Chapter 21
Chapter
Twenty-One
Izabel let go of Cori’s hand and stood. Iona’s words still echoed through the room, but they weren’t a shock. Not really.
Her hands were shaking, so she hid them at her sides as she took in a rough breath. They’d reached the inevitable conclusion, and it was up to her to do the right thing, to try to make it as painless as possible.
Her beast roared helplessly, but she didn’t have time to soothe it.
Izzy dropped a small bow to her queen. “I know how much you’ve sacrificed for our country, for the people you want to save.
” Izzy glanced at Luka and then quickly looked away.
She couldn’t bear to see the anguish in his eyes, not if she was going to do this.
“I understand triage. Sometimes we have to make difficult choices. Sometimes we cut off the limb to save the body.” Her hands started to sweat, and she wiped them on her breeches.
“I want you to know that I didn’t do this,” Izzy continued, “but I will take responsibility, nonetheless, on one condition. Please keep Luka out of it.”
Luka shoved himself to his feet, his beast growling so loudly she could feel the vibration in her bones.
“Absolutely not!” His beast’s rumble threaded through every word.
“Izzy was never part of this! She should have been left sleeping safely in her bed!” Fury radiated out from him.
“I will take responsibility! I’m the knight commander. ”
The queen stood to face them. She held her hands out, palms up, and they both fell silent. “You’re right, Izzy. We must decide what to save and what to surrender,” she said eventually.
Luka snarled, but Danikha continued calmly.
“We have made this treaty our priority. We’ve worked relentlessly to negotiate a true end to hostility.
I wanted our kingdom to be safe so that we could begin to reshape ourselves.
I wanted more equality, more hope. And we’ve made many sacrifices to achieve that goal. ”
Luka wrapped his arm around Izzy and tugged her into his side as if to protect her from Danikha’s words.
Izzy leaned into him. She wanted to soothe him, but she didn’t know how.
His eyes gleamed, almost entirely taken by the green and black of his beast, and his skin was covered in an armor of scales.
She could only imagine what it was costing him to keep the drake in check.
“But…” The queen looked slowly around the room, eventually focusing on Iona, who gave her a small nod, as if the two women had reached some kind of agreement.
“Neither of you did anything wrong.” Danikha’s gaze flicked to Shane, where he stood alone at the casement, and then returned to Izzy and Luka.
“There comes a time when we have to step back and look—really look—at what we’re doing and why we’re doing it,” Danikha said.
“We walked down this road so far that it became harder and harder to step off. But perhaps this is the moment. Perhaps this is the line we don’t cross. ”
Shane turned from the window to watch his mother. His mouth was set in a grim line that grew even tighter as Cori angled her body away from him.
“We can’t give in to bullies,” Danikha said firmly.
“Batlok wants more and more in exchange for less and less, and we have tried to accommodate him. But the truth is that his demands will never end. He will never be satisfied.” She lifted her chin, scales glittering.
“I wanted to bring peace to our land. I was prepared to stretch… perhaps too far, but I will not sign this treaty in exchange for our morals. Not in exchange for the truth.” Her eyes rested on her son.
“Who are we if we can so easily sacrifice those we love?”
Beside her, Luka went completely still. Izzy’s beast was silent. No one moved.
“We know Luka and Izzy are innocent. There will be no punishment.” Steel threaded through Queen Danikha’s voice.
“There will also be no wedding. If we cannot be friends without tying our families together, then we cannot be friends.” She looked at her daughter with grim determination.
“We’ll do it your way, Iona—no more concessions. ”
“Thank you, Mother.” Iona smiled viciously. “I look forward to our new negotiating position.” Behind her, where she couldn’t see it, Kai took a tiny step closer to her.
The queen turned to Cori. “I’m promoting you to knight captain of the border forces. Can you rally our soldiers and return them to their posts on the frontier? I know many of them have only just returned home.”
Cori bowed. “Of course! Thank you. This is an honor. We’ll start preparing tonight. I already have ideas about how we can rotate our forces. I’ll put together a report and give it to….” She hesitated.
“To me and a copy for Shane,” Queen Danikha suggested. “He is still the crown marshall, although he no longer has authority over you or your career.” Shane winced, but the queen ignored him. “Please take Aiden and Kai as your seconds.” She smiled at the two men. “I’m promoting you both to captain.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” They dipped polite bows, first to the queen and then to their new commander, Cori.
Danikha bowed back. “You three are excused. Please do whatever is needed to secure our border.”
Cori stood, but she hesitated, looking back at Izzy.
So much had happened. Izzy and her beast were still reeling, still half certain they would leave this meeting to go straight to their execution.
Fear and relief flooded through her in equal, unruly measures.
But even through that churning chaos, she could read her friend.
Cori’s instinct was to follow her orders and see to her troops, but she didn’t want to leave Izzy in danger.
“It’s okay,” Izzy tried to reassure her, although her voice still shook. “Go do your job and keep us all safe.”
“I won’t let anything hurt Izzy,” Luka added in a low voice, looking at Cori. “I promise.”
Cori met his eyes in a silent conversation. Whatever she saw in him, she must have been reassured because she bowed formally and then followed the others out of the room.
Izzy stumbled to a sofa and sank into it. Her whole body was trembling, and all she could do was lean against Luka as he sat beside her, his arm still wrapped around her shoulders.
The queen lowered herself into an armchair, looking somehow smaller than before. Shane slumped against the windowsill, as if he wished to fade into the nighttime darkness. Only Iona looked ready for any kind of battle.
“Next, we have to deal with Declan and Batlok.” Danikha pinched the bridge of her nose. “Iona, please send them a formal invitation to meet in the morning. Find a polite way to make it clear that we will not be harassed into any hasty action tonight.”
“Of course,” Iona gave her mother a small friendly pat on her shoulder as she moved to one of the desks at the back of the room and pulled out a quill and ink.
Danikha watched her with obvious pride before turning back to continue. “We’ll meet at the ninth bell. Luka, I’d like you to be there. Izzy, I think it might be best if you stay out of this one.”
Izzy shivered. Everything had happened so fast, she hadn’t gotten her head around it.
Beside her, Luka looked equally stunned.
The queen had saved them. She had accepted that the treaty could be lost for the sake of the truth—and their safety.
“I don’t know what to say. I—” Izzy shrugged. “Queen Danikha, thank you.”
“Gods, Izzy.” Danikha leaned over to pat her knee. “I’m humbled that you would offer yourself and horrified that you thought you had to.” She shook her head. “We have to find a better way.”
If we can find the assassin, we can prove it wasn’t us or Luka, her beast whispered. Perhaps we can still save some part of the treaty?
And stop more people dying from Firebreather, Izzy agreed, slowly settling. Not forgetting that they might also find Rayan’s killer and prevent the murderer from harming anyone else.
All she wanted to do was take Luka home, lock her door, and recover from the terror of the last few hours. She didn’t have to go to the meeting with Batlok. If she wanted, she could run and hide. But…
The time for running is over.
Yes. It was time to take a stand, and there was one thing she could do. The very thing she’d told Shane she would do. She could pick up Rayan’s mission and continue it for him. She could get up in the morning, walk into Melo’s clinic like she belonged there, and figure out who the real traitor was.
Izzy looked at Luka, taking in the worry lines on his face and the abundance of scales lining his throat. He wasn’t going to like her going back there.
He wants to protect us.
For the first time, she believed that was true, but this was the path they were on. “I’ll go back to the clinic tomorrow, keep looking. There must be something we’re missing. If I can find it, maybe we can salvage some small part of this.”
“You can’t be serious,” Luka muttered. “Rayan died doing this!”
“It’s our best chance.” She met his stormy gaze, his beast glittering in his eyes. “I know you want to keep me safe. I understand that—”
Luka’s expression softened slightly. “I’ve always wanted to keep you safe.” He let out a rough breath. “If you have to go back there, I can send a squad—”
“No squad. Whoever is leading this smuggling ring clearly has resources and contacts. They could get to my brother and to Narya, and they know how to avoid both the city guards and the castle guards. They’ll see a squad a mile away.
” She laid her hand over his. “Luka, the assassin left Narya’s body there for you to find on purpose.
They are actively trying to destroy this treaty and start a war!
And whether it goes ahead or not, we still have to find them and stop them. ”
“She’s right,” Shane said quietly from the casement.
Luka turned his scowl on the prince, his glare as icy as the freezing currents of the Hugaebian Deep. “Your support for this idea does nothing to reassure me.”
Izzy touched his arm, drawing his attention back to her. “I’ll be safe enough in the castle—”
“Like Narya was?” Luka growled.
“Narya didn’t know she was in danger,” Izzy argued.
“And outside the castle? Are you going to live here forever?” Something flashed in his eyes, something she couldn’t identify. It faded as she shook her head.
“I’ll have to go back to my shop, to my clinics. But you….” How much could she ask of him, especially now? He couldn’t leave the castle; his whole life was there. “You could send a guard, someone you trust, to watch over the shop until this is resolved.”
Luka pulled away and folded his arms over his chest. “I don’t like anything about this.”
Danikha nodded gravely, agreeing with Luka. “Your brother has already given his life, Izabel. I can’t ask you to take this risk.”
Izzy straightened her spine. “I’m offering.”
“I don’t want—” Luka started.
“It’s not up to you,” Izzy said firmly.
“I’m the knight—”
“No.” Danikha stopped him with a raised hand. “Do not try to pull rank.” She gestured toward her son. “We already know how poorly that will end for you.”
“I understand that this is dangerous,” Izzy reassured the queen—and Luka.
“But we can’t have a physik, a healer, killing our people.
If we can catch this person and end this danger, I will have done my job.
” She smiled sadly. “And if it helps save the treaty and the lives of our people, then there’s no choice.
” She didn’t add that this could also save Luka, that she would do anything to ensure that he was never blamed for Narya’s death, but it was true, nonetheless.
Luka’s beast growled unhappily beside her, but he didn’t argue.
Danikha stood and bowed formally to Izzy, her expression grim. “Thank you, Izabel. I accept your generosity and courage. I agree to this plan.”