Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
Luka dropped a courteous bow to Lady Kaliska, forcing a smile even though she’d kept him waiting for over an hour as the afternoon wore away.
He’d rather be with Izzy—and after that, almost anywhere else—but he had to find the assassin, and that meant polishing up his rusty diplomacy skills and interviewing the people who might know something.
Brigadier General Declan scowled at him from one pace behind Kaliska’s shoulder, and a row of Kwanam guards stood attentively along the wall.
Kaliska looked sad. Her hands were clasped demurely, and her glittering court dress was pristine, but her shoulders hunched over slightly, and her eyes were puffy.
She led him to a set of luxuriously brocaded sofas and gestured for Luka to sit as she perched elegantly across from him. A young Kwanam page poured them each a dainty cup of tea and then returned to his place at the wall, while the brigadier general took up a place directly at Kaliska’s back.
This is not good use of our time, his beast rumbled. We should take Izzy somewhere safe. Then we can bite Melo—the way she spoke to Izzy is unacceptable—and burn down Shane’s office. Then…
Luka ignored his beast’s voice and continued as if it wasn’t plotting destruction at the back of his mind.
“Thank you for seeing me, Lady Kaliska,” he said politely. “I’m very sorry about your cousin.”
“It’s been a shock,” she murmured in her melodious accent.
“Do you mind if I ask you some questions about her?” Luka asked.
Kaliska turned her head slightly, tilted toward Declan, even as she said, “Not at all.”
Luka glanced at the brigadier general. Had Declan tried to stop this meeting? Declan’s scowl deepened at his perusal, but Luka ignored him as he returned his focus to Kaliska. “Lady Narya was your cousin and your lady-in-waiting. Were you friends?”
“Yes. She was my family.” Kaliska shot a brief look at Declan, and this time Luka was almost certain they’d disagreed about her meeting with him. Declan crossed his arms over his chest, his expression stony, but Kaliska continued, “And we were allies.”
“Allies?” Luka prompted.
“We looked out for each other,” Kaliska said softly.
Luka waited for a moment, hoping she would fill the silence, but she stayed quiet, watching him warily. Declan shifted his weight pointedly.
“Can you tell me about her?” Luka asked eventually. “Did you share hobbies? Interests?”
“Narya was an excellent archer and wonderful with horses. She loved adventure. She loved the glitter and the excitement of parties and people.” Kaliska gave him a wan smile.
“She and I were quite different. I miss the desert. I miss my sand and the glass. I miss my furnace. I prefer quiet. But we were together a lot. We traveled to many courts, and we watched each other’s backs. ”
“You’re a glass-smith?” Luka asked, surprised. No one had ever mentioned that.
“Not really,” Kaliska replied, just as Declan said, “Yes. An accomplished one.”
A tiny smile lifted the corner of Kaliska’s mouth. Declan’s opinion meant something to her. Something important.
Gods of fire. How is a woman of the desert, longing for solitude, ever going to be happy on the Hugaebian throne with Shane? What a mess.
Luka hummed his agreement with his beast. He didn’t know Kaliska well.
He was usually on duty when she and the delegation were socializing, his focus on keeping everyone safe, not small talk.
And when she’d been outside the castle—touring the city, shopping, and walking on the beach—he’d worked with Captain Lydia to provide city guards to protect the Kwanam party while he watched over the castle.
Still, she’d always seemed polite and considerate to him, with a quiet elegance and strength. She’d always been kind to staff and quick with praise for the city soldiers. On top of that, now he knew she was artistic enough to create her own glassworks.
The brigadier general certainly seems to think she’s special.
Declan was definitely protective of her.
Luka watched them both, assessing. He didn’t want to ask the next question, but he had to.
He’d seen Kaliska sitting beside Shane all evening, and he’d also seen Shane leave with Narya.
He cleared his throat. “And did you know that Prince Shanrick was taking Lady Narya to see the fountains in the conservatory?”
Declan dropped his arms from his chest and rested his hand on his sword. Not a threat… exactly. Luka kept his focus on Kaliska and let his beast watch the Kwanam Brigadier General.
“I was there when they planned it,” Kaliska replied softly. “She wanted to go. And the prince and I understand each other. We are also… allies.”
Declan’s hand slid down from the pommel to the grip of his sword, paused, and then slid slowly back to rest lightly on the pommel again, as if he’d forced himself to stand down.
Luka raised his eyebrows. “Brigadier General, do you not see Lady Kaliska and Prince Shanrick as allies?”
Declan’s lip curled. “Your prince is known throughout the barracks for his women. He does not deserve Lady Kaliska as his… ally.”
What could Luka say? That was true. But political marriages were often passionless, and the level of animosity on Declan’s face was—
He loves Kaliska, Luka’s beast rumbled. That’s why he wanted to know where Narya was. He thought she was fucking Shane.
Luka resisted the urge to rub the back of his neck. Everyone thought Narya and Shane were fucking. “The prince has confirmed that he showed Lady Narya the fountains, and then they went their separate ways,” Luka said. “But—” There was no easy way to say this. “—he also said that Narya kissed him.”
Kaliska blinked. Her expression remained politely neutral, but her fingers tightened on her lap.
“Can you think of why she might have done that?” Luka didn’t add, given that you are as good as betrothed, but the words hovered in the air, nonetheless.
Kaliska stayed silent, watching him with big green eyes.
“I’m trying to solve her murder,” Luka said softly. “If you know anything, it will help.”
Lady Kaliska seemed to weigh her options, considering how much to say.
Eventually, she spoke softly. “We looked after each other. Narya wanted to set me free.” Behind her, Declan’s expression grew even stonier, but Kaliska couldn’t see it as she continued.
“She may have thought that was a good way to do so. If the prince was in love with her or wanted her more….” She shrugged.
“They liked each other well enough, and Narya could have been happy here in the castle. I’m sure Shane would have given her whatever she wanted and let her live her life as she chose. ”
Gods of Chaos. Luka couldn’t even fault the reasoning. Narya wouldn’t have minded settling for a political marriage, but Kaliska wanted something more.
As Shane should.
“Okay. So she kissed him, perhaps to protect you, but they parted anyway. What would she have done next?”
“I would’ve expected her to come back to the party,” Kaliska said, a small line deepening between her brows. “It’s strange that she went back to her room when she could have rejoined everyone.”
Except she didn’t go back to her room… but there was no way he could reveal that. “I have heard,” Luka said instead, “that Narya spent some time with a physik after the tour of the fountains. Do you know anything about that?”
Kaliska shook her head while Declan scowled, but then Kaliska jolted and started to turn toward Declan. It was only for a second before she caught herself and turned back, but it was enough.
“Do you know anything, Lady Kaliska?” Luka prompted as gently as he could. “Was Narya ailing? Would she have looked for help? Or was there some other reason she would have looked for a healer?”
“No.” Kaliska bit her lip. “Nothing like that, but….” She looked away.
Luka waited patiently, letting the silence grow, hoping she would fill it. And, finally, this time, she did.
“A couple of days ago,” she replied slowly, “my cousin mentioned that she’d heard of somewhere she could get some kind of elixir. It promised unrivaled passion… but was not, exactly, legal. I thought it was a joke, but Narya… she might have thought something like that would be interesting to try.”
Luka’s beast reared up in horror, and he fought to keep his expression neutral. “An elixir? For the prince?” Had Narya hoped to drug Shane? To trap him? Or to free Kaliska from any chance of marriage to the prince?
“No! Absolutely not! I mean… not unless he wanted to.” Kaliska leaned forward, her eyes on his.
She sounded utterly sincere, but he couldn’t keep the skepticism from his expression. “How can you be certain?”
“Narya wasn’t like that,” Kaliska argued. “She might have offered, but she would never take what wasn’t freely given.”
Luka grunted. He hoped she was right, for her sake, but it didn’t matter now. “Where did she plan to get this forbidden elixir?”
Kaliska’s shoulders lost a little of their tension. “Well, that’s just the thing. Narya told me that she planned to go to the physik in the market. To look for an apothecary shop with a wooden sign—a dragon biting its own tail—but Narya never left the castle. We found her in her bed.”
A wave of scales hardened down Luka’s back and up his neck. He had seen that exact sign just yesterday, outside Izzy’s shop. And Narya had left the castle. Was she alive or dead at the time?
Declan’s eyes tracked the flurry of gleaming scales on Luka’s skin. “Something tells me you know this sign,” he said slowly, speculation gleaming in his intelligent eyes. “Perhaps the physik is a friend of yours?”
Luka leaned back, jaw tight, but he didn’t answer. And that in itself was answer enough.
Declan’s sharp eyes narrowed. “And now I’m wondering… what if Narya did leave the castle? Her clothes were muddied at the front. That always struck me as very strange.”
Fuck. Luka’s beast twisted in his belly.
Declan’s weight shifted into a fighting stance as he continued, warming to his theory.
“What if Lady Narya snuck out of the castle, found the physik you mentioned, and asked for this illicit drug? Perhaps the physik started to wonder what would happen if Narya could identify them to her new lover—the prince?” Declan’s fingers tightened on the grip of his sword.
“Or perhaps it was something else…. What if they, like you, immediately suspected that Narya would offer this illegal substance to the prince? That after failing to obtain this elixir, Narya would find other, equally dark, ways to control him. Perhaps this person, with their intimate knowledge of anatomy, chose to act then and there. To remove the threat rather than take that risk.”
God of Chaos.
Declan continued with increasing confidence.
“And what if that physik knew a drake? One who could fly to Narya’s room.
Not to murder her—that was already done—but to put her body back.
What then?” Declan looked down toward Kaliska, lip twitching into the first smile Luka had ever seen him give.
“A drake and a physik with intimate knowledge of the castle. Friends of the prince, perhaps even protected by him…. Who could that be?” He didn’t provide the answer. He didn’t need to.
“You are entirely wrong,” Luka argued. “Firstly, why would I be here if any of that were true? And secondly, I’ve spent the day questioning the guards. They all say the same thing. Narya never left.”
Declan chuckled. “Who ever said the drake was you?”
Luka froze. Of course the drake was him, but he couldn’t admit to finding Narya on the Nabaspath. Not now. Probably not ever. And either way, he knew in his bones that Izzy did not kill Narya. She would never hurt someone, not in the way Declan suggested.
But Izzy’s in even more danger now. Declan just found a way to delay the treaty and maybe get Kaliska out of this marriage. And it hangs on blaming Izzy.