Twenty-Nine
THE NEXT MORNING, Charis waited until Lanni had served breakfast before beckoning Holland, Tal, and Reuben into her room.
Tal stationed himself beside the door, leaving it open a crack so he could see if anyone entered their suite. Charis had considered simply locking the suite door, but if the Everlys came to discuss her meeting with Lady Ollen and Lord Thorsby, they couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary.
Besides, the Rakuuna patrol would come back through in less than twenty minutes, and a locked door earned the occupants a very unpleasant search of both their belongings and their bodies.
“What are we doing in here?” Holland asked.
“We’re having a discussion where we won’t be overheard, and where we’ll have a bit of warning if someone walks in.” Charis stood with her hands folded at her waist, calm and certain of what she needed to do. Fury had hardened into the icy rage she’d used to survive Mother’s expectations. Charis was the immovable cliff her enemies would crash against, not realizing the danger until they were already in pieces at her feet.
She met Tal’s gaze and found the same immovable certainty in him. “You’ll keep him contained?”
“I will.” Tal glanced at Holland and then moved his feet into the first rathma position. Reuben took one look at Tal and hefted his curtain rod, though he wasn’t yet sure what was going on.
“Keep who contained?” Holland demanded, looking from Charis to Tal.
“You.” Charis drew in a deep breath. “You aren’t going to like what I’m about to say.”
Holland’s eyebrow rose. “If you think the impostor is enough to stop me if I... Wait. Why would the impostor need to stop me from doing anything? Aren’t we on the same side?” He glared at Tal. “Don’t make me regret being your friend.”
“This isn’t about Tal.” Charis kept her tone gentle, though the ice within her wanted to cut something to ribbons. “It’s about Ferris.”
“That little weasel?” Holland snorted. “What’s he done now?”
“I overheard him call Mason by the name Bartho when they were arguing in the bakery last night.”
Holland frowned. “Bartho? Who’s that? It sounds familiar, but I can’t—”
“It’s the man who hired the assassins that came after Charis.” Reuben’s voice shimmered with violence. “Tal is going to have to stop me as well, Your Majesty, because if Bartho is working for the Everlys, that makes them—”
“Dead,” Holland said flatly. “They’re on borrowed time; they just don’t know it. Reuben, let’s go.”
Tal pivoted, using his body to block the door as Reuben and Holland advanced.
“Out of the way,” Holland said. “I’d hate to have to hurt you.”
“I, on the other hand, wouldn’t mind at all. Stand aside.” Reuben lifted his curtain rod like it was a sword.
“I felt the same when I first heard about it, but you need to listen to Charis before doing anything.” Tal sounded calm, but his cheeks were flushed. “Trust me, when it comes time to destroy the Everlys, I’m going to be first in line.”
Charis unclasped her hands. “We have to be strategic. The Everlys have protection. Lady Channing confessed to setting the assassination attempts in motion—”
“Which means the Everlys were working with her. Yes, I’ve got the gist of things, Charis.” Holland’s voice rose. “What I don’t understand is why we’re hesitating to drop them where they stand.” He turned on Tal. “You of all people ought to be ready to kill them for what they did to Charis. I’m usually happily oblivious to how other people feel, but even I can tell that you love her.”
“I’m more than ready,” Tal said, anger sparking in his eyes. “But Charis has good reasons to wait.”
Reuben looked to Charis, his already-pale face losing any trace of color. “Your Majesty, Lady Channing also confessed to working with the Rakuuna. That means the Everlys are working with them, too.”
“Yes, which complicates things.” Charis stepped closer to Holland as his eyes widened and his hands curled into fists.
“Nalani.” Holland’s voice shook. “They know where she is. They know where the rebellion is headquartered, and they know about the message, and—I have to leave. I need to get to Solvang.”
He turned to find Tal still blocking the door. “Get out of my way, or I’ll go right through you.”
Charis moved to Holland’s side. “I warned Rames to get everyone out the instant we left, so we can hope they’re all safe—”
“Nalani isn’t safe.” Holland met Charis’s gaze. “She’s not a fighter. Not with weapons, at least. She doesn’t stand a chance if they find her, and now we’ve told them exactly where to look. If we contain the Everlys before they deliver the message—”
“It’s too late,” Charis said gently. “Holland, it’s too late, and you know it. We gave her location to Ferris yesterday morning. I’m sure some Rakuuna were sent to Solvang before lunch was served. The palloren won’t reach her in time. There’s nothing we can do to save her from being taken.”
It was an awful truth, and it had kept her up most of the night, sick with fear.
“No.” Holland whirled and plowed straight into Tal. Tal deflected the first punch, absorbed the second, and then spun Holland into the wall.
“Stop,” Tal said quietly. “You can’t get to your sister before the monsters do. Charis has a plan that ends in the deaths of those who deserve it, but she needs your help.”
“Let me go!” Holland shoved at Tal, but then Reuben was there, wrestling Holland’s free arm while Tal pivoted, flowed into the third rathma, and drove Holland to his knees.
Charis crouched in front of him and gripped his shoulders. “I’m scared, too. I want her safe. I want them dead. But if we aren’t careful, the Everlys will decide it’s too risky to keep you, Nalani, and me alive long enough to frame us for the invasion. They want the throne. If they think for one minute that we know the truth, we’re all dead. Do you see that? I need you with me, Holland, or we are all dead.”
He held her gaze, his dark eyes desperate. “I’m supposed to keep her safe. She’s my sister.”
“You can keep her safe by helping me.” Charis prayed she was speaking the truth. She had very little leverage now that Nalani would no longer be in Solvang to coordinate. Surely someone else there would take up the job in her absence. Unless Charis’s allies decided Calera was a lost cause and instead divided the moriarthy dust among themselves in case the Rakuuna came for their kingdom next.
Holland closed his eyes, his jaw clenched tight, and then drew in a breath. “Fine.” His eyes opened. “What’s your plan?”
“First, and most important, we have to pretend that nothing’s wrong around both the Everlys and the staff. We don’t know who we can trust.”
Holland made a noise in the back of his throat. “If you expect me to be nice to the Everlys, you’re in for some disappointment.”
“Just behave like you usually do. You’re never nice to them,” Tal said.
“Because clearly I’m an excellent judge of character.” Holland shook off the hands that held him and climbed to his feet.
Charis rose to hers as well and said softly, “We’re going to act like we trust them, but we aren’t going to tell them anything they don’t already know. I’m sure they’ve already sent a message to King Alaric telling him he can bring the jewels in exchange for marrying his heir to ours. At the wedding feast, I’m going to get the Everlys to expose their treachery, thus silencing the rumors about us, and I’m going to make Queen Bai’elsha swear allegiance to me instead of the Everlys so that she doesn’t kill us on their orders.”
“How?” Reuben asked as the door to their suite clicked open.
Charis smiled, cold and regal, as Ferris and Lord Everly walked into the sitting room. “By being the queen my mother raised me to be.”
Charis moved past Tal and swept into the sitting room, icy composure firmly in place. “Oh good, you’re both here. We were just discussing how to handle King Alaric’s alliance with the Rakuuna. I’d love to hear your thoughts.”
Behind her, Reuben and Tal filed into the room, taking up their posts on either side of her chair as if she was seated on a throne. Holland stalked past the Everlys, not even sparing them a glance, entered his room, and shut the door.
“What’s wrong with him?” Ferris asked.
Charis sighed. “You know Holland. He can’t stand being cooped up like this, and it’s made him grumpy.”
“Never mind Holland.” Lord Everly leaned forward, avarice in his eyes. “My son says you found Lady Ollen and Lord Thorsby. What plans have they made? How can we assist them from inside the palace?”
Charis matched his body language and lowered her voice as if sharing a secret. “To be honest, I expected better than what I found. The rebellion is nothing more than a handful of people, poorly organized, with no solutions to the current problems our people face, and no ideas worth implementing. One would think Lord Thorsby, at least, would have put some administrative infrastructure in place, given his years of experience running the royal council, but perhaps I’m being too hard on them. These are difficult times.”
“Surely they knew something of value that could help us.” Lord Everly exchanged a glance with Ferris. She had to give them something if she wanted her lie to appear credible.
“Indeed.” She sat back, spine straight, every inch a queen. “They’ve compiled a list of nobility who’ve apparently sworn loyalty to the Rakuuna instead of to the Willowthorns. Once we’ve managed to save our throne from King Alaric’s treachery, that list will come in quite handy as we fill our dungeons.”
“That’s it?” Ferris’s lip curled. “Months of sneak attacks and spreading rumors about how strong the spirit of resistance is within the Caleran people, and they’re just tattling on others for saving their own skin?”
Charis inclined her head as though to credit Ferris with this piece of wisdom. “I’d hoped for more organized support for our most pressing issues, but unfortunately, it looks like we can’t rely on them for help until we’ve already figured out how to save ourselves. Thankfully, I have one of Mother’s most trusted advisors at my side. Now, Lord Everly, you’ve had two months of experience dealing with both Alaric and the Rakuuna. What wisdom can you offer?”
As Lord Everly began speaking, filling the room with vague assertions and half-truths that continued to point the blame at King Alaric, Charis held herself perfectly still, her expression carved from glass, and hunted through his words for a weapon she could turn against him when the time was right.