The Twilight Prince

Chapter Forty: Finding the Fleet

The Admiral stepped into view.

"Good evening, Mr Frazer. I'm sorry we can't let you in. The briefing room locked down automatically when the Great Falcon breached the city."

"How are you awake?" I asked. "Everyone else is sleeping."

"So I gather, but this room is the most secure location in the country, and we have failsafes in place. We can't leave, but we can coordinate a crisis response."

"You're in contact with the rest of Horseshoe?" I asked. "Have you heard anything about my brother? Do you know if he's alive?"

"He's stable. He's strong. He'll pull through."

I felt some of the tension ease from my shoulders, and I tried to hold myself together. The Admiral allowed herself a flicker of a smile.

"Tell me, Mr Frazer; where is Lord Éven?"

"Somerset House," I said. "He passed out after tearing down the wall."

The Admiral nodded. "You saw it fall? You can confirm that the wall is down?"

"It's down. The flags are gone."

"Do you know what he plans to do if he wakes?"

"He brought down the ships. The Noble Fleet. He says he's going to raise them again to bring magic back to the island."

The Admiral turned to Southey. The expression on his face made me glad I was spared the expression on hers.

"We need help," said Southey. "We should take Mrs Cavendish up on her offer."

"Absolutely not."

"Ma'am, the city is undefended."

"Which is exactly why we can't invite a foreign army inside."

"Foreign army?" I asked.

The Admiral turned back to face me. "The fey, Mr Frazer. Tiana Cavendish has offered to rouse the fey to enter London and defend it."

"But they're not...foreign, are they?" I asked. "The fey are allowed to be here."

"But they are fey," she said, as if that were answer enough.

"With respect, Admiral, he's right," said Southey. "They're not foreign. They're not the enemy. They're citizens, and they have every right to help. Mrs Cavendish only wants to bring sympathetic fey into the city to help us retake control."

"In a situation like this, there is no such thing as sympathetic fey. Everyone must be treated with suspicion."

"Admiral, if you won't take their help, what are we supposed to do?" I asked. "You're trapped in there. I'm alone out here. How are we meant to stop this?"

"I'm working on that," said the Admiral. "When the same effect happened in Hastings, we were able to send agents in with protective charms. Witches, half-fey, and enchanted persons are generally less susceptible. Unfortunately, most of our agents are in Colchester, but we're calling in all the help that we can."

"Not all of the help," said Southey.

"Your objections have been noted, doctor."

"Admiral, with respect, there is no-one on hand to deal with any emergencies—"

"There is no-one to cause emergencies," said the Admiral. "The spell holds the city in stasis. Drivers turn off their engines. Cooks turn off their stoves. No-one dies, and no-one is injured. After four centuries of protection I will not allow Tiana Cavendish to march in here and create an emergency. The only threat is Lord Éven. Which means, Mr Frazer, you have to go back."