Consequently, the Imperial Warrior had a wrapped tart in one hand as he reached for me with the other. I waved goodbye one last time, and then Kole mistphased us back to the palace. Back to my new life. Back to where I would now be spending all of my days.
And back to where someone was trying to harm me.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I spent the remainder of the evening in my chambers going through the House lists as Kole stood watch in the hallway until his shift ended.
Once again, he was keeping his distance, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because he’d started to open up to me about his family, which once again put us in questionable territory regarding his Council vows.
It also wasn’t lost on me that since leaving my new royal chambers earlier today, somebody had placed a powerful ward around its perimeter. There’d been a ward in place prior to it, but the new one felt thicker and stronger.
My brow furrowed, especially since Kole had been on high alert at Gwen and Timith’s, but he never said anything was amiss, yet something feltoffand it reminded me of my situation.
Someone was out to harm me, and while learning about the Houses, attending balls, and trying to get my sisters to like me were all fine and wonderful activities, they didn’t address what should truly have been holding my attention, which was to discoverwhowas after me andwhy.
When I wokethe next morning, my situation was still weighing heavily on my mind, but it hit me that my introductory ball was only one day away. That meant I had a lot to learn, so I began to study the names and lists of the ten Houses in earnest.
Thankfully, my mind remained clear since Timith was doing so well, and by the early afternoon, I’d moved my studies outside into my courtyard, Kole following, and we both basked in the sunshine.
But try as I might, I couldn’t let my concerns go, so I finally asked Kole about it.
“Has the Council made any headway on who poisoned my uncle or sent those creatures after me while I was hunting the Stone?” I paced in the courtyard, and warmth kissed my skin thanks to the palace’s wards. One perk to being a princess—my private courtyard was huge and allowed me plenty of freedom outdoors.
“No, they haven’t made any headway.” Kole stood near the stone wall, resting against it with his arms crossed. At his back, his huge sword’s pommel gleamed.
I turned and paced the other way. In my hands, I had a list of the ten House nobles and their families, but I’d been keeping it folded for the past hour since I was doing my best to recount everything by memory. “And have any more of thosethingsbeen found in the Wood and killed since I’ve returned here?”
Kole’s jaw tightened, just slightly, but since he actually had an outward reaction, I knew I’d hit a nerve. “A few.”
When he didn’t elaborate, I stopped and faced him. “How many is a few?”
“Seven.”
My eyebrows shot clear to my hairline. “Seven? All in the past couple of days? Where in the Wood were they caught?”
His nostrils flared, and I braced myself for his response.
“It wasn’t in the Wood,” he finally replied. “They were in Whiteolf.”
My jaw dropped. “Thosethingsareherein the capital?”
“Yes.”
I thought again of his energy last night, when he kept glancing out the windows. And of the new ward placed around my chambers. And of my parents’ insistence that I not travel anywhere without an Imperial Warrior.
Stars and galaxy. Those monsters are now in the capital.
“But where were they found? Did they hurt anyone? And how did the Council find them?”
Kole inhaled, and I could have sworn that he was debating how to answer my questions. “They were caught just outside of the palace’s walls, nobody was hurt, and we found them because they triggered the wards. All of them were killed by other warriors stationed within the capital.”
“Wait... There aremoreImperial Warriors in Whiteolf? How many?”
“If you include Jamie and me, there are six of us.”
“Six? That many? But I thought there weren’t many Imperial Warriors?”
“There aren’t. Our group is small.”
