Chapter 27 #2
God of Chaos. He was starting to see betrayal everywhere.
He loves Kaliska; he would never harm her cousin, Luka’s beast rumbled. He would find another way.
“Did you see the drake yourself?” Luka asked Declan the question he should have asked the day before…
if he hadn’t been in such a hurry to get back to Izzy.
His hands throbbed, and he gripped them behind his back.
The last thing he needed was for someone to notice the bloody state of his fingers.
“Perhaps you can tell us what you saw so that we know what to look for.”
Declan glared at him as he replied. “When the maid started screaming, I rushed into Narya’s room.
The door to the balcony was open, so I ran through it, but I saw no one.
Healers came and pronounced her dead, but her dress was muddy and her hair was damp.
I quickly realized she’d been murdered, but there was no way anyone came in through our rooms. I stood guard in the antechamber myself.
It made sense that a drake had done it.”
Why would his mind go straight to a drake?
“Why would it make sense that a drake murdered her?” Luka asked. “Was it something one of the healers said?” That would help a great deal. If Luka knew which healer had concluded a drake was involved, it might point him to which healer knew Narya had been outside the castle earlier that night.
“Not a healer. One of your own guards.” Declan gave him a superior smile.
“The man came running to help when Narya’s maid screamed.
He was the one who realized that the assassin was surely a drake.
Then, when I asked the guards who came in from the walls, one of them remembered a dark cloud blocking the stars. ”
“Which guard said the assassin was surely a drake?”
Declan didn’t twitch, but Luka could see the disdain in his eyes. “I do not know your guards by name.”
“What did he look like?”
“Leather armor, no cloak, hair tied back. I didn’t see him for long, but his sword was loose in its scabbard and well maintained.”
It was a soldier’s assessment—focused on risk, clear and concise, but ultimately not helpful. It could have described dozens of guards. “Did you see any scales? Have you seen him anywhere else?”
Declan sneered. “My time has been spent in the negotiating room and overseeing security for Lady Kaliska, not monitoring your guards for you.”
“Enough of this,” Batlok grumbled. “I did not come here to listen to two soldiers blathering like old women.” He fixed his gaze on Queen Danikha.
“I want the culprits found and publicly punished. You can execute them as part of the wedding celebrations. And I want immediate reparations.” He settled his hands on his heavy waist. “As I already told Iona, although perhaps she did not understand”—he did not seem to notice the queen’s look of outrage at his disrespect—“I want half again as many warehouses in the city for our merchants, free use of the Port of Aobna for all Kwanam merchant ships, exclusive rights to all glass trade—”
“Your Eminence—” Queen Danikha interrupted, but Batlok ignored her.
He continued, “As far as Hugaeb steel is concerned, I have decided—”
“Your Eminence!” Queen Danikha exclaimed more forcefully, finally stopping his tirade. “We have spent weeks at the negotiating table, and frankly, we have already conceded more than enough. Princess Iona speaks with my voice in this. We will not bow to further pressure.”
A mottled flush spread over Batlok’s face. “I will remind you that my niece was murdered! Inside. Your. Castle!”
God of Chaos. Ice crawled through Luka’s veins. He knew Batlok’s demands would be unreasonable, but this was insane.
“We are truly sorry for your loss,” Queen Danikha said more gently, “but it does not serve anyone to set our nations at war. Please give us a chance to find the killer.”
“I’ve given you long enough, and you’ve achieved nothing except to protect the most likely culprits.
” Batlok sneered. “You can easily avoid a war: announce the wedding—Kaliska will wed your son for two quintals of shadow-folded steel and a talent of gold and precious gems—and agree to the trade concessions I have already outlined.”
The queen gasped. “We discussed a wedding between our families as a show of good faith. Your daughter’s children would sit on our throne! And frankly, we have decided—”
Batlok cut her off with a wave of his hand, glittering with gold rings. “She can as easily produce sons for the prince of the Gunab.”
A heavy silence descended. This was more than a chance remark; it was a genuine threat. If Kwanam and Gunab allied against them, they would face enemies on all their borders.
Danikha, Shane, and Iona looked grim, and for the first time, so did Declan.
Declan thought Kaliska would be free, Luka’s beast rumbled. Then it added, Could the archthane be behind all of this? Did he think he could force us into a new, far more lucrative deal?
Batlok was certainly callous enough, but he was also shrewd enough to take a terrible situation not of his making and twist it to his advantage. Something told Luka that Narya’s murderer wanted a war, not a trade deal.
Queen Danikha’s hands clenched at her sides. “Do not threaten me, Your Eminence. I will not hand over the wealth of my nation at your whim,” she said coldly. “We have negotiated with you in good faith. If you cannot do the same, then the time for discussion is over.”
“Then we are done here.” Batlok turned to Declan.
“Make preparations. Unless Hugaeb sees reason and offers us acceptable compensation within the next three bells, we leave today.” He faced Danikha once more.
“Avoiding war is entirely up to you.” Then he gestured to his guards and flounced from the meeting room.
The brigadier general stalked behind him, face furrowed in a deep scowl.
Queen Danikha waited until the doors clanged shut behind them and then dragged her hand tiredly down her face. “Update me, please, Luka. What have you found?”
“Nothing new,” he admitted, resting his hand on the pommel of his sword. “But the soldier Declan mentioned is interesting. I would like to speak to him. He must have seen something—”
“What is that?” Shane stepped off the dais, stalked up to Luka’s flank, and picked up his arm in a way that would have earned anyone else in the kingdom a thrashing. His eyes narrowed as he glared at Luka’s bloodstained fingers.
Luka pulled his hand back, biting off the growl that wanted to rise. “Nothing. We have to focus—”
But it was too late, Danikha and Iona had already crowded around him. The queen set a soft hand on his shoulder, her face pulled into a worried frown. “Oh, Luka! What have you done?”
He took a step back, away from the pity on their faces. What could he possibly say? His beast howled so loudly he could hardly think, let alone explain.
Danikha let her hand drop. “Forget about the investigation for a moment and let us help.”
“Thank you, but no. That’s not…. I don’t….” He didn’t want help or pity. He desperately didn’t want to feel so catastrophically out of control. Luka dropped a bow, falling back on the only thing he knew. “I have work to do.”
And then he fled.