Ink Forged

~Queen's Eye~

Maevus didn't dare move. Not with those dagger-like nails so close to her throat. The queen smiled down at her, her pale green eyes cold as the stone they so closely resembled. The pendant resting against her breastbone grew cold, warning her.

This was not someone to trifle with.

"Now," Queen Selna said, her voice sweet and beguiling, "what seems to be the problem, dear one?"

Behind her, Delna hissed and Maevus snapped her fingers. They resisted, but a mental shove against their threads had the two dragons disappearing in a swirl of light and shadow.

The queen didn't so much as flinch, or even look behind Maevus at the commotion. Instead, she released her hold on Maevus' face to tug her hood back, freeing the Encant's riot of bright red hair.

"Such a pretty girl, to cause all this trouble," she cooed. "Come now, what's all this about?"

Every survival instinct Maevus possessed was screaming at her to run, hide, fight—whatever needed to happen to get her away from this woman.

She wasn't an Encant. Maevus couldn't sense a lick of magic anywhere inside the queen, but there was still something about her that made Maevus' skin prickle with a nameless fear. The queen felt... cold—empty. Like an echo of what Maevus had felt after the Anmedeis had stolen her magic

"Your majesty," Voron said softly, instantly sweeping into a low bow when the queen's eyes went to him.

The narrow look Queen Selna gave him made Maevus want to leap in front of the stupid man, but she was still frozen. The pendant around her neck was throbbing lightly, like a small heart connected with her own.

"Yes?" the queen asked, voice like maple syrup frozen over snow. 

"It was my fault, your majesty," Voron said, still in that excruciatingly low bow. "Miss Kildaren had been in possession of a... particular sword when we came upon her. It was taken as a safety precaution and now it seems it has been stolen. She was... upset."

Maevus turned wide eyes to Voron. What in the world was he doing?

The queen continued to watch Voron, staring like a cat watching a canary. Then she laughed, the sound silvery as bells and cold as iron. Her teeth gleamed in the sunlight as she swept toward Voron. He flinched minutely when she put her hand on his shoulder, forcing him to stand upright.

He kept his eyes cast down and to the side, head still bowed slightly in deference. The queen touched the half-healed cut across his cheek and laughed again, tossing a conspiratory look at Maevus. 

"Did you do this?" Queen Selna asked, turning Voron's face so Maevus could plainly see the still-bright red cut. The one he'd received because of her.

Voron's amber eyes held a subtle warning. 

"No," Maevus whispered, then cleared her throat. "No," she said more loudly. "The captain did."

Voron's eyes closed briefly, like she had made some sort of fatal mistake. But all the queen did was hum and release him. Then she turned her back on Maevus.

She waved a hand at the other Encant, who was still kneeling silently beside the hole he had gouged out of the pavement. He silently rose, the tattered hem of his black cloak swirling around his knees.

"Volt," the queen said, "take her to your master. I think that the Carneri Guild would be a rather good fit for our Miss Kildaren."

The other Encant stood perfectly still for a moment, a breeze ruffling the edge of his hood. Then, he nodded and began to walk toward Maevus. She stiffened, baring her teeth in warning, but he didn't touch her.

All he did was motion for her to follow. She didn't move.

A wind that smelled like rain barreled into her, forcing her forward a step, ripping her hair and cloak toward where Volt stood in the middle of the street. 

Maevus smirked. Two could play at that game.

She tugged lightly on Koret's thread. The elusive wind-dragon didn't appear, but he did allow her to spool some of his power into her body. With a wave of her hand, the wind died, the air turning dead still.

Volt stiffened and slowly turned back around, just as Maevus sent a blast of air right for him. Dust shot off the cobblestones in a plume that tracked the spear of wind right to Volt.

She caught a flash of movement—Volt raising a hand—then lost sight of him as the dust exploded back toward her. Coughing, she directed the wind around the street, then up into the air, taking the dust with it.

A small smirk played at Volt's mouth, but he didn't retaliate.

"Quite well, it would seem," Queen Selna purred, jerking Maevus back to reality and the situation. Maevus released her hold on Koret's power, whirling back around to the queen. She smiled now like the cat that had eaten the canary. 

Maevus bristled and said, "I would rather find my own guild. If I can't decide whether or not I join one, I'd like to pick which one I go to."

Voron's face went dead still and unease brushed down Maevus' spine. But all Queen Selna did was smile patiently, like she was indulging a belligerent child. A soft warning breeze brushed against her cheek, but she didn't turn to look at Volt.

Her pendant turned to ice against her skin.

"Are you questioning my interest in your well being, dear one?" the queen asked silkily. The pendant pulsed against her skin, whispering to her of the danger it sensed from the queen. She was patient... for now. But the pendant knew the queen's tolerance would only go so far.

And she could see the guards waiting near the castle wall, not more than forty yards away. Not to mention the powerful Encant currently at her back. There would be no winning here, and she wouldn't put it past Volt to blast her out of the sky if she tried to flee.

Now was not her moment.

So she swallowed her pride and shook her head, much to Voron's obvious relief. She started to turn after Volt, then stopped. 

The queen raised a questioning eyebrow.

"My... my sword, your majesty," she managed, the words like glass in her mouth. "Please I..." she hesitated over the admittance, "I need it."

"Then you shall have it, dear one," the queen said. She turned to Voron imperiously. "You have three days to locate the Encant's missing sword. Do not disappoint me."

"Yes, your majesty," Voron said, bowing again.

"You may go." 

Maevus watched, her heart squeezing with fear and shame as Voron cast one last look at her before he turned on his heel and strode back toward the castle, his shoulders stiff.

The queen turned a kindly smile on Maevus. Once more swallowing her pride, Maevus dropped into a shallow bow, and Queen Selna's smile widened. She looked at Volt and said, "Watch her well, Volt. I wouldn't have her... losing her way."

The gleam in the queen's eye let Maevus know exactly what would await her if she were to attempt to leave. She swallowed against her dry throat and edged back toward the other Encant, wanting to get as far from the queen as she could, even if that meant she had to get closer to him.

When she drew even with Volt, she turned on her heel and began walking quickly down the road. She clutched her cloak closer around her, her hand also wrapping around the now-warm pendant hidden beneath her shirt.

It shocked her when he said, voice so low she almost didn't hear it, "Well done. Now the queen has her eye on you."

She looked at him, meaning to snap back, but nothing came immediately to her tongue. Something about the queen had rattled her badly, and she held the pendant tighter, thumb tracing the familiar seal upon its face.

Volt didn't say anything after that, and she followed him silently through the bustling streets of Valmor.