City of Lies - Lian Tanner [62]
“Makes no sense to me,” said the Margrave of Numme.
“It’s like a code,” said Frisia. “You have to work it out.”
The king’s face was gray with exhaustion; nothing but his iron willpower still held him upright. But he nodded, pleased. “Go on.”
“First, the fire,” said Frisia. “It might mean anything, but it comes just before ‘destroy the household.’ I think the household is probably Merne. And the fire is von Nagel, setting out to destroy us.”
The grand dukes rumbled their agreement. Their beards and mustaches wagged and they leaned forward, interested now.
“The longbow is obvious,” said Frisia. “Our bowmen are one of our greatest strengths. And the emblem of the wolf flies on all our banners.” She paused, looking for something in the last part of the fate-telling that would declare her destiny to the listeners. But she could see nothing.
Her heart sank. “The ship is—it is our army’s voyage to Halt-Bern. And the last one tells us that we must not hold back, we must go with great urgency and fight with all our strength.”
There was a moment of silence, then the king said, “It is good—to have our plans confirmed. But I confess—I was expecting more. Never mind, there are plenty of other things to—” Cough cough cough.
All this time Physician Hoff had been hovering in the background with a look of deep disapproval on her face. Now she jumped forward. “Please, Your Highness, this is too much. You must rest. And take more of the potion, I beg you.”
“I will rest,” growled the king, “when I am ready.”
He raised his hand, and the gathered nobles knelt to take their battle vows. In rumbling voices they swore that they would fight till every drop of blood in their bodies was gone; that they would slaughter von Nagel and his followers, or cut their own ears off in shame. Then, with a great creaking of leather boots and rattling of swords, they stamped out of the library. Only Grand Duke Karl stayed behind.
Frisia stared at the floor, bitterly disappointed. She had been so sure that the fate would convince the king to let her go to Halt-Bern. But the whole thing had been a waste of time.
In the back of her mind, the strange voice whispered. (I think there’s more. Go deeper.…)
The princess’s neck prickled. She bent over the table. In the corner of the library, Ser Wilm’s servants put their white caps together and murmured to each other.
“Father,” said Frisia.
The king was lying down now, discussing strategy with the grand duke, and he was clearly annoyed at being interrupted. “What is it?”
“There is another message here,” said Frisia. Quickly, before the king could dismiss her, she said, “The first two parts are the same. The fire threatens the household. Von Nagel is setting out to destroy Merne. But the longbow—look, it’s no ordinary longbow. It’s inlaid with silver.”
“Pfft,” said the king. “That means nothing.”
“Perhaps you are right,” said Frisia. “But when you look at the next part of the fate, it becomes clearer. The wolf cub.”
Her father stared at her blankly. “Don’t you see?” said Frisia, her voice trembling with excitement. “Who is the wolf of Merne?”
“The king, of course,” said Grand Duke Karl.
“Well then, if the king is the wolf, who is the wolf cub?”
The room was as silent as the empty dungeons. The king narrowed his eyes and glared at Frisia. She glared back at him. “I am,” she said. “And I carry a bow inlaid with silver rings from our conquered territories on the Faroon Peninsula—”
The king’s face reddened. “Are you trying to twist the words of the fates for your own ends, girl?” he growled.
“No,” said Frisia, standing very straight. “I am trying to discover their true meaning.”
“And what makes you think that you have found it?”
“Because it makes sense. You were right; we did expect more. And this is it. Look at the last two parts of the fate. The ship—I don’t think it’s a ship after all. I think it’s me, sailing away from everything I know. You see, the land is out of sight.… ”
“Hmph,” said the king.
“And then it says, ‘Do not hold back.’ Perhaps this is the wolf