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"Come on," Ama said, standing and brushing crumbs off her fine silk gown. "If we keep them waiting, they'll just be grumpy. And if something has gone wrong with mother's matchmaking game, she will already be in a mood as it is."
I chuckled as I hurried to the mirror to make sure I didn't have food in my teeth or jam on my face. It had been a rather boisterous breakfast, since we were alone. We had discussed how smitten Ama was with her pretty new suitor. Then I had tried my hardest—and failed—not to show my bias while we discussed the "assets" of the most handsome tournament competitors, which of course included all of Raven team. This was why we were having breakfast in her private quarters, rather than one of the dozens of nooks and parlors scattered around the palace. We needed privacy so we could be as inappropriate as possible.
Once we were both acceptable for a public appearance, we hurried past the guards through the private wing and into the king and queen's private office. A bunch of people were just leaving—officials of some sort, as well as the high magistrate. I frowned as worry settled in the pit of my stomach. It was no secret there had been cheating and suspected sabotage going on during the tournament. I had made the officials and the queen aware of my suspicions regarding the "accidents" that I knew of—Fife's poisoning, Adder's broken bowstring, someone pushing Bach's squire into the sword ring, and the incident with Adder being assaulted by magic during the obstacle course challenge.
I was sure there were more incidents that I wasn't aware of. But there was only so much the officials could do to prevent foul play, short of a mass compulsion spell. And that kind of manipulation of free will was frowned upon. The queen's spell to protect my identity was already pushing it.
What if someone had been seriously injured this time? My chest clenched at the thought. This game wasn't worth it. I wasn't worth it.
"What's happened?" Amaryllis demanded before the doors had even shut behind us. She didn't wait for a greeting or a by-your-leave from the king and queen. We were all family here. My friend saw I was upset, and she was intent on getting answers on my behalf, protocol bedamned.
King Wolfsbane arched a brow at his daughter. "Sit down," he said, as calm as always. He pointed to a couple of chairs across from the big, gleaming desk where he sat. The queen perched on the corner of the desk like a child swathed in yards of expensive velvet and lace, her face a delicate, beautiful, blank mask I knew meant she was not happy.
I took a seat beside Ama and clutched my hands together in my lap. "Please, your majesty," I said as calmly as I could. "Is it to do with the tournament? Is everyone well?"
Queen Iris tsked at my question.
The king ignored his peeved wife and looked down at the official-looking papers on his desk. "It seems that late yesterday afternoon, the city guard and magistrate were called on to investigate when a substantial sum of money went missing from the funds of the local worker's charity. Bear team was implicated in the theft, and the city guard spent all evening rounding up the suspects, questioning witnesses, and completing their investigation."
I opened my mouth to tell him I really didn't believe the men of Bear team were thieves. I didn't know them well, but from my brief conversations with them, they all seemed so honest and hardworking. It had to be an attempt to eliminate them from the competition.
The king held up a hand, silencing me before I could voice my thoughts. "While everyone was busy with that, in the wee hours of the night, the storage shed holding all the donations recently collected for the orphanage went up in flames."
"Oh, no," Amaryllis said, glancing my way in sympathy. "I know Raven team worked so hard on that charity drive, and the children were looking forward to it. Perhaps we can increase our funding to them for a time to make up for it."
I opened my mouth, but I was once more interrupted before I could utter a word. Queen Iris stood in a flurry of swishing skirts, flowery perfume, and barely restrained magic. "Of course we will help, but that's entirely beside the point." She waved a hand impatiently. "The entire Raven team was also inside the building when it caught fire." She looked one step away from gnashing her teeth. "Apparently, they had stayed there late sorting and documenting all the donations."
I shot to the edge of my chair, clenching the cushion to keep from flying to my feet. "What?! Are they okay? How did that even happen?"
The queen arched a brow at my rather loud, panicked outburst. "They were trapped inside," she said in a too-calm voice. "And most of the officials and the city guard were busy with the uproar over the theft at the worker's charity and the implications of a corrupt team in a royally sanctioned event."
No. Oh, no. I swallowed around the lump in my throat. Bach and all of his friends. The men he considered family. Had they…had they all died because of this stupid tournament? Maybe this was how the goddess repaid me for being so selfish and vain.
Ama put a hand on my shoulder, holding me down before I could jump up and start pacing and pulling my hair out. "They were all lost, then?" she asked when I couldn't.
The words burned like daggers sunk into my chest. No, I didn't know them well, but I had hoped to. And I knew enough about them to know that they were all good men. No one deserved to die for my sake, no matter who they were.
"No," the queen said thoughtfully, still eyeing me like she was sorting out a new puzzle. "Someone barred the door and window from outside—sealed them with magic. But it seems the leader of Raven team has a water affinity. And one of their team is also a strong cleric, though he's asked for us to keep that information to ourselves, for whatever reason. They were singed and suffered from some smoke inhalation, but were able to put out the fire and escape relatively unscathed. Most of the donations were ruined, however. And anyone else likely would have died."
I collapsed back in my seat with a massive sigh of relief. "Oh. Thank the goddess."
The queen arched a brow at me. "You seem very invested in the wellbeing of Raven team, Kat."
I rolled my eyes. "Because I'm glad no one died?"
But she was onto me, and her slight smirk said it all. "You didn't ask how things played out with the thieving members of Bear team."
I waved away her implications. "Well, they weren't in danger of dying!"
The king huffed. "They might be if they used a royal tournament as an excuse to steal from a charity!"
I gaped at him. "You won't execute them! You know this is more of the same petty griffinshit that's been happening since the tournament started! They didn't steal that money."
King Wolfsbane didn't reprimand me for language that would have gotten anyone else in hot water. He simply let out a dark chuckle. "No. They didn't. They've already been cleared of the charges, and they are still in possession of their heads. And all of their appendages."
I shook my head at how gleeful the Gray King seemed at the thought of beheadings or dismemberment.
"And," the queen added with a sly look, "they're still allowed to take part in the tournament, in case you care about that."
