Page 83 of To Save a Kingdom

Elessan had to hope that, between Aliya and Zadé, they could work their way out of this and save the hostages before Walter burst in shooting.

Elessan must have made some sort of noise, because Roland turned his attention to him. The corners of his lips hardened. “Put the mountain elf somewhere he won’t get in the way. I can’t have him underfoot while we’re dealing with this human,” Roland continued. “When we’ve dealt with the Arcane Inquisitor, he’ll be released into your care.”

“No!” Elessan lurched forward.

Roland’s mouth curved into a smile as he glanced behind Elessan and nodded.

That was all the warning Elessan got before something hard exploded against the back of his head and the world went black.

Chapter 32

Zadé

Zadé’s feet flew up the stairs as she left the kitchen behind her. She’d spent too much time trying to scrunch herself into the dumbwaiter—what a stupid name for a box that just went up and down and didn’t wait on anybody—but Princess had been right, she was too tall to fit. The next best thing she could do was bring her handful of guards and join King Enorathil’s forces in breaching the library.

Princess’s soldiers were decent men, though with the way their feet pounded on the steps at her heels, it was a small miracle half the palace didn’t hear them coming. At least the elven armies were trained to march in time with each other to help disguise their numbers.

They exited the stairwell, leaving the heat of the stoves and the scent of fresh-baked bread behind them. One of her favorite things about this castle was the thick carpet runners running down most of the central thoroughfares. She supposed it did an okay job of muffling their footsteps—it was better than nothing.

Only a few minutes later, they turned into the final hallway before their goal. Zadé drew up short. No sounds came from the library. Well, that wasn’t good.

She peeked around the corner.

No soldiers lined the hall, except for the two humans standing guard in front of the doors.

Something settled in Zadé’s gut, pushing a sour taste into the back of her throat. Where were the sun elf forces? Had that stupid, good-for-nothing king betrayed Aliya?

Princess was already in there, and without backup, she’d be caught and possibly killed.

And that would suck even more than Cress’ death, because it would be under Zadé’s watch.

Frowning, Zadé studied the handful of guards behind her. There weren’t enough to take on the library if the Arcane Inquisitor was present. She’d heard what he could do, about the power contained in the gem welded to his forehead. There was no way she and a few humans would overpower everyone to free Princess and the hostages on their own. They needed the rest of King Enorathil’s troops, and it was looking more and more like he’d betrayed them.

Her palms ached where her fingernails cut into the calloused skin. Pressing her lips into a thin line, Zadé spun on her heel. “New objective,” she whispered as she marched past them. “Something’s happened. The sun elf forces ain’t here. We need ta regroup ‘n come up with a Plan B.”

Another thing she could say about Princess’s people—these guards followed her orders without hesitation or question.

Several minutes later, Zadé braced herself as she threw the doors to the council chamber open before striding inside. The heavy wooden beams slid on well-greased hinges, slamming into the stone walls with a resounding boom. Exactly as she’d been hoping.

Aliya’s father, Baron whatever-his-name-was jumped. If the situation had been less urgent, if Princess hadn’t been in danger, Zadé would’ve laughed. King Enorathil glanced up at her, his lips glued in his perpetual frown. “General Brightleaf?”

The words were respectful; his tone was anything but.

She waved back in the approximate direction of the library. “Why aren’t yer forces where they’re supposed ta be? Prin—Queen Aliya’s countin’ on yeh ta hold up yer end o’ the bargain!”

Roland’s eyes went cold as he turned his focus back to the oversized piece of parchment spread on the table in front of him. “You are out of line.”

Zadé furrowed her brow. She may be, but… “Yeh gave yer word.” Stepping forward, she squinted, reading over his shoulder. “What’s that?”

“An agreement. Aliya’s hand in exchange for the regency.”

Zadé’s eyes danced between the royal and Aliya’s father for several heartbeats before everything clicked into place. She pierced Baron Whoever-he-was with the strongest glare she could muster. “Yer sellin’ yer daughter in marriage… again?” But that couldn’t be right. Princess had already agreed to marry Roland—there was a slice through her left palm to prove it.

Aliya’s father didn’t bother to do more than meet her eyes for a split second as he pressed his quill to the paper and signed below the king.

Wiping a hand over her head, she blinked. Who did that to their own family? And what did Roland want from Aliya’s father bad enough to leave the little weasel in charge of the kingdom in the king’s absence? Not like the elf would tell her.

Zadé glared at Aliya’s father. “She’s a queen, yeh know. She outranks yeh, and can strip yeh of th’ regency if’n she wants.”