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I swatted that comment away. “I know that, but that didn’t mean I wanted to believe her.”
Van moved to stand between me and the offending body, and I hoped he had an answer for why this happened. “You gained more power, and Tiarnan doesn’t want you getting ideas about usurping his claim to the throne.”
“I don’t want the throne.” I leaned back in the chair and wished things were different. That this court would somehow change, but it never did. “I thought after all this time—after everything I’ve done—that would be clear enough to everyone at court.”
“You could’ve changed your mind.”
“I haven’t.”
He crossed his arms. “But they don’t know that.” Van’s tone was patient and logical and annoying the shit out of me.
I stood from my chair. I couldn’t sit still or else I’d do something I’d regret. “He’s my brother. He should know how I feel about this, and if he didn’t, he should be man enough to come talk to me.” It shouldn’t hurt, but it did. I was disappointed in him, and if he’d acted out—that meant that the rest of the court wouldn’t be far behind.
“That’s not the way of the fey.”
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to laugh or scream or cry or punch Van in the face. But it wasn’t Van’s fault our people were so twisted. And nothing I could do would fix this. My new power was going to be a problem.
A thought hit me. I spun to face Van. “Are Elowen and Kyra at their courts?” Solar and Leaves courts were different than Lunar in some key ways, but not in this. They gained power, and that meant they’d be in the same boat as me.
“I’m not sure where they are. I haven’t had a ton of contact with the other realms since we g
ot here.”
The way time behaved in the fey courts always caused communication problems. Unless I used a mirror like my mother’s—which was extremely rare and not worth the favor—tech behaved terribly. “I’ll send word to them. Either way, they should be on alert.” I sighed. Although they wouldn’t thank me for the warning. By telling them, it showed concern, which meant that I thought they were weak.
Court politics was tiresome.
“How long has he been here?” I pointed to the headless assassin on the floor.
Van glanced down at the body beside his feet. “From the look of him, days.” Van nudged the body with his foot, and then looked at me. The anger on his face had me taking a step back. “He’s been here for days, watching us, waiting for you to be distracted enough to make a move, and I had no idea….”
“No.” That he’d been here for so long made all the hairs on my arms stand on end. He’d been watching me. For days. There was a reason this would never feel like my home no matter how many knickknacks I put up.
“Why didn’t he act sooner?”
“I don’t know.”
Days? “Why didn’t we sense him? Are the wards failing?” We had some around my room to keep me safe while I slept. No one without approval of three guards should’ve gotten past the door.
“No. The wards are fine. I tested them when I reinforced them a moment ago.”
This was so much worse than I’d thought. “That means we have a traitor.”
A traitor. How was that possible? I’d trusted my guards with my life for years, and for them to betray me now? After everything we’ve been through? “Are you sure?”
“If anyone clears the room other than me, it takes three guards to reset the wards. The guards always check when your staff come in and out of here. Which means at least three of my men knew there was an assassin inside your suite and covered his tracks, repeatedly. I’m not sure we can trust anyone right now.” There was ice in his voice now. I’d only heard it a few times before, but whoever betrayed us was already dead. They just didn’t know it yet.
He was right. My guards had been with me for so long that I treated them more like family than I did my own blood relations. If they’d turned on me, then I wasn’t sure who I could trust besides Van.
I strode to him, resting my head against his shoulder. “I hate it here.” The whine in my voice hurt my pride a bit, but I couldn’t help it. I really, truly hated court.
Van wrapped his arm around me and squeezed my shoulder. “I know you do. Marrying the right one should help this.”
I pulled just far enough away from him to see his eyes. “Are you sure?” Because I wasn’t so sure. If my own brother had turned against me, then what good would marrying do?
“The right match will be a show of power and with the blessing of your mother, you’ll be reconfirmed at court. It will prove that you’re playing along. Even the gods have to play by the rules to keep peace in the realms.”
He was quiet for a second, but the firm press of his lips told me that he was holding something back.
