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“This? Nobody else knows yet, but we have caught someone – possibly the culprit or perhaps just one of the messengers of the enemy.”
My nose flared. Anyone involved in what happened to my father deserved my ire. I did not realize my body was moving towards the door until I felt a slight push on my chest. Leevar reined me in.
“Your Majesty, my job is to keep you safe. That storm means you should stay inside. A Seer is here. We can have her stay connected with the rest of her kind.”
“Nothing is certain at the moment, Your Majesty,” agreed Samara. “You need to stay here for now. We will send her here when we find that the woman had something to do with King Doro’s assassination. She would have to stand trial here.”
“A woman?” I asked incredulously.
I had nothing against the thought of women being strong, but how could I punch this assassin? How could I wring her to the ground and pummel her with my fists? How could I ask her to fight me one on one in the courtyard?
“Do not be too surprised, Your Majesty. Do you expect a man as large as your guard to come to your father’s banquet and not be noticed?”
“What about a glamor, then?”
“Well, it is easier to focus on one magic if your form is already suitable. The woman we have caught is small. She could have slipped unnoticed or may have even worked with the servants.”
“Did she admit it?”
“No, but she is close to squealing. Her magical prints are on the dart, but we could detect something else there. She knows that we are close, but she is holding out. Waiting it out, for something,” Samara said, thoughtfully.
“Are her people responsible for whatever this weather is?”
“Strangely, no. It seems like you are dealing with two factions, Your Majesty. One is responsible for your father’s death. The other is responsible for the storm. How they are connected, we are yet to find out. However, we at least know a part of the puzzle.”
“Wella,” I called one of my maidservants. “Take Samara to one of the rooms upstairs. Get her some change of clothes.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. I will be here for the night. Tomorrow, terrible weather or not, I will return to the Seers’ Village. Or at least try,” she murmured.
Leevar’s eyes were intent on the Seer. I was not sure if he simply found her pretty or if he wondered if she had gone completely insane by saying she would force herself through a storm if need be. Perhaps both.
“Can you send a message to them after you have changed your clothes and have had some refreshments?” I asked. I wanted some answers right then and there. More than what she had so far given me.
“Yes, your Majesty. I can do more than that. I can let you see them.”
It was one of the things I kept on forgetting about Seers. They were more than telepaths. They could not only see, but they could also let other people see what they saw. I was impatient for whatever vision she could show me.
Could I perhaps also ask her to show me my wife? And my sister.
Wella led the Seer away to the hall. I could still hear their footsteps as they went up the stairs. I did not know what I was expecting, still standing there with Leevar. His mouth was hanging open.
“Are you not the smitten one, huh, Leevar? I thought you were betrothed to Fiera?”
“I am not betrothed, Your Majesty. Fiera had chosen another man,” he confessed. “But I am not smitten. No, I am not. She is a Seer. I just have not seen a golden-haired one. I was simply wondering if she is a foreigner like me.”
I grunted, not entirely convinced. We returned to the hall and resumed eating. Leevar returned to his own table with the rest of the guards as I returned to mine with some of the courtiers. Soon, we also saw Samara enter the Hall with Wella. People turned towards her, curious. But since this was Arrowspear, they recognized how different she looked but did not dwell on it. They went back to their noonday meal. The noise resumed.
After the meal, everyone else cleared up and left the hall. They would either be back to their duties or go to their chambers. While the wind had somehow abated, there was nothing to do outside.
Samara, accompanied by Wella, approached my table.
“Your Majesty, what do you want me to do first?” she asked.
“Let me see the assassin. Where is she now? What is she doing?”
“Is that really what you want to do now? Do you not want to see your wife and your sister?”
She was not a Seer for nothing. Of course, she knew. She could see into my mind
“I want to end the day with pleasant things. Perhaps, I want to see them near twilight. For now, I want to see the assassin.”
Samara closed her eyes. She lifted her arms into the sky, looking majestic even in her borrowed grey cotton dress. Then, she uttered an incantation.
Then, the Seer vanished before my eyes. Even the hall was gone. Instead, I found myself in the receiving area of the Seer’s Village. A young woman, tall and slim, stood in the middle of it all. Her arms were bound behind her back.
I turned to look at her face and gasped.
The would-be assassin looked like an older version of Rowali.
