"No," Talia argued, shaking her head angrily, as she straightened in her chair. "That isn't true at all! I never would have wanted her to speak with him! For my sake? I hated that man! I distrusted him more than any other! I don't believe for one minute that Ora--"
"Princess," Mikhail murmured, placing a steadying hand over her own.
Grieta's eyes darted to his hand covering hers and then away, as though she had seen something shameful.
"Perhaps that is true, Princess. Forgive me if I unknowingly offended you, but I can only tell you what Queen Ora told me. It wasn't long into her rule when she began to notice odd inconsistencies... always involving you.
"During the battle of the Western Ridge, when the Unarian armies cut off all the shipments of food from the Northwestern port, only one ship made it out-- a ship with food and supplies bound for the Holy Island where you resided."
"Mere chance. The captain was a brave veteran of many battles," Talia sputtered.
"The captain confessed to Queen Ora that he was boarded by Unarian soldiers and upon learning of his destination, was allowed passage while all other ships were burned where they were anchored," Grieta corrected nervously.
"Even if that were true, it had little to do with me. The Holy Island is a scared religious site, which provides training to students of many countries! Just because I was there at the time... that is mere coincidence," Talia shook her head.
"When the Princess returned from the Holy Island to celebrate the Festival of Summer Rains, the entire left wing of the Unarian army was repositioned to the north, leaving the route to Fronov clear," Grieta reminded her.
"Because the Unarian army attacked the fort at Drummons!" Talia argued.
"And when the Princess wept over the death of King Oleg and was, by all accounts, inconsolable at the loss of his body, the Prince ordered his men to search the beach and the swamps where he was said to have fallen. It took them days to find the body, and several more for them to clean and wrap the body and respectfully deliver it to the gates of Fronov-- which they did under fire," Grieta reminded her.
"We were all inconsolable at that time. All of us. It needn't have been for my benefit," Talia mumbled.
"After Vezda's victory at Gelt, Unaria made sure to punish the Vezdans by laying waste to the plains and attacking the only trade route that was still open to them, and yet somehow... for some reason... an entire crate of oranges and several pounds of foreign milled flour were delivered to the royal palace, an anonymous gift to the royal children there," Grieta said quietly.
Talia opened her mouth and then froze, remembering the day they had received the oranges and then remembering that long ago night in the woods-- her own youthful voice reverberated in her memory: "What do you eat to grow so large? Is it oranges? I like oranges, though we seldom get them."
At last, she turned her full attention to Prince Mikhail, who sat beside her stone-faced, giving nothing away.
"Is any of this true? Did you... in any way... seek to benefit me particularly while our countries were at war?" Talia asked slowly.
Mikhail pressed his lips together, which was all the answer she truly needed.
"Why? Was it to trick House Eosin? To convince then that you sympathized with the plight of its children? For what reason would you-"
"I owed my life to you!" Prince Mikhail snapped. "After Gelt... after I learned that you kept me there with you to prevent me from running into any traps in the dark-- at great peril to your own life-- what else could I do?"
"You saved me first!" Talia reminded him, tossing off his hand and raising her voice. "During the battle of Gelt, when I ran for the tower, you saved me! I was simply returning a favor for-"
"No one has ever done me a favor! Not one person would ever seek to spare my life," he growled. "You blame me for wanting to discharge such an uncomfortable debt? I had no way of knowing that Queen Ora would even notice!"
"And this was also something you couldn't say?" Talia seethed. "Something forbidden by order? Go on then, lie to me. How would the Emperor even know to forbid you to speak of it? Why did you say nothing to me?"
"How would I convince you, who hated me, that I did such with no ulterior motive? What does it benefit you to know anyhow? Nothing was accomplished. You are a prisoner of the Empire no matter what I did, or tried to do!" Mikhail scoffed.
"Perhaps, I could finish what I was saying," Grieta interjected hesitantly.
"Go on, I've learned more from you in five minutes than I have from him in five months," Talia snorted and crossed her arms.
"Queen Ora could see that her soldiers were tired and her resources were limited. When the Prince sent a messenger, she was curious enough after observing his actions to agree to speak with him. What was said between the two I cannot say, but that was the day the Queen first realized that the Empire could only be defeated from within... that the Emperor's power was weaker internally than externally. That was the day she decided to leave Vezda and marry the Emperor," Grieta continued.
Talia closed her eyes momentarily, remembering the first visit Prince Mikhail had made to the palace at Fronov. The days she'd spent trying to glean any bit of information, of trying to find what had been discussed between the two behind closed doors. Of Ora laughing dismissively at her questions and appearing completely unconcerned."
"She trusted him," Talia murmured. "She must have trusted him to have taken such a risk...what did you do... what did you say to inspire such trust?"
She turned to face Prince Mikhail expectantly, and he frowned.
"I gave her... a letter... from some one of high standing in Unaria," he admitted haltingly.
"The Duke of Yevin," Grieta filled in quickly, watching Talia to see if she reacted to the name. "He can't say it. He never read the letter so that he could never be forced by the Emperor to say what was in it.
"It's a name I've heard often..." Talia nodded. "He was... is... a rebel within the Empire, is he not? His rebellion had something to do with his father's death. In Vezda, we heard that his father died under suspicious circumstances, and his mother was almost immediately remarried to the Emperor. What message would he send to Ora, and why would it cause her to trust Prince Mikhail?" Talia asked Grieta.
Grieta nodded eagerly and opened her mouth, but was immediately cut off by Prince Mikhail.
"The Duke of Yevin is connected to House Eosin by marriage. Your father's younger brother... your Uncle, married the current Duke of Yevin's oldest sister. The contents of the letter are not your business or mine. Suffice to say, Queen Ora was convinced that she would find support in her plan to undermine the Emperor from within the Empire," he growled.
Talia nodded slowly. It was difficult to keep her face and breathing calm and measured while her heart was beating wildly in her chest. Her uncle and aunt... both long dead... dead before Talia had even been born... the two who supposedly had their secret buried with then.
Was that what was in the letter? Did the Duke of Yevin know, through his sister, the secret House Eosin had long concealed? Had he threatened Ora with it?
"I understand," she murmured, nodding her head, but keeping her face as blank as possible.
"There is one other reason which Queen Ora gave for leaving Vezda," Grieta continued. "She knew about the prophecy, but she never believed in it. She made Prince Mikhail swear that if she died without providing an heir, he would do whatever necessary, even to the point of giving his own life, of preventing the Emperor from getting his hands... on you."
Talia again glanced at Prince Mikhail and saw his jaw stiffen as he clenched his teeth reflexively.
"She must not have realized that Prince Mikhail is unable to keep such a vow through no fault of his own," Talia murmured the words in an attempt to comfort him.
"You are of course referring to the... Krovbond... the marks that bind him to... the... to..."Grieta stumbled over her words, as her face contorted painfully.
Of course the woman knew about his marks, Talia realized. Of course she did! How often had she been in his bed and seen for herself his scars and the thick, swirling lines of ink which covered his chest and arms. Though she seemed to have enough shame that even she found it difficult to describe--
"Show her," Mikhail ordered, interrupting Talia's thoughts.
Grieta tugged at the sleeve of her loose-fitting gown, exposing her shoulder and the scars and faded lines that scrolled across it and disappeared beneath the lowered neckline of her bodice. Grieta had been marked in much the same way as Mikhail.
Talia gasped and sat back.
"Then how is it that she... how can she speak... how can she say..." Talia stumbled over her words in shock.
"I was the first that he... that he... marked," Grieta explained haltingly. "I agreed to it... in order to be allowed... to leave... the palace. I was... an experiment of sorts."
"The Emperor was still learning," Talia realized. "He did not know enough about blood magic then to make his marks work as he intended."
Grieta nodded, relief evident on her face that the Princess had spared her the pain of trying to explain.
"And he did learn. That is why his hold on Mikhail and even Ilya is that much stronger," Talia guessed.
Mikhail nodded curtly.
"Queen Ora knew," Grieta confirmed. "She knew about... our Prince was able to..."
"Ora knew that Prince Mikhail was controlled through his marks. She knew that the Emperor was using blood magic to control those around him," Talia said quickly. "That means she must have also realized that he learned it from somewhere. That means she knew he was in league with the ancient ones from the beginning."
Grieta glanced quickly at Prince Mikhail, her eyes wide, the shock evident on her face.
"She knows about-"
"There is no reason to assume that the Princess is any less capable of discovering things for herself than Queen Ora was," he growled, interrupting her.
"Yes, of course. Forgive me. Your sister did what she could to lighten the burden of the scars I bear, but nevertheless, because the... magic... done over me was poorly performed, and incomplete... I live with near constant pain. However, it grows infinitely worse if I try to discuss..."
"The ancient ones?" Talia guessed, feeling for the first time, something like pity for the woman.
Grieta nodded.
"We did not come to discuss them. Tell her of Queen Ora and what you know of her death," Mikhail ordered impatiently.
Grieta smirked, showing at least a small bit of annoyance with the Prince.
"Of course, my Prince," she answered sweetly. "Queen Ora was able to secure favor with the Emperor by falsifying a pregnancy. As you may have learned, she was able to get laws passed to benefit slaves and improve conditions among the lower classes. This made her a much beloved figure to the majority of citizens in Unaria. At the same time, she also made many allies among the noble class. She was able to place spies in the households of the upper class, and successfully stirred up many rumors and feelings of discontent with the Emperor. While the Duke of Yevin gathered followers in secret, she did more to swell his ranks than any other. When she was caught--"
"How was she caught?" Talia interrupted.
Grieta glanced quickly at Prince Mikhail, as though silently asking permission.
"How was she caught?" Talia demanded.
"She confessed... of her own volition... to the Emperor," Grieta said and bowed her head.