Chapter 83 Ahnna
Ahnna
Ahnna stared up at the towering spiral, the Sky Palace itself lost in a haze of clouds. It felt like a lifetime had passed since she’d escaped from its lofty heights and into the night, but also like just yesterday, and her heart thundered with remembered fear.
Where are you?
A question that had eaten at her thoughts throughout her journey as a stowaway on the Harendellian ship, growing louder and more desperate as she’d cautiously followed the caravan containing Katarina north to Verwyrd, because instead of James’s name being on everyone’s lips, she’d not heard him mentioned once.
Which meant his plan to gain his uncle’s support to claim the Twisted Throne had not materialized.
As to why…that was as much a mystery as where her husband was now.
It made her feel desperately alone. A feeling compounded by her sense of helplessness to remedy Harendell’s hold on Ithicana. She was powerless, and days and nights grasping for solutions only to discard them as unviable sapped at her strength.
Destroying the alliance between Alexandra and Katarina had been her goal for so long.
The solution to all woes. Yet it had proven to be no solution at all, because once again, Alexandra had been one step ahead of her.
Ithicana was in Harendell’s hold and Alexandra’s only rival was now her prisoner, soon to be executed for war crimes.
Yet another perfect scapegoat for Alexandra, who still appeared innocent in all things.
The only solution that Ahnna kept coming back around to was assassinating Alexandra.
While she wasn’t fool enough to think that William would withdraw from Ithicana just because his mother was dead, she did think his capacity for conquest would be hindered by the loss of Alexandra’s skill for scheming.
William didn’t have his mother’s mind, and that could be exploited.
Once the calm season was over and the storms returned, Aren might be able to expel Harendell as he once had Maridrina.
Given that William believed everyone dead, he wouldn’t be prepared for the fight.
Kill Alexandra. That was the plan. As for how, Ahnna had collected ingredients for poison on her way from Sableton to Verwyrd. She would use her stolen uniform to infiltrate the Sky Palace. She’d put the poison in the wine in Alexandra’s study. Then she’d pray that the Harendellians blamed Amarid.
That it was a terrible plan wasn’t lost on her, and she desperately wished Bronwyn were here to aid her. But Ahnna was on her own with this assassination.
“You’ve killed plenty of people before,” she muttered. “What’s one more? Especially given she deserves it.”
Words that did little to calm her thrumming pulse.
Moving into the trees lining the slope of the river valley, Ahnna waited for the column of soldiers escorting Katarina to round the bend, then trudged out to join them.
She pretended to fasten her belt as though she’d been in the trees taking a piss.
Everyone was tired from walking and listening to the barked orders of their mounted superiors, so no one paid her any mind as they moved through the town and onto the bridge crossing the river.
Security in Verwyrd was higher than Ahnna had ever seen it.
Soldiers patrolled the streets and the waterfront was under heavy guard, and as they approached the wall encircling the base of the spiral, sweat began to roll down her spine.
The heavy prisoner carriage rolled to a stop, soldiers exchanging heated words, then the gates finally opened.
Ahnna ducked her head lower, keeping her face hidden by the shadow of her brimmed military hat.
Her height went a long way toward convincing people she was a young man, but if anyone took a good look at her face, most especially Archie, this gambit might be up.
The carriage rolled forward, but when the escort of soldiers began to march with it, Archie reined in his horse to block their path.
“Palace guard will take her from here,” he shouted. “Get yourself some libations in the barracks and lift a toast to the end of the Crimson Widow of Amarid. Huzzah!”
“Huzzah!” all the soldiers around her shouted, and Ahnna managed to choke out a huzzah as the gates slowly closed behind Katarina’s carriage.
She stared at the spiral, her eyes climbing higher and higher to the palace barely visible in the clouds. The palace where her enemy lurked, so close and yet so painfully distant.
But not out of reach from someone born in Ithicana.