Chapter 6 #2
Malakai gave me a look. “Why, you would. You’re the queen.”
“If I died, would tutu kāne pick someone else to rule the kingdom?”
“No,” Malakai said. “Our grandfather passed away several years ago. He picked one of my other cousins to be next in line to the throne should something happen to Keanu or his family and posterity.”
“Why didn’t he pick you?” I was confused. Back in my village, leadership ran through a family line. That his grandfather had handpicked was a concept I had never heard of.
Malakai shrugged. “I never possessed the political depth and candor that Keanu did. He believes second chances are empowering. I believe brute strength is far more important. Without a strong army, anything can happen to the kingdom.”
“Oh.” I took a drink of my lilikoi juice, then, with hesitation, asked, “So if you’re closest to him, what do you know about me?”
He seemed surprised by the question. “Everything.”
I blinked. “Everything?” Did he truly know everything? About the bargain, the riddle, and Keanu’s murder?
Malakai nodded. “I’m not clever like Keanu. He was always quick on his feet. Witty. Smart. When he told me the riddle, I did not know how to help.”
I relaxed a little. So Malakai did know about the riddle. Which also meant he probably knew that Keanu had been killed and bargained with me.
“How did he die?”
“Someone stabbed him in the back, so he has no recollection of who did it.”
I shuddered. Who wanted Keanu dead?
Malaki began gathering his dishes, making it easier for the servants to take and clean them. I followed his example. “Have you figured out the riddle?” he asked, then added, “You have little time, and if I know my cousin well, I’d say he gets impatient quickly.”
“What do you mean?” I knew I asked a lot of questions, but Malakai was willing to answer them. It was all information I desperately needed.
“Your days are numbered,” Malakai said, his expression grim, as if he felt sorry for me.
It was the first protective and meaningful look I’d been given, besides from Kiki.
Like he knew this wasn’t a joke or a game.
My life was really at stake. “But just because you have twenty-something days to live doesn’t mean my cousin will wait that long for you to figure out the riddle. ”
This time, I frowned. Was Malakai bluntly telling me the truth about my mysterious husband? “What do you mean?”
“Like I said, he’s never been patient,” the young man said. His eyes grew dark. “If I were you, I’d be careful.”
My hair stood on end again. Questions sat at the edge of my tongue. Could I trust Malakai? I was like an unmoored canoe, drifting on unknown seas.
Who can I trust?
“Am I in danger?” I asked.
Malakai paused, thinking. Then he said, “Every person who has ever been close to Keanu is in danger.”
“From who? Who wants to hurt them?”
Malakai gave that sympathetic look again, as if he worried about me. I couldn’t help but appreciate Malakai for taking my situation seriously.
“Keanu has been king since he was fifteen years old,” Malakai said. “He knows what it takes to keep his power and preserve his people.” Keanu’s cousin leaned in. “And he’s not afraid to pay the price for it.”
Malakai meant me. Keanu was ever so willing to take my days for his own.
So I’m replaceable to him.
Another thought dawned on me. Sure, he told me the riddle of how to break his curse, and he said he was confident I could figure it out.
Why, then, did he have me wasting my day with Malakai, and then attending some silly ball that night? Could it be possible that he was distracting me from solving the riddle?
For the rest of our breakfast together, I took mental notes of what Malakai told me, the snippets of his life growing up with Keanu. The two seemed close, and as Keanu’s parents had died from a sickness when he was a youth, and Malakai’s parents died in a storm at sea, they had each other.
Truly, they were the only family to each other.
And in a world of politics and power, Keanu had indeed done all he could to keep his kingdom thriving.
Malakai spoke highly of his cousin, so there was nothing particularly suspicious about Malakai or Keanu.
But I couldn’t help the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I still couldn’t be sure about either of them.
I was too ignorant of this world, like a fish out of its reef.
Servants came and took our plates, ending the conversation.
“Come,” said Malakai, standing and offering his arm. This time, I took it, my head spinning. Who could I trust? Keanu, his cousin, or anyone here?
“Would it be alright if I explored on my own?” I asked.
Malakai seemed happy at that request. “We’ll meet at the front of the palace later,” he said. “I’m to escort you to the ball.”
Excitement welled up in me.
I have to hurry.
“Can you take me to the local kahuna in the kingdom?” I asked Alohi. He nodded, and escorted me around the palace and ‘Anolani Kingdom until it was time to meet Malakai again for the ball.
Much to my disappointment, the kahuna here, like in Ka‘u, didn’t know why the night marchers roamed, nor did they have any insights to the riddle.
“Be careful,” said one of the kahuna. “The night marchers are a cursed lot. It seems nobody but Kāne knows the price each one of them must pay.”
I nodded. “Thank you.” So what was the price Keanu had to pay?