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Ogden being here meant I could step down—should step down. I bowed my head. “My king, there was no time to find you. Razak had poisoned the wine—”
Ogden raised a hand and silence fell. The wind hissed sand across the floor. The King of War studied his warriors, then moved forward, toward Lark. Lark lifted his chin, even as he swayed. Ogden might demand his execution, and there would be nothing I could do. He might free the axe from his back and take Lark’s head in front of me…
I took a step, but Noemi caught my hand, holding me back.
“What justice is this?” I whispered. But in the quiet, my whisper became loud.
“‘Justice’?” Ogden echoed.
Lark bowed his head. “I am at War’s mercy.”
His contrition may have saved his life.
Ogden dwarfed Lark’s prone, shivering body. Any moment now, Ogden would reach for his axe and take Lark’s head.
Ogden stiffened. “There is no honor in killing a beaten enemy.”Oh by Dallin, spare Lark… please, just spare him.“Yet, vermin should be eradicated, lest it spreads.”
Vermin?!How dare he…!This was not my court, not my place. But I couldn’t stay silent. Lark didn’t deserve this. Draven caught my eye and shook his head in warning.
“He saved you,” I declared, then regarded the crowd. “All of you.”
“Arin—” Draven moved, as though to stop me speaking.
“No.” I pulled from Noemi’s light grip. “He was sent here to kill you all, it’s true—”
Growls rumbled. No gasps here. They all wanted blood, preferably Razak’s, but Lark’s would suffice.
“But he had no choice.” I approached the king, and Lark—who sat with his head bowed and his shoulders heaving. “He’s never had a choice.” My heart broke for him, the traitor’s son. Cast out, then imprisoned. If just a small amount of what I’d been told was true, then he’d known nothing but pain and agony. But I knew him now. I saw him, I’d seen him when he played his music before my court fell to his brother’s scheming. His music was the truest part of him. Like his scars, it did not lie. To know Lark, you had to hear him play.
“Draven, rein in yourhusband,” the king growled.
I stepped around Ogden, placing myself neatly between his bulk and Lark.
Draven approached. I could be restrained. I had the ceremonial dagger, our wedding gift, but I wasn’t going to use it on Draven and they knew it. “I do not care what you think of me,” I said. “I’ll not stand by and let anyone, even a king, lay a hand on Lark.”
A small sob fell from Lark. I heard his every ragged breath. He was hurting, but he was alive, and every second I stopped Ogden from swinging his axe was another second Lark would use to get stronger.
“You have Razak,” I said. “If you want to take heads, take his. He orchestrated all this. Lark is… just his tool.”
Ogden sneered. “I knew you’d be trouble in my court, Arin.”
“Do you praise the sword for the kill, or the warrior?” My shattered heart thumped. I had to get through to Ogden, to make him see Lark was a victim.
Ogden relented and stepped back. “That man is no sword, and Razak no warrior.” He turned his back and stomped away. “I want Zayan out of my court by dawn! Razak shall be shackled and dealt with accordingly.”
Noemi’s voice lifted. “Razak must face Justice.”
“Oh, he will,” Ogden grumbled.
I stared after the king. His warriors stood down, sneering about the lack of bloodshed. Hopefully, they’d return to the feasting hall and drink and feast themselves into a coma. I couldn’t have cared less what they did, so long as they left Lark alone.
Noemi hurried to my side. “Razak still has the crown.”
“Go with him to the dungeon. Find out what you can, where he went after he ran from here, who he saw… anything. He hasn’t left the palace, so the crown is here, we just need to find it.”
She squeezed my shoulder and smiled. “Razak’s in Justice’s hands now. We’ll ensure he can’t hurt anyone else. It’s over, Arin.”
I should have been reassured, but the missing crown was a loose end, even if Razak was behind bars.
