8. Timas
Chapter 8
Timas
M y stomach rolls the closer I get to the house. Milori said he would meet me there, which was fine with me. I needed to burn off some of the anxious energy that had been building up, so I went for a hard fly this morning, hoping the fresh air would clear my head and the exercise might expel my energy. I flew until my wings burned, which took a long time, but the burn felt good and helped me think of something else besides the chaos that is my life right now.
The streets are quiet this morning, though that’s not completely unusual for the upper level of the city. The richer Fae tend to stay out late, drinking and schmoozing, while the lower class have jobs that require them to get up early. The breakdown of the barrier between classes has been a difficult task, and though I have changed many laws that favoured the rich, there is an undercurrent of social discrimination within the society that I hope I can finally break down during my reign.
Following the immaculately kept roads, I finally see my destination. Milori is talking to a man not much older than him, when he looks up and sees me coming. His body says he is relaxed, but his eyes say he is unsettled.
“Good morning,” I say to both the men. Milori at this point made introductions.
“Your Majesty, this is Galden, neighbour to the victim.” The man, Galden, bows deeply before nervously standing and looking at me.
“Can you tell me what you saw, Galden?” A single cough clears his throat, and then he begins.
“It was early, maybe around three in the morning. I was just coming home from a trip. I had planned to be home earlier that evening but was caught in a storm and needed to wait until it passed.” His nervousness is annoying, but I am sure it’s a frightening thing to have the King standing at your front door. “Before I was able to go inside, I heard some noises coming from my neighbour’s house. I was about to go over and see if everything was ok when a person stumbled out of the front door. Something about it felt off. I didn’t get a good look at him, the light on this street has been out for a while. The person was stumbling down the road, looking every which way. They seemed like they were confused as to where they were, mumbling incoherently. I don’t know if they were drunk or if they were on drugs. It was clear, however, that they didn’t know where they were or what they were doing. But that’s all I saw. I went back inside after I saw the person leave because I convinced myself he had just been drinking too much and stumbled on something, causing the noise to begin with. I’m sorry, that’s all.” Galden explains.
“Thank you for the information. You had no reason to find out more, you didn’t know anything had happened. I appreciate your time this morning. I will see that the light in the street is fixed for you. My priority is to ensure the citizens’ safety.” Though I feel like I am failing in this regard.
“Of course, Your Majesty. Thank you.” He bows again slightly and heads back into his house. Once the door closes, Milori and I head in the direction of the murder scene.
“That’s not much to go on,” I say, frustrated.
“I know, but the fact that this person was under the influence of something does tell us there might be a much larger plot at play here. This doesn’t line up with how the Night Court has been terrorizing us for the past couple years. It seems sloppy and poorly executed.” He lets out a heavy sigh. “Wait until you see inside.”
The wooden door to the house looks fine—even the hallway leading to the dining area is clear of any strewn items. Walking through the archway into the dining room, however, we are met with a destroyed room. Taking another step into the room, I note broken plates and glasses lying all over the floor. The shelves on the far wall, which likely held expensive dishes, are partly hanging off the wall with a pile of broken intricately designed glass on the floor. The table has been pushed to the side and a couple chairs have been broken from what looks like a struggle, but the most disturbing sight is in the middle of the room. A large pool of blood is dry and crusting on the floor. I walk into the room further, stepping over unpotted plants and scattered silverware. Four ropes, which were likely what held my mentor down, lay around the pool of blood. I feel a deep sense of sorrow, he didn’t deserve to die like this. The scene is very different from the other murders. Something is very off.
“It looks like this murder was very much rushed, or done by someone who didn’t know what they were doing. The other murders were quick and clean, done with precision and thoughtful planning. This looks like someone woke up and decided to kill someone with little to no planning.” I say to Milori, who is also cataloging the room.
“Well, they planned enough to bring a rope and to do it at night when most people were sleeping off the drinking they likely did that evening,” he says.
“This just confirms this was not the Night Court? The Night Court has sent expert assassins or Orcs who can use brute strength to kill someone. This looks like someone who is not strong enough to hold a person down. Or maybe multiple people held the victim down? The ropes don’t seem to be tied to anything in particular.” I pick up the rope, and the ends don’t seem frayed like they were cut, but these would make the bruising that was found on the victim.
“The examiner said that the stab wounds came from above. The victim suffered greatly.” The thought of such suffering is turning my stomach, but it also fans the determination to figure out who did this because my gut tells me it wasn’t the Night Court.
“I think that’s enough for now.” I turn and head out of the house, my mind whirling with who could have possibly done this. Stepping outside the house, the sun hits my face, warming it slightly under its rays.
“Do you think this was intended to be passed off as an attack from the Night Court? It is obvious that it wasn’t done by them.” I say to Milori as he steps out into the street behind me.
“I agree. I do not think this was the Night Court, but it is interesting. Don’t you think that it is odd this happened the night before the meeting with the council, and we found out about it while the meeting was going on? All of it seems too convenient if you ask me.“ We head down the road in the direction of the palace.
“You don’t think Neeve would have anything to do with this, do you?” Although I am doubtful she did, the thought has crossed my mind.
“No. Besides, how would she have planned an attack in the time she’s been here, with the understanding this could force the council to use the Royal Compliance Act against you? Besides, I’ve had her watched continuously since she arrived.”
“I agree, but it still feels like we are missing something.” The palace comes into view, and so does my very reason for breathing .
Emilia and Estola stop when they see us, and Emilia’s solemn look turns into a joyous smile, which makes my heart soar. How can one woman change your world so completely? She has turned it upside down but in the best way possible. I can’t imagine my life without her, despite the nagging feeling that I should be prioritizing my people instead. Pushing that thought away, I pick up my pace to get to Emilia quicker. When she is within arms’ reach, I wrap both my arms around her, pulling her flush to my body. She squeaks a little as I pick her up off the ground and bury my face in her neck, taking in her beautiful scent. I can’t get enough of this woman. The bond lights within me, pulling harder at me to complete the ceremony that will intertwine our souls forever, and I curse this horrible situation we are in.
“I missed you.” I mumble into her neck. One of her hands has delved into my hair and massages the back of my neck.
“I missed you too.” Emilia says. Setting her back down on her feet, I gently kiss her on the forehead. I would much prefer to find a quiet spot and kiss her, showing her how much I love her and desire her, but there was something on her face before we saw each other that told me something was wrong.
“You know it’s getting really annoying watching you guys be all lovey dovey.” Milori says with sarcasm, but a hint of longing slides out whether he intended it to or not. But I don’t think mentioning that right now would be helpful .
“Just because no woman wants you doesn’t mean you need to throw a tantrum at our love.” Emilia snorts at the comment, but Milori gives me exactly what I thought he would.
“I’ll have you know, Your Majesty, I am an extremely eligible bachelor who is wanted by MANY women.” His mock expression of shock adds to his elaborate comment.
“Are you sure about that? Since Garrick has moved to the palace, I think he gets more attention than you. I hear they sneak over to watch him work at the smithy.” I try to say in a hushed tone. Real annoyance crosses his face this time, and I laugh at how much it bugs him.
“That’s because he goes around taking off his clothes to get attention! I have more respect than that. Women want me for more than just something to look at. I have intelligence, style, and allure.” Emilia, at this point, can’t hold her laughter back and nearly falls over laughing. My arm around her waist is likely part of the reason she is standing up right now. She finally gets her laughing under control and wipes away a stray tear before saying:
“Allure? What allure do you even have?” A cough from Estola makes us all stop for a moment, I had forgotten she was even here. Her presence is sobering, reminding me of where we had just come from.
“As fun as this is to watch the King, Queen-to-be, and the Commanding Officer of the Day Court make complete fools of themselves, I wonder if I may talk about something we discovered this morning?” That instantly gets my attention, and Milori’s expression changes immediately to match mine. I should have known better than to ever relax—we aren’t even inside the palace. It was unwise to let my guard down, but Emilia brings me so much freedom and peace I forget sometimes. Estola doesn’t let the situation stop her, however, and continues.
“Perhaps we can go inside and talk for a moment.” She’s right. We all head in and make our way to a small unused office just inside the palace doors. After the door is shut, Estola continues.
“Emilia and I visited Aecus this morning. We think he is hiding something.” Immediately, anger bubbles inside of me at finding out about where Estola took Emilia.
“Why would you take Emilia to see Aecus?! We don’t know what is going on with the council and you take her to the person who called for the vote!” I feel the prickle of magic dance under my skin. What could she possibly have been thinking?
“My thought was perhaps if Aecus saw Emilia, he might feel uneasy enough that I might be able to read his intention.” The idea had merit, though I still don’t like it.
“And?” I say impatiently. Emilia places her hand on my chest, which I didn’t realize is rising and falling rapidly. My breathing is coming in short pants, but her touch calms me instantly. I can’t imagine how I would be dealing with any of this without her. Her presence has also shown me how often I get angry and don’t listen, which I am determined to work on. Estola continues.
“Aecus was already drunk by the time we arrived. We were not welcomed into his home and had to meet him on the street. He was agitated when we showed up, and he seemed nervous at points in our conversation. I was unable to get a good read on him but I believe we should look closer at him. Something is not right. I wonder if we should investigate his home when he is not there. His wife, too, said he has been acting odd. He won’t sleep in the same room as her and prefers to sleep in the small room on the first floor where he typically falls asleep after a night of drinking.” This does sound suspicious. A knock sounds on the door, and Milori heads in that direction to answer it. A moment later, he returns with a scowl on his face.
“The council has requested dinner with the Night Court Queen tonight and is requesting the King join.” Immediately, I looked to Estola. She is a part of the council. She should know what is going on, but she shakes her head in refutation. Emilia folds her hands in front of her, drawing my attention to her.
“If I am not requested to be there, maybe I can go and look through Aecus’ house? No one should be there, right? If he and his wife, I am assuming, will be eating with you?” Her eyes are filled with mischief and a plan, but my response is immediate.
“No. I will not attend anything without you. You are my spirit bond. If they have a problem, they can just deal with it.” I’m agitated with how much the council is taking liberties; for a moment, I think maybe the Night Court had the right idea of having complete control. I shake that thought out of my mind and turn to Estola.
“Please find out who called for this meal. In the meantime, let’s go get ready. I am sure this will be interesting.” My annoyance flares again and I intertwine my fingers with Emilia to try and gain some perspective. With her, I can do anything.
“Of course, Your Majesty. I will find out right away.” Estola turns and leaves on her own mission.
“Can this day get any better?” Milori says sarcastically.
“No it can’t. Come on, my flower, let’s take a short walk and then get ready for a night full of idiocy.” She gives me a weak smile, and I can tell she disagrees with my decision not to send her to Aecus’ house, but she doesn’t understand if I were to lose her, I don’t think I would survive. Not to mention if the spirit bond to the King is found snooping around in a council member’s house it would cause more problems, and we already have enough.