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The males halt.
I continue, “The Spring prince is dead.”
As if not understanding what I told them, the males stare at me.
“I expected D’Artaron would have told you.”
“Um…” Amartis recovers first. “We haven’t been fully briefed yet. He’s holding a briefing this evening.”
“The Spring prince is dead?” Pavonos asks.
I nod.
Amartis leans against the stairwell. “How did he die?”
I recall what the commander told me in his office. “I don’t know.”
“But you’re certain he is dead?”
“Quite certain, yes.”
“And how can you be certain of it?”
“Because…” I pick at my thumb. “Because I found him dead in his bed.”
Ashamed to have his rejection so publicly aired now, I shake my head. “I’d also have died if I’d joined him. Oh!” I snap my fingers. “At first, he invited me into his chambers, but right after the invitation, another guard came and handed me a letter that said the prince would see me in mine.”
“The prince invited you and then uninvited you.”
“Correct.”
Pavonos crosses his arms over his chest and purses his lips. “Makes no sense.”
“There were other females in his bed,” I explain.
Pavonos winces, but doesn’t comfort me. He sticks with the facts. “The prince already had company, and he wouldn’t have invited his wife unless, of course, the company came after he invited his wife, so he uninvited the wife.”
“Could it have been someone else who invited you?” Amartis asks.
“Or uninvited you?” Pavonos adds.
“Could’ve been anyone.”
Amartis continues up the stairs. “That’s why D’Artaron is waiting on the briefing. He wants to hear about it from the Spring Court’s royals.”
“They’ll accuse me of killing him.”
“Unless they already have the killer.”
“I doubt it,” I say.
“Why?”
“Because the guards chased me down.”
We’re starting to heave breaths as we climb farther and farther up the spiral staircase. I crane my neck, gauging the distance to the top, just as light crackles on my left, and a portal begins to open.
I sigh and slump my shoulders. “Not again.”
