A/N: Thank you beeblegirl, Undertheoaktrees, pallysAramisRios, SnidgetHex, and Musketball1 for reviewing!
Chapter 2
Athos and Ninon reached the governor's house and stopped at the corner of the building across from it. Ninon had drawn her hood up over her head and angled her back to the street.
"Over there," she said, flicking her gaze toward the side alley.
Athos studied the area. The alley was out of the way, and there wasn't much foot traffic on this part of the street. He scanned the house next, searching the windows for spying eyes or guards on watch. Nothing stood out.
He touched Ninon's elbow, signaling her to cross the street with him. "Keep a lookout," he said at the mouth of the alley.
Ninon took up position at the corner as Athos ventured down the narrow street in search of that loose brick. Unfortunately, it was hidden quite well.
"Closer to the broken crate," Ninon called quietly over her shoulder.
Athos moved toward the splintered pieces of wood on the ground, then tracked his gaze directly up from the street along that section of wall. Still, nothing seemed out of place, though he did spot a brick whose surrounding mortar was much shallower than the blocks around it. He ran his fingers along the grooves and picked at the edge of the brick. It shifted slightly.
He cast a look at Ninon, who was still standing casually at the mouth of the alley, then turned back to prying the brick out of its spot. It slid free without much effort, and Athos found the center had been hollowed out, and a small piece of paper had, in fact, been left inside. He pocketed it and quickly returned the brick to its place, then turned to hasten his way out of the alley.
Ninon arched a curious brow at him, but he didn't say anything as they stepped out into the street and made a beeline away from the area. Only once they were a good distance away did Athos slow up his pace. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure there were no city guards behind them, then pulled the note out from his doublet and unfolded it.
"Governess will have the package ready. Deliver immediately on receipt."
"What package?" Ninon wondered aloud.
"I don't know," Athos replied. "But I intend on questioning the governess. Clearly she's a spy within the Queen's circle." He folded the note and stuffed it back inside the front of his doublet.
"Do you want me to return to the governor's house to keep watch?" Ninon asked.
"Not right now. It's dangerous until we know more."
Ninon canted a simpering moue at him. "It wasn't dangerous before?"
"It was, and I appreciate your help," he said. "But for now, it would ease my mind if you took some time to stay safe until I can gain more information." Athos pulled up short and reached out to touch her arm. "I don't want anything to happen to you."
She smiled softly and leaned in to steal a kiss. "Then I will wait."
He nodded in gratitude and they resumed their trek back to the garrison. But no sooner had they reached the gate that the horrendous sound of dragons shrieking in the distance resounded through the air. The hair on the back of Athos's neck stood on end, and he bolted across the yard toward the dragon compound, which had a gate connected directly with the palace grounds. Ninon was right behind him as he pushed through the gate, only to skid to a stop in stunned horror. The palace was completely engulfed in a vibrating cloud of dust. No, not dust…insects.
The buzzing of thousands if not millions of wings rattled Athos's eardrums as the insects hovered over the walls in a seething mass. He spotted Savron and Ayelet at one end, shifting and snapping in agitation. Vrita was circling the Louvre from above and making low passes to swipe her claws at the maelstrom. But she barely made a dent against something so small individually, and the insects didn't react to the assault, just kept up their frenzy up and over the palace walls.
Athos took a few staggering steps closer and could make out the shapes better. They were beetles with bulbous, spade-shape wings, the size of a man's hand, it looked like.
"Dear God," Ninon breathed beside him.
Ayelet shuffled forward toward the wall of insects, which didn't disperse at the dragon's snort. She lit up her belly next.
"Stop!" Athos shouted, sprinting toward her.
She immediately choked back the fire she was about to spew and swung her head toward him.
"You could burn down the palace and everyone inside," he snapped.
She gurgled unhappily and let out another perturbed screech at the insects. Still, they seemed wholly intent on covering the palace in their seething mass. Athos couldn't see a way to get through them, and imagined no one would be able to get out, either. And if the beetles were already inside? What would they do then?
Ninon reached out to clutch his arm as they stared in helpless shock, having no idea what these things were or how to stop them.
.o.0.o.
The palace was in chaos, people running and screaming as a massive swarm of beetles buzzed and bounced against the windows and walls outside. D'Artagnan gaped in stupefied horror. Where the hell had they come from?
A series of shrill shrieks resounded from down the hall, and he and Constance jerked their gazes toward where beetles were streaming through an open window. D'Artagnan burst into a run.
"Close everything up, now!" he shouted. He reached the window and slammed it shut against the influx of insects. More shelled bodies smacked into the glass, making the pane judder with the sheer number of them. D'Artagnan pressed his body weight against the frame to keep it shut until he could get the latch in place. Then he staggered away as beetles landed and crawled up and over each other against the window.
Constance yelped behind him, and d'Artagnan turned to see bronze colored beetles skittering around the floor. He leaped forward and frantically tried to stomp them out. There was a frenzy as guards rushed in to do the same. Even though revolted by the insects, Constance drew her sword and tried to help. They eventually seemed to get them all, or so d'Artagnan hoped. He had no idea what these things were or where they'd come from.
Then the room dimmed rapidly as all light was blocked out from the beetles covering every inch of window pane from the outside.
Constance stepped close to d'Artagnan. "What is it?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. Some kind of magical attack?" He'd never seen insects like these before, and they certainly weren't behaving like normal bugs.
Constance gave herself a sharp shake and started looking around urgently. "The Queen!" She sprinted out of the room and down the hall. "Where are they?"
D'Artagnan jogged to catch up. "What is it?"
"The Queen and Aramis were right here!"
"He probably took her deeper into the palace for safety," d'Artagnan assured her.
Constance shook her head in distress. "I shouldn't have left her side."
"I'm sure she's fine." Well, as fine as any of them were in this current situation. He had no idea what to do in the face of this. The dragons could be heard shrieking outside, and d'Artagnan worriedly wondered if the beetles were swarming them too. He couldn't see a damn thing through the windows at this point.
More screams sounded throughout the corridors, and d'Artagnan and Constance broke into a run toward them. They found beetles scurrying down through one of the fireplaces.
"Get every potential opening sealed, now!" he shouted at anyone who would listen as he rushed to shut the flue and Constance hacked at the beetles that had already found their way inside.
D'Artagnan shared a harried look with his wife. If they didn't act quickly, they could be overrun within minutes, and God knew what happened next.
.o.0.o.
Aramis kept pushing Anne on through the woods at an urgent pace, frequently glancing over his shoulder for signs of their pursuers. Fortunately, it seemed they had gained a lead, for however long it lasted them. Whoever was behind this elaborate attack was not going to give up their prize easily.
He started to recognize this part of the forest and veered left toward the ruins outside the city, hoping to find cover amidst the crumbling stone walls. The place was quiet, thankfully, though Aramis was still on guard as they approached it. A quick look around confirmed they were alone, as far as he could tell, and he finally allowed them to stop for a rest.
Anne was breathing heavily, her carefully pinned hair askew, and staggered against a wall to catch herself, but she immediately held her arms out for her son. Aramis passed him over, then did another visual sweep of the area. Anne let out a ragged gasp as she clutched tightly to her son, running a hand over him to make sure he was all right. Aramis crouched down to quickly reload both pistols.
"Marguerite," Anne said, breath hitching. "How could she…" She broke off, clearly distraught. "They're trying to assassinate my son now? He's just a baby!"
"I believe it was an attempted kidnapping," Aramis replied. He finished priming his pistols and got to his feet again, moving along the wall to once again scan the surrounding trees.
Anne's eyes were wide with horror. "What makes you say that?"
"Because they didn't shoot at us. Most likely they didn't want to risk harming the Dauphin." After another swift circuit, he paused long enough to lean against the stone wall and catch his own breath.
Anne gaped at him. "Why? Why all these attacks now? What do they hope to gain?"
Aramis gave her a grim look. "Likely someone knows the King is dying, and whoever controls the Dauphin after his death controls the throne."
Anne's eyes crinkled in confusion. "What?"
He flicked a look back at her as shock visibly set in. Aramis internally winced and said quietly, "He didn't tell you."
Anne numbly shook her head and slowly sank to the ground. Aramis pushed away from the wall to go steady her.
"Why would he keep this from me?" she breathed.
Aramis settled his hands on her arms. "I don't know. I don't think the King has told anyone, not even Treville."
"He told you," she rejoined sharply, looking at him with a sense of betrayal.
"Yes," he admitted. "At the royal mausoleum. But I don't think he meant to confide in me that way. It just…came out. Standing before his father's grave, thinking of his own mortality and his son…he was conflicted. He sought answers in that moment from anyone he could, which just happened to be me."
Or maybe it hadn't been quite so accidental; Louis had specifically requested Aramis accompany him on the trip because of his background in spiritual matters. He hadn't known the Queen had been kept in the dark, though.
"How long?" she shakily asked.
"I don't know. Maybe months. But that is why someone would want to get their hands on your son."
Anne pressed the baby tighter against her chest, eliciting a cry as he kicked in discomfort. She quickly tried to shush him, jiggling him slightly as she buried her face in the swaddled blanket to smother a sob.
Aramis gave her arms a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "I swear on my life I will protect you both."
If only he wasn't alone and cut off from help. Again.
It was getting to be an unpleasant pattern.