Evanar took a deep breath before lowering his voice to a whisper. “You would be wise to consider all paths.”
Okay, so not a dismissal nor a confirmation. That’s not entirely helpful. Before they could continue their conversation, Sophiana returned, her face damp and her cheeks swollen. Something told Alex that their previous conversation was over, but Evanar was right. She would be a fool to not explore every possibility.
The flurry of activity in the palace blurred around Alexover the next few days. She barely slept, only eating and drinking when Andrew forcibly made her, withholding the latest reports until she complied. The council had met and sent messengers to all provinces calling an emergency Oath Ceremony to swear in Queen Regent Sophiana to rule in her daughter's place, temporarily. Facts were still being debated regarding what actually took place the night of the disappearance. Rumors flew about kidnapping and worse, betrayal, abandonment. There had to be a reason. Rivka would never willingly leave her province, her citizens.It better be a damned good reason.
The queens of the provinces were set to meet in two weeks, at which time the Oath Ceremony would take place. Something about that felt final to Alex, a line crossed that she wouldn’t be able to get back. She needed answers, not speculations, but each report gave less and less information. It was all she and Evanar could do to hold off Advisor Amari from declaring war. He fully believed that Queen Rivka had been kidnapped but there was no proof as to which of the provinces were to blame. They couldn’t declare war on the entirety of Diathan; that would be foolish and reckless, but once Sophiana was in full power, the control would be entirely hers, and the decision would be final. Alex only hoped that Evanar could convince his wife to heed caution.
The next morning, Colin reported some discrepancies in training sessions and watches that didn’t add up. Not one to take Colin at his word, Alex asked Andrew to look into it, and surprisingly, he confirmed Colin’s suspicions. There were several sworn soldiers of the royal guard who had evaded training or gone missing for periods of time unapproved by authority, but had somehow evaded disciplinary action.
It was unlike Commander Vale to let things of that magnitude slide. He was as harsh and cruel as you would expect froman army commander, and they had fought and argued for years. But Alex didn’t doubt his loyalty to Queen Rivka or the Varon Province, so why had these soldiers gone unpunished? The only explanation could be that he was unaware of the discrepancies, which meant that there were those in authority willing to risk much to cover for them. She had to get to the bottom of that, preferably before Queen Vivian, that spit viper, would be on their ground, their soil, spinning her web of lies.
Andrew, Sindu save him, had managed to compile a list of names under suspicion. Unfortunately, Alex knew none of them, so she had to rely on Colin to give her detailed descriptions and information. However, the information gathered proved to be minimal at best. The background and origin of every soldier on the list were virtually nonexistent. It couldn’t be a coincidence.
The three of them were gathered in the library, sifting through the list of names. They worked surprisingly well together, but they were running out of time. Alex was beginning to have suspicions that these men may have been planted by another province, but as far as which one, she had no idea, and further still, no proof. They would have to do what they could, though. One common thing between them all, they were avoiding training. Slamming the list down on the table, she pushed to her feet.
“Andrew, I need you to gather every single person on this list. At a minimum, they need to undergo rigorous training for the next two days. We cannot have any weaknesses in our ranks, especially not if someone is trying to sabotage us.”
“Should we report this to Commander Vale?” Colin asked.
Alex let out a breath, meeting his gaze. We’ve spoken of this already, Colin. We cannot take that risk without substantial proof, nor can we show our hand and possibly tip them off by letting them know that we suspect their deception. Besides,Commander Vale has enough to deal with right now.” Shifting her gaze to Andrew, “No one outside of the three of us can know of this.”
Andrew stiffened. His reaction proved he knew what was implied, that his oath was to Queen Rivka. His loyalty must lie first and foremost with her.
“I understand, Alex. It will stay between us. Something feels off about all of this, and my priority is finding my queen and bringing her home safely.”
Alex nodded her head, “Great, so we’re in agreement. We’ll have to see if the battalion leaders can be trusted to ensure that they are in training; we won’t have time to oversee it ourselves with our current duties.”
“Agreed.” Colin and Andrew said in unison.
“And Andrew, I need you to find out how they evaded disciplinary action for this long, where they are from and how long they’ve been a part of the Varon army. This needs to be priority.” Andrew tipped his head in acknowledgment. “It will be done.”
Colin looked at her with hopeful puppy dog eyes, waiting for his assignment. Alex huffed. “Colin. Keep digging. If these errors exist, surely there are others that have gone unnoticed. Find them all.” Colin answered immediately. “You got it, boss.” Alex only rolled her eyes as she left them to it.
Chapter Nineteen
The Council Of Queens
Alex
Alex lay staring at the ceiling, dread weighing heavily in her stomach. Today was the day Sophiana would become queen again, the day of the Oath Ceremony. She couldn’t shake the feeling that it was going to be a complete disaster. All of the neighboring queens and their entourages had arrived the night before, except Vivian. Of course, she would have to make a grand entrance, always ensuring that she was the center of attention.
She had been awake since before dawn, dressed with weapons sheathed, but she couldn’t bring herself to walk out the door. Once she did, she would have to accept that this was truly happening and that she had failed. Failed to find her queen, to protect her. Failed to gather anything of use in the search, anything that would delay Sophiana from being crowned once again.
Alex pushed herself up. She couldn’t delay any longer. Straightening her ceremonial uniform, she made sure that everything was in order before striding to the door. No matter how she felt about this, it was still happening. Ithadto happen. This week was going to be a nightmare. It was best to just get on with it so that she could get back to her search for Rivka.
The council room stood silent as Queen Sophiana entered in a shimmering gown, her face calm and unreadable, bowing slightly to her fellow sovereigns before moving to stand beside Rivka’s empty seat. The other queens were already present, with the exception of Vivian. She had been in rare form at yesterday’s Oath Ceremony. The guards lining the room were all on edge; the tension palpable.
Vivian entered, her emerald gown whispering across the floor like a snake in grass. Her eyes, cold as glaciers, fixed on Queen Sophiana. Not to be cowed, Sophiana met her gaze unflinchingly, eyes ablaze. Waiting for Vivian to be seated, Sophiana looked around the room before calling attention.
“Now that Queen Vivian has graced us with her presence,” her voice was crisp, slicing through the tension like frost on steel, “let us begin. You all know why we are here. Queen Rivka…” she corrected, “my daughter, and her husband are missing, and this affects all the provinces, not just my own.” Alex admired the smart choice in words, Sophiana choosing to say that Rivka was ‘missing’ and not ‘taken’. “I implore you all to help me, help us, find them and bring them safely home. Advisor Amari, please share what you have found.”
Unrolling the scroll, Advisor Amari cleared his throat.
“We are gathered here under Article Seventeen of the Peace Treaty, wherein it states:
“In the event a province’s queen is unable to fulfill her duties, due to illness or absence, the heir apparent will step in to temporarily rule in her stead. In the event that there is no heir or the heir apparent is under age of regency, the Queen Regent will then be reinstated until such a time the rightful queen can reclaim her throne. In the event that the reigning queen is not able to reclaim her throne, and there is no heir, nor Regent, rule will then pass to the nearest province.”
The words made her skin itch in irritation. Though Alex knew their truth, she hated them. Lowering the scroll, he cast his gaze around the room, his eyes coming to rest on Queen Sophiana before continuing.
