His lips became a thin line. He was not convinced by my story; anyone could see that. “And how is it, do you suppose, that you heard His Highness’s cries all the way from the dungeons?”
“A stroke of luck,” I offered.
“Indeed,” he responded dryly. “And could you explain to me again how you managed to break the glass casing and retrieve the sword with your bare hands? Another stroke of luck?”
“I couldn’t tell you, Captain. I just kept striking it until it shattered. It looked ancient. Perhaps the glass had weakened over time?” I spoke with confidence, no matter how preposterous my story sounded.
“Perhaps.” His tone told me he didn’t believe that for a second. “It’s curious how you do not seem to have so much as a scratch on you,” he remarked. “How do you explain that?”
I cursed my rapid self-healing. “Vell was looking down on me tonight.” In addition to being the deity of water, Vell was also goddess of the sea, travel and journey, justice and good fortune.
He hummed his skepticism. “Tell me again, why did you require the sword?”
At least I could be honest about this. “For protection. I thought Lord Hywell’s murderer might be harming someone else and I retrieved the sword to arm myself against them.”
“Prior to this evening, had you any reason to believe Lord Hywell’s murderer might harm someone else?” His tone was sharp. It wasn’t a question—it was a trap. He was a hawk, encircling the mouse. Hovering with singular purpose, waiting for any sign of weakness. Upon gleaning it, he would swoop down and ensnare me with his talons, then swiftly pick me apart.
I would not allow myself to become prey.
I couldn’t tell him about the note. He’d want to know why the murderer was writing to me and that would only lead to more questions I didn’t know how to answer.
Forcing myself to meet his piercing stare, I said, “I had not but, when I heard the scream, that is immediately where my mind went. Having a murder committed at the castle has been incredibly unsettling.”
“I’m sure…” He didn’t bother to mask his disbelief. “But did you see anyone, or hear anyone, other than Prince Hugo in the dungeons?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Remarkable,” he mused. “That you happen to be the only one in this castle to hear anything, and, not only that but, if your account is to be believed, the perpetrator simply vanished into thin air, never to be seen.”
If the murderer was indeed a witch, it would have been all too easy for them tovanish into thin air. I didn’t say that though. After Tarben’s reaction to the suggestion of witchcraft, I wasn’t in a hurry to share my theory. At least not until I had irrefutable proof. “I realize what it must look like but—”
“It’s remarkable how you seem to have a knack for being in the right place at the right time,” he continued, as if I hadn’t spoken. “Especially when it comes to the royal family.”
A loaded pause followed. Where was he going with this?
“I do wonder, if my guards had not heard the sound of glass shattering and discovered you fleeing the scene, would you be sitting here right now?”
I bristled. Was he trying to imply that I had harmed Hugo? The insinuation alone filled me with searing indignation. This was the second time this evening I had been wrongfully accused, and it made me want to toss the medical journal at his head. Instead, I maintained my composure, keeping my brow smooth and locking eyes with the man across from me, as if I had no secrets in my vault. “I had nothing to do with what happened to Prince Hugo. I was trying to save him,” I said coolly.
“Why not seek out the aid of the guards? Why go off on your own and put yourself at the risk of a murderer?”
I blinked at him. I couldn’t very well be truthful about my less-than-altruistic motivations. Instead, I said, “I didn’t think there was enough time to seek help.”
“How did you get into the dungeons?” he fired at me. “There’s only a handful of people in this castle with keys.”
“As I’ve said, it was already unlocked by the time I got there,” I replied.
“Strangely enough, Lord Helvig recently reported that his set of keys went missing.”
“So, search me,” I said, folding my arms defiantly. This mortal was getting on my nerves, and it was starting to show. Which was exactly what Hansen wanted.
He lifted an eyebrow. “We will get to that soon.”
I shrugged. “I have nothing to hide.”
He examined me wordlessly for a full minute. The steel in his eyes was unnerving, but I held his stare. I was too stubborn and proud to cower under this mortal’s interrogation.
He was the first to yield. Breaking eye contact, he said, “Your story is filled with these little coincidences, it seems.” Iopened my mouth to protest, but he continued. “The way I see it, either you have some sort of uncanny ability to materialize whenever the royal family is in peril,oryou are responsible for the attack on Prince Hugo’s life this evening. Either way, His Highness is alive, and, once he awakens, I have no doubt he will enlighten us.”
