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“An Alpha from the borders,” I explained. “He was invited to the coronation ceremony to represent the people of Boroville, but was unable to attend. We received several gifts in recompense.”
“Unable to attend,” Olympia mulled, nibbling on the edge of her fingernail. “I wonder why. I had a meeting with him this morning—that was the reason I left Highblade Palace so early.”
A frown touched my brow. “What meeting was this?”
“To discuss the grievances of the border people, and how Vetri could make their lives better. Almanera had been pushing this meeting for years, but we simply didn’t have the time,” she explained. “I didn’t think it was odd before, but Almanera seemed…surprisedwhen we appeared.”
“Surprised, how?”
“There wasn’t a welcome party awaiting us,” she began, speaking slowly as though recalling details from that morning. “I presumed it was because we were early, but only by mere minutes. His council members seemed ill-prepared to greet us. There was no welcome tea or ceremony, as there usually is.”
“Very rude,” I acknowledged.
“But perhaps it wasn’t rudeness,” she mulled, picking at a hangnail on her thumb. “Perhaps he was certain I wouldn’t arrive. Everyone seemed jittery and… I don’t know,afraid. I thought perhaps they had not received royalty before.”
“What do you know of Almanera?” I questioned, crossing my arms as I evaluated the information Olympia provided.
“Not much. When we met this morning, he spent hours campaigning for self-governance.” She paused for thought. “Although he did insinuate that Agnivale was doing a better job at supporting their journey to self-governance. And he also implied that Agnivale was overstepping borderlines near the north coast and tapping into resources that belonged to Vetri.”
My spine snapped to attention. “On whose authority?”
Olympia stared at me as though I was short a few brain cells.
“Yours.”
Chapter Seventeen
Olympia
It was becoming apparent that Almanera was a two-faced bastard.
But one question remained a mystery: did Almanera have anything to do with the assassination attempt on Zoei’s life? Or was this all an untimely coincidence?
“Myauthority?” Zoei repeated, crossing her arms defensively. Her features took on a comical twist. “That’s news to me. The borders haven’t been on my radar for years. They’re self-sufficient, according to the council. We haven’t had an official meeting with Almanera or any other Boroville representative inyears.”
“They are self-sufficient,” I acknowledged with a nod. “Which is the reason why the Vetri council has let them enjoy limited autonomy for the past decade. We have minimal say in their day-to-day politics.”
“I can’t claim that we’re any different,” Zoei mulled aloud. “The borders have a unique mix of people with different powers and different histories.”
I nodded, cupping my hands around the large ledger. “We have always believed that heritage should be preserved, especially one as complex and unique as the borderlands. People should have the freedom to govern themselves in matters that concern their land and culture, and Vetri is happy to provide that autonomy.”
“Within a structure that still requires leaders to report their every move to the council.”
“Not every move,” I corrected her. “Only the ones pertaining to national importance.”
As she considered my words, I thumbed through the ledger again.
“I noticed you didn’t mark his name with a star,” I said, running my fingers over Almanera’s name in a neat, looping penmanship.
“That’s because he was never a threat,” Zoei explained, the lines on her forehead deepening as her lips turned downward into a pronounced frown. Her brows knit together in a tight, troubled expression. “Before today, I’d met him only once at last year’s Feast Festival. He tried to corner me for a conversation, but I was needed elsewhere.”
“What did he wish to speak about?” I questioned, leaning back against the windowsill. “Do you remember?”
She perched hesitantly on the edge of the bed, testing her weight on the mattress.
“Not a clue,” she said, crossing her legs at the knees. “I didn’t deem it important.”
“Perhaps that’s our problem,” I sighed. “We repeatedly dismissed Almanera’s requests for an audience.”
