Queen's Shadow || Kingdom at the End of the World - Book II

[18.1] Sun Set

Ira Hale regained her senses in a place as dark as the belly of a river. She lay slumped against a metal wall, and as her sight adjusted to the lack of light, found Valeri not far away. The man was laid on his side, his torso twisted awkwardly. It looked like someone had tossed him down with little care of how he would land.

"What sort of animosity is there between you and Valeri Beaufort?" Ira asked.

Her voice echoed up tall walls. The room was built like a bottle, the base large and flat, the walls curving upward to a narrow opening far above Ira's head. After a moment of quiet, gentle laughter flowed down.

"How did you know that I would remain?" Orlova asked.

Ira said nothing. It had been a guess, but one based on her observations of the woman – or that is, that particular side of Orlova. The woman was markedly more malicious when in her vampire form. She would wish to see them after they awoke and discovered her deception, if only to gloat at their desperation.

Orlova leaned into view. The circular opening at the top was large enough to frame her face and upper body, her skin pale against the dark.

"Do you know where you are?" Orlova asked.

"I do not," Ira replied.

"This room is used to store water. There are pipes behind the panels that feed into the city. Some of the water is used for the machinery. Most goes to the city's inhabitants, and their homes," Orlova explained.

Ira did not need to inspect the storage room to know that there was not a drop of water left in Chervnik's reserves. Her mind turned, realigning the information gathered over the last few days. "What need is there to drug the water?" she asked.

"You are too cruel, Miss Hale!" Orlova exclaimed. "Would you rather those poor souls be aware as they are crushed to death?"

Valeri stirred. He had been aware for a while, Ira knew, but listened quietly until he could bear it no longer. "You mean to destroy the town?" he snarled.

Orlova laughed again. What amusement she had not found in Ira, she reaped by provoking Valeri. "That is exactly right!"

"Fane will never allow it," Valeri dismissed, but he sounded unsure.

"That lunatic? He plans to be buried with his precious city and die a martyr," Orlova told them, openly gleeful.

Valeri's expression stiffened. He looked at Ira, possibly seeking another explanation. Upon seeing Ira's face, his eyes dimmed.

"The ring," he said softly.

Ira nodded. Whatever Lord Fane's feelings for her biological father, he and Ira were still but strangers. The ring was too great of a treasure to be given out lightly.

When Lord Fane said he no longer had use for it, he really meant every word.

"What does he stand to gain from this idiocy?" Valeri asked, jaw tight.

Orlova shrugged. "It does not matter."

"It does," Ira said quietly.

Motives were a crucial point in any investigation, shedding light on present difficulties and future hurdles. Ira did not need Orlova's input to puzzle out Lord Fane's goal, but did agree with Orlova's evaluation of the man's state of mind.

"He means to blame the humans in his halls for the disaster," Ira said.

Valeri looked as if he had been struck. Details such as Lord Fane's leaving the maintenance of Chervnik machinery to humans suddenly made a grievous amount of sense. "There must be survivors," he said at last. Someone would need to spread word about the disaster and its cause.