Luka’s jaw clenched. “How could she have been killed in the castle, under the nose of all the guards? I personally oversaw Ryland’s rosters last night!”
Izzy held in her rising irritation. “I’m not maligning your guards. I’m suggesting that if we knew how she was taken out, we’d be closer to knowing who took her.”
“Agreed.” Shane stepped in. “We need to add that to the list of things to investigate today.”
Luka looked grim. “I’ve arranged for my first lieutenants to take day-to-day responsibility for the guard over the next few days, freeing me to concentrate on this. This morning, I’d like Dashiell to take Cori up to the mountain path and show her where he found Narya. They can look at everything in daylight, see if there’s anything we missed.”
“Of course,” Cori replied. “Dashiell can talk me through it.” She popped an oatcake into her mouth and chewed. “It’ll be nice to get out of the castle… even if it has to be on the mountain.”
“And can you find out more about Dashiell?” Luka asked. “He wants to join the castle guard, and I’d like your thoughts on whether he would fit.”
Cori nodded. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”
“Thanks,” Luka acknowledged, then turned to the others. “Aiden and Kai, please go back and take another look at Narya’s room? Ryland’s good, but there was a lot of pressure last night; maybe he missed something in the dark. Shane, I think it would be best if you stayed with your mother. You and Iona should be with her, guarding her, but also at her side if the archthane gets more threatening. I’ll allocate extra guards, and Aiden and Kai can join you as soon as they’re done.” He took a sip of his tea before looking over at her. “Izzy and I can take another look at the body.”
Izzy nodded. She didn’t think she’d missed anything, but it wouldn’t hurt… and they had to maintain the charade that she hadn’t examined Narya yet. “I’m happy to take another look.” She dusted her hands on her breeches and let out a breath. It was time to test her theory. “And then I’d like to spend some time with the physiks. This will give me a good excuse.”
“Why do you want to see the physiks?” Shane asked, sitting straighter, eyes sharp.
“Narya planned to meet with a physik at some point last night,” Izzy explained. “Luka and I heard the maid muttering when we took the body back.”
“She specifically mentioned a physik?” Shane prompted.
“Yes,” Izzy said, watching the expression on Shane’s face harden. Mother of the Weave, she was right.
Gods, I didn’t want this to be true.
Luka pushed his plate away and stood up. “I’ll come with you to the clinic. You can examine Narya, and we can speak to the healers together. And then you can go home.”
Izzy shook her head. “I’m not going home. I’m going to join the healers for a few days while the Kwanam delegation is here. They could use the extra hands, especially with the castle so full, and it will give me time to look around a bit.” She lifted her chin. “And I think it would be better if I went alone.”
A flurry of scales solidified on Luka’s arms and neck. “Absolutely not. There is probably an assassin in the castle. You have a shop to run in the city, and the physiks are perfectly capable without you. Go. Home.”
That hurt. But she ignored it and lifted her chin. “It’s not up to you.”
“I’m the knight commander of the castle. I sign off on duties.” Luka stepped closer to her. “And I don’t sign off on this.”
Izzy stood up too, meeting his angry glare with one of her own. “I don’t report to you.”
Luka gave one clipped nod, as if that was exactly what he’d expected her to say. “True. You report to your prince. Tell her to go home, Shane.”
Shane cleared his throat, but Izzy cut him off. She was tired of being lied to and manipulated, and she wanted to know the truth for the first time in years. “Yes, Shane, why don’t you tell me? Because I’ve been thinking about this since last night, and I think I finally understand.” She scowled at her friend. The prince she would have given her life to protect. The leader she was now convinced had betrayed her. “Why don’t you tell us all about how you weren’t at all surprised that the physiks might be involved. In fact—” She looked him in the eye as her beast roared in her belly. “—maybe you could tell us about how Rayan joined the healers expressly to investigate them… and you knew all along!”
Chapter
Sixteen
The words echoedin the air and through Luka’s body, reverberating in his soul. Shane knew. Shane had known all this time. Rayan didn’t leave the guards because he wanted to feel closer to his father, or even to quietly investigate something. He hadn’t left the guards at all.
Luka’s beast surged within him with a roar of fury. Scales settled over his skin in a sheet of solid armor, and his hands trembled with the effort it took to force his battle rage back. Bloodlust whispered in his ear, but he held it in check. Just. He could not attack his prince, and—more importantly—he would never risk Izzy.
He strode forward to stand in front of Shane. His vision sharpened into almost painful clarity as his beast found its prey. Awareness flooded through him—of Shane, of the room. Light glistened through crystal. The scent of oatcake and honey mingled with weapon oil. Izzy’s heartbeat thudded loudly—and in the periphery of his vision, he saw Cori flinch. And that was when he realized the full depth of the deception. “You all knew!” His words sounded mangled. Half human, half beast, entirely filled with betrayal and rage.
A soft gasp behind him had him spinning back to Izzy. Her face was ashen, and her hand had flown up to her throat, where gleaming sapphire scales formed a solid collar, protecting her. “Youallknew,” she echoed, sounding as devastated as he felt.
“I’m sorry, Izzy.” Cori pushed forward. “I wanted to tell you. I always thought you should know. You too, Luka.”
Izzy flinched back from her friend, and Cori’s arm fell to her side as she threw a venomous glare across the room at Shane. God of Chaos. Luka was watching everything he knew unraveling.
