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Surprised, Ber studied the man. Had he ever heard rumors that Aony doted on his sister? He couldn’t recall any, but there must be a great deal that the duke’s family kept private for such sentiment to go unremarked. Abandoning this much leverage for the sake of the lady’s debut revealed far more than a mere threat would.
“I will do my best,” Ber answered, and this time, it was the duke’s eyes that flashed with surprise at the easy agreement. “If I can divert the king’s attention, it would be worthwhile just to have you out of my way. However, we both know he can be unpredictable.”
Aony’s lips twitched downward, but he inclined his head readily enough. “Understood. I’ll be watching for the results. But then, I have a suggestion that might help. I’ve heard that Ilduin’s daughter has parted ways with her husband. She’ll be fully free for remarriage by the end of your mourning period. Not thatyou’llbe free, of course.”
With that pointed comment, the duke bowed and took his leave. Ber stared after him until he’d disappeared into the crowd, but he couldn’t force himself to follow. Not yet. He had much to consider after that conversation. At some point, alliances had shifted, for Aony and Ilduin appeared to be at odds. It had been Ilduin who’d reminded him of the duke’s sister.
Perhaps it was time for a bit of quiet information-gathering. It wouldn’t be easy, now that he was the crown prince, but any amount of time he could spend listening in on the nobles would help. Beyond that, he could slip into the city to speak with a few of his contacts. He needed to check on the tone of things amongst the general populace, anyway.
The more Ber could learn, the better.
It tooka little longer than usual to settle the babies in the nursery, so the night was well-gone when Tes joined Ria and the kings in their private dining room. The quiet space was a blessed relief from the formal court meals that she would soon have to resume attending—if she hadn’t returned to Centoi by then. Who knew? Planning for the future was a questionable exercise at best.
As soon as the servants placed their dessert plates on the table, Toren dismissed them from the room. After the initial shuffle of feet, silence descended, that unusual stillness that one rarely experienced with so many people around. Then Mehl took a bite of his cake, and the quiet was broken by the sounds of cutlery as the other two joined him.
But not Tes. She’d barely managed to eat anything during the other courses, and this confection held little more interest than the rest. Her thoughts were too centered on Ber—and how she might test him. Nothing she’d considered promised certainty. Why would it? Knowing another’s true heart was an impossibility she’d given up on centuries ago.
An approximation was the best one could hope for.
So. What would be the best form of test? The most obvious would be providing Ber with false information and waiting to see how far it would spread. She had a few confidants in the castle and a couple more in the city who might help. Unfortunately, Cairi was her best contact there, but Tes didn’t dare speak with the light globe artisan about this. It would put her friend at risk to fall under scrutiny again. But maybe the tavern keeper near the eastern gates?
He would be an excellent point of contact for an exchange of information. But there was one big problem—she had no clue what kind of message might make an appropriate test. It would have to be something Toren’s spies could listen for, something Ber might be tempted to spread around the court. What would stand out without causing harm?
Of course, Toren could simply tell his brother any message she considered instead of going through an intermediary. The question would be which method would stand a chance of tricking Ber, who would surely be expecting such a thing. In truth, that might be the biggest problem. They knew each other too well.
But what if she chose another path? She had an artifact that would allow her to return to Centoi when she wished, provided she had enough energy to activate it. There had to be a way to use that to her advantage. If she could think of the right plan, she might truly catch him off guard.
“Ryssa?” Fingers wrapped around her forearm. “Are you unwell?”
Instinctively, Tes twisted her arm free before she’d processed Ria’s voice. Her friend jerked her hand back, and her expression held a fair amount of hurt. “Sorry,” Tes murmured. “I was lost in thought, and you startled me.”
The tension eased from Ria’s face. “I should have considered that possibility before I grabbed you. But I did call your name several times.”
No, you didn’t,Tes wanted to say, but even in apparent privacy, it was better not to speak that truth aloud. It didn’t matter, in any case. The alias was for Tes’s protection, after all, not Ria’s. The queen didn’t deserve her growing annoyance over the false name.
Across the table, Toren studied Tes closely. “I’d wondered if you might need our aid,” he said. “I ordered the servants out so that we could speak more freely.”
The other three all looked at her with earnest caring—enough that she could almost believe in their sincerity. Not that she didn’t trust them. She did…to a point. She wouldn’t have left Speran with them otherwise. But at her core, Tes had long ago accepted that she might never fully trust another person after her father’s many betrayals. Only Ber had slipped past those defenses, and that had ended terribly.
It felt unnatural to give them the fullness of her thoughts. Yet what choice did she have but to take that risk? She would need help to wrest the Centoi throne from her horrid father, and these three had come the closest to anyone in proving their honorable intent. Possibly even true friendship.
With that in mind, Tes pried her lips open and allowed herself to speak candidly. “I’ve been contemplating the message you shared with me and how to test the sender’s intentions.”
“The sender?” A line formed between Mehl’s brows. “There’s no one else here, so you needn’t prevaricate.”
Tes shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “This room is only moderately shielded.”
“I can attest that it’s currently secure,” Mehl replied. “My magic confirms it. I used to be a bodyguard, if you recall.”
She did recall, yet tension still pinned her shoulders to the back of her seat. Thanks to her father, dining rooms never felt secure. They were too often places of showy gestures or underhanded plotting—the latter most common in a room much like this one. But Mehl’s words also held truth. If she were to trust them with everything, she might as well begin with this.
“Fine. My thoughts had just turned to the teleportation artifact when Ria called my name,” Tes said. “Perhaps I could use it to observe how he receives a message if I’m clever aboutwhen and where I teleport. Time your communication for a meal, and I could watch in the guise of a servant. I need to eavesdrop on the noble tables, too, if I can manage both.”
Ria dropped her fork with a clatter. “Last time you did such a thing, you were captured.”
Tes grimaced. “Only because Mehl was looking for anything out of place.”
“Don’t you think Ber will be watching for the same?” Toren asked, one brow raised. “It might be more beneficial to give him the opportunity for betrayal.”
