Ann had only just sank into a chair that Coral had brought for her when a captain came through the doors at speed and made his way straight over to her.
"Oh what the fuck now?" Maeve hissed, the pit of hunger that sat in their belly only fuelling her lack of patience.
He dipped his head respectfully and grimaced an apology.
"I was told to report directly to you while Alpha Nocturne was away," he said brusquely, "Two of our units on one of the northern patrols engaged raiders on the outskirts of a village. They managed to chase them off before anyone was hurt, but they found markings cut through the crops in the field and more ash piles…" he trailed off.
Ann's jaw tightened.
"Of course. Thank you Narcissa for entering our life and ensuring a miserable fucking existence FULL OF BASTARD INTERRUPTIONS!" Maeve raged in Ann's head, making her wince. She quickly shut Maeve out and refocused herself on the guard who was frowning at her in concern.
"My apologies, my wolf is getting tired of the provocations and the damage that it's doing to our people." she explained quickly and the guards face settled into one of understanding as she continued, "Mark the site as off limits. I don't want anyone touching anything there until our specialists arrive to analyze it. Make sure you rotate the guards regularly, twelve hours on and twelve hours off for now. As soon as we have more people we can distribute the watches better, but until then stick to that. I want them awake enough to see straight."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
He hesitated.
"By the way, your highness…the villagers…they wanted to know if the Queen even heard their cries and asked if you cared. I said you did. I hope that wasn't overstepping."
"I do hear them, loud and clear, and no, you did not overstep. Thankyou," Ann said softly. "Make sure they know that I grieve with them for every loss and make sure that they believe it."
He left as the next group entered, a packless teenager supporting his grandmother, both of them shaking. Ann took the older woman's weight over her own shoulder without thinking and walked them to a bench. She told herself the sharp pain in her back was just from the angle, not the pups pressing their disapproval into her ribs.
By late afternoon the council hall smelled of broth, medical disinfectant and stale smoke.
"I wonder if the Elders would enter here now that it doesn't smell of politics," Maeve smirked, "Cantankerous old coots."
Ann suppressed a smile as her gaze wandered over the first children that were asleep on makeshift beds that had been set up around the edges of the hall. At least, for now, they could rest peacefully.
Her smile faltered as her gaze landed on the adults that sat nearby, staring straight ahead, not really seeing. What they'd endured was still burned into their eyes, too raw to look anywhere else.
Eva appeared at Ann's elbow with a stack of forms and a sealed envelope.
"I brought you some writ drafts from Sera. If you sign, we can run them to the safe houses tonight."
Ann signed them without sitting, handed them back, and took the envelope. Inside was a simple list.
Names of two hedge-healers who might answer if asked gently, a ward-carver who had never sworn to a coven, and one unspecified magick user who had managed at some point to find themselves mated to a retired portalmancer's assistant who still knew the old rules.
"We'll start there," Ann said. "No press. No announcements."
"Of course," Eva said. "Also..the kitchens say if you don't eat, they're sending one of the bakers to physically feed you."
"I'll fight them," Ann said.
"Please don't," Eva said with a grimace. "They'll let you win and end up injured."
"Imagine explaining that to Adam when he returns," Maeve snorted gleefully.
An omega suddenly appeared with a pewter cup and a bowl of stew and looked so frightened of not fulfilling his orders that Ann took both from him with nothing more than an irritated glance and ate standing.
As it turned out, eating was the right decision because the stew stopped the shaking in her hands that she hadn't noticed before now.
Messages trickled in from Adam through the afternoon.
Found a second spring. Good pressure. Moving the infirmary plan closer to the east hedgerow.
Later: Housing crews started first rows. Expect three clusters marked out by tomorrow if weather holds.
Later still: Stop skipping meals and rest.
She wrote back each time with questions he'd respect and orders he'd obey:
Mark housing for families with pups first. Post silent alarms, not loud ones that will alert any silent attacks that we know of their presence. Move faster..I want you home..
"Feeling bossy are we?" Maeve smirked, "At least no one will ever have to worry about him forgetting who the Alpha is, you'll soon remind him quick enough.
"I learned from the best," Ann muttered. .
By the evening the nobles were back lingering in doorways "observing." what was being done so that they could complain about it later.
Ann's patience was wearing thin, and Maeve's had run out long ago. She met each challenging gaze in turn and did not blink.
When one of them began, "We all share your concern, Your Majesty," she held her hand up to stop him talking and spoke over him.
"Wonderful. Then you can share our burdens too," she said as she set them to hauling blankets and carrying water until they fled with red faces and ruined gloves.
The guards changed shifts without being told to in accordance with the new schedules.
The court scribes put away their work and began lifting stretcher poles to help with moving people into beds that had opened up in the infirmary tent.
The palace adjusted around the changing needs of each minute not because they wanted to, but because she lead by example.
It wasn't neat and honestly, it was more than a little chaotic, but somehow, it worked.
When the last bed was filled and the last bowl scraped clean, the noise and activity in the hall seemed to disappear.
Coral hovered at the edge of Ann's vision and Eva stood in the doorway, checking names against a list and tapping corrections into her tablet. The sound was rhythmic and strangely comforting.
Ann sank to the edge of the dais because sitting any lower meant she might not stand again for a while. Her back protested and the pups pressed insistently against her bladder.
"Ten minutes," she told herself.
Five, Maeve said. Then stand up. The room watches even when it pretends not to.
"I know."
Sera's courier arrived just as Ann was debating whether she could risk closing her eyes. He bowed, handed over a sealed square of parchment, and vanished without a word.
Inside was a note in Sera's neat handwriting..
The writ language is ironclad. There's no loopholes for the council to twist and bend to exploit them. The protections hold. Don't bow to their fear or their greed.
And below it, a single line: I'll back you in council.
Ann sighed in relief.
If Sera said there were no cracks, then there weren't. That was one less weapon for the lords to use against her, one more ally that she could count on if or rather, when the chamber turned on her.
"Good," she said softly, although it was more to herself than anyone else.
"Is it?" Maeve questioned ominously, "Because from the outside it looks like you're giving too much away," Maeve warned, rougher now. "Every tear you catch, every crack you cover, they'll see eventually how thin you're stretched. They'll see that right now, you're alone. And those vultures do not pity the wounded."
"I know," Ann whispered, "But what else can I give them except myself? For now, it's the only replacement I have for the immediate solutions that they need, and it won't be for long."
Maeve huffed, uneasy.
"Yourself is exactly what we can't afford to lose."