Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 629
the proper tomb for her people. This had one one low opening
and a stone floor to discourage rodents, and due to its solidity it
was unharmed. It was also half-full of grain, but there had
been nothing Galas could do about that.
The queen had piled those corpses she could find and dig
up in the opening of the granary. She had half-bricked it up
with stones before stopping, probably from exhaustion. That
meant she would be back soon.
She had come here to entomb her past. If the rings of
office were to be found anywhere, it would be here.
Having spent part of last night digging up skeletons
herself, Megan found herself surprisingly unfazed by the
thought of rummaging through the grisly place. She hoicked
her dress up and climbed into the low stone dome. Hollow
smooth things slid under her feet as she struggled to find her
balance. As he eyes adjusted, she saw the sad remnants of the
town’s population, and now the sight did make her weep. It
was so unbearably pathetic, how easily a whole community
could be swept away.
After a few minutes, she wiped her eyes and began
shifting bones. She only had to dig a little ways to find the
rings.
"Fool," she muttered in the direction of the house. "You
can’t escape yourself so easily."
Megan slipped the rings into the canvas purse where she
kept her sewing equipment, and clambered out of the granary.
She would bide her time. Galas would grieve, and then a
day would come when she regretted her abdication. On that
day Megan would give her back her rings.
Perhaps, she thought with a pang, it would be the day
when Armiger conquered the world, and asked Galas to reign
over it with him as queen. Megan was no fool; she knew it