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Soon enough, she would find out.
Forcing strength into her spine, Tes crept toward the door. The light might have helped her break through the worst of her strong reaction to the alcove, but it presented another concern. The princess’s suite should have been unoccupied. Dark. Ber had returned to his old room, and the servants would only do a cursory cleaning once a week—in themorning, not evening. Aside from that, mourning customs should have kept any away for at least another year.
Tes pressed her back against the wall beside the door and strained her ears for any hint of sound. Nothing. She would need to scan with her magic to be sure, which she would rather avoid. The artifact hadn’t taken as much energy to activate as she’d feared, but in a situation like this, preservation of resources was key.
But so was not stumbling into danger.
She settled the spell in her mind and was nearly ready to release it when a soft click caught her attention. Then footsteps—bold ones, not careful and shuffling. There was a scrape, the same sound the blue-upholstered sofa made against the floor if one sat too abruptly. Or heavily, as Ber usually had. Could it be him?
“That will be all,” Ber said, his muffled voice making her jump despite its distance. “Sir Halueth may stay to give his report.”
Tes’s brow furrowed. A report? In the princess’s suite?
“Alright, Halueth. Give me your honest thoughts.”
“As you wish, Your Highness.” A pause. “It would seem like the artisan was a distraction, and in effect that was true. I and two others tracked her until the archer struck. But she never looked in the assassin’s direction, and her fearful reaction to the attack appeared genuine. I suspect her assistance was unwitting.”
So therehadbeen an incident. Though Ber sounded unharmed, Tes pressed her fist against her stomach to still the anxiety building there. Could she have really felt him being wounded? How bad was it?
“Suspicious, but possibly a ploy,” Ber continued. “What else?”
“It…was the other bodyguards, Your Highness. When I noted their hesitation, I turned back. That’s when I noticed that hesitation had become a deliberate pause. They’d been surprised by the woman, but they hadn’t appeared alarmed by the archer.”
A deliberate pause.
Anger dampened Tes’s nerves the way nothing else could. Whatever had happened, the bodyguards had stood back. And that kind of action required one of two things: an order from the king or certainty in the success of their betrayal. Either one needed a strong—and prompt—response.
No matter how much she hated the alcove, she had to remain near.
Chapter 19
Bittersweet
Every muscle in Ber’s body screamed in protest, and exhaustion blurred his vision at the edges. But he had to make it through this crucial meeting before calling for a second round of healing.Come on, you’ve dealt with worse.At the reminder, he straightened in his seat and met Halueth’s gaze, even if his own gaze wasn’t as sharp as he would have liked.
“Normally, I would order the negligent bodyguards hauled to the dungeon, and the king might yet do so once he learns of the attack,” Ber said. “In the meantime, I would like for you to observe them and report back. To me alone, I hope you understand.”
Halueth bowed. “I do indeed, Your Highness. I will carry out your command now.”
Ber was happy to release him to do so. As soon as the man had closed the door, Ber allowed himself to recline against the soft blue sofa, though he didn’t go as far as swinging his feet up for a true rest. He couldn’t bring himself to be so vulnerable, not the way he was feeling. He didn’t know how or why, but the evening’s madness wasn’t over. His senses screamed with the warning of…something.
Part of it might be his edginess from the room itself. There was too muchTesfor his lonely heart to handle. His memories tangled constantly with remnants of her scent and flecks of her lingering magic. Especially tonight. Had she practiced her spellwork on this sofa? Her energy signature felt stronger, almost as though she was near him.
Ber frowned. She couldn’t have entered the secret tunnels again, could she? Surely not. Yet amidst the chaos of the attack, itwaspossible that he’d missed the notification spell triggering. It was a weak and subtle magic, limited by his low power. He shot upright, examining the little spell with his meager talents. It seemed undisturbed, but—
She doesn’t need it.
She had his ring.
If she’d decided to spy on him, he might truly be sensing her magic. He had to search the room to find out. Ber stumbled to his feet, but the door swung open before he’d taken a step. King Ryenil strode through, two of the bodyguards from the garden trailing behind him.
The warriors took their usual stance beside the doors as though they hadn’t just failed to protect the heir to the throne. A silent, pointed confirmation that they had the king’s support. They wouldn’t have been allowed to return to duty otherwise.
“Ah, my son, you’re well-healed,” Ryenil said, the concern in his voice sounding hollow after his choice of guards. “It seems your training hasn’t gone amiss, for I hear you tackled the assassin yourself. Did you manage to get any information out of him?”
It hadn’t felt like a blessing at the time, but now, Ber was grateful that the bodyguards had taken their time approaching the assassin. It made the lie easier. “I’m afraid I killed him before I thought to ask. Perhaps the poison was already muddling my thoughts.”
Annoyance flashed across the king’s face for the briefest moment. “Too bad. It would have been convenient to know our enemy.”
