“But why do you have to die tomorrow?”
The great round throne room was empty. No crowds thronged its floor, and the paving tiles of rose, cream, and serpentine marble displayed their dizzying patterns. The polished walls of red and green porphyry gleamed vermilion and olive in the light from the chandeliers, and the eighteen colossal black granite columns that held up the golden dome glittered with countless flecks of silver mica.
Only two people occupied this room that could hold hundreds, this vast chamber designed to contain the business of a realm. An old goblin sat on the throne that stood upon the dais, and a human girl of seventeen knelt before him, their voices damped into whispers by the expanse of space and the velvet and brocade curtains that hung before alcoves and doors. He was ugly and bony, with dull straight hair that fell to his shoulders, and his unmatched eyes gleamed like coals, one green and one black. She was statuesque and beautiful, with brown eyes and auburn hair, and her delicate pink skin contrasted with his gray fingers as she clasped his hands tightly in hers.
“Why tomorrow? Why so soon?” she asked. “Couldn’t you die next week?”
Marak just smiled at her.
“Catspaw has waited his whole life to be King,” he said. “I’ve ruled for more than half a century now, and it’s time I passed the power on. There will be new advisers, new projects, the bustle of retirements and appointments, new fashions, too, I wouldn’t doubt. There will be energy in this room again, with a young, dynamic King — mistakes, quarrels, absurd plans — I can hardly wait to die and set it all in motion.” He didn’t mention his inability to eat and sleep now, his failing magic, his labored breathing. These things, he thought, were entirely beside the point.
“Miranda.” The young woman looked up at him, her eyes full of pain and grief. By the Sword, she was magnificent, he thought proudly. He had trained her from the cradle to take her place in his underground kingdom, and she would not disappoint him.
“Miranda, three months from tomorrow will be the ceremony that makes you a King’s Wife. I’ve thought it best to keep you and Catspaw at a distance, but you’ll find him to be a gifted ruler and a good man. He doesn’t have my temper. He’s more like Kate. And he’s completely devoted to those he loves.”
The young woman listened gravely. “I like Catspaw,” she whispered.
Marak nodded his approval. “Ruling a kingdom is hard, especially at first,” he continued. “The new King will need your encouragement. And your people will watch everything you do. They’ll look to you for help, for comfort, for a thousand different things. You’ve grown up knowing this, and I’m sure you’ll meet your obligations.”
“I will,” she promised softly. A tear sparkled on her eyelashes before slipping down her cheek. Marak watched it with idle interest. He thought it made a very pretty effect.
“Can I stay with you?” she asked, but the old goblin shook his head.
“The time I have left belongs to Kate. You need to leave now, but I want you to come to the crypt in the morning so that I can say good-bye.”
Quiet, unmoving, in an agony of suffering, Miranda stared at the gray hands holding hers. Her guardian had always been there to guide her. Now, in less than a day, he would be gone. All that learning, all that brilliance lost, like galaxies disbanding. Like a universe collapsing into dust.
“I want to come with you,” she said miserably.
The goblin King’s eyebrows went up, and he chuckled at this absurdity. “But, Miranda, I don’t know where I’m going!”
“I don’t care,” she said quickly. “I want to be with you. All my life, I wanted to come home with you, and you always made me wait, but you promised that I could one day. And then, when I finally did, it was for such a short time, and now—” She stopped herself with an effort.
Unperturbed, Marak gave her hands a little shake. “Catspaw will be all that to you,” he said. “I certainly didn’t raise you to escort me to the grave. You’re going to be a King’s Wife in a thousand, Miranda! What a pity I won’t be here to see you.”
The lovely girl mastered herself again. She even managed to smile. Then she turned and left him, crossing that empty desert of colored marble under the great golden dome.