HEIR | The Cursed Monarchy | Book 1

Regret: Part V - Chapter 25

Every step echoed in the Great Hall of Bráithre Delve, and Cecily was glad of her cloak, because it was nearly as cold there as it was in the caves of the Hollow Mountains deep below the surface. Before them an excited crowd of courtiers was spilling forward and Oril's guards struggled to protect their king from being jostled. Even Oril's advisor, Ryelgar, stepped forward and struggled to hide his shock. After five hundred winters, the right hand of the king seemed so weak that the mildest breeze was liable to extinguish his inner fires.

They moved toward the assembly, and the howls of the dwarf court were ringing in Cecily's ears as their ruddy features beamed up at her face and rough hands clapped her on her shoulders as she approached the dwarf-king's table. All attempts at preserving any sense of discipline collapsed at the sight of her return.

Five chairs were arranged in a semicircle around a table. Elegantly carved pews were lined up in five blocks behind them so that the chieftains and elders could follow the proceedings and have their say. The table was covered in maps and charts of their realms. Before their arrival, the delegates had been discussing the happenings in the north, but now all attention turned to Cecily and Hael.

Cecily cleared her throat and swallowed her trepidation. "You banished me from your kingdom, Your Majesty, and now I stand before you," she said, addressing Oril with the time-honored formula.

Oril inclined his head as if to speak, but no sound came out.

"Our journey has been arduous and long," Hael explained. "If the assembly wills it, we wish to return to the warrens."

"And why should I entertain such a proposal?"

There was a sudden scream in the hall, sliding into a high-pitched wail of fear, causing those nearby to turn and look for its source. Queen Gilas, flanked by her mischievous dwarf-pets, stood with her hand to her mouth, teeth clenched into the flesh above her thumb as she gazed wide-eyed at a Veil's head being held up to the crowd by Cecily. Black blood pooled on the floor, and then trickled out to scrawl, as if by its own volition.

The Queen's repugnance meant nothing to Cecily. She was well aware that women of rank were not accustomed to endure the thought of such things – a long-bladed knife slicing on through throat, severing artery and vein, splitting links of the spine. They didn't see it, they didn't need to see it, with their lace and cushions and dishes of figs. But the deluded wishes of sheltered monarchs were not what mattered anymore, what mattered was the blood, flesh and bone.

"Silence!" Oril's voice thundered sternly through the hall. His eyes showed no sign of age, only reproach, as he looked down at Cecily and Hael. No dwarf was more majestic, more imposing than he. His former weakness and frailty had vanished, driven out by rage. "Pray, speak."

The power of her memory, overshadowed by her anger, blinded her judgment with its intensity. She opened her mouth to speak, but her tongue felt heavy and dry as ashes. It was all still too much, too soon. Instead, she tightened her grasp on the lank skin of the Veil's head, matted with dry, black blood, and held the severed head higher, as a symbol of reprimand for all to see. The court gasped in astonishment.

"The time has come to bury our grievances," Cecily said hotly. "An alliance is what we need, what I desire. I am not your enemy, Your Majesty. And I am surely not here to fight the dwarves of Bráithre Delve. I have lost enough in this war, but I'd sooner sever my own arm than raise it in a battle against you."

"You are young and impetuous as all humans are," Oril said with some emphasis. "Here are liars. Liars! It's gone quite mad, the world, quite mad. I do not trust the lies you speak."

In reply, she tossed the Veil's head at the dwarf-king's feet and pulled out two pieces of the Cursed Map from her cloak pocket. At that, the alarm on Oril's face greatly increased. His eyes, dull and yellowed, flicked back and forth between the head and Cecily, unable to settle.