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“We don’t truly understand his motivations. Rumor can be a powerful tool of confusion.” Damon took a sip of his wine. “On the surface, it would seem like he’d make a regrettable choice as monarch. Who then, you?”
“Argh.” Nald threw his hands up. “I’m too busy to worry about seeking the throne. However, if my inaction might lead to someone like Normund seizing power, I suppose I could tolerate the burden of guiding Frostmarch for a time.”
“You disapprove of monarchy?” asked Allison, sensing a strong contempt for the idea in him.
Nald shifted his attention to her. His expression softened from determined annoyance to a warm smile. “It is not a popular opinion, especially among the wealthy. My objection is not so much with the notion of monarchy in general but with how rulers are chosen. It would be ideal, I think, if the king or queen were chosen from among any, regardless of their birthright or social strata. They who won the support of the majority of the citizens should wear the crown for… some amount of time and then step down. A decade at most, then we choose a new leader.”
“If you ever do that,” muttered Kingsley. “Try to avoid having only two political parties.”
“You’re saying we should have more than two.” Nald stroked his short beard.
“At least four. Maybe even five.” Kingsley grinned. “Keeps power from concentrating in dynastic pseudo-monarchies.”
Allison blinked at him. “I had no idea you knew such big words.”
“Alas, I fear things will not change,” said Nald, sighing. “We shall be forever beholden to a hereditary king or queen… for such time until the last of the nobles have killed each other off.”
Oh, wow. Allison’s eyes widened. Could this guy be behind the assassination attempts because he’s trying to kill everyone off so there are no more kings or queens? We’ve been so focused on people coveting the crown, the idea of simply destroying monarchy never even came up.
Damon set his hands on his hips. “The true reason for my visit here is to try and discover the origin of this plot. I do not think you are involved. Rather, you have a unique position among your peers. Dare I say becoming king would not be an improvement for you.”
Nald laughed. “Certainly not.”
“Where do you think I should focus my attention?” Damon nodded toward Allison. “My seer is certain that a dark presence from another realm has infiltrated Tarramor and is either influencing one of the noble heads—or has slain and replaced them with a false duplicate.”
Nald gawked at him, then gave Allison a look as if to ask if this woman before him had full possession of her faculties. “You believe this Allendria’s stories, Radaan?”
“I am not out of my mind.” Allison smiled and cast her weakest lightning bolt spell, summoning a little glowing amber spark, which danced around her fingers. “My abilities are quite real, and the warning is quite dire. We do not know who the darkness has chosen. If someone is truly only being charmed, it is not too late to stop them.”
Damon gestured at Nald. “You speak with the others much more often than I. Have any of them been acting in strange ways as of late?”
“Radaan, my friend,” said Nald, chuckling, “you know as well as I that they always act in strange ways.”
“Indeed. I mean more strange than usual.” Damon twirled his hand about at random. “If you had to choose which of the nobles is hiring assassins, who would you cast suspicion toward?”
Nald pondered for a long, quiet moment. “I don’t think any of them have the nerve for it.” He shook his head. “I also do not believe these assassins are truly trying to kill any of us. They dress all in black, ambush us right out in the open in broad daylight, and are not terribly difficult to fend off. No, my friend, these are staged.” He tapped a finger to his chin, shifting his eyes to Damon without moving his head. “The source of the assassins is most likely someone in the royal house attempting to unsettle us all so that whoever killed the king and queen makes a mistake and reveals themselves.”
Damon stared at him for a short period of silence. “You’re not accusing Queen Thae?”
“Of course not. She’s a child.” Nald waved dismissively. “Someone in her sphere, though. The regent. Perhaps even the nursemaid. The child is the last of her line, though.”
“What are your thoughts on House Normund?” asked Kingsley.
“Malin Normund is certainly the sort of man who might resort to violence to seize power.” Nald stared down. “Some have wondered if he used magic to drive the stableman mad.”
Kingsley scratched at his arm. “Pardon. I only just arrived. What happened to the stableman?”
“One of the royal stable workers dressed as a castle guard, entered the keep at night, and killed the king and queen in their bed,” said Damon. “The man then flung himself out of the tower to his death. Some say dark magic was at work. Though, the accusations of House Normund practicing forgotten arts are merely that, accusations.”
“Can’t be Galahir.” Nald frowned. “Unless they, too, are under the sway of dark magic. Neither of them would be able to maintain their composure if they believed they’d done such things.”
Damon chuckled. “The siblings are rather naïve. Almost like they don’t even belong in this world.”
Nald, evidently finding the comment hilarious, laughed so hard he needed to balance himself on the back of a nearby sofa.
Over the next several minutes, Damon discussed the other noble houses. Nald thought them all equally likely to be responsible, which is to say not terribly likely. He considered House Teredwyn spineless enough to let assassins do the dirty work. House Londuin would use assassins purely out of laziness. Anvar hated pulling time away from his artistic pursuits, so anything he could pay someone else to do for him, he would. Nald kept circling back to the idea that someone close to Queen Thae hired the assassins not to kill anyone, merely to scare them into doing something stupid.
Oh, crap. Allison bit her lip. Could Nesanth possibly be the child queen? Could Nesanth be... Thae?
