He cast a sideways glance at Zarrah, who appeared amused by his discomfort. “I find this all very reductive.”
“I doubt that,” his wife answered. “And Virginia is not wrong.”
Heat rose to his cheeks, and Keris covered the reaction by saying, “Where are you going with this, Ahnna?”
“Virginia was quite intrigued by you, and she said, I quote, ‘It’s a shame he’s wed.’ ”
“I disagree.” Keris saw the direction this was going, and no part of him liked it.
Ahnna’s eyes flicked between him and Zarrah. “I think she would leap at the chance to speak to you alone, and I think there is a good chance she’ll help you.”
Reaching out, Ahnna took Keris’s drink and finished it, then flopped on a sofa, her mannerisms reminding Keris deeply of her brother. “No one knows Alexandra’s nature better than her own daughter, so she will not struggle with believing her mother capable of all of this. Virginia loved her father dearly. She loves her brothers and is loyal to them, and she will not take well to any of this.”
“Are you sure?” Keris replied, going to a chair and sitting on the back of it, not caring that his boots were on the plush upholstery.“Keep in mind that Alexandra’s actions benefited Virginia. If Edward had lived, it wouldn’t have been just William who was discovered to be illegitimate, but Virginia as well. Her value, and her pending nuptials to that asshole George, would have been ruined. I do not think we’ll find an ally in Harendell’s princess.”
“Dip your toe in the water and see what she says.”
“I might dip my toe in these waters and find myself pulled under when she goes to William with everything that was said and he decides to go through with cutting off my head this time.” Keris rocked the chair back, balancing it on two legs as he considered whether what might be gained with this scheme was worth the risk. Zarrah met his gaze and gave the slightest of nods. “But we need to find a way to get you out of here, Ahnna.”
“My rope is dangling from the spiral railing, so I can’t go back the way I came.” Ahnna picked up a pen that was sitting on the table, dipped it in the ink, and began writing on a piece of Keris’s stationery. “Nor do I intend to.”
He tried to read what she had written, but other than the flourish of her name, he caught none of it before she folded the page. “Ahnna, you aren’t going to be able to get to Alexandra. At the best of times, she’s more protected than William himself, and with what happened today, no one will get near her.”
“Alexandra is no longer my goal.” Ahnna extracted a vial, which she tossed into the fire. Then she tucked her hair up into a uniform hat and started toward the door. “If you find James, please tell him I love him and that I’m sorry I broke my promise.”
“What are you doing?” Keris reached for her, trying to stop her, but she was too quick. His fingers brushed the sleeve of her uniform as she took hold of the doorknob, and the last thing he saw of Ahnna was a flash of hazel eyes as she said, “You claimed that William will do anything to protect Alexandra. I think it’s time we put that to the test.”
87
Ahnna
Stepping through the door, Ahnnakept her head down and adopted an annoyed scowl. “Can’t take his complaining any longer,” she said in a low Harendellian accent. “One of you go in. Cavendish wants eyes on them at all times.”
Not giving them time to get a good look at her or to question why they hadn’t known a guard had been assigned within Keris’s suite, Ahnna strode down the corridor. From behind her, she heard one of the guards say, “I don’t want to go in. The empress is friendly enough, but he’s a prick.”
“Draw straws?”
“Fine.”
It had worked, but Ahnna suspected her luck couldn’t last.
William could be in any number of locations in the Sky Palace, but her gut told her that he’d gravitate to the place that had long been Edward’s center of power.
The halls were nearly empty due to the late hour, and with her head down, her stolen uniform served its purpose as she strode through the corridors. Guards glanced in her direction but saw no further than her Harendellian uniform, complacent in their certainty that no one was in the Sky Palace who wasn’t supposed to be. Herinstincts proved accurate as she caught sight of two guards standing outside the doors to what had once been Edward’s study.
“Message for the king,” she said in a low voice, holding out her message. “I was told to wait for a response.”
One of the men took it, then knocked on the door and entered. “A message for you, Your Grace.”
William’s voice was faint, but she heard him say, “Give it here, then. Who is it from?”
“I don’t know, Your Grace.”
Silence stretched, then William said. “Send in the messenger, and then close the door. No interruptions.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The guard stepped out, then gestured at Ahnna. “He wants to speak with you.”
