Chapter 26
Ul returned to the table, determined to act as though everything was fine.
Even though everything was falling apart.
Statue poison came from a deep-sea creature and was delivered from one of its spines.
It was a horrible death that would be complete by morning.
The cure was also horrible and had been described as akin to having one’s blood set on fire.
“Everything okay, or are the invaders causing trouble?” His cousin smiled and lifted his goblet.
Ul’s branches curled against his leg as he imagined choking the life out of his cousin. “They are not invaders. We invaded their world, albeit accidentally, so it will behoove us to treat them as we want to be treated until such time they leave.”
The man in charge of the oil platform would be furious if one of their people were murdered. Yet it was not a charge he could level at his cousin without proof, and that was hard to obtain. Which was why he had taken a more drastic route.
He smiled as if nothing troubled his heart. “But it appears that humans from this world cannot deal with the strength of our alcohol. I fear that celebrating our upcoming hatching led him to imbibe too much.”
His cousin blinked a couple of times, the candlelight catching in his dark eyes. “Hatching? Yours? I thought you would have written to tell me you were married and that you had finally had successful eggs?”
Katrina was acting as though she was very close to Ifer, and Ifer was playing along. It wouldn’t be long until his secretary slipped out of the hall to attend to things.
“I decided it would be prudent to wait and see if the eggs were successful before marrying again. If there is a successful hatching, then I will wed. I have negotiations to conclude with the humans tomorrow.” Ul sipped his drink, wishing that it were all true instead of a ploy to catch his cousin.
Perhaps refusing to name his cousin’s child as his successor last year had annoyed his cousin more than expected.
This year, he had planned to offer the child a place at court to learn.
Though if the child was a viper like his father, Ul didn’t want him to be anywhere near court.
That the one human compatible with him had been poisoned left little doubt in Ul’s mind that his cousin was behind the attack.
The truth would come out tonight while everyone slept except for his guards.
The three humans from the platform began to appear concerned with both Dawson and Katrina missing. She was no longer with Ifer either. They were both gone.
Everyone else was eating and drinking and enjoying the change of year. Shed the old, welcome to the new. He glanced at his cousin. “Enjoy the meal.” Hopefully, it will be your last.
Ul didn’t go directly to the table of humans. He spoke to some of the palace staff and a couple of councilors before asking a guard to accompany him to the human table. He sat in the seat that had been Dawson’s. “You are worried about your people.”
“Of course I am, two of them have disappeared.” The man known as Healy said.
Ul considered the three men for a moment, even though they had been exchanging letters for weeks, he still didn’t know how much to trust them. “Dawson fell when he went outside. He is being tended to.”
“Is it serious?”
“He shouldn’t have drunk so much,” Brett said. From what he’d been told by the soldiers assisting with the work teams, Brett liked to talk and pass judgement but didn’t seem to offer anything useful.
Ul gave them a bland smile. It was always interesting to see where a person’s thoughts first jumped.
“It is a night for drinking, for mourning, and for celebrating. My only wish is that he wakes up tomorrow with the mildest of headaches.” They were possibly the first truthful words he’d said since walking back into the hall.
“Tomorrow we will have much to discuss and plan, but for tonight. Enjoy. I have invited a guard who speaks English to join your table.” The guard would also ensure they didn’t speak to anyone who would lead them astray.
“If there is anything you need, just ask him.”
“Are we under arrest?”
Ul stared at the man, wondering if he had drunk too much and was unable to comprehend. “I have just offered you a translator and anything that you require. That is hardly the definition of arrest.”
“If Dawson is injured, perhaps we should leave and take him with us so he can get proper medical attention.”
Ul bit back on his annoyance. “He is receiving medical care, and I do not think a cart ride back to the platform will do him any favors. If you do not wish to remain at the party and continue negotiations for your people, you are welcome to leave, and a cart will be provided. But it is Samhain, and it is always better to begin the year in the way you would like it to continue.”
One of the men nodded. “That’s kind of like our New Year. Some people like to make resolutions, things they want to achieve.”
Dawson had told him about them and how most were discarded in the first month.
They weren’t really the same at all, but he murmured his agreement because he was done with this conversation.
He needed to move on and speak with other people, even though all he wanted to do was leave his own feast and sit by Dawson’s side, willing him to recover even though that was now in the hands of the gods.
He needed to pretend that everything was fine while praying that Dawson recovered. The need to be with him was almost too great for him to resist. The crown was heavy on his head, weighing him down, and he resented the restrictions more than he ever had before.
Tonight, the palace was a prison he couldn’t escape. And his subjects were his jailers. He wanted to live for himself and his own desires.
He had found the clarity and courage that he wished for, but at what price?