Chapter Nine
CARO SAT ON a sinfully soft couch in the king’s solar, wishing he had his quilt to hide behind. Fen and the king were with some of Fen’s troops hidden in some sort of space behind the throne room. Shairon was in the nursery, with her own sword, her scholarly husband, to whom Caro had barely been introduced at breakfast, and a cadre of troops. The children were napping in the queen’s bedroom, down the hall from the solar. Braxton was off somewhere secretive, which aligned with his being Toval’s spymaster, but Caro wished he was sitting next to Braxton on the couch. Instead, Caro was sitting across from Ayer and the queen, both of whom looked like they were only waiting for a quiet moment to start interrogating him. More of Fen’s soldiers were in the room with them, and Caro was definitely getting side-eye looks from a couple who recognized him.
The clock chimed two in the afternoon, two quick bongs. “Healer Alina said the poison should have taken effect around now,” Queen Trina called. “Brace yourselves.”
Except, nothing happened. The last echo from inside the clock faded away, leaving them in silence with no sign anything might occur. Of course, them being attacked or the enemy coming to verify their deaths from the poisoning was only speculation. Seconds ticked into minutes, Caro sitting stiff with his fists clenched, listening along with everyone else for the slightest hint of an imminent attack. A scrape of metal as a sword left its sheath, a tap of booted feet on stone, or even a whisper of voices as last-minute commands were passed. Why Caro thought he would hear any of that from inside a secured room, he had no idea, but as five minutes became ten and then fifteen, he strained his ears for even the slightest hint. Perhaps no one was coming, and all their preparations were for naught.
Caro fidgeted, realized he was showing his nerves, and forced himself to stillness, only to find a moment later he was holding his breath. He ought to be used to things like this, the dread-inducing anticipation of a coming battle and then the battle itself. He had experienced similar situations many times before, but from the Namin side, being forced to participate in battles and events out of a nebulous sense of obligation to a family that always hoped the latest fight they sent him to would be his last. This time was different. This time Caro wanted to live, and he wanted the new family he was hoping he was making to be safe as well. The waiting, the wondering where the attack was going to come from—presuming there was even an attack on its way—was excruciating.
Caro closed his eyes and reached out with his magic. He didn’t open his third eye, just let the power trickle free from its leash to sense anything nearby. He didn’t feel anything though. Ayer and the queen were at peace with themselves and the situation. The guards were anticipatory but aware they might only be there as a precautionary measure. The nurses watching the children were ready, daggers hidden but easily accessible. Behind Caro more anticipation could be felt, similar to that of the guards—a readiness to strike when needed, but waiting for a signal for attack, and therefore not yet a threat.
Except no one was standing behind Caro’s couch. Caro jumped up and spun to look at the line of bookcases stuffed full of books and tchotchkes.
“Caro?” Ayer asked.
“Is there a secret passage behind there?” Caro asked, keeping his voice low to prevent anyone waiting on the other side from overhearing.
“Not that I’m aware of,” Queen Trina replied, standing as well. “But this is the oldest section of the castle, so I wouldn’t be surprised if much of the original footprint has faded from living memory.” She waved the soldiers forward, although they were already moving. About half remained near the door, the rest spreading in a semicircle around the bookcases.
“They all must be writhing in agony right now, poor poisoned bastards,” Caro heard, although he was aware no one else in the solar could. “Let’s move.”
Caro’s third eye flew open, glowing gold and pointing out the imminent threat as his passive magic field jumped to the fore.
“They’re coming,” he hissed, squinting through the sheen of gold across his vision as the bookcase on the right slid backward on silent hinges and then sideways to clear the opening.
The men and women who dashed out, swords and long knives drawn and fierce scowls on their face, were not expecting to run into the waiting soldiers. The man in the front yelled and swung, only to be batted aside by two soldiers. The attackers were hampered by the narrow opening, so they could only run out singly or in pairs, and Fen’s forces handled them easily. They also were clearly not as well trained as Fen’s Royal Forces—something Caro had learned firsthand not too long ago. The fight was over within minutes. Some of the attackers were dead, and some lay on the floor, moaning and bleeding. Others had surrendered, and still more were retreating down the passageway, the slap of their running footsteps and panicked yells echoing back up into the solar.
Fen’s soldiers didn’t need to pause to reorganize. A third of them immediately began pursuit, vanishing down the passage, a third stayed to triage the wounded and watch the captives, and the final third were still by the main door, guarding the other entrance.
Caro cast around with his magic, trying to sense anyone else hiding within the walls, but came up with nothing. He wished he had a sword or a blade of some kind—everyone else, including the limping Ayer had one—but Caro knew his limitations. It wasn’t that they didn’t trust him; the problem was he still wasn’t strong enough. He could barely walk all the way down the hall; the exertion of swinging a sword was well beyond him. Besides, he wasn’t exactly competent with a sword anyway. His lessons as a child had been minimal, just enough to serve as his brother’s punching bag slash practice dummy. Even his magic lessons, the most comprehensive of his lessons, had only occurred to protect the secrets of the royal family. Once he was capable enough not to spill state secrets, those classes had stopped too.
All of which meant Caro stood in place and watched as everyone else around him did the hard work. He could only hope his small contribution of his magic-powered sight made up for the rest of his shortcomings.
“It would seem we are in your debt again,” Queen Trina said, a soft smile tilting her rose-colored lips.
Caro swallowed hard, grabbed for his courage and the sweet memory of Braxton’s lips against his, and replied, “Favors aren’t owed between family.”
Her smile grew. “No, they’re not.” She suddenly clapped her hands and called in a louder voice, “Right. Let’s finish mopping up this mess. I want a report from the other groups, and then I want to get back to my day.” People sprang into action, but Caro sank back down onto the couch cushions to rest his legs. He felt a little better every day, but jealousy still reared its head as he watched people dash off with their fully functioning bodies.
Queen Trina sat on the couch across from him, her eyes shrewd and far too knowing as she studied him—so much like Braxton’s. “How long until Healer Alina thinks you’ll be fully healed?”
Caro blinked, hoping his surprise that she appeared to be reading his thoughts didn’t show on his face. “Another week or two, she thinks, before she’ll allow me to return to regular activities,” Caro replied. “We’re working on strengthening my body, which she says isn’t going to be an immediate fix.”
Queen Trina was silent for a few long moments, apparently oblivious to the chaos around them as prisoners were carted off, the wounded were treated, and bodies dealt with.
“All of my children are warriors and they throw themselves into danger time and again to protect this country and the people they love,” she began. Her face was somehow shadowed, as if the weight of what she was saying manifested visibly. “Fen and Shairon have their duties with the various military components they lead. Being surrounded at all times by other soldiers at least offers them some protection from attackers. Ayer is the crown prince so is constantly surrounded by guards, and because of his injury he cannot be on the front lines of a war. But Braxton is different. He slinks through the darkness, alone, with no one to watch his back.” The shadows melted away, replaced by sheer intensity as her eyes blazed like twin flames as she froze Caro with her gaze. “Can you be that person for him? Can you look into the dark places and warn him of the danger, to be his eyes when the darkness tries to engulf him?”
Caro’s heart was thudding so hard he thought she might be able to hear it, and his hands, where he had them clasped in his lap, were shaking. Still, it wasn’t hard to find those intense feelings always simmering under the surface, waiting for the next moment he would find time to think about Braxton and how much he meant to Caro. His eyes were blazing when he replied.
“That’s everything I want.”
“Good,” she said with a sharp nod before abruptly standing and turning to the half-dozen secretaries who had been hovering, waiting for their conversation to conclude.
Caro relaxed into the scattered couch cushions, knowing better than to escape from the overwhelming noise and bustle to the quiet of his own rooms, no matter how much he desperately craved some time to unpack his swirling, buzzing thoughts after that rather odd conversation. Instead, he did his best to stay out of the way.
Thankfully, Braxton swept into the room a few minutes later, his father and brother in his wake. Caro’s greedy eyes took in Braxton’s form, desperately searching for any sign of injury and thankfully finding nothing. Braxton shot a quick smile in Caro’s direction, but he headed over to his mother.
“I received word from one of my informants. He located the fortress in the mountains. Fen sent a team of forward scouts to obtain more information, but we should follow immediately.”
“Let’s not be hasty,” Queen Trina replied after a glance at her husband. “Namin might already have their entire army stationed there, or they might only have unarmed civilian builders. We need to know more first before we can adequately plan. Plus, we need time to amass supplies and outfit soldiers. The scouts should be back in no more than two weeks, which is when we will make our final decisions and move out. Also,” she looked between Braxton and Caro. “In two weeks, Caro will be fit to travel. I want him with you.”
“Agreed,” King Aurelius added when Fen and Braxton both opened their mouths to argue. “It is time we bring today back on track,” he continued. “Let’s all return to our regular duties and begin preparing to travel into the mountains to stop Namin once and for all.”