Chapter 20 #2
The queen was dead. That we knew. King Silas may or may not have been pretending, but he appeared somber and grieving nonetheless.
Silas did not seek the comfort of Gia’s flesh even once that week.
Either he was smart enough not to, or had been advised against it.
The buzzing gossip that had clamored amongst the servants and Kingsguards the week prior had come to an immediate halt.
No one dared breathe a word of it for fear of being implicated.
Especially the queen’s maid, who did not want to explain why she hadn’t been at her duties that evening, nor could speak as to who was, in her absence.
Everyone had turned their focus to preparing for a royal funeral.
Zarif moved about the castle with more haste than usual, brow deeply furrowed as he wore a look of intense calculation.
About midweek, Gia made the risky move of eavesdropping on King Silas and Zarif. She assured me that she’d share what she had learned when we were together in the safety of each other’s company.
When the sabbath came, we each departed for the safehouse, unsure of who would be able to make it.
Gia and Cairis’ attendance was critical, since they carried with them the information required to plan our next moves.
I entered the safehouse through the back door, brushing sand off my hands, scolding myself internally for my inability to stay on my feet when portaling.
The hum of the bond began to pulse rapidly beneath my skin in a flurry of excitement, indicating my mate’s proximity.
My frustrations from portaling quickly waned when I saw his glorious golden skin and curled white locks seated at the table across from Saryn. Praise the Gods, he was there.
His shoulders moved forward abruptly, as if to propel him to greet me until recognition of our surroundings sobered his actions.
My pace quickened toward the open seat next to him, but I reinforced my mental shields, settled my feelings, and calmed my expression to greet him like any other member of the Imperi.
By now, Saryn was the only one in the dark about our true affections.
I had almost forgotten about the others entirely until I glanced around looking for Trace, who was nowhere to be seen, but every other member of our Order was now contained within the small dining area of the safehouse.
“Trace will not be joining us as he has been sent away on more raids in the name of the North,” Saryn said.
Thoughts of Gia’s stories about what Trace did during those raids made my stomach begin to roil.
I took a cup from the center of the table, and Varro reached for the pitcher and handed it to me, brushing his fingers across mine subtly.
Trying to conceal my blushing, I turned away.
I filled my cup and sipped at the refreshment to distract myself.
“We succeeded! She’s dead,” Gia exclaimed with more joy than I’d expect for someone who had offed a fairly innocent individual.
“You sure did…” Cairis snorted out. “I saw the bloody mess you left in that room when I apprehended the night guard.”
“She didn’t feel a thing, thanks to Cress. I had to make it look like a real struggle occurred,” she declared, trying to rally us toward some declaration of modesty in her handling of the situation.
Saryn interrupted impatiently, “Did you get eyes on Embry…I mean, the princess?”
A smug expression came over Cairis’ face. “I did. She’s down there. She looks like shit for a royal—but anyone would, given the deplorable state of the prison.”
There was a collective sigh of relief from the lot of us after hearing that the mission was successful on all fronts. Although Gia would not let it show, I think she was especially relieved to hear she hadn’t knifed a female for nothing.
“The night guard kicked and wailed at first, shouting his denials, but by the time we got him to the cells, he had shriveled up in shock and horror. I think it took a minute for Nori’s work to settle into his memory,” Cairis surmised.
I turned to look at Nori, who did not at all appear proud of her involvement. Meekly, she said, “It will haunt him forever, what I did. Or at least what’s left of his days…” Her words trailed off in regret.
“It doesn’t matter what he does or doesn’t admit to because I’ve managed to uncover exactly what they’re going to do with that poor soul,” Gia said proudly, and I was certain she was about to share the results of her eavesdropping.
Something I had been curious about since the moment she mentioned it back in Nasallus.
“What will his punishment be?” Varro asked in an even tone.
It was the first time I’d heard his voice upon entering the establishment.
“Zarif, in typical conniving fashion, will never allow the kingdom to believe she had an affair, nor that she was murdered on their watch; it makes Silas and his regime appear weak.” Gia’s expression turned angry.
“They are prepared to announce that her guard was a Baelin sympathizer-turned-insider for the North, and that he committed the act as revenge. They will connect it to all the false activities Trace and others have been up to, further stoking the fires of Northern hatred.”
Cairis’ hand clenched into a tight fist, and everyone around the table grew frustrated with the idea that our plan had backfired.
Now they would have the citizens of Artume believing that we Northerners had gone so far as to assassinate their new queen.
I dipped my head in regret for not demanding alternate paths to access the prison cells.
It was now abundantly clear to me how far Zarif would go to paint the picture he wanted the kingdom to believe.
“That’s not all…” Gia said, and I could tell from her tone that something truly terrible was coming. “They claim she was with child!”
“She was pregnant?” Nori screeched in disbelief, horror written across every line of her face.
“Of course not!” Gia declared angrily. “He never touched that frigid female. Me and the others he actually fucks would know. They’re just saying it to make matters worse, to squeeze every last bit of outrage and sympathy out of the situation.”
“If they’re not careful, this alone could incite a war,” Saryn declared. I had never seen Saryn worried, but his current expression conveyed an emotion not far from it. “We have a dead queen, a soon-to-be-dead night guard, and falsehoods that only create more pressure on our timeline.”
“There is some good news...” Cairis interjected.
The rest of us waited in silence for him to deliver any semblance of the sort.
“Princess Embry’s cell is somewhat secluded from the others.
They don’t keep many guards there because she’s weak and docile, unlike the other prisoners who require more of the guards’ attention. ”
“I fail to see how knowing she is still guarded is helpful to us,” Varro said dismissively.
“Because there are empty cells on both sides of her; it’s the female’s quarters within the prison.
She is the only female down there, currently, to the best of my knowledge.
From what I heard, no one stays down there long.
They’re either sent away for judgement and execution, or quickly moved to manual labor.
Sometimes even worse…banished to the Ivory Waste. ”
It was clear Cairis had been doing his job, paying attention to the prison operations and taking note of Embry’s surroundings. It wasn’t a ton to work with, but it was enough to at least put a plan into motion. One that would involve much more risk for Nori this time around.
In the few hours that followed, we discussed a means to reach Princess Embry, but we also spent time allowing Varro to share his intel.
They were indeed building a large armada of ships in their bay.
It wasn’t clear yet to Varro why so many ships were needed or what they would carry.
Everyone knew that attacking Cambria from the sea would fail.
They could never transport enough Fae on ships to offset the siege awaiting them.
King Aeon would defend his shorelines with an arsenal of weaponry and infantry within moments of seeing the ships’ approach.
This was perhaps the most frustrating part of everything we were doing.
It seemed there was a larger picture at play that had not yet been revealed to us.
I could only hope Embry’s information was correct, as she would be a valuable ally to our cause.
Did we owe it to her family to try and free her and restore the kingdom to its rightful heir?
That wasn’t necessarily the mission we were tasked with, but none of this would have happened if the bloodlines that aimed to keep the peace ruled, rather than the puppet of a deviant Hand.
From Gia’s reports, Silas wasn’t smart enough or particularly interested in pulling the strings.
He was under a very manipulative and meticulous kind of control that boiled down to one male—Zarif.
Varro rose from his seat, indicating that he needed to return to his clan.
He would continue to try and uncover what the plans for the ships entailed, and report back as soon as he had something.
Internally, his exit made me frantic. There was no time to talk, no way to spend an extra moment in private with him the way Trace and I had weeks ago.
I followed him to the doorway, pretending to escort him out, and told the others I’d keep watch while he used his moonstone.
We were still within earshot of the others, so all I could do was lower my mental shields to him and offer a silent message.
The small cloudlike ring appeared behind him and he gave me a nod of acknowledgement, returning my silent affections before I locked my shields again and watched him disappear into the misty portal.
It was mere crumbs of what I’d hoped for, but he seemed well enough and that was the best I could ask for given our circumstances.