Free The Straw King (Dorothy Must Die Novella) by Danielle Paige Page B

For a moment he felt bad for her—this poor girl, caught in issues too large for her to understand. Glinda was right, although perhaps not in the way she thought. Ozma wasn’t ready to rule Oz—not because she was dull, but becauseshe was much too young. She needed Glinda. And Glinda, he realized, needed him. Ozma might be the supposed true ruler of Oz, but he was the actual one—not counting Jinjur, of course. His support of Ozma would be a crucial part of Glinda’s plan. If he opposed her openly, at least some of Oz’s citizens would likely rally behind him, throwing a wrench into Glinda’s works.
    To his surprise, the fact that Glinda was scheming behind his back excited rather than insulted him. It was a puzzle to figure out. He was getting a real head for politics, and the behind-the-scenes action was far more rewarding than the dreary day-to-day business of ruling Oz had ever been. Let poor Ozma hear the endless petitions and complaints of her subjects. Let her fall asleep on the throne every afternoon out of sheer boredom as Munchkin after Munchkin rambled on about the misdeeds of his neighbors. Let her sign laws into effect until her little hands cramped. She was welcome to the job. As he was beginning to realize, the part that intrigued him was the thrill of the game. Ruling was about playing a long con, and power meant you were willing to strategize behind the scenes for as long as it took. Glinda’d had years of thinking and planning. He just needed to catch up.
    He’d been skeptical, but in that moment he made his decision. He’d go along with Glinda’s plan and support Ozma’s return to the throne. He’d bide his time. And someday—maybe someday soon—he’d show Glinda that he was made of far more than she’d thought. She had underestimated him, and for now that was to his advantage. She wouldn’t underestimate him forever.He could keep secrets, too.
    Glinda looked at him through her eyelashes as if she could sense his resolution. She smiled a pretty, kindly smile that entirely failed to reach her glittering blue eyes.
    As he walked away, Glinda called after him. He turned around, and her eyes, those magnetic pools of blue, met his. “The thing you’ll never understand is that it doesn’t matter how much information you put in your brain. It’s about what you do with the information you have.” She smiled the satisfied smile of a well-fed carnivore. He knew he was supposed to be afraid, to feel out of his depth.
    Glinda wanted him to know that she was smarter than him and that she always would be. But Glinda had finally made a mistake. She’d meant to boast, or even threaten him. But without realizing it, she’d given him instructions instead.

FOURTEEN
    Early the next morning, Glinda sent a flock of gilded songbirds—literally covered in gold leaf—to the Forest of the Beasts to tell the Lion that she and the Scarecrow were making their own move on the Emerald City. “I’ve invited them all to the battle, but I’m sure it’ll be over by the time they arrive. They can join us for your coronation instead, dear,” she said to Ozma, stroking the girl’s dark hair.
    “My coronation?”
    “You didn’t think you’d just sit on the throne and that would be that! Of course you’ll have a coronation. It’ll be the grandest party Oz has ever seen! We’ll order you a dozen new dresses, and bucketloads of jewels. You can pick out your favorite things to eat and we’ll serve them at the banquet, and there will be dancing all night long!”
    “But if Jinjur has hurt so many people, no one will feel like dancing,” Ozma said. “Wouldn’t it be better to make sureeveryone in the city is taken care of instead of focusing on a party?”
    “Nonsense!” Glinda exclaimed. “Everyone will want to be distracted from their troubles, and they’ll be so excited to have a new queen that they won’t even think of Jinjur anymore. You’ll see I’m right. Remember, I know much more than you do