Chapter 31
CHAPTER 31
I n my library room, I lie in bed, my head throbbing in tune with my heart. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Sunlight pours over the gold-lettered books, making them shimmer like fireflies, and even that’s too bright for my pounding head.
A whole day has passed since the explosion, but my ears still ring.
A tugging sensation wraps around my ribs, and I know what it means. Nivene is coming. The Sentinel bond pulls taut, humming with the force of her presence.
Why did she give me instructions that nearly got me killed? I hope it wasn’t on purpose, but I’m still furious about it. Trust Avalon Tower , she said. We don’t need to know the details , she said. It’ll be fine.
The headache certainly isn’t helping my mood.
Loud, feminine voices pierce the door—Nivene arguing with Aisling. I force myself to sit up in bed, trying to ignore my headache.
The door slams open, and Nivene barges in. “Nia!” Her voice cracks with relief. “My sister! Thank the gods you’re all right.”
Aisling follows her, wringing her hands. “I’m sorry, Princess. I tried to stop her. I told her you needed rest, but she insisted.”
“It’s okay, Aisling,” I say. “I was awake. I still can’t sleep. The ringing in my ears is too loud.”
“I can’t believe this happened.” Nivene’s face is pale as snow, and her eyes dart over me to look for injuries.
“Me, neither,” I say. “But at least the assassins were deeply incompetent . If they hadn’t been such fuck-ups, I’d be dead.”
Aisling doesn’t seem to notice my tone, and she nods vigorously. “My friend’s husband, whose brother works with the king’s bodyguards, says it was the resistance. They have strange ideas about a world without kings, like the humans.” She shakes her head in disgust.
My eyes widen. “The resistance? How have we not squashed them yet?”
Nivene exhales sharply. “You know what? I bet you’d feel better if we went outside. Get some fresh air.”
I flash her a fake smile. “Ah, yes. A perfect cure for nearly being blown to pieces by the resistance . Fresh air and a little stroll.”
“She should stay here, milady,” Aisling said. “Bedrest is the best cure for something like that.”
“Nonsense,” Nivene says, her voice hard as steel. “Back on the farm, Nia never missed a day of work, even when she was sick. She used to say that the fresh air makes her feel better. Remember that, sister? Besides, this makes me think that we need to talk every day. Who knows what could happen next?”
“Fine.” I stand. “A walk outside, then.”
I slip into my cloak and stride from the room, Nivene fast on my heels. My head pounds with each step, and the cursed ringing in my ears makes me nauseated, but I don’t slow down.
As soon as we step outside, four guards follow us.
“I see you have even more security, sister,” Nivene says.
“Of course. Corbinelle is a nest of vipers, like so many places, I’m afraid.” I whirl to face the guards. “You can watch from here. I doubt the hedgerows and statues are plotting my assassination.”
“Princess,” one of the guards says nervously. “Prince Talan was very clear?—”
“Yes, yes, ‘stay safe, don’t get stabbed, don’t explode.’ But my head is already splitting, and the sound of your armor clanging is making it worse. My sister and I are going over there”—I point—“where you can still see us. If a cluster of primroses attacks, I promise to scream for help.”
The guards exchange helpless looks but hang back, and Nivene and I keep walking until we’re out of hearing range.
“Thank the gods you’re alive,” she murmurs, her voice tight.
“Do you remember when you told me to have faith in Avalon Tower and not to worry about the details?” I hiss. “I’m not sure I trust your judgement at this point.”
“Obviously, I didn’t think explosives would be involved,” she snaps. “The whole bloody point was for you to open the window for assassins to sneak inside.”
“But what if there was a different reason they wanted me to open the window? To let them know I was with Talan? They blew the room up right after I opened the window. Within minutes. If they didn’t want me dead, surely they would have waited a while longer. They were supposed to strike when Talan was sleeping. They could see me in the window if they were looking.”
Nivene shakes her head. “That couldn’t have been the instructions from Avalon Tower. They’re not going to kill their own Avalon Steel Knight. There must have been a miscommunication with the resistance, or Fey agents decided to make their own plan. Without Meriadec, I don’t even know who they’re dealing with anymore. Their new contact might be an idiot.”
My mind is still roiling. “It’s almost as if they intentionally botched Auberon’s assassination. Did you notice that? Talan was in his room, but the king? Completely missed the mark. We told them Auberon went to the library every evening at dusk. And there he was, in the library at dusk, like we said he would be. So, why set the bomb off in his room, then?”
“I don’t know. But I’m sure Sir Kay ordered the use of explosives only for Auberon’s quarters. The final instructions must have gotten muddled or twisted. I’m sure it wasn’t coming from Camelot.”
I shake my head. “Something doesn’t add up.”
“Sir Kay planned this assault with Raphael and Amon. Do you believe Raphael would knowingly put you at risk like that?”
I raise an eyebrow. “No. But he wouldn’t fuck it up this badly, either. Whatever Raphael planned, that message might not be what reached the resistance. I’d bet my life Wrythe had a hand in this.”
Nivene’s jaw tightens. “It doesn’t matter. We had one chance, and now the palace security will tighten around us like a noose.” She looks up at the broken tower. “How did you survive the explosion? His room is totally ruined.”
“Just luck.” I glance up at the shattered tower wall, the gaping holes in the palace. “Nivene, what if Wrythe wanted Auberon to survive and sent the wrong instructions?”
Nivene’s forehead wrinkles. “You’re going into conspiracy territory, and it makes no sense. First of all, the instructions were sent with Sir Kay’s seal. He wouldn’t go along with that. And second, why would Wrythe want Auberon to live? He’s an asshole, but he truly hates the Fey.”
I swallow hard. “Sir Kay is in his nineties. The last time I saw him, he looked half dead. Maybe Wrythe got hold of his seal and sent different instructions, and Kay was unaware. Or maybe he convinced him to do this. Whatever the case, I need to know at what point the plans went wrong—was it Sir Wrythe or Sir Kay, or did the resistance switch it up? We need to know who was responsible before we make our next move in Brocéliande.”
“Our next move?” Nivene stares at me. “We’re done here. It’s over. We’re not staying in enemy territory after we tried to kill the king. Our orders are clear in case of failure. They’re on high alert, and it’s only a matter of time before Auberon or the King’s Watch traces this back to us. If we stay here, we’re dead. We’ll end up burned by dragon fire. Tarasque will incinerate us. We’re going back to Avalon Tower. Now, if we can. You need to grab anything you want to bring with you.”
My chest tightens. “I’m still in position to provide them with valuable intel. They need our information.”
“There’s another plan in motion,” Nivene says. “They don’t need us for it, and we’ve been living on a knife’s edge of danger too long here.”
“Let me guess,” I say sharply. “Is the new plan Wrythe’s?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that it’s a backup plan, some new way to beat the Fey that doesn’t involve us. It means we get to leave this place.”
My mind flicks back to the last meeting of the round table. Sir Kay had told Wrythe, Your so-called solution is not an option . Is this the new plan?
“Wrythe set this all up,” I say. “I’m sure of it. He wanted the targeted assassination to fail so he could enact his own plan. And knowing him, it’s probably going to be monstrous.”
“It doesn’t matter what we think, Nia. Or what your best guess is. Our job is to follow orders, and our orders are clear: get back to Avalon Tower. Every minute we stay here is a chance of being discovered. I’ve already stuck around an extra day for you. I can’t linger any longer.”
“Go back without me.” I hold her gaze. “But I’m not going back. I don’t trust Wrythe as far as I can throw him, and something tells me I need to stay here.”
Her cheeks flame red, and anger flashes in her eyes. “You’re going to be found out any day now. They’ll make an example of you when they catch you. If you want to risk burning alive because of your instincts, you’ve lost your fucking mind.”
Mordred’s warning rings in my thoughts. You don’t answer to fate or those idiots in Avalon Tower.
“Nivene, I will handle this in my own way. You asked me to trust Avalon Tower. I’m asking you to trust me.”
She turns, marching away from me in the snow, and my stomach twists as I watch her walk off.
Well, it’s official now. I’ve gone rogue.