House of Night

chapter 7

She landed on such grey snow on the lawn of the palace, amidst a crowd of starrlings and their kinnlings. The nobility and upper class folk of Norrlund had arrived to witness the first public act of their queen since her coronation.

Down the hill, the ordinary folk of Norrlund had come too, although they were kept back from the palace by thick fences and the Wolfguard, who patrolled along the crowd, looking for trouble. Children climbed into trees that still hadn't blossomed with spring, to get a glimpse of the queen.

Sanna knew her hair smelled of smoke from the burning fires in the slums, and she knew her cloak was old and tattered - better for her to walk through the slums like that - but now she didn't care what she looked like as she pushed to the front of the starrlings crowd to see the steps of the palace.

There were four young ords lined up on the steps, with their hands tied behind their backs. Sanna recognised one of them as a young woman, perhaps in her twenties, who had thrown a stone in the direction of Queen Katja. Her companions were three men. While the men looked down at their feet, the woman held her chin high as she stared into the crowd.

Sanna felt a shiver as the woman's gaze swept over her. For a moment it felt as if their gazes met, but in another flash it was gone.

Snow fell in grey clumps over the crowd just as the queen emerged from the palace. For the first time since her coronation, she wore the full regalia - a silver crown, the white bear fur coat, and held the ruby-incrested sceptre. She rode astride her wolf, Helvig, who was also dressed in a silver helmet and blood red material draped across her back like a cloak.

"My people," Katja called out across the crowd. "Not since the Fire War have we seen such a dark time for our nation. We remain undefeated against those external forces who wish us harm. But a threat from within our ranks may be the most dangerous of all. Without knowing the true killer of my mother, I must remain forever vigilant of threats from within my own borders. And now I have seen that my vigilance is not without reason. These four traitors before you have been found guilty of plots of rebellion. They have threatened the family of Darhùs and in doing so, they have threatened the throne of Norrlund. Today, we shall enact justice, so that we all may sleep a little sounder tonight."

Snow settled on the shoulders and bent heads of the four traitors. Sanna felt her heart in her throat. The crowd was shuffling now, there was an energy in the air. The Wolfguard kept the crowd contained. Huge wolves paraded back and forth in the snow, while the queen watched over everything. There was a priest of the faith of light, waiting to say final rites.

It's not too late to stop this, said the voice in Sanna's head. The voice was Ari's. Angry, sharp, directed at Sanna.

But she would not march up the stairs and demand anything of her queen. That was not the way to persuade Katja. Katja was not logical or reasonable in the way that Sanna and Ari were. Katja led with her heart, and with her pride. Right now, her pride was winning.

When it happened, it was not the cacophony of the crowd or the swirling of snow in the air that she would remember. It wasn't the white seagulls erupting into the sky, startled by the swift slash of ice magic through the air, or the howl of wolves. In the end, what she would remember, when she woke up in a sweat that night, was the look on the face of the woman. Only a few years older than their Little Queen, she held her chin high until the executioner's final slice of ice magic, and her eyes remained dry.

Sanna felt frozen in her spot in the crowd that writhed around her like one big beast, twisting and snapping, trying to get past the wolfguard who held them back. The wolfguard moved with force, pushing with ice and snow back against the crowd, until they had no choice but to retreat.

Sanna needed a moment to get out of the crowd, and when she looked back towards the palace, she saw that Queen Katja had gone. The only ones remaining high up on the steps were the executioner and two women who were now tasked with the gruesome task of clearing the remains.

When Sanna found Katja, she was in her room, eating strawberries dipped in cream, and looking at a map. There were documents spread across the table, and a smorgasbord of sweets, cakes and sandwiches for the queen on silver trays.

"Sanna," Katja said, as soon as she entered.

Sanna had wanted to talk to her about the executions. She had assumed that that was what would be on Katja's mind, after all. It was the first time Katja had ordered the killing of anyone. Wouldn't the guilt be eating at her?

"Your majesty," Sanna said softly.

"I've been thinking about the liquid star," Katja said, licking cream off her fingers. "The reason the Lombardians want it so much. The reason the Kaio protect it so fiercely. It's power, is it not? A true source of power. The power of fire and ice."

Sanna swallowed.

"This winter is the longest we've ever seen," Katja said. "I fear it will never end. The air is full of smoke, because every one of my people has a fire in their hearth at all hour of the day. But we are not fire starrlings, are we? So why do we rely on fire for heat?"

"I'm not sure," Sanna said, but Katja didn't even acknowledge her words.

"Look at these diagrams," Katja said. "I've had a woman here explaining her designs. Her heating employs steam and oil, see? She's shown me how it's far better to burn oil than it is to burn wood in a hearth. And what is oil? The liquid star. Oil and steam. That's how we'll keep our people warm. It's what Raphael suggested last year. I want it to be his legacy. We shall invest heavily in installing oil furnaces and steam radiators in the palace and those buildings I see fit."

"And the oil will come from Reunsgar?"

"Reunsgar isn't the only place with oil," Katja said. "The icelands are full of it. If I'm told correctly, one simply needs to drill a hole in the ice and this liquid star bubbles out, ready for use. It's true power."

"True power," Sanna repeated.

Katja's cheeks were flushed. "My rule will be one of industry and enterprise, Sanna. Hear me now. I shall make my nation flush with warmth and wealth. When my people needn't spend time cutting trees for their fires, then they will use that time in far more productive ways. Invention and technology! That is the way of the future."

Katja took another strawberry, and dipped it in cream before popping it into her mouth. She grinned, and leaned back on her velvet sofa. "I'm practically brimming with optimism, my friend."

Queen Katja had not seen the way the people in the streets hated her. She had not seen the violence erupt after the public execution. She had not watched as blood was scrubbed from the stones. Blood spilled by her own hands.

But she was brimming with optimism. And in this way at least, Sanna felt that her intentions were clear.

Sanna sat down beside her, and took a strawberry. "May your reign be filled with optimism, Queen Katja, and industry and enterprise."

Katja laughed in delight. "And power," she said, holding a strawberry aloft. "True power."