Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sabine rushed through the palace, thinking about everything she needed to do to pull this off. There wasn’t much time before Rainer figured it out. That, and he’d head south tomorrow to join his army and start the war. Time was of the essence.
“Captain Drew—please have someone get the remaining captains and bring them to my room immediately.”
He began barking out orders.
Once in her bedchamber, Sabine grabbed a bag and crammed clothes in it. Then she quickly changed into thicker pants and a plain tunic. After strapping a dagger to her leg and sliding another one into her boot, she was ready.
A knock sounded on her door. She shoved her bag beneath her bed before Drew admitted Cutler, Higman, and Lithane.
“The four of you are the highest ranking members of our military right now,” she began. “We have no commander appointed since the last three have been murdered.” No one responded. Holding her head high, she forged on. “Therefore, I am appointing myself as the commander of the army.”
It was no surprise when Lithane said, “Forgive me, Your Majesty, but that is something that King Rainer should do.”
“The king’s sister, lover, and baby all died. He is grieving. I think he deserves to let me handle the military today and tomorrow. Once he’s recovered, he can take over.”
Cutler nodded. “I agree.” His eyes were still red.
“As do I,” Drew said.
She observed Lithane and Higman. “The king sent his army south. He is leaving tomorrow to join them. I need the two of you by His Majesty’s side to carry out his orders and to support him in this difficult time.”
“Why do we need a commander?” Lithane asked.
“Neither prince is accounted for and every officer in the palace—except for the four of you—is dead,” she said, her voice harsh.
“I will not sit here like a helpless queen and allow our army to fall apart. I will be appointed commander, and I will ensure our army remains fierce until the king is able to lead it.” She hoped that was enough to gain their trust.
Neither looked convinced. “Look,” she said, trying to calm her voice. “Someone is killing those in charge for a reason. I believe this assassin wants to stop the war. I fear the king and I may be next. It is imperative we remain strong and carry on.”
Lithane pursed his lips. “Fine. I agree.”
“I do as well,” Higman said.
“Excellent. Captain Drew, will you do me the honors?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” He came and stood in front of her. “Please kneel.”
She did as he said.
He placed his hand on her shoulder. “As the highest ranking official in the palace, I do hereby appoint Queen Sabine Manfred to the position of commander.” He handed her a set of keys. “These are the commander’s keys.”
She took them and stood. “Thank you.” Now she needed to get out of here before Rainer caught word of what she’d done.
“Captain Lithane, you will maintain control of the palace guards. Your chief concern is protecting the king from an assassination attempt.” She didn’t care if the king was assassinated.
However, she needed Lithane on her side right now so she could buy herself some time.
“Captain Higman, you will take control of the surrounding town. We have an assassin nearby. Find him. Captain Drew, you’ll remain with me as my guard.
Captain Cutler, given your loss today, you may have time to grieve. Dismissed.”
Lithane and Higman left.
Sabine withdrew her bag.
“Commander,” Cutler said, eyeing her bag. “I’d prefer to travel with you and assist in any way I can. I don’t want to remain here.”
The more soldiers she had on her side, the better. “Fine, but we’re leaving right now.”
“And the rest of your royal guard?” Drew asked. “Will they be coming with us?”
“No. I want them to stay here and keep up the ruse that I’m still in the palace. Have Harper act as my decoy. I need them to buy us as much time as possible. We must reach the army before Rainer does. If he catches wind of this, my plan fails.”
Once they’d gathered the necessary supplies, they headed through the tunnel to the military compound. Sabine led Cutler and Drew to the kennels. Inside, they went to the door at the end, the one leading into the lava tubes.
“Since the dogs and most of the boats are gone,” Sabine said, “I’m assuming this leads to the army. It’ll be the fastest way for us to get there.”
“Smart,” Cutler said. “The army will have used the lava tubes at the bottom of the mountain. That’ll be the way the king goes as well.”
She’d been hoping the king would have to travel by foot. “How much longer is that way?”
“It depends on how fast they get down the mountain. I’d say at least half a day? Maybe more?”
“The water is moving fast,” Drew observed. “Once the boat is lowered in, there won’t be much time for us to get situated.”
“I don’t want anyone to come after us this way,” Sabine said. “Since there are three boats left, we’ll release two, then we’ll use the last one.”
The two men inspected the boats, ensuring there weren’t any problems with them before releasing the extra ones into the water.
Then they put the last one in, holding it in place.
Sabine tossed their supplies in before stepping in and taking a seat in the middle.
Drew then sat in the front, hanging on to the ledge as he did so.
“Here goes nothing,” Cutler said as he joined them, sitting in the back.
Drew and Cutler let go, and the boat immediately took off through the dark lava tube.
Having no idea how long they would travel like this in the dark or what they would find at the end, Sabine tried to remain calm and not think about the ginormous mountain above them. The likelihood of it collapsing on them had to be small. This tunnel had to have been here for years.
“Your Majesty—” Drew began.
“Let’s forgo the formalities,” Sabine said. “Just use names, no titles, while we are traveling and it is just the three of us.”
“Very well. Now that we’re far enough away our voices won’t carry,” Drew said from in front of Sabine, “we need to talk about the assassinations.”
It seemed strange to have a conversation when they couldn’t see each other’s faces. Given what she knew of Avoni assassins, she wouldn’t be surprised if an assassin dropped down from the ceiling of the tunnel and landed in the boat with them.
“I verified the prisoner is still in the dungeon,” Drew said.
“Any indication he’s been getting out at night?” she asked, not knowing if it was even possible with the locks and guards present.
“No. Which makes me wonder about Evander. What do you think, Cutler?”
Sabine was curious what Cutler had to say.
“Evander’s a kid. He can’t be more than what? Twenty? Twenty-three at most? And he’s a prince.”
“He has a reputation for being ruthless,” Drew said. “Though I didn’t see anything to indicate that during his time in the palace.”
“I’ve heard stories,” Cutler said. “Once I saw the guy, I began to wonder if those stories were even true. Maybe they were made up just to scare people?”
“What kind of stories?” Sabine asked, not sure if she really wanted to know.
“I heard someone threatened his father, the king,” Cutler said.
“Evander broke into the guy’s house and killed everyone inside—the husband, wife, four sons, and over a dozen servants.
After slitting each one’s throat, he hung them by their ankles, securing each to a rafter.
Rumor is he made the husband watch. Saved him for last.”
Her heart beat so loudly she could hear it over the rushing of the water. The story was horrific. Suddenly, she wanted to know if it was true. Could he have killed that many people in such a cruel way?
“I was surprised the king allowed him into the palace,” Drew said. “But he did have men watching the prince at all times.”
Evander would have known the king had men watching him and been able to avoid detection if he needed to.
“I thought the men were trying to catch Evander with the queen,” Cutler quipped.
“We’re off topic,” Sabine said. “We’re supposed to be discussing the assassinations.”
“I want to know if you think Evander killed the commanders,” Drew said.
She knew he was asking her because of her friendship with the prince. Drew had seen enough to know there was something between the two of them.
“Is he capable? Yes, without a doubt he could have pulled it off. Did he do it? No, I don’t think he did. However, I do believe an Avoni assassin committed the murders. But with regard to Evander, no, I don’t think he did it.”
“And what about Lottie?” Cutler asked. “Do you think Evander killed her since her death was different from the others?”
“I’m not sure. He was supposed to marry her tomorrow. He could have married her, left the kingdom with her, then killed her and said she died of natural causes.”
“True,” Cutler said.
“But it’s rather convenient, don’t you think?” Drew asked.
As horrible as it was, Sabine didn’t mind Lottie’s death, so she hadn’t given it much thought. Lottie deserved to die because of what she did to Alina. A trickle of fear slid through her. Evander knew Sabine felt that way. Had he carried out his own brand of justice on her behalf?
“And Heather’s death,” Cutler said. “I know the healers said her body wasn’t able to handle the baby and she’d been sick for days. But the timing is suspicious.”
“Again, I’m not saying it wasn’t an assassin from Avoni,” she repeated. “But I don’t think it was Evander.”
“Are you implying that there’s another Avoni assassin on the loose?” Cutler asked.
“I think there is another assassin in Lynk.” She didn’t need to share any details beyond that.
“Then we all need to be extremely careful,” Drew said. “The assassin could be anywhere.”