Page 63 of Ghosts and Ginger Tea

“Because that is what she is!” Kalani laughed, stepping forward. All the guards in the room shifted, ready to stop him if he made any move towards the king, all hands on the hilts of their swords.

“You’ve attacked our people and our lands,” I said. “You’ve threatened me, and bargained with someone in this court to murder Keanu.”

Questions rippled around the room. “Murder?”

“Keanu deserves to die, to live eternity as a perpetual wanderer,” Kalani shot back.

Now a collective gasp rang out through the room.

“A night marcher?” Pua was shocked, then looked around. “Who would murder the king?” Her response seemed genuine. But was she putting on a mask?

Malakai frowned, his gaze on her suspicious. “The first person to ask is usually the most guilty.”

“I would never!” Pua gasped.

Now the rest of the noblemen and women jumped in, pointing fingers. “You’ve defied the king for so long, you probably arranged for his murder!” someone said.

“No, I did not!” Pua resisted, her face turning pale. She looked at me, desperate. “I would never do such a thing!”

“Then what were you doing here the night before a murder attempt?” I asked. Kalani watched, thrilled at the chaos.

“I admit I was trying to get some of the king’s counselors to sign the petition,” she said, then shook her head. “But I would never try to kill anyone!”

“Then it’s you. You planned something!” Peter said. He was furious as he drew his sword. Again, I noticed the blue gem in the pommel.

And now I could see every nobleman and guard had a sword hanging from a belt.

Malakai watched, and, when he saw me looking at him, he quickly raised his eyebrows in surprise. “It’s true. Lady Pua was there the same night that someone tried to kill my cousin,” he said. “The queen saved his life, and it seems Pua’s hatred of the queen and king have only intensified since then.” My eyes dropped to his sword.

A violet gem. One that matched the color of the gem on the dagger.

A matching set!

And it was in that moment I knew. I had seen Malakai’s expression change quickly, but not in the moment. But now… I had just seen it for my own eyes: he was putting on a mask. Many different masks, actually.

And why not egg it on that Pua was the culprit? She was an easy victim, whereas nobody would suspect him.

I had all the evidence I needed. He had a matching set of a sword and dagger, just like everyone else. It might be easy to mistake the gems in Keanu and Malakai’s swords because they were both purple colors, but they were distinct enough.

Keanu’s gem was a light purple. Malakai’s gem was a dark violet.

And that dark violet reflected Malakai’s violence.

The murderer was not Pua. Sure, she didn’t like Keanu’s policies, and she hated me because she could’ve been in my place and overruled him. But the way she’d gone about resisting Keanu had never been violent. Petty political conversations. Petitions. Letters. Notes. There was nothing about murder in that. And the way she was shocked to find out about his murder and being accused of it… there was no way she could’ve killed the king.

Furthermore, it was not Peter. Sure, he walked around sulking sometimes. But he tried to scale the wall and couldn’t make it. I could see him trying to set Malakai up by using his dagger to try to kill the king. But how would he have stolen Malakai’s dagger? Wouldn’t Malakai have known and figured out that it was missing?

So the murderer had to be Malakai. The matching gems were the final piece to the puzzle.

Everything began making sense. A fleeting memory came to mind, the night of my wedding to Keanu. We grew up together, climbing coconut trees…

Yes, he climbed the palace wall to escape after his attempt to take Keanu’s life. He controlled the guard rotations. He planned all of this…

“You and Malakai have conspired against the king,” I said.

More gasps and Malakai gaped. “I would never–” He started to defend himself when Keanu stood, but he hesitated.

I pulled the dagger from my skirts. I’d been carrying it, in case anything happened to me. And, perhaps, I’d been carrying it for this moment to prove my case when I found the murderer.