Instead, I find the king.
I’m shocked into stillness, but I recover quickly. I frown and grit myteeth so I don’t swear at him. I’m sure he can read every expression on my face anyway.
I can’t readanythingon his.
Mercy butts at me with her head, and I’m glad for an excuse to catch her bridle and fiddle with a buckle unnecessarily. To my surprise, Grey joins me at her side, unnecessarily adjusting a buckle himself. His eyes meet mine, and he stops, so I do too.
I feel like I’ve failed him in so many ways that there aren’t enough words to make up for it. But I feel like he’s failed me too.
Maybe that’s unfair. I don’t know what he’s waiting for me to say.
I don’t find out, because a guard from Syhl Shallow steps into the aisle. “Your Majesty,” she says breathlessly. “A runner from the sentry station at Willminton has arrived with urgent news of the queen.”
The king turns, our conflict forgotten. “What news?”
“I haven’t heard the report. I was sent to—”
“Grey.” Rhen bursts through the doors, a roll of damp parchment in his hand. “Lia Mara and Sinna have been taken.” He holds out a palm, and a ring set with three diamonds glints in the light. “Her ring was sent as proof.”
For half a second, Grey is frozen in place, stricken. He takes the ring, running his thumb over the stones. When he speaks, his voice is thin. “The scraver?”
“No. The Truthbringers.”
Grey strides forward to take the parchment before Rhen can even hold it out. “How?” he says, his words clipped. “Where?” He doesn’t even wait for an answer. He looks to a guard. “Saddle my horse.”
“It will take four days to ride to the Crystal City,” Rhen says. “We should arrange a team—”
“It won’t takemefour days.”
I can hear the panic in his voice, though. Even with magic, it willtake time. Even if they used runners from every sentry station instead of one single courier, there’s no way to send a message in less than two.
“They aren’t demanding a ransom,” Rhen says. “I know this is a shock, but you must—”
“I didn’t ask for your counsel, Rhen.”
“I’m giving it to you anyway. This message took days to arrive. An hour to formulate a plan won’t—”
“I’m not giving them one extrasecond.” Grey turns to me, and his eyes are like fire. He hits me in the chest with the parchment, and I’m so startled that I fall back a step.
“Jax doesn’t know anything,” he says flatly, mimicking what I said to him hours ago. “Jax isn’t working with the Truthbringers.”
I frown, grabbing the parchment. “He’s—he’s—”
“Read it.” A guard leads his horse out of a stall, and Grey takes the reins, turning away without hesitation.
I stare down at the damp parchment, the words scrawled hastily.
We have the queen and your daughter.
They will be treated well if you return to Briarlock to face judgment.
Our loyalty is to our queen.
Syhl Shallow will rise.
Jax wouldn’t be involved in this. He couldn’t be. Could Callyn? But wouldn’t that point the blame right back at Jax?
And … Alek? Despite everything, Alek has always seemed loyal to Lia Mara. As much as I hate him, I can’t see him being involved in a plot to kidnap the queen. And he’s beenhere. Not there.
