Luka thanked her as the ninth bell began to ring. He took his leave and jogged through the castle, senses on alert and his beast grumbling and rolling in his belly.
The queen had set this meeting to take place in the Burnished Hall. It was the grandest of the castle meeting rooms, and only slightly smaller than the banquet hall. Luka bowed to the guards before rapping sharply at the massive steel door with its embossed image of spread wings. A voice called him to enter, and he let himself in and closed the door.
The hall showcased the wealth of Hugaeb. Dark-stained mhoba wood panels alternated with vibrant floor-to-ceiling murals depicting an array of majestic scenes: the glory of Mount Nabas from the air as the first drakes would have seen it, the verdant coastal plains with their bountiful fields, the mines in the northern Nabasberg, and the red-hot glow of the furnaces as powerful smiths beat iron into steel. Display cabinets held stunning shadow-wave swords, their fold-forged steel gleaming where the light caught their characteristic swirling patterns, while gold-inlaid arm cuffs, bracelets, rings, and brooches shone with diamonds, garnets, and tourmalines.
The queen stood on a small dais in front of a heavy steel throne inlaid with iridescent mother-of-pearl in the shape of fanned wings. She wore formal robes of deep burgundy with an embroidered corset overlain by a heavy necklace of multiple golden strands designed to show glimpses of her gleaming garnet scales. She was flanked by Prince Shane and Princess Iona, both resplendent in court robes of burning oranges and yellows, embroidered with gold. Together they looked like flames, like a magnificent, unified force.
Thank Chaos our boots are polished.
By the angry red of his face, the archthane did not appreciate any of it. And Declan, to his side and one step behind him, looked equally unimpressed, although somewhat less enraged.
“I understand your concerns, Eminence Batlok,” Queen Danikha was saying, “and we want answers as much as you do.” Her expression pinched. “I assure you that I am not at all pleased by the idea of an assassin beneath my roof.”
Batlok folded his arms over his heavy chest. “Unless the assassin is, in fact, one of yours.” He turned to glare meaningfully at Luka.
“Our knight commander is not an assassin, and nor is Mistress Izabel. They are the very last people who would do this,” Danikha replied firmly as Luka moved to stand below the dais. “Neither of them would gain anything from it.”
“Wrong,” Batlok snarled, his eyes flicking to Luka and back. “My brigadier general has shown that they have much to gain.”
Queen Danikha did not back down. “Brigadier General Declan is repeating information that he got from the knight commander. Precisely because Luka is investigating this thoroughly.”
Batlok smiled smugly. “Notallthe information. It was Declan who realized a drake had been in our rooms in the first place.”
Luka swung his gaze to Declan. Could Brigadier General Declan have had something to do with Narya’s death? It would have been easy for him to lure her away. Her death was the perfect way to end the treaty and disentangle Kaliska from a union she—they—clearly didn’t want… and yet, it didn’t feel right.
God of Chaos. He was starting to see betrayal everywhere.
He loves Kaliska; he would never harm her cousin,Luka’s beast rumbled.He would find another way.
“Did you see the drake yourself?” Luka asked Declan the question he should have asked the day before… if he hadn’t been in such a hurry to get back to Izzy. His hands throbbed, and he gripped them behind his back. The last thing he needed was for someone to notice the bloody state of his fingers. “Perhaps you can tell us what you saw so that we know what to look for.”
Declan glared at him as he replied. “When the maid started screaming, I rushed into Narya’s room. The door to the balcony was open, so I ran through it, but I saw no one. Healers came and pronounced her dead, but her dress was muddy and her hair was damp. I quickly realized she’d been murdered, but there was no way anyone came in through our rooms. I stood guard in the antechamber myself. It made sense that a drake had done it.”
Why would his mind go straight to a drake?
“Why would it make sense that a drake murdered her?” Luka asked. “Was it something one of the healers said?” That would help a great deal. If Luka knew which healer had concluded a drake was involved, it might point him to which healer knew Narya had been outside the castle earlier that night.
“Not a healer. One of your own guards.” Declan gave him a superior smile. “The man came running to help when Narya’s maid screamed. He was the one who realized that the assassin was surely a drake. Then, when I asked the guards who came in from the walls, one of them remembered a dark cloud blocking the stars.”
“Which guard said the assassin was surely a drake?”
Declan didn’t twitch, but Luka could see the disdain in his eyes. “I do not know your guards by name.”
“What did he look like?”
“Leather armor, no cloak, hair tied back. I didn’t see him for long, but his sword was loose in its scabbard and well maintained.”
It was a soldier’s assessment—focused on risk, clear and concise, but ultimately not helpful. It could have described dozens of guards. “Did you see any scales? Have you seen him anywhere else?”
Declan sneered. “My time has been spent in the negotiating room and overseeing security for Lady Kaliska, not monitoring your guards for you.”
“Enough of this,” Batlok grumbled. “I did not come here to listen to two soldiers blathering like old women.” He fixed his gaze on Queen Danikha. “I want the culprits found and publicly punished. You can execute them as part of the wedding celebrations. And I want immediate reparations.” He settled his hands on his heavy waist. “As I already told Iona, although perhaps she did not understand”—he did not seem to notice the queen’s look of outrage at his disrespect—“I want half again as many warehouses in the city for our merchants, free use of the Port of Aobna for all Kwanam merchant ships, exclusive rights to all glass trade?—”
“Your Eminence—” Queen Danikha interrupted, but Batlok ignored her.
He continued, “As far as Hugaeb steel is concerned, I have decided?—”
“Your Eminence!” Queen Danikha exclaimed more forcefully, finally stopping his tirade. “We have spent weeks at the negotiating table, and frankly, we have already conceded more than enough.PrincessIona speaks with my voice in this. We will not bow to further pressure.”
