Chapter Thirty-Six – Kalon #2
“Sit down and shut the door, Ezra,” Duke Trelawney said. “You’re making it look untidy.”
“Thank you for your kind compliment, Your Grace.” Ezra pushed the door shut. “I sent away those guards and left mine outside.”
“Where do you get off ordering my men around?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. “Are you here to interrupt or do you have something useful for me?”
He raised a brown envelope and grinned. “Preliminary report from Jinx regarding the Armand family.”
Duke Trelawney looked between us. “Should I leave you to it, Your Highness?”
I shook my head and opened the envelope. “No. This might be related. Allie ended up at the edge of the forest when she was speaking with Lady Armand, and I haven’t decided if it was deliberate on Lady Armand’s part yet.”
“Lady Lillia Armand? Vivian told me that Lady Alicia seemed quite upset after she visited the tent, then the incident happened. She expressed quite the passionate dislike for the young lady, I have to say.”
“The Armand girl has got a crush on His Highness,” Ezra said, sitting on my bed. “No wonder Lady Alicia was upset.”
“Get off my bed,” I ordered, opening his report.
Lady Lillia de Armand, born to Baron and Baroness de Armand from a small countryside village about three days away from the capital by carriage. Twenty-three years of age. Had no formal education outside that of a low noble until she reached the capital and was taught by Baroness Kilgard.
Baron Armand lost most of the family fortune when their business collapsed and spent many years attempting to recover it through various means, until…
“This is interesting,” I said, tapping one of the paragraphs.
“She has no formal education on the level of a noble raised in the capital, but at the age of sixteen, was able to convince her father to purchase a piece of land that would eventually be part of a vital trade route between the Kingdoms of Faria and Vontis?”
“Everyone wrote it off as a lucky guess, but it’s a weird one.
The baron used the last of his cash reserves to bid on it at auction, even overpaying, so she must have been pretty convincing.
” Ezra dropped onto the couch and swung his legs up, making himself comfortable.
“If she was wrong, she’d have screwed up their last chance at recovering their finances.
Their other businesses are doing well, but not so well that it could save House Armand.
But once the trade deal between the kingdoms was established a year ago, their options were to pay the landowner and construct a road or go all the way around. ”
“I’m assuming they chose the former, given the latter would mean crossing hostile territory riddled with monsters.”
“They did. That piece of land is weird. There’s a map in there.”
I flipped the page to the map. He’d circled the exact spot in the county, and he was right about its weirdness. It was long and thin—long enough that going around it would be a nightmare, but not thin enough to cross without being detected, either.
In other words, the perfect piece of land to own and exploit toll fees from.
I showed it to Duke Trelawney, and he raised his eyebrows. “Very strange,” he said. “There’s nothing on that land. It’s not particularly fertile, so it’s no good for farming or settling, and it’s close to the unclaimed monster territory. It’s not near to the baron’s remaining estate, either.”
“Exactly. There’s no reason for him to have bought it.” Ezra bobbed his head. “It’s only good for a trade route.”
“Could Lillia have known they were brokering a trade deal?” I asked.
“Six years ago? How would a seventeen-year-old girl have known that? Nobody knew they were working on one until very recently. They’ve been enemies for years, and that piece of land was the only reason they’re no longer at war.”
That was true. When the empire had swallowed the neighbouring duchies, the kingdoms of Vontis and Faria had been told they would be next if they continued their war.
They’d reluctantly signed a ceasefire in the face of a bigger threat, but nobody had expected them to become trading partners a couple of years later.
“The moment the trade deal was announced, the value of the land multiplied tenfold. Once the kingdoms brokered a deal to build a road and pay toll fees, it rose even further.” Ezra sat forward and pointed at us, wiggling his finger.
“That road single-handedly saved the baron from having to sell his title to survive and meant Lady Armand could debut this year.”
“Do the Armands have any relation to the Kilgards? Distant relatives, perhaps?” Duke Trelawney asked.
“No,” Ezra answered. “Their only connection is that the baronesses were friends in their younger years. They both grew up in the same town and remained close friends after their marriages.”
“And Baroness Kilgard is a popular etiquette teacher for young noble ladies, so she’s the perfect guardian for Lady Armand while she enters high society,” I finished. “Have the Armands ever had any connection to the Vermillions?”
“Only loosely through business. Marquess Vermillion had an interest in one of the baron’s businesses a few years ago and eventually invested a small amount of money, although it seems he withdrew it after a couple of years.”
“So, there’s no reason for their daughters to have met, nor is there any reason for them to have bad blood.
” I rubbed my thumb across my chin. Just what was it about that woman that got so under Allie’s skin, even before we’d met?
It made no sense. “Tell Jinx to keep searching. Who did you put on her tail?”
“Baines.”
“Good. He won’t get caught.” I scanned the rest of the papers, and a chill ran across my arms. “Baroness Armand is a descendant of the Zadar family?”
Duke Trelawney jolted. “Is that true?”
“If that’s what it says, then yes,” Ezra said, looking between us with a frown. “Why does it matter?”
“Find out how she’s descended from them,” I ordered. “Tell Jinx to prioritise that.”
“Why?”
“I don’t pay you to ask questions, Ezra.”
“I know that, but how are the Armands related to anything Duke Trelawney is working on for you?” He got up and joined us at the table. “Shit—is that a black magic mark?”
I sighed. “We think so, yes. It appeared on the body of the man responsible for releasing the wraithhusk. It was connected to a silencing spell.”
“Weren’t the Zadars the last remaining black magic bloodline?” He froze. “Is that why you want it researched? Do you think the Armands are related to what happened today?”
I pressed my fingertips together and glared at him. “Ezra.”
He jerked. “Yes, Your Highness?”
“Are you in the business of asking questions or answering them?”
“Answering them.”
“Exactly. Go and do your damn job.” I stared at him until he shuffled back towards the door.
“Ezra. Come and see me tomorrow,” Duke Trelawney said, peering across the room at him. “I have something for you.”
He bowed, his scarlet red hair falling to cover his eyes. “Yes, Your Grace.” He moved to open the door, then stopped. “Before I go, can I ask how Lady Alicia is? My sister is beside herself with worry.”
Right. They were close friends, and Lady Georgina had been in Allie’s tent before the attack.
“She’s still sleeping,” I answered, smiling grimly. “There’s been no change. I’ll send word when she wakes up.”
“I hope that happens soon. Even if I am mad that you stole my wife, you look miserable, and it’s starting to put me off my food.”
“Ezra,” I said darkly.
“Get out? Yeah, yeah, I know.” He stopped at the door and looked back at me, genuine concern in his eyes. “Get some rest, Your Highness. If she wakes up and sees you like this, she’ll be angry at you for not taking care of yourself.”
Duke Trelawney smiled and got to his feet. “He’s right, you know. If you need it, I can have a sleeping potion sent over.”
I shook my head. “No. I want to be present when she wakes up.”
“Let me know if you change your mind.” He picked up his envelope from the table. “I’ll look into this and contact you as soon as I find out anything.”
“Compile the final report with Ezra,” I said, getting up. “There’s a high chance we’ll figure something out when we put your findings together.”
They both nodded and left with a swift goodbye, and I followed them out of the room a moment later.
I’d already been gone from Allie for too long.
Now that the person who’d released the monster was dead, I was at a loss. There was nothing I could do from here to find out about the black magic or the links the Armand family might have to an old bloodline. My only option was to wait, and that was the last thing I wanted to do right now.
If I had nothing to do, I could only think of Allie. Of how I might never see her smile again. Of how the last time I heard her laugh might really have been the last.
Of how I might never get to feel her arms around me again.
I knocked on her door, and Bella pulled it open. “Any change?” I asked.
Bella shook her head, stepping back to let me in. “None, Your Highness. The doctor and High Priest Dhaesis have already been by this evening to check her condition. The high priest said her divine power is recovering well, but he doesn’t know when she might wake up.”
“She’s in a different nightgown.”
“Yes. While you were out, we bathed her with Rina’s assistance.”
I jerked around to face her. “You put her in a tub?”
“No, Your Highness. We only wiped her body down in the bed and changed her nightgown, as well as her sheets.”
“Right. Of course.” I ran my fingers through my hair, sighing. “I jumped to conclusions.”
“Please don’t worry.”
I peered at her. Bella’s brown eyes were shadowed by dark circles, and even she looked paler than usual.
“When was the last time you slept properly?” I asked her.
She lowered her chin to her chest, looking down. “I’m quite all right, Your Highness.”
“See the mages for a sleeping potion. Get one for Annie and Rina if they need it.”
“I’m really—”
“Bella, you’re clearly exhausted. If you don’t get some sleep, you won’t be able to look after her properly.
” I laid my hand on her shoulder. “Have them assign another maid to the room in case of an emergency, but I will stay here with Allie tonight. Please look after yourself, or she’ll shout at us both when she wakes up. ”
She swallowed, then nodded her head in agreement. “Then please excuse me. I will make sure nobody disturbs you.”
“Thank you.” I patted her shoulder before letting her go, and she quietly left, gently clicking the door closed behind her.
Allie’s maids really were fiercely loyal to her—especially Bella, even if it was to the detriment of her own health.
Weirdly, I felt better knowing she had such a strong ally on her side. Bella looked sweet, but I had no doubt she would hold her own. She had to be able to if she was serving Allie so diligently.
God only knew she was a handful.
I kicked off my shoes at the end of the bed and sat down next to her. She looked so peaceful. There was some colour in her cheeks compared to this morning, and that made me smile as I brushed the back of my fingers over her cheek.
She felt warmer, too, as if the life was slowly returning to her.
“Wake up soon, my Allie,” I said softly, lying down on the bed next to her. I propped my head up on my arm so I could see her, but she didn’t so much as blink at my closeness. “I miss you and your smile. I’m going crazy without you here.”
I watched her as if she would respond to me.
Stupid.
She still hadn’t even twitched.
“Bella and Annie have been taking good care of you. They bathed and changed you earlier, although I had to tell Bella to get a sleeping potion. She’s too worried to sleep properly.
” I traced her delicate features with my fingertip.
“Rina’s been here, too, and she’s punishing herself for not being able to protect you.
You need to knock some sense into these women.
We’re all just waiting for you to wake up. ”
I linked my fingers through hers and brought the back of her hand to my face. Her skin was so soft, and I closed my eyes as I brushed my lips against her hand.
“Come back to me, Allie,” I whispered. “Please.”