“It’s not the outcome anyone wanted, but at least we have kept the line intact.” Jade opted for a diplomatic reply, trying to remain as professional as possible. She wasn’t Elena anymore; she was an intelligence agent, a captain in the military. “I was hoping to learn anything you might know about that letter that Lord Arthur had meant to send to you.”
“I can only speculate at what he wished to say to me. I appreciate you sending it to me, Lady Elena...er, Captain Ni’ihm.” Arabella tested out Jade’s true name, forming the sounds slowly.
“What is it that you speculate Lord Arthur had to tell you?” Theo asked, completely at ease though he was entirely out of his element. He seemed to look past the finery and only see the sisters who might hold answers to some of their questions.
Arabella sighed. “I imagine it regards the letters.”
Jade turned to Theo, and in the same moment, he faced her. This was new. Returning to Arabella, Jade asked, “What letters?”
“After the king fell ill, I received a letter from someone who claimed to be the king of Hervaria, offering his support in the conflict because of Hervaria’s stance against the execution law. He said he believed I was the best choice to take over rule of Marran. He wanted me on the throne and would do whatever was within his power to assist. My letters to him were rarely answered. Occasionally, I received information from him, but ultimately, it was his promise of close ties with Hervaria and the support from his kingdom of my rule that pushed me forward.
“It was only after I learned from Marguerite that Lord Grannam had received a similar letter of support from a different major political figure that I started to question the validity of such a note. I think his was from someone claiming to be the highest-ranking general in Polenheim’s military.”
Arabella leaned forward and retrieved her steaming cup of tea, though she held it near her lap rather than bringing it to her lips as she continued.
“Of all the other contenders for the throne, I had the most familiarity and was the most comfortable with Arthur. I met with him one day and asked if he had received something similar. He had. He had never stopped to question its legitimacy. In fact, it was not only what had prompted him to seek the throne in the first place, but it also kept him going even when he knew he had no true claim. Arthur told me that he received a letter from this supporter that said the rest of us were sure to take each other out, and heonly had to wait. The last thing he had told me before he died was that he was going to investigate its source, but he was already under the assumption we were being played.”
A puff of air left Jade’s gaping mouth, the disbelief deflating her lungs. She recalled Marguerite mentioning that Marchand had indicated to Grannam and Arabella at the start of the conflict that he had the support of someone powerful. Could Arabella be right? Had Arthur determined that the whole conflict was contrived, pitting members of the royal family and their close advisors against each other? But for what purpose? What did the person—or people—behind it have to gain?
“Do you have any idea of who could be behind the letters?” Theo asked before Jade could form words. Thankfully, the two of them were on the same page. “Was it one person or a group of people conspiring against Marran?”
Arabella shook her head. “That, I cannot say. But what I do know is these letters seem to be the reason the conflict among us began in the first place. I don’t believe anyone involved simply decided to seek the throne, except possibly Lord Grannam, given how his father was passed over to be king. We were all given reasons why we would make the best ruler, and that spurred us on to act.”
Jade furrowed her brow as her mind worked, piecing together everything she knew. “And you believe that was the lie Arthur was referring to in his letter?”
“I assume, but of course, we’ll never know.” Arabella took a sip of her tea. “But if that’s the case, I don’t believe Lord Marchand was acting of his own accord. He must have been listening to someone else, just like the rest of us.”
Jade ground her teeth. Maybe that was why she was having such trouble coming to terms with the accusation of Marchand as the one behind the killings. What if he’d been following instructions from a “powerful supporter” of his own?
“It makes me wonder...” Theo began slowly, clearly thinking as hard as Jade. He turned his head to face her. “This was all set up. Whoever is behind thiswantedall of you opposing each other.”
“But why?” Alanna piped up. She’d been mostly silent so far, though the crease between her eyes as everyone else spoke gave away how closely she was listening.
“To spark unrest, most likely.” Theo clasped his hands between his knees, his tea untouched. “My supposition is that a kingdom—or more than one—wanted to use the instability against us. The unfortunate reality of the king’s illness with no direct heir was exploited create inner turmoil and possibly cause our own destruction, or at least weaken Marran enough for another kingdom to swoop in and take advantage.”
“So why haven’t they?” Jade asked Theo directly. “Ten people have died. The king finally succumbed to his illness. It’s the perfect scenario for this kingdom to invade.”
“You’re right,” Theo agreed with a nod. “If that’s the case, it’s imminent. We’ll bring it to Devereaux.”
“And about Marchand,” Jade continued, almost forgetting they still remained in conversation with the Fellsrin sisters. “He could have been working for them. Maybe he’d been promised something from another kingdom for the poison needed to kill the contenders.”
“I still don’t understand why,” Alanna cut in, her light brown eyebrows drawn low. “If whoever was behind the letters was also responsible for the murders, weren’t they killing the same people they were using to create unrest?”
Jade pressed her lips into a tight line. It was a legitimate question, one that warranted investigating. “I can’t say why right now, but I imagine it’s another way to weaken the royal family.”
Alanna’s brow didn’t relax. She clearly didn’t accept what Jade and Theo had proposed as an explanation. Her mouth twisted, then she picked up her tea to take a sip and dropped her eyes. Jade had become well-acquainted withAlanna enough to know that she wasn’t saying something. She was about to ask her about it when Theo spoke again.
“Lady Arabella, in our investigation, we discovered that you and Lord Grannam were quite opposed to each other in particular. Why was that?”
Arabella took the time to sip from her own teacup and set it back down before speaking. Only the ticking of a clock broke the fragile silence in the room as the others waited for her reply.
“Lord Grannam knew, unlike most of the others, that I was the only one he needed to get to back down.” She straightened her shoulders, oozing the confidence and self-assurance that Jade had seen on her many times before. “Besides my father, of course, but he would have been trickier. Better to get me out of the way first, and then he would only have my father to worry about. He even accused me of orchestrating the murders and casting suspicion on him, and he claimed he would find evidence against me to implicate me. Anything to get me out of his way. But I refused to give up. Nothing he could offer me was enough to persuade me to step aside.”
“What did he offer you?” Jade asked.
Arabella shrugged. “What didn’t he offer me? Power. Position. Money. The opportunity to ‘do good’ for the people in a different way. But he knew I have many of the people behind me. I was the only one who ever bothered to see to the needs of our kingdom’s populace. And what I saw was the continual, legal murder of innocent people. Our kingdom’s subjects.” Arabella tilted slightly forward and angled her head, some of her regality slipping away. Her voice cracked as she spoke. “Children are brought to holding facilities until they are deemed old enough to be slaughtered. Even people wary of magic can see how this is wrong.”
This was a side of Arabella Jade had not seen before. A true heartbreak, genuine despair over the treatment of magic-wielders. Arabella had made it known she would not continue with the practice, but she’d never been like this in front of them. She’d never shown her heart.
