The soldiers guarding them shifted, glancing at the queen consort. Clearly, they did not feel comfortable with her babbling. But not so uncomfortable that they would tell Queen Consort Adelina to shut her jabbering mouth. No doubt she had been holding her tongue of late and was now grateful she had an eager listener.
Did Emmeline really want to work with Queen Consort Adelina? She was not the brightest of co-conspirators. Elias supposed this was a needs-must situation.
“And the king. What is the plan with the king?” Elias asked.
“A note will have been left, telling the king that bandits have captured you and myself,” she said. “They will demand a ransom be brought to a location. When the king hears we’ve been taken by bandits, he will go on his own to that location, ready to fight.”
She smiled at Gerard. “That’s why I mentioned bandits previously to your father.” Then her eyes dimmed. “But he was so dismissive of me. Like he always is. But it was part of the plan, you see?”
A muscle ticked in Gerard’s jaw. He opened his mouth.
But Elias got in first. “That was very clever of you!”
“You think?” she asked, like a puppy desperate and yearning for a shred of approval.
“Of course.” Then Elias paused. “But will the king not seek reinforcements before flying out to attack?”
She laughed. “No. He will think he can easily take care of a whole troop of bandits on his own. He is the all-powerful dragon king, after all. If Senta, Luther, Konrad, or Gerard were in the apartments, he’d tell them. But they won’t be there. And he has no reason to think Gerard has been kidnapped. He’d have been suspicious if bandits were able to capture Gerard.”
Elias nodded. “That makes sense.”
“And he can’t tell the Draconian guards, since they’re all dead! He could go and find other dragons to come with him.” She shook her head. “But he will not seek them out. It will take time, and he thinks himself too strong to need assistance against mere bandits.” She laughed.
“He might tell servants, or warrior doves, or anyone he passes, but he will not wait for slow-moving forces to accompany him. He will fly out alone at speed!” She clasped her hands. “And then he will die!”
Fuck. She really hates her husband.Still, Elias just kept nodding and smiling.
“We will have to make it look like bandits killed him though. We have to make it look like bandits killed you all. It can’t look like anyone else had a hand in any of your deaths.”
“It is a brilliant plan,” Elias said, although he saw quite a few rather large holes.
For instance, there were far too many involved. They had a small army for fuck’s sake! How would they keep what had actually occurred a secret? Furthermore, would people really believe that bandits actually managed to kill the dragon king, the dragon warrior, and his four siblings?
But Elias kept his thoughts to himself. “Did you think of the plan all by yourself?”
“I helped. But it was Emmeline and—” Her mouth snapped shut. She exhaled. “Then after the king has departed, the wind sorcerers and bandits will emerge from the secret tunnel and take over the Draconian quarters,” she said, not answering his question.
“They will put on the uniforms of the Draconian guards,” she said. “And they will dispose of the rest of the siblings as they return. We have it all planned out to ensure that Luther, Konrad, and Senta return one by one. Then the sorcerers and bandits will make it look like it was just bandits who killed the siblings before they leave.
“Emmeline is so brilliant,” she gushed. “And kind. She approached me after she saw the king flirting with that slut from Necros.” Her lips pursed. “A necromancer! He’d bed a necromancer over me! But Emmeline saw how the king treated me, and she was kind to me.”
“And that robed figure, are you working with them too?” Elias asked.
Adelina opened her mouth. Then snapped it shut. A muscle twitched in her cheek.
What the fuck?“Who was the robed figure?”
But Adelina’s lips stayed firmly closed.
Elias wanted to push. But this seemed to be the one point she would not discuss. He moved on. “Where is the attack on the king taking place?” That he still needed to know.
Then Empress Emmeline appeared in the doorway, without the robed figure this time. She strode towards them.
“Where is the king being lured?” Elias pressed.
But Empress Emmeline had drawn too close. “That isnone of your business!” She glowered at Elias before turning her enraged gaze on Adelina.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Emmeline.” She dashed towards the empress. “I figured since they will be dead soon, it doesn’t matter.”
