Chapter 22 Bahira
Chapter Twenty-Two: Bahira
No one asks Nox to explain how he’s so sure the letter isn’t Rhea’s.
It’s unnecessary. I might have wondered, briefly, if Rhea could have possibly left of her own accord before, but I watched the tenderness on Nox’s face as Cass handed him another piece of jewelry from his small pouch, a locket that appeared broken, and I just knew that what he and Rhea had wasn’t fleeting.
It wasn’t something you ran from, but to.
The kind of love that Daje might have described, perhaps.
“I want to speak to the council about taking a small group of our army to the Mortal Kingdom.”
All of the softness of Nox’s expression dissipates, leaving only hardened resolve in its place.
“That’s likely going to be an issue, Son. The council is viewing Rhea’s actions as questionable. They’ve insinuated that she might have been working to get close to you in order to gain access to our secrets.”
Nox blinks, a dark strand of wavy hair sliding over his forehead as he tilts his head. “I’m not even going to dignify that with a response,” he says, making Cass chuckle. “If I can’t count on them to help, then I’ll just have to go alone.”
“Excluding the fact that your magic is depleted—”
“It’ll come back.”
“And that you’re weakened”—he sends a look of annoyance my way—“leaving right now might be the worst thing you can do.”
“I don’t care.”
“The council has already threatened to dethrone our family,” I say slowly, holding his gaze. “They suspect me of doing something treasonous in the Shifter Kingdom.”
“They what?” My father’s brows lower, the shadows cast from the spelled flames cutting sharp angles over his cheeks. “Did they say this today at your debriefing?”
I nod, joining my father in standing. “A letter was sent by King Kai’s sister, and Kallin intercepted it. He’s taken what he’s read as evidence of me sharing our secrets with the shifter king. Which, just to be clear, I did not.”
My mother sighs, shaking her head as she tucks pieces of her hair that have escaped back into the pile of curls on the top of her head. “We do not doubt your integrity, Bahira, and the council should know better than to do that as well.”
“None of this has any bearing on me getting Rhea,” Nox growls, bending a knee to rest his arm on it.
“Brother, I know you want to get to her. I do too. I may not have known her in the tower, but I got to know her the past few months. She is important to me, both as a friend and as my future queen.” Cass’s words soften Nox’s exterior, and he clasps Nox on the shoulder before he continues.
“But I think waiting until you’re feeling your strongest, until we can figure out who the mole in our kingdom is and appease the council long enough to not retaliate when we do leave will be our best option. ”
“You cannot expect me to stay here while she is there, with him, being forced to do gods knows what.” Nox’s voice carries in the room, and he sags beneath the sound of it.
A sad smile tugs on the corners of Cass’s mouth. “I expect you to help us make this place safe for Rhea to come back to.”
“It is safe—”
“Nox, think this through. We have someone—perhaps many someones—who actively worked against you and your family to lure Rhea and Daje into a trap. To return her to King Dolian. Why would they do that? And who’s to say they aren’t planning something much worse?
That they aren’t counting on you acting brashly? ”
“Then let them come for me! It won’t stop me.”
“Won’t it?” I jump in, forcing my brother’s gaze to mine.
“When it comes to you versus other mages, it’s nearly fair play right now.
And yes, before you get snarky, I said nearly.
You’re still an amazing warrior, Nox, no one is doubting that part.
But you’re weakened, and while you could likely sneak out of here, do you think the mortal king will be dumb enough to leave Rhea in a vulnerable position?
Do you think, now that she’s once more in his grasp, that he will make it easy for her to escape again? ”
“Bahira, I don’t think this is helping,” Cass drawls, gesturing to Nox, whose expression is entirely murderous.
I wave my hand idly in front of me. “I’m not wrong, and you know it. Is Rhea so weak that she cannot survive without you?”
“Watch it,” he snarls.
My stomach twists in on itself at the anguish on his face, but I persist. “Is she truly a damsel that needs you—even weakened and powerless as you are—to rescue her?”
“Of course she isn’t.”
“Then be smart, Nox. Think this through. Because barreling out of here might get you to her sooner, but it will cause a destructive chain reaction in your wake.”
He is quiet in response, and eventually, my father guides our conversation to trying to figure out who lured Daje and Rhea out of the room.
“Daje didn’t recognize him, but there are so many members in our guard that it isn’t strange he didn’t,” Cass muses from where he’s now laying at the foot of the bed, throwing a dagger hilt over tip above him and impressively catching at the hilt every time.
“No, it isn’t. What is strange is that Barron is missing.”
“He has been a guard close to our family since Nox was a child,” my mother says softly, running her fingers through our father’s hair where he sits in a chair in front of her, his eyes closed while he listens. “Can we believe he is capable of betraying us?”
“No one should be ruled out,” Nox chimes in, his first words spoken since the shift in conversation. “No one.”
“We’ve already got men out looking for Barron. His partner raised the red flag on the second night that he didn’t return home,” my father says, his eyes opening. “He’s never abandoned a post before.”
I purse my lips as an insidious thought takes root. If Barron wasn’t a participant in Rhea’s abduction, was he a victim of it? Someone who happened to be in the way of those who wanted to harm her?
“I can ask around, talk with the guards who were present in the palace the night of the ball. See if they had anyone noticeably missing for a time,” Cass says, catching his dagger and holding it above him.
“We have to be careful how we phrase our questions and who we ask. Prying too deeply might make its way back to the council before we have solid evidence to bring them.”
Cass looks at my father. “You would think it would be in their best interest to help us. A mole in the kingdom is the same as a leak in a ship. They will sink both.”
“But they believe Rhea left of her own accord,” I counter, leaning my elbows on my knees.
“Us questioning that outwardly only feeds into their fears that perhaps we don’t have the kingdom’s best interests at heart.
” Which is a conclusion I still don’t understand the basis for.
In any case, the process of weeding out just who all was involved is likely going to be a slow one.
I glance in Nox’s direction, watching as he methodically runs his thumb over the band of Rhea’s engagement ring.
“What if we leave Rhea out of it, then?” Cass suggests, sitting up and sheathing his weapon.
“We pose the question as if we are investigating the truth of Daje’s story.
Everyone in that council room saw his injuries.
Even if they are likely to believe Rhea caused them, it would not be out of the norm for the king to put an inquiry out for those who might have seen or heard anything.
To question the guards that were working. ”
My father gives Cass a firm nod. “Excellent idea. We can start there.”
“What about the Mirror?” I ask.
“A harder conundrum to solve,” he muses. “Gut instinct says we need to start researching books that might mention the creation of our kingdom and hope that knowledge of the Mirror is mixed up within that as well.”
“That will take forever.” Cass sighs before looking to me. “Unless you know somewhere to start?”
I shake my head and cross one ankle in front of the other. “Not off the top of my head. I’ll have to search the library—”
“Elora.” All heads swing towards Nox, his gaze still fastened on the ring.
He curls his fingers around it, encasing it in his palm before letting his hand fall to his lap.
“Elora has worked in the palace library for years next to Rayna. She knows that place inside and out. At the very least, she can point us in the right direction.”
“And you trust her with all of this?” I ask, gesturing broadly.
I have heard the name and, if memory serves me correctly, believe it to be attached to a woman with bright red hair and a voice entirely too loud for a library setting, but I haven’t interacted with her enough to know if she is someone we can rely on to keep information quiet.
Nox answers without hesitation. “Rhea does.”
I suppose that has to be reason enough. The rest of our plans come together quickly.
While Cass and my father work to unsuspectingly weed out whoever hurt Daje and Rhea in our guard, Nox and I will partner with Elora to try and uncover any information we can about repairing the Mirror.
I’ve also been tasked with tapping into the gossip network through Haylee, something I find mildly abhorrent.
“No one is more in tune to the workings of the court than she is,” Cass says in response to my frown. “The woman always knows what’s going on and with who.”
“Fine.” While I’d rather spend my time with my experiments or getting nicked relentlessly from a dull blade than speak about the whispers amongst my peers, I understand that—given the circumstances—it’s necessary.
“We work quietly and check in weekly. The council will have to know that we are actively seeking information on how to repair the Mirror, but anything else must be kept secret for as long as possible. Only when we have the information we need do we approach them about bringing Rhea home.” Everyone nods in agreement at my father.