Chapter Fourteen
"What brings you here unsummoned, my dear?" Even though only the lower half of Narcy's face was visible, it exuded more than enough smug amusement from where she sat to make up for it.
"You and I need to talk." Rose resisted the urge to clench her fist in anger. It's just the two of them in the run-down hideout. She'd even had Zaveid confirm it.
"So talk." Narcy gestured to one of the to chairs scattered about the main floor of the building.
Rose chose to remain standing. "Why is Malfore dead – no, why was he strung up in public for all to see?"
Narcy's smile didn't falter. "I wasn't the one who killed him, if that's what you're thinking."
"I find that hard to believe. First you say you don't care whether he's dead or alive, just as long as he's gone. Then the next morning, his corpse is found – displayed like a grotesque museum piece at the amphitheater in the noble quarter. Why lie?"
Narcy rolled up her sleeves. She kicked her feet up on the table and rocked the chair back onto two legs. She folded her hands behind her head. Peeking out just below the bunched fabric of her shirt was a puckered pink scar on her forearm in the shape of a fish hook. Rose wondered if that's what she'd meant by 'other ways to identify her.'
Rose tensed, if Narcy was showing her this, perhaps that meant a fight was in the making. Didn't matter if Rose saw the scar if she died. Her fingers twitched for her daggers but she stayed the impulse. Better to see where this was going first.
"There's a man who's pledged himself to our cause," said the extremist leader. Perhaps it had just been a slip-up. Catching the movement of Rose's eye, Narcy carefully pulled her sleeves back down. Rose might have missed the scar entirely if her assassin eyes weren't trained to catch such small details "But he doesn't exactly play nice with others."
Rose frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Mostly, I mean that he doesn't follow my orders and that I have absolutely no control over him. All I know is he wants this war for his revenge as much as the rest of us." Narcy spread out her empty hands in a whole-body shrug. "I'm not really sure why he reached out to us in the first place, but he has drawn in a number of new recruits so I don't have any complaints. We've gotten a lot done with his help"
"So he just acts on his own."
Narcy went back to lacing her fingers behind her head. "I think that's mostly the case. Sometimes he'll take orders directly from Cypress, though. And at times it seems like there's someone else he reports to, but I don't know anything about it and I haven't asked. Either way, he seems to thrive on the chaos."
"That sounds like a hellion," Lailah murmured.
"Why do you care so much about Malfore's death?" Narcy probed, irritation slipping smoothly into the question.
Rose could feel her suspicious gaze narrowing in on her throught the slits in her mask. "I may be an assassin, but I don't exactly enjoy spilling blood and I only try to stick knives where they are deserved."
Narcy hummed thoughtfully. "I can understand the sentiment, but we're trying to start a war. It will be impossible to avoid bloodshed."
"The war we want is with Hyland. Not with our own people. I didn't see you reaching for the knife last night."
"I considered it, but decided it might be better to let him disappear and let the people think Hyland took him or that he'd abandoned us."
Rose nodded. "That actually might have been more effective. Too bad it's no longer an option."
"Indeed." Narcy flipped the chair back on all fours and slammed her feet down as she stood. "Sorry to cut this conversation short, but I'm busy as I have a feeling things are about to get very interesting, very quickly."
"Fine by me."
Narcy slipped past Rose and out the door. After she had been gone for several seconds, Edna spoke.
"I sense a lot of metal downstairs."
"What?" Rose turned to her, her brow peaked despite the fact Edna couldn't see it behind the mask.
"More than when we were here for your first meeting. Something's changed."
"Well, let's take a look then, shall we?"
There was no one in the cellar, and Zaveid had assured them no one else was in the building.
"I don't see anything different," said Mikleo, his eyes scanning the walls.
"Of course you don't." Edna gave him a look. "You're not an earth seraph."
Mikleo completely ignorred the jab. "Where is this metal?"
Edna didn't even glance around. She turned her eyes straight to the wine casks lined against the wall and raised her umbrella in their direction. "In there."
"Wait, you mean there's no wine in there?" Zaveid walked up to one and put his hand on the old wood as if he could divine the answer through touch.
"There never was," Mikleo told him. "This place has been – at least officially – abandoned."
"How do we open these?" Rose asked, running her own hands along the cask in search of an answer. "They had to get them open and closed somehow."
The casks lay on their sides. Edna stepped forward and reached for the iron tap attached to the top end facing her. She twisted and pulled entire top of the cask out. There were grooves on the sides of the top panel as well as in the cask itself that served to lock it in place.
"Holy crap," Rose murmured, looking inside.
Zaveid let out a long low whistle.
"It's probably safe to say the other two casks are similarly stocked," said Edna. "They feel the same as this one."
Indeed these casks no longer held spirits. They'd been repurposed for the pile of weapons gleaming at them from within. Swords, daggers, throwing knives, spears. A wild assortment of instruments of war. Some were properly sheathed, others had their blades wrapped in cloth, and others still were naked in the light of Lailah's flare.
"How much you wanna bet this is the 'something interesting'?" Zaveid whistled again.
"I'd bet my life on it," Rose said slightly breathless from the exertion of helping Edna put the panel back in place. She turned around and leaned her back against it. "So this is where the rest of the shipment from a couple weeks ago went. Regardless of whatever explosive plans they may or may not have, this is a card she wanted to hold close to her chest."
"We need to warn Alisha and Sergei," Lailah said urgently.
"Yeah." Rose couldn't agree more. "Let's go."
Rose strode toward the castle with purpose. She was going to brainstorm with everyone on their next move. They were going to find Derek's family. Find out what was going on. Half-formed ideas raced across her vision.
"Rose, look!" Lailah pointed to the steps in front of the castle.
Rose looked up from her thoughts to see a writhing swarm of red-clad activity running in and out the doors. Authoritative voices boomed like thunder above the rain as suits of armor jangled and splashed through the streets.
"What do you think's happened?" Mikleo wondered aloud.
"I don't know," Rose said, her brow creasing even further. "But I have a feeling we won't have an easy time getting in to see Alisha."
"This could be anything," Lailah countered, grasping for that silver lining. "It doesn't mean Alisha's in trouble."
"No, but..." Rose slowed to a stop, her leading foot one toe into a puddle as the other dragged to meet it. "I want to know more before I do anything that will cause trouble for her."
"I'll go in to see Alisha, make sure she's okay," Mikleo volunteered, already moving.
"Me too!" Zaveid hurried after him.
Rose sighed.
"Let's head back to the inn," Lailah suggested with a gentle hand on Rose's shoulder. "Maybe there will be some gossip and you can get some re-"
"I don't have time to sleep!" Rose snapped, shrugging Lailah off. "We'll just see if anybody knows any thing."
"Why pay for that bed if you're not going to use it?" said Edna.
Rose spun on her heel with a groan that rumbled from deep in her chest, kicking up water as she went. However, the sight of Eguille standing at the front desk of the inn chased all her frustrations away.
"Ah, there she is," Rose heard him say to the clerk.
The smile she had at the sight of him was wiped clean off when she realized he wasn't smiling back. His eyelids were heavy and dark circles had taken home beneath his eyes. Normally, he had such good posture. But now his shoulders sagged. He looked like he hadn't slept a wink more than Rose had.
"Eguille." She greeted him with forced calm.
"Rose." He inclined his head. "I have news." He dropped those three words like they were anchors crashing down into the deep at once and all too fast.
Those words stuck a sharp wedge right in the center of Rose's chest, a crack in her ribs threatening her beating heart would be next.
"Yeah, I figured," Rose replied, any ability to hide her anxiety long gone out the window. "Let's talk in my room."
"Take a seat," she told him, when they're in her room. He didn't.
But her gut telling her she might want to follow her own advice, Rose sunk into the end of her bed. "Is this about the prince? Or the investigation into Sergei's attacker?"
"Both." Eguille's mouth was a grim line. "We've done some digging, interrogated a few people. The Plan, the poison used on the prince, could have only come from Rolance."
"You're sure? I went to our guy. He's the best. He hadn't sold any in months."
"We managed to track down the most skilled dealers in Ladylake. We even compared samples. I'm sure."
Rose folded her arms over her chest. "Still doesn't tell us who did it or confirm they're from Rolance."
"No, it doesn't," Eguille agreed. "But we do know that the attack on Sergei and Drakon was instigated by someone in Hyland's court."
Rose let out a long sigh. "I'm not surprised. The prince's death is the perfect excuse to attack." She tapped two fingers against her bicep as her brow furrowed under the weight of her churling throughts. "But… why then wasn't the emperor attacked again on his way home? Only Sergei and Alisha's envoy was."
Eguilled too sighed, his fingers playing with his beard. "Maybe they didn't recognize Drakon? So when they saw the coach with the Rolance imperial crest that's what they went after?"
"I..." Rose hesitated, the words passing her lips at a crawl, "suppose that's possible."
Eguille's hand stilled as he took in his boss' conflicted expression. "What are you thinking?"
"Alisha said that the only casualties at the funeral appeared to have been trampled in the chaos, and then there were less than a handful. The only person injured by deliberate assault was Sergei. They were careful not to hurt anyone from Hyland. These people… I think are competent enough to know what Drakon looks like."
"So then why didn't they kill him on his way back to Pendrago?"
"Because they don't want him dead?"
Eguille snorted. "That's ridiculous. Then they're not committed to their revenge. If they want a war, killing Rolance's emperor is a pretty sure way to get one."
"We can't assume these people are rational."
"Ah, yeah," Eguille scratched the back of his head, wearing an awkward half-smile, "that's true."
"Anything else I should know?" Rose asked, making no effort to disguise the exhaustion in her voice.
"Just to brace yourself for the inevitable shitstorm when His Majesty finds out."
The young leader of the Scattered Bones groaned. "I think he already has."
"Oh?"
"I went to see Alisha and knights were running around everywhere. There was no way I was getting in."
"I see." Eguille's expression darkened. "Worst case scenario, she's under suspicion."
"That's what I'm afraid of too."
Eguille straightened, angling towards the door. "I'll see what I can find out. I'll let you know as soon as possible."
Rose managed a weary, yet no less grateful smile. "Thank you."
...
"I want to see Alisha, and share what we found – about Malfore and this supposed mysterious man," she said with a sigh after Mikleo and Zaveid had returned.
"You know you can't," Lailah said gently.
"She's safe for now. Angelie is with her. But they've more than doubled the guard around her room," Zaveid reminded her. "And no visitors."
Rose let out another sigh as she free-fell backwards onto the bed. "Yeah, I know." She propped herself up on her elbows and waggled her eyebrows. "That just means one of you will have to go in my place."
"Isn't Angelie with her all the time now, though?" Mikleo asked.
"Why not just use the telepathy thing we do?" Zaveid asked, clearly unaware of the problem.
"Her resonance is too low, dummy." Edna jabbed him in the shin with her umbrella.
"Ow!" He flinched away from her. "Haven't we done it before, though?"
"When Rose or Sorey has been there," said Lailah, her lips slightly pursed and fingers steepled in front of her. "She's struggled with it any time they're not nearby. So even if we were to communicate that way, it would still be a one-way conversation."
"Well, whatever." Rose shrugged. "It's better than not telling her anything at all."
"That is very true," Lailah agreed. "I also think it might be best if at least one of us stays with her for the time being."
"Yeah." Rose grimaced. "Narcy said things were about to get interesting. So does that mean you're volunteering?"
Lailah looked down at her index fingers tapping against each other. The corners of her mouth dipped into a frown and her eyebrows inched closer together. "I would like to, but the rain doesn't seem like it's going to let up soon and if something happens… I don't how much use I'll be if a fight is taken outside."
"That's a good point." Mikleo rested a hand on his hip. "I suppose that means I should probably go. I'm also the one who did the research on Rolance politics the last time."
"Sounds good to me," said Rose.
...
Five excruciating days passed during which Mikleo came and went, like their personal messenger. On the fifth day, Alisha was summoned.
"His Majesty requests Her Highness' presence," a guard said to Angelie, who'd answered the door.
Angelie stepped aside to let Alisha through first. Suppressing a sigh, the Hyland princess folded her hand of cards and gently placed them on the table across from Angelie's. She got up from her seat and crossed the room – shoulders back and head held high. Angelie and Mikleo followed her into the hall.
The knight led them through the tall halls of the palace into a moderately sized chamber, at the center of which sat a long table. There were no windows and the walls were bare save for a few sconces and a map of the continent. And the room was ringed by guards. At the head of the table, furthest from the door Alisha had entered was the emperor himself. Behind him stood a tall woman in exceptionally tailored clothing that she assumed served as some sort of advisor. Sitting to his right were three of the last people Alisha expected to see. Her jaw nearly struck the stone beneath her feet. She hesitated in the entrance, her eyes flicking uncertainly between Drakon and his new guests.
"Please, have a seat." Drakon gestured to a chair at his left. His voice carried easily in the sparsely decorated room.
Alisha snapped her gaping jaw closed and bowed, her mind racing with questions for the few moments her eyes were aimed at the floor. She stiffly took the seat Drakon had indicated and attempted to swallow the painfully dry lump that had formed in her throat. Across from her, all with professionally neutral and polite expressions sat Chancellors Halbridge and Belle, and between them was Queen Consort Edith herself.
"Are they insane?" Mikleo voiced the thoughts she was unable to.
The door clanged closed, sealing her off from the only human ally she'd had direct contact with for the past several days.
"Good," said the emperor of Rolance. "We're all here."
"I am pleased to see you are in good health, Alisha," said Edith. "His Majesty has been treating you well, I can see. And the current situation is of course, understandable. Again, I am so sorry for the loss of your Shepherd." Edith turned to give Drakon a placating smile as she watched him bristle at her words.
"You've been needing to apologize an awful lot lately, it seems." Drakon didn't return her smile.
"I assure you, we are close to catching the culprit who attacked you and your knight captain," said Halbridge.
"My detectives seem to think it was someone on your council. What do you say to that?" Drakon regarded him with narrowed eyes.
Halbridge, responded, wholly unfazed, "Ours as well, unfortunately."
"We do have a suspect," Edith said. "He was undergoing questioning as we left."
"If I may ask, who is it?" Alisha interrupted, her eyes filled with worry.
Belle sighed heavily. "The prime suspect is Roderick."
Halbridge bowed his head, awkwardly smoothing his brow. "And truthfully, I can't say any of us were surprised."
"He does have the most to gain…" Alisha muttered
"That also makes him an easy scapegoat," Mikleo pointed out.
The advisor hovering behind Drakon leaned forward to whisper something in his ear.
Drakon made no acknowledgement of the gesture. "Did you really come all this way just to talk about the case? And why all three of you?" he asked.
Belle cleared her throat, her discomfort plain in the rigid line in her shoulders.
But it was Halbridge who spoke. "We are the final three candidates to inherit the throne. It has not yet been decided who, so we thought it best that we all come to have been here for this important conversation."
"And which conversation is that?" Drakon all but spat.
"The one in which we demonstrate our good will through a proposal we hope you will find agreeable," Edith said in her most amicable tone.
"Get to the point."
"We offer Alisha's hand in marriage," Halbridge answered.
"Of course she would have to give up her claim to the throne," Edith explained, "but her marriage to you would be the start of what we hope to be a beautiful and unbreakable alliance: the princess of Hyland and the emperor of Rolance. If your majesty would find it agreeable, of course."
Alisha's jaw dropped and so did the stone beneath her feet.