Chapter Twenty-Four
Valeris
I knew my uncle would be angry.
But I hadn’t anticipated the ferocity of a polar bear to hit me full force.
“You let them go?” he roared.
I threw a side glance at him. “Calm down, Uncle, getting upset like this can’t be good for your heart. You could have an attack.”
His red face shifted into a deep purple.
I held up a hand. “Let me explain myself before you grow horns.”
He clenched his jaw, but I suspected it was more to keep himself from exploding than it was to let me get my explanation out. I was replaying the conversation in my mind, picturing the uncertainty hiding behind her blue eyes, the fluttering pulse at her neck exposing her nervousness.
“Analleia Kallistar’s family was murdered by an ambassador after the last Paravellian Balls.
She is here to kill that man, but isn’t certain of his identity because of how young she was when it happened.
You were nearly poisoned because she was told you had information about the identity of the killer. ”
“Who told them I had information about the killer?”
I shrugged. “She didn’t say.”
“That didn’t seem like an important question to ask?”
“You’re the brother of the king,” I said. “You would have more knowledge about attendees than most.”
“She openly admitted she came here to murder someone and you let her go?”
“You should know better than anyone, Uncle, that the court will do anything but dole out justice—especially if a reputation is on the line.” My voice hardened.
“Sometimes an individual has to take justice into their own hands to make sure a person reaps the consequences of the crimes, either through imprisonment ...” I swallowed. “Or execution.”
Remorse overcame the anger encompassing his face, and I questioned if I’d taken it too far.
“I’m having the incident from five years ago looked into,” I continued.
“We keep records from every Paravellian Ball. If her parents were here and she’s telling the truth, it shouldn’t be difficult to figure out.
That would also increase our chances of finding who it is she is looking for that committed the crime. ”
“The guest lists are not consistent every five years. It’s possible whoever killed her family isn’t even in attendance this time.”
“It’s possible,” I said. “But that will be difficult to determine until we have more information.”
“And you’re going to remain casually acquainted with this girl to help her figure it out?”
I laughed. “Oh no, in exchange for allowing her to attend the final three balls, she is now my personal spy. She’s going to do whatever I ask and help me undermine my siblings.”
He stared at me. “Please tell me you didn’t make an alliance with your enemy, someone who freely admitted they were attending the balls to commit a murder.”
I threw him a confused expression. “You’re the one who has always told me keep your friends close and your—”
“Enemies closer. I know my own words, boy,” he snarled.
“You seemed to have forgotten them a moment ago. She’s a conundrum, one I’m not sure is being entirely honest with me, and I plan to figure out what it is she’s hiding.
But enough of that for now.” I sank farther into the couch, letting my eyes drift closed for a short rest. “Have you any news of my siblings or the late Rivero?”
“Nothing on Rivero.” Disappointment filled his voice.
From what I understood, Rivero was the only other sibling who had held any kind of respect for my uncle. Most of what I knew of him were the letters the two of them exchanged every few months.
“It’s been weeks.” A question hovered in my statement. Weeks implied we should have had time to find at least something.
Analleia had also promised me information she had yet to deliver on.
“Whoever assassinated him was no novice, Valeris. They got in and out in broad daylight without being seen. They left no prints, no indication of who they were. One man claims to have seen a black-clad figure fleeing the woods on a dark horse, but they’ve yet to confirm his witness.”
“No one has struck here yet.”
He tilted his head. “No, but I can feel it in the wind, Valeris, and sense something dreadful is coming. Something we won’t be able to stop.”
Uncle always had his strange predictions. Some came true, some didn’t. I didn’t ignore them, but nor did I treat them as anything to worry about. It was a bit like his perception of enchantment. It didn’t seem useful to know something was off if you couldn’t determine what it was.
“What of my other siblings? How do their alliances fare after the fourth ball?”
“Zandyr is doing better than expected. He secured the alliance with the steel master at the last ball while you were busy making alliances with Analleia.”
I muttered a curse under my breath. I needed that alliance, and Zandyr, who I wouldn’t have ever expected to manage it before Ezrielle, had slipped it right out from under me.
For wanting to protect the people of Paravellia from enduring a reign beneath the iron fists of my siblings, I wasn’t doing a good job of preventing it from happening.
“What of Ezrielle?” I asked. “Has she secured her alliances by tripling the number of visitors to her bedchamber at night?” I regretted the words the moment I said them, but it was an ongoing process to try to rise above and not treat her the same way she treated me.
The fact was, I knew I would make far more progress following her methods.
My question agitated him. He knew of Ezrielle’s promiscuous ways, but he didn’t like to speak or listen to any negative conversation about it.
I watched him out of the corner of my eye.
He still cared for Ezrielle, even if she treated him contemptuously and wanted nothing to do with him.
I had always guessed it was because he still saw her as the little girl who was once so sweet before the unfairness of the world turned her into a demon.
And he blamed himself for that transformation.
“Ezrielle is ahead of you, but she’s up to something else. She’s been overly secretive as of late. Usually she parades her triumphs around like trophies, but she’s trying another tactic this time. If I were you, I would figure out what it is—and quickly.”
I sighed. “Good thing I have a spy I can use now. Ezrielle would smell me coming from a mile away.”
My uncle ruffled his nose. “I would too. You need a bath.”
I scowled, throwing a pillow at his face before stalking off to write a letter and then—
My teeth ground together.
And then I would take a bath.