hardened once again. “I was only aware that his agents had been sent to halt your efforts and had returned unsuccessful. We hadn’t learned more than that when you arrived. Now explain to me how you located the Old One.”

Archer blew out a sigh. “In my research, I discovered Baleweg was the last one to have contact with Eleri.”

“This was not a secret. He has been the subject of many investigations, but no one has ever found him.”

“He made himself available to me.”

“Why now? He must have known when others looked for him in years past.”

“He knew Eleri’s daughter was in danger. He only came forward to aid her.”

Another pause, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop twenty degrees.

Talia tried not to fidget. She was certain the queen was not thrilled to hear that Baleweg’s allegiance was to her mother first and not his queen.

Then the queen asked, or rather demanded, “Where is the Old One now?”

Archer smiled. “You sorely underestimate me if you think I will give you that information. Or that he would remain in that location if I did. He isn’t given to suffering the predatory nature of court. Besides, there is nothing more he can do.”

There was an impatient sigh.

Now Archer’s expression hardened, as well. “I did my job. Your part of the bargain was to ask no questions.”

“A part I am now regretting. But you are right. I am, however, interested in finding out what you know of Anteri’s and Dideon’s activities. You have the Old One. Who is helping Chamberlain?”

Archer paused, then said, “There is one other like Baleweg. Someone with … peculiar powers like his. Perhaps even stronger. He is the one helping Chamberlain.”

“The Dark One,” she murmured. “I never really believed—” She broke off. “How did you circumvent them?”

“Wait a minute. You knew of him?” Archer’s temper visibly spiked. “Didn’t you think this information might have aided me?”

“His existence was as much a myth to me as the Old One was. I had no idea either was involved in this. In what manner did he aid Chamberlain?”

“He is the one who helped get the agents in to monitor Talia.”

“Then he already knew of her existence?”

Archer nodded. “Chamberlain was simply having her monitored. Baleweg thinks he intended to use her skills against you somehow. When we showed up, the stakes changed. That is when he sent Anteri. I was able to prevent him from completing his mission and we brought Talia here immediately afterward.”

The queen fell silent for a moment, then said, “There is much we must discuss about this before you leave.”

“I will be more than glad to discuss it with you, as I intend to continue to be responsible for Talia until it is known whether or not she can help you.”

“Impossible.”

Archer smiled coldly. “Nothing is impossible, Your Highness.”

“You doubt I can keep her safe?”

“I didn’t say that. Considering the pressure the court is under, the divisiveness that even now threatens to split Parliament, and your failing health, I’d think you’d gladly take me up on the personal service I am offering. In addition to your personal guard, of course.”

Talia slid her hand into Archer’s. He tried to ease his hand away, signaling to her that this was not wise, despite the fact that they’d entered the chamber with hands held. They’d been in darkness then. But Talia figured she held some sway here, and she intended to use it now. “I wish him to stay.”

“I see.” And there was no doubt, even in those two little words, that she did, indeed, see. Talia saw a great deal, too. Or heard it. The fatigue in the queen’s voice had increased in the last several exchanges. She sounded younger … and vulnerable. Talia wondered what her regal bearing had cost her these past minutes. She felt her own guard slipping and the tentative tentacles of her mind beginning to reach out. Only the queen’s resumed speech snapped her focus back into place.

“I will want to talk with you, Archer, and with you, Miss Trahaern, at length. But at the moment I need my rest. I will have Marletta show you to your quarters.” There was a pause, then she added, “I am assuming one suite of rooms will be sufficient for your needs?”

Archer smiled, but Talia felt her cheeks heat, despite the fact that she’d been the one to bring their relationship out into the open. But she didn’t ask for two rooms, either.

“Yes, Your Highness,” he said. “That will be quite suitable.”

The queen’s assistant materialized behind them then and touched Talia’s shoulder. “Follow me.”

Although the experience had been nerve-racking, now that it was over, Talia felt as if she hadn’t done enough, that she’d somehow let the queen down. Maybe she should have reached out. Maybe that was what a royal healer did. Followed her instincts. And she’d failed before she’d even begun. She’d protected herself, when she was born to protect the queen first.

Baleweg thought her mother would have eventually brought her back here, to serve the House of Dalwyn, that this was what she’d have wanted. Talia thought so, too. Otherwise why tell her all those stories? Was it too late now? She took a calming breath and tried to still her racing thoughts so she could reach out, but Marletta was there, talking.

“The queen must rest now.”

“Wait.” The connection was right there. All she had to do was reach for it. She turned and stepped toward the queen, only to encounter a shield. Not an invisible wall, so much as air too thick for her to walk through.

“I must insist,” Marletta said firmly.

Talia turned to find the queen’s assistant pocketing a small device. She very firmly took Talia by the shoulder, a grip that was immediately, if gently broken by Archer.

“No one touches her but me.”

In an efficient tone that brooked no argument, the assistant merely said, “We must leave now. The queen is asleep. I daresay this has been an overly taxing day for her.” She was already ushering them toward the door.

Talia wanted to ask how in the hell she could tell
what the queen was doing, buried in the shadows as she was, but the personal guard had surrounded them, separating them from Marletta, who was leading the throng out of the room and through a doorway she hadn’t seen before. A large mural in the antechamber where she and Archer had waited literally shifted to painted air, then after they passed through, turned solid again as Talia saw when she looked over her shoulder.

“State of the art,” Archer whispered with a wink.

“Very funny.” But Talia gulped nonetheless. Unbelievable. She tried to focus on where they were going, on the scenes painted on the walls, wondering how many concealed additional pathways and how many were just paintings.

They stopped in front of a rather large, elaborate one and Talia felt her cheeks flame yet again. “I see the queen has a sense of humor after all,” she muttered under her breath.

The painting on the wall in front of them was a stunning rendering in oil, or what appeared to be oil anyway. The subject matter, however, was … explicit. A man and woman, both nude, both fully and quite graphically entwined, lay stretched out on a carpet of flowers. Delicate little fairies floated above, dropping red and white petals on the lovers. Talia couldn’t tear her eyes away from the way the woman’s slender back arched and the muscles in the man’s shoulders bunched as he—

“I like the queen’s taste,” Archer said, then made a small
ooph
sound when Talia dug her elbow into his ribs.

“You would,” she said.

“Your palms are sweating.”

She scowled and tried to slide her hand out of his, but he wouldn’t let her.

He leaned down to her ear and whispered to her
as the painting in front of them turned transparent. “I wanted to make love to you in exactly the same kind of bower. Maybe the queen can read minds, hmm?”

Talia’s only response was a tight swallow … and continued sweaty palms, as the queen’s assistant motioned them to follow her. “You will be safe here for the night. I will have a full supper sent to you shortly. Tomorrow the queen will send a summons. At that time you will have a full guard escort. Do not leave with anyone other than the queen’s personal guard. Until then, please enjoy your accommodations.”