Chapter Thirty-Six: A Conversation With the King

Dorian and Lisa sat in the library. But really—what else could one expect of them? It had been a few months since Rosa and Dorian broke up, and Lisa didn't really seem to mind—her only request was that neither of them make her choose.

Lisa, after several hours of sitting in silence, turned to Dorian, saying, "So, Dorian, I've heard a bunch of rumors."

"I'm not dating—"

"No, it's not about you," Lisa interjected. "I know you're not dating that bimbo. What was her name again?"

"I think it was Kaltain, but I'm not positive." He sighed. "This is starting to get annoying—I just keep getting asked, and I've only met her once, but she's a complete idiot!"

"Oh, God. I've run into her multiple times, and she's a ninny-headed attention whore! Honestly." Lisa shook her head. "That's why I knew you weren't dating here. I mean, other than the obvious." They both giggled.

"But you had something you wanted to say?"

"Ah, yes," Lisa said. "Thanks for reminding me. You know how I can get off on a tangent, and then I have no idea where I started, and soon enough we'll be talking about dresses or something. Speaking of dresses, who makes your mother's? They're lovely!"

"Lisa!"

"Right, sorry. Er… right! Okay, so I've heard a lot of rumors about the murders, and I have no idea which ones are true and which ones aren't." Her eyes sparkled with interest. "I mean, I've heard that Celaena Sardothien is behind them, I've heard that they're serial killings, and I've even heard that Duke Perrington has turned on your father and is trying to remove his foundations. And that it's just someone wanting to bring down the king, of course, which is the most popular. Do you have any insights? Anything you'd be able to tell me? Because I really do want to know."

"I really don't have any clue, nor does anyone else, I'm afraid. At least, that's what I believe. The only one of those that I can tell you is—without a doubt—false is that Duke Perrington is behind them. He'd never be able to do something like that." Dorian lowered his voice slightly. "I mean, really—he's just a lord! He's completely loyal to my father and, to be honest, he's completely useless."

Lisa nodded. "Alright then. You've got to have a theory, even if you think that one's false."

Dorian frowned. "I really don't," he responded. "Why are you asking all of this?"

Lisa huffed. "No one is willing to tell me anything about these! I'm just trying to piece together what's going on, and I figured that you might have some idea."

Dorian shrugged. "I'm just as in the dark as you are. And I'm guessing that—since I can't get anything out of anyone—either no one wants things getting out to the public, or no one actually knows. I'm guessing that it's probably a bit of a mixture of both." Because it would be devastating if anyone knew the truth, that the capital was suffering, that they were weak—that wouldn't end well—and because, as Chaol had said, whoever was behind the scenes, pulling the strings, was very, very good.

"Hello, Chaol."

"Your Majesty," Chaol bowed.

"Have you made any progress yet?" the King of Adarlan asked, seeming bored.

"No, Your Majesty. I apologize, but we have nothing to go on. It's like this person doesn't exist. Without some more help, we're never going to figure this out. We need more people."

"I don't think it's necessary at this point. I'm sure that your men have what it takes and will get this all sorted out in time." The king sounded calm—almost too much so.

"Sir?" Chaol frowned. "With all due respect, I think that it is necessary. My men are hard working, but we haven't had something like this before. People are going to keep dying until we solve this, so I think that we need to do something. Your Majesty," he added belatedly. "And besides—if the public catches wind of this, there will be issues. They should know—if they're at risk—but since they aren't, we don't need them losing faith in this organization. We have to put this operation down before that happens."

"That is something I'm worried about. If they think that we can't even keep ourselves safe, then there could be upheaval. When people start to think that they themselves may be at risk, it changes the point of view from when they thought that it was just those around them." The king gave a sigh. "I want you to quench all rumors going around surrounding this matter. Anyone that does not need to know about this won't."

Chaol cocked his head. "Your Majesty, I'm not sure if that's what we should be worrying about at this second. I mean, I think it's important to make sure that the people have faith in their government, but we shouldn't be devoting our resources to stopping rumors rather than stopping murders!" Why wouldn't the king understand that?

"Whomever is doing this wants attention. If we don't give it to them, they will stop."

"But sir, you can't know that for sure! We have to keep working against them! With all due respect, Your Majesty, we can't just quit working on solving the mystery to focus on gossip!"

"Chaol Westfall." The king's voice was soft and deadly. "Do you value your job?"

Chaol stiffened. He realized that he was treading on dangerous ground. "Yes, sir. I do. Very much, in fact."

"Good. Then I suggest you do not arguing when you are given an order."

"Is that an order, Your Majesty?"

"It is. I am ordering you to put effort into stopping the rumors before stopping the criminal." The king paused, and Chaol wondered if he was allowed to leave yet. "Before you go—please don't mention this conversation. To anyone." The king gave a false smile. "Am I understood?"

Chaol pursed his lips. "Yes, sir. I understand." He gave small bow and marched out.

That didn't sit well with him. Not at all. Why didn't the king want him investigating this any further? What could he possibly have to hide? What could he possibly think was so important that he was willing to risk the lives of the men and women in his court instead of abandoning it? How could he lay down those lives because of some ulterior agenda of his own?

And what, in the name of Wyard, what was he not telling them?

Chapter Release Date: May 19, 2018