Red Queen

Suddenly the gaze of cameras, heavier than I’m used it, lands on our transport, following us as the line of vehicles passes by the stage. Luckily we keep driving, moving through an archway to a small courtyard, but then we pull to a stop.

“What’s this?” I whisper, grabbing onto Maven. Until now, I’ve kept my fear in check, but between the lights and the cameras and the crowd, my wall begins to crumble.

Maven sighs heavily, more annoyed than anything. “Father must be giving a speech. Just some saber rattling to keep the masses happy. The people love nothing more than a leader promising victory.”

Maven steps out, pulling me along with him. Despite my makeup and my clothes, I feel suddenly very bare. This is for a broadcast. Thousands, millions, will see this.

“Don’t worry, we just have to stand and look stern,” he mutters in my ear.

“I think Cal has that covered.” I nod to where the prince broods, still attached at the hip to Evangeline.

Maven snickers to himself. “He thinks speeches are a waste of time. Cal likes action, not words.”

That makes two of us, but I don’t want to admit I have anything in common with Maven’s older brother. Maybe once I thought so, but not now. Not ever again.

A bustling secretary beckons us. His clothes are blue and gray, the colors of House Macanthos. Maybe he knew the colonel, maybe he was her brother, her cousin. Don’t, Mare. This is the last place to lose your nerve. He doesn’t spare a glance at us when we fall into place, standing behind Cal and Evangeline, with the king and queen at the head. Strangely, Evangeline is not her usual cool self; I can see her hands shaking. She’s afraid. She wanted the spotlight, she wanted to be Cal’s bride, and yet she’s scared of it. How can that be?

And then we’re moving, walking into a building with too many Sentinels and attendants to count. Inside, the structure is built for function, with maps and offices and council rooms instead of paintings or salons. People in gray uniforms busy themselves in the hall, though they stop to let us pass. Most of the doors are closed, but I manage to catch a glimpse inside a few. Officers and soldiers look down at maps of the warfront, arguing over the placement of legions. Another room spilling with thunderous energy seems to hold a hundred video screens, each one operated by a soldier in battle uniform. They speak into headsets, barking orders to faraway people and places. The words differ, but the meaning is the same.

“Hold the line.”

Cal lingers before the door to the video room, craning his neck to get a better look, but it suddenly slams in his face. He bristles but doesn’t protest, falling back into line with Evangeline. She mutters to him quietly but he shakes her off, to my delight.

But my smile fades as we step back out into blinding lights on the front steps of the structure. A bronze plaque next to the door reads War Command. This place is the heart of the military—every soldier, every army, every gun is controlled from within. My stomach rolls at the power here, but I can’t lose my nerve, not in front of so many. Cameras flash, blinding my sight. When I flinch, I hear a voice inside my head.

The secretary presses a paper in my hand. One glance at it and I almost scream. Now I know what I was saved for.

Earn your keep, Elara’s voice whispers in my head. She glances at me from Maven’s other side, doing her best not to grin.

Maven follows her wretched gaze and notes the paper in my shaking hand. Slowly, he winds his fingers around my own, as if he could pour his strength into me. I want nothing more than to rip the paper in two, but he holds me steady.

“You must,” is all he says, whispering so low I can barely hear him. “You must.”

“My heart grieves for the lives lost, but know that they were not lost in vain. Their blood will fuel our resolve and drive us to overcome the difficulties ahead. We are a nation at war, we have been for a century, and we are not unaccustomed to obstacles in the path to victory. These people will be found, these people will be punished, and this disease they call rebellion will never take hold in my country.”

The video screen in my new bedroom is about as useful as a bottomless boat, playing the king’s speech from last night in a nauseating loop. By now I can recite the whole thing word for word, but I can’t stop watching. Because I know who comes next.

My face looks strange on the screen, too pale, too cold. I still can’t believe I kept a straight face while I read the words. When I step up to the podium, taking the king’s place, I don’t even tremble.

“I was raised by Reds. I believed I was one. And I saw firsthand the grace of His Majesty the king, the just ways of our Silver lords, and the great privilege they gave us. The right to work, to serve our country, to live and live well.” On-screen, Maven puts a hand on my arm. He nods along with my speech. “Now I know I am Silver born, a lady of House Titanos, and one day, a princess of Norta. My eyes have been opened. A world I never dreamed of exists, and it is invincible. It is merciful. And these terrorists, murderers of the most evil kind, are trying to destroy the bedrock of our nation. This we cannot allow.”

In the safety of my room, I heave a ragged breath. The worst is coming.

“In his wisdom, King Tiberias has drafted the Measures, to root out this sickness of rebellion, and to protect the good citizens of our nation. They are as follows: As of today, a sunset curfew is in effect for all Reds. Security will be doubled in every Red village and town. New outposts will be built on the roads, and manned to full capacity. All Red crimes, including breaking of the curfew, will be punished by execution. And”—at this, my voice falters for the first time—“conscription age has been lowered, to the age of fifteen. Anyone who provides information leading to capture of Scarlet Guard operatives or the prevention of Scarlet Guard actions will be awarded conscription waivers, releasing up to five members of the same family from military service.”

It’s a brilliant, and terrible, maneuver. Reds will tear each other apart for such waivers.

“The Measures are to be upheld at all costs until the disease known as the Scarlet Guard is destroyed.” I stare into my own eyes on-screen, watching as I stop myself from choking on my speech. My eyes are wide, hoping my people know what I’m trying to say. Words can lie. “Long live the king.”

Anger ripples through me, and the screen shorts out, replacing my face with a black void. But I can still see each new order in my mind. More officers patrolling, more bodies hanging from the gallows, and more mothers weeping for their stolen children. We killed a dozen of theirs and they kill a thousand of ours. Part of me knows these blows will drive some Reds to the side of the Guard, but many more will side with the king. For their lives, for their children’s lives, they will give up what little freedom they had left.

I thought being their puppet would be easy compared to everything else. I was so wrong. But I cannot let them break me, not now. Not even when my own doom lingers on the horizon. I must do everything I can until my blood is matched and my game is over. Until they drag me away and kill me.

At least my window faces the river, looking south toward the sea. When I stare at the water, I can ignore my fading future. My eyes trail from the swiftly moving current to the dark smudge on the horizon. While the rest of the sky is clear, dark clouds hover in the south, never moving from the forbidden land at the coast. The Ruined City. Radiation and fire consumed the city once and never let it go. Now it’s nothing but a black ghost sitting just out of reach, a relic of the old world.