A mottled flush spread over Batlok’s face. “I will remind you that my niece was murdered! Inside. Your. Castle!”
God of Chaos. Ice crawled through Luka’s veins. He knew Batlok’s demands would be unreasonable, but this was insane.
“We are truly sorry for your loss,” Queen Danikha said more gently, “but it does not serve anyone to set our nations at war. Please give us a chance to find the killer.”
“I’ve given you long enough, and you’ve achieved nothing except to protect the most likely culprits.” Batlok sneered. “You can easily avoid a war: announce the wedding—Kaliska will wed your son for two quintals of shadow-folded steel and a talent of gold and precious gems—and agree to the trade concessions I have already outlined.”
The queen gasped. “We discussed a wedding between our families as a show of good faith. Your daughter’s children would sit on our throne! And frankly, we have decided?—”
Batlok cut her off with a wave of his hand, glittering with gold rings. “She can as easily produce sons for the prince of the Gunab.”
A heavy silence descended. This was more than a chance remark; it was a genuine threat. If Kwanam and Gunab allied against them, they would face enemies on all their borders.
Danikha, Shane, and Iona looked grim, and for the first time, so did Declan.
Declan thought Kaliska would be free,Luka’s beast rumbled. Then it added,Could the archthane be behind all of this? Did he think he could force us into a new, far more lucrative deal?
Batlok was certainly callous enough, but he was also shrewd enough to take a terrible situation not of his making and twist it to his advantage. Something told Luka that Narya’s murderer wanted a war, not a trade deal.
Queen Danikha’s hands clenched at her sides. “Do not threaten me, Your Eminence. I will not hand over the wealth of my nation at your whim,” she said coldly. “We have negotiated with you in good faith. If you cannot do the same, then the time for discussion is over.”
“Then we are done here.” Batlok turned to Declan. “Make preparations. Unless Hugaeb sees reason and offers us acceptable compensation within the next three bells, we leave today.” He faced Danikha once more. “Avoiding war is entirely up to you.” Then he gestured to his guards and flounced from the meeting room. The brigadier general stalked behind him, face furrowed in a deep scowl.
Queen Danikha waited until the doors clanged shut behind them and then dragged her hand tiredly down her face. “Update me, please, Luka. What have you found?”
“Nothing new,” he admitted, resting his hand on the pommel of his sword. “But the soldier Declan mentioned is interesting. I would like to speak to him. He must have seen something?—”
“What is that?” Shane stepped off the dais, stalked up to Luka’s flank, and picked up his arm in a way that would have earned anyone else in the kingdom a thrashing. His eyes narrowed as he glared at Luka’s bloodstained fingers.
Luka pulled his hand back, biting off the growl that wanted to rise. “Nothing. We have to focus?—”
But it was too late, Danikha and Iona had already crowded around him. The queen set a soft hand on his shoulder, her face pulled into a worried frown. “Oh, Luka! What have you done?”
He took a step back, away from the pity on their faces. What could he possibly say? His beast howled so loudly he could hardly think, let alone explain.
Danikha let her hand drop. “Forget about the investigation for a moment and let us help.”
“Thank you, but no. That’s not…. I don’t….” He didn’t want help or pity. He desperately didn’t want to feel so catastrophically out of control. Luka dropped a bow, falling back on the only thing he knew. “I have work to do.”
And then he fled.
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
Izzy strode through the castle,away from the clinic. It took effort, but she kept her chin up.
She’d found nothing at the clinic, and now that was closed to her. Her hope that she and Luka were finally finding their way together had turned to dust. Her friends were readying for war once more, and somewhere in the castle, there was an assassin toying with them all. Oh, how she missed her brother. Rayan always knew the best way to cheer her up.
Without really thinking, her feet followed the path she had taken hundreds of times when she was a healer in the castle. Out of the clinic, down the tiled walkway hung with tapestries, through a heavy wooden door, into the elegantly carpeted corridor that led to the apartments where she had lived as a child. Everyone was gone now. Even Mama had moved to a little coastal village half a day’s ride away. She had no one to talk to. No shoulder to cry on.
We have each other.
That was true. She also had her work, her shop, and a life to get back to. Her beast’s steady presence filled her as Izzy turned away from the apartments, ready to leave. She just had one morestop to make. She wanted to see for herself where Narya spent her last hours.
She ducked down several corridors, and came out at the Flame Hall. It was still decorated for feasting. Shimmering silk banners fluttered, and huge candelabras glittered from the dramatic fanned vaulting of the ceiling. One wall was lined with beaten steel and copper panels, etched with images of the lush flora of Hugaeb—towering mhoba, fragile glass flowers, delicate lace bush, abundant forest bride, and many more. The other side of the hall held a grand archway that led to the cloister garden and on to the conservatory. Golden sunlight streamed through the massive yellow, orange, and red stained glass windows that gave the hall its name, illuminating it all.
Izzy walked through the opulence, hardly seeing it. Instead, she imagined the night of the banquet. This was where Shane would have flirted with Narya. That was where they would have eaten plums in spiced syrup. Drummers and other musicians would have set up in the corner. In the center of the room, dancers would have entertained the guests.
