Olivia flew off my shoulder, forcing me to stop. “That’s it. We tried. No one is claiming it’s them. Everyone has an alibi.”
“Someone used magic to get into that room and we need to know why. I want every servant questioned and detained. Whoever has done this will be hanged.”
The statement fell out in a rage and Olivia smirked.
“Don’t encourage me,” I said, taking a breath to control the building rage. “You know I don’t mean that.”
She shrugged. “If you did, I’d be more than happy to help.”
Twirling her dark hair, she smiled wide,revealing sharp teeth.
“Let’s just go to the priest. I’d like to get back to the queen as soon as possible.”
“Tallis!” An overwrought scream came from behind us.
“What now,” I groaned and turned around.
Chamberlain Pelleas panted as he quickly approached. His floppy green hat hung crooked, and his beady black eyes seemed more frantic than usual. “The king has been sighted!”
“Where?”
“On the western shores. He’s causing a bit of ruckus to the nearby foliage.”
“Would you rather him eat someone?”
Olivia chuckled and I glared at her to be quiet.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Pelleas hissed. “Of course not, but we can not have the king running amok.”
I stepped closer, towering over the chamberlain. “Then go and fetch him.”
“Well, I . . .” He stumbled over his words and I left him, walking down the stone corridor toward the dungeons.
“I hope Kyros never comes back,” Olivia said as she flew beside me.
“Don’t speak like that. It’s treason.”
“Are you going to hangme?”
Eyeing her as we walked, I narrowed my gaze. “Maybe.”
It had been nothing but chaos all morning and no matter who I ordered around, everyone seemed frantic and less reliable than usual.
A scream echoed in the lower dungeons, a common sound this far down in the keep. Taking the stairs two at a time, I raced to the lower level and turned right, away from the dungeon and towards the death priest’s room. The ancient fae had a knack for dissecting dead things and finding the root cause whether it be sickness or some other odd form.
Pushing open the wooden door, a stringent scent permeated.
Olivia scrunched her nose at the revolting aroma. “I hate the smell of white sage and myrrh.”
I too struggled to keep my face neutral to the dreadful stench. I tried to stay out of here as much as I could. Wooden tables lined the right wall and two tables filled the center. One with a white cloth draped over the body.
Was that Laoise’s body?
Olivia sat on my shoulder, her tiny hand resting against my face, a whimper on her lips. Reaching over, I brushed her wings,which were low and pulled behind her back. I didn’t need to ask her if she was okay, I knew she wasn’t.
“Priest Kolvar?” I didn’t see him in this room and had no desire to go into the back room where he kept his experiments.
Candlelight flickered from the open doorway and a moment later the hunched fae shuffled in. His black hood shielded most of his leathery green face, except his eyes which glowed bright yellow.
