Chapter 19
The blood rushed to my head. My eardrums pounded against my aching skull. My stomach plummeted to the floor.
Lord Hywell had been murdered?
Not entirely sure what to say or do, the first words that trailed out of my mouth were, “Are you sure?”
Gripping my arm tightly, Runa pulled me back into the bedchamber, dark from the shut drapes and stale with the smell of sleep, and shut the door. “His body was found in the early hours of the morning,” she said with a slight tremor in her voice.
I blinked at her, still not able to process what I was hearing.
In hushed tones, she continued, “His body was mutilated. Someone tortured him and removed all of his fingers.” She grimaced. “What was left of his body was dumped by the kennels. Anders found it this morning.”
While she spoke, she wrung her trembling hands and her widened eyes darted around the room. She appeared as rattled by the news as I felt.
“But…” In my struggle to pluck rational thoughts out of the fog that was clouding my brain, I was lost for words. An image of the bleary-eyed, ruddy-skinned man I had met the night before came into my mind. He was in such high spirits without a care in the world, it seemed.
Then I remembered—
“Livia! Divine goddess…” I covered my mouth with my hand—an involuntary reaction to my realization. She would be devastated.
Runa made a low, sympathetic sound. “It’s hard to believe. But it gets worse.”
Dropping my hand, my eyebrows shot up. How could this news get any worse?
Reading the question in my face, she went on, “They’re saying there was a strange symbol carved into his body, and there are whispers…” She looked over her shoulder and lowered her voice once more. “There are whispers that it’s witchcraft.”
I blinked again, suddenly sobered. The blood pounded in my ears as I thought about the only witch I knew.
But that wasn’t possible. There were wards keeping her out of Solvardunn. She’d called them a trap. “A trap that only a fool would fall victim to,” she had said. Unless she’d been lying.
My breathy voice betrayed my unease as I spoke. “Are there any witches living in this kingdom?”
She shuffled uncomfortably on her feet. “None that I’ve heard of, but…”
“But what?” My tone was sharp, and my heart felt like it was going to drum its way out of my chest.
“Security around the castle was reinforced last night because of the ball. Not a soul could get in or out, without the guards knowing about it. Unless...”
“Unless it was with magic,” I finished, knowing it would be all too easy for a witch to use magic to breach the castle walls.
“That or the murderer is amongst us. Either way, it means nobody here is safe.” Wearing a look of unease, she wrapped her arms around herself.
A shiver tiptoed across my spine as my eyes fell on my gown, lying crumpled on the floor at the foot of my bed. “Did anyone see anything?”
She shook her head. “The Royal Guard is investigating but, from what I’ve heard, no one saw anything unusual.”
I swallowed hard, still reeling from the news. “I only met him last night. He was half seas over.”
“It’s true, Lord Hywell was…” she paused, choosing her words carefully. “Spirited. But he was well-liked amongst the nobility. I can’t imagine who would do this to him. Or why.”
I nodded absentmindedly. My head was spinning, and I needed to lie down. Badly.
“Are you alright? You look a bit green.” Her eyes clouded with concern.
“I don’t feel well. I’m going back to bed,” I said, rubbing my temples.
“I’ll bring you your breakfast, food will help. And water.”
Food was the last thing I wanted right now, but Runa had already left. I slipped back into the comfort of my bed, swimming in my own thoughts.
Did the Crow have something to do with this murder?
Had she lied about the wards, or convinced someone else to do her bidding?
The witch had sworn she would not harm me or my subjects, but she’d made no promises about anyone else.
She was dangerous, it would be na?ve to think otherwise. But was she capable of murder?
Maybe Hywell had failed to fulfill his end of a bargain with the Crow? She obviously didn’t take kindly to that sort of thing. But if I were to speculate on motive, wasn’t it as plausible for the killer to be a mortal with a vendetta against him?
Regardless of who the murderer was, they had killed something for me too. The sense of safety and well-being I had felt since I’d been at the castle. In their place, I was left with an inkling. A gut feeling. Something that whispered this was only the beginning.
***
I spent a miserable morning in bed, recoiling from the news of Lord Hywell’s murder and paying for my late night with far too much wine. My stomach felt like lead so, when my breakfast arrived, I couldn’t manage more than a lackluster nibble on a slice of toast.
I drifted in and out of a light, dreamless sleep, plagued by all that Runa had said, until, finally, I hauled myself out of bed in search of fresh air.
It was a tremendous struggle, but I managed to pull on a simple woolen dress and my cloak. Ignoring the dull ache in my head, I slogged through the busy corridors and out the doors that led to the gardens.
I shuddered in the frigid air. Today felt significantly colder, with a dreary sky washed in gray. Dark clouds hinted at an impending downpour.
Feeling a prickle on the back of my neck, I turned and scanned the area. Once again, I had the distinct feeling that someone was watching me, but, when I looked around, I appeared to be completely alone. Chest tightening with unease, I continued on my trek to the cove with a little more speed.
There was a way to get to the postern gate that didn’t involve going through the maze, but it meant taking the secret underground tunnels Tarben had told me about. Faced with that option, I would rather brave the maze.
Navigating the hedge maze alone was no easy feat, but, by some stroke of luck, I remembered most of the way. I found myself disoriented a handful of times, but I kept going until, at last, I caught sight of the stone walls peeking through the thinning hedges.
I neared the gate, once again guarded by sentries. The last time, I had been with Tarben, and it just occurred to me that I might not be allowed down there alone.
Fortunately, the sentries simply greeted me, and said, “You’ll want to be careful on the way down, Miss.”
“Of course.” I nodded.
I began my descent down the worn steps, each one bearing the marks of weather and time. As I neared the bottom, I discovered that high tide had come, and the cove lay entirely submerged. Even the last few steps were engulfed by water.
Hovering on the final step, with storm-cloud colored water lapping below, I closed my eyes and listened to the ocean. Today, its call was a sweet melody. Entrancing me with promises to lull away my worries. All I needed to do was take a step forward and give over to its comforting embrace.
Not yet. For now, just being near the sea would have to be good enough.
Closing my eyes, I felt its rolling pulse and inhaled its salt-sharp scent. Just as I hoped it would, the ocean air helped lift the fog in my brain.
My mind turned to the murder. Since I learned of Lord Hywell’s fate this morning, I’d made the decision that I would not speculate on his murder or involve myself in any capacity.
Not that I didn’t care that Hywell was dead, but it was mortal business that didn’t concern me.
I would keep focusing all my attention on succeeding in my task.
I had less than two weeks left now, but that didn’t worry me—things with Tarben were going exactly how I wanted. Well, almost.
I’d hardly given any thought to the night before. A small mercy because, when I did, I was reminded of my humiliation.
But I was not one to sit around and wallow in self-pity. I would focus on the positives of the evening. Tarben had basically confessed he was falling for me and had asked to keep seeing me. He was well on his way to being wrapped around my little finger—only to be crushed beneath my thumb.
The fact that he wanted to wait to have sex was a little snag, but I could work around this. I didn’t need sex to seduce him. Not with the way things were going. Forget the full moon, I’d have him confessing his love for me by week’s end.
When the first drops of rain came, I decided to return to the castle. My body, which was heavy and slow before, felt considerably lighter. Even ascending the steps and returning through the maze felt like less of a struggle.
By the time I reached the warmth of the castle, I was so deeply lost in my own thoughts that I almost collided with someone in the entrance hall.
It was Hugo, flanked by the young guard I had seen him talking to at the ball.
“Back from a swim?” Hugo drawled, his sharp eyes not missing the dampness of my dress.
This ought to be fun. “No, Your Highness, I went for a walk to the cove,” I said, adopting a simpering tone, imitating how courtiers addressed my grandmother.
His eyes narrowed. “You picked an interesting time to go for a walk. By yourself. When the castle is in disarray and there’s a murderer on the loose.”
I blinked back at him, lost for words. Where was he going with this?
“You do know there’s been a murder, don’t you?” His tone was cold, accusing.
“Yes, Your Highness. I’ve heard the awful news about Lord Hywell. It’s tragic.” I was impressed with the steadiness of my voice, considering I felt like I was under interrogation.
He took a step forwards, closing the gap between us, his eyes never leaving my face. It wasn’t friendly.
In such close proximity, it was impossible to deny how handsome he was.
His features so clearly resembled his father and brother’s, except for his eyes.
While his eyes were the same shade and shape as his father’s, they were devoid of any warmth.
From the way they bore into mine, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was scrutinizing me.
It made me deeply uncomfortable, but I couldn’t let him see that.
“Tragic indeed.” He lowered his voice. “And how unfortunate that it should happen so soon after your arrival.”
I fought against the impulse to take a step backwards. “The timing certainly is unfortunate.”
He barely blinked. “And yet here you are, skulking around, seemingly not a care in the world...”
I straightened, hackles raised. I could hazard a guess as to where this was headed, and I was certain I wouldn’t like it. “I’m not sure I understand Your Highness’s meaning.” I furrowed my brow.
“I know you are hiding something, and I intend to find out what that is.” His threat was dished out in a deadly calm voice.
I was grateful that his mortal hearing would not be able to detect the thrashing of my heart against my ribs.
I couldn’t allow him to believe I was hiding something, even if his suspicions of me were valid.
Keeping my voice deferent, I feigned surprise.
“You’re mistaken, Your Highness, I’m not hiding anything.
I apologize if I have done something to offend you, but—”
He held up his hand to silence me, an unspoken command that made me see red. “Just know that I am keeping an eye on you, Alara Veradis.”
The way he said my name with such venom made my blood chill. I needed to get away from this mortal before my mask of composure slipped. That would not be in anyone’s best interest.
He indicated to his guard that it was time to leave, but not before offering me a snake’s smile.
Once he was a safe distance away, I loosed a breath.
Hugo had always come across as an unapproachable and suspicious ass, but, after this encounter, it was clear that he positively despised me.
I really shouldn’t draw any negative attention towards myself.
I couldn’t afford to make enemies while I was here, but it seemed I unwittingly had.
Wondering what I was going to do about this emerging Hugo problem, I headed upstairs.
***
Once I reached the sanctuary of my bedchamber, I was taken aback to see a single cream envelope lying on the floor. As if someone had slid it under the door.
Odd. Tarben’s notes typically came with my breakfast tray and they didn’t look like this.
Curiosity piqued, I tore open the envelope and unfolded the note that was tucked inside.
In the central crest of the parchment lay an unfamiliar symbol—two symmetrical circles stacked vertically with three long lines cutting through them.
But it was not the symbol that made my stomach plummet for the second time that day. It was the words written in bold handwriting.
I know what you are, and the lies that you weave.
Remain at the castle, or else more will grieve.
Your secret is safe, just do as I say.
If you flee, your fair prince I will slay.