AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sire?” he called.
“Do it yourself. You may find you enjoy it. And don’t read my letters again!”
The crown wasn’t here. It hadn’t been in Pain for years, which was why Razak always wore the prince’s crown, not the king’s. I should have known! If he’d had access to a king’s crown, he’d have worn it at every opportunity.
I grabbed a handful of gold coins from the crates and hurried up the spiral stairs.
I had to get to Arin. I didn’t have the crown, but I had information which could prove almost as valuable. Arin would know what to do next. We’d return to the Overlook Inn, meet with Draven, discover the whereabouts of War’s crown, and then we’d decide whether we could still stop Razak from getting his hands on all four crowns. Although, the fact Pain’s crown was in Justice’s Court did not bode well. My brother was there,exactly where he needed to be, as he’d delighted in telling me.
Damn him.
“To the tower,” I called to the coachman and jogged down the portico’s steps.
He tipped his cap and held out a sealed letter, damp from rain. “A runner brought this, Sire.”
I snatched it from his fingers, climbed into the carriage, and tore open the letter as the carriage got underway.Prince Razak,Attend the council chamber as a matter of urgency.The council was the last place I needed to be, especially as they likely knew I’d lied.
I scrunched the letter and tossed it from the window.
If they knew I was Zayan, they’d kill Arin.
Panic prickled my veins. Once back at the tower, I’d order the coachman to wait outside, collect Arin, and we’d ride out of this grim city, leaving its endless rain and Razak’s influence behind for good.
The nightmare was almost over.
Coins clinked in my pocket. I plucked one free and rippled it across the backs of my left hand’s fingers. Gold shimmered. I had enough gold in my pocket to keep Arin and I clothed and fed for weeks. We could walk away tomorrow, and perhaps we should. With no court and no army, just Arin’s optimism, my charm, and Draven’s blades—assuming Ogden hadn’t tossed him back out into the sands—what could do we do to stop Razak anyway?
Luck would only get us so far. And eventually, that luck would run out. I tossed the coin, watched it spin in the air, and snatched it into a fist.
The sands…Wait. The documents, the names.
War threw their unwanted things into the sands.
Draven’s name in Pain’s documents, War’s less-than-perfect children were tossed away, and Draven refused to speak of it…
A son. Draven. Age 6?
There was more here, threads of truth weaving together, crafting a picture I did not like.
But Draven didn’t lie, he wasn’t cunning or sly. Yet when I’d been drugged and dying on War’s temple floor, Draven had chased Razak and the crown. He’d reappeared later, without either.
Had he been working against us this whole time?
No, that wasn’t Draven’s way. He couldn’t fool me. But that name on the documents, the child’s age, and Draven’s dead son. What if the son wasn’t dead, what if Razak had him, using the boy as leverage over Draven?
Age 6.
War tossed their broken things away.
People went to extremes for love.
I loved Arin, and I’d do anything for him; I’d lie, cheat, kill. Was it such a stretch that a warrior of War would do the same for his child?
It was all theories, no proof. But what if I’d missed it, because Draven was… Draven. Handsome to look at but not complicated. And Arin had missed it, because Arin had married the man, a man he did not love. His own guilt would blind him to Draven’s misdirection.
ButDraven, a traitor?
I had to tell Arin my suspicions, show him the documents. We’d discuss it on the journey back to Love.
