“Is this your first time at the Paravellian Balls, miss?”
Sorrow tainted my expression.“I was able to attend the last event, but that was the only time.”
Valeris left the dueling ring, conversing with one of the men on the sidelines and gulping down a glass of water.He appeared less cocky now, but it could be from exertion.
“Sir.”I turned to the man.“I’ve been searching for a man I met the last time I was here, but no one seems to know who he is or can even point me in the right direction.He wore a very distinct ring, vines and leaves encompassing an opal stone, and went by the name of Richard Athello.”
“Richard Athello.”His eyes narrowed and then popped wide.“You don’t mean RichardWylanAthello, do you?”
I cocked my head, not following.
The man laughed a little.“He’s standing right over there.He goes by his middle name, that’s probably why no one could figure out who you were talking about, but I remember that ring.Not many would ever get close enough to examine it, but I had the opportunity once.It is an exquisite creation.”
My eyes strained out into the crowd.“Standing where?”
He pointed.“Right there, speaking with his nephew, Prince Valeris.”
His words sucked the air from my lungs when I found who he was indicating.My blood grew cold as I set my eyes on the man Valeris was speaking with.Nothing in his attire screamed of royalty, and he bore no resemblance to the king or queen.
I worked my jaw, shock stammering the words from my mouth.“He’s—he’s his uncle?”
The old man threw me an odd look.“Of course.He’s Alekvandor, the younger brother of King Zaricor.Lost his claim to the throne as soon as the king’s eldest son, Rivero, was born, but he remained in the court.That’s why he adopted the name Richard Wylan Athello, which eventually became Wylan Athello to be less recognizable.Folks don’t think much of him.He holds no power in the government, but I daresay he has been a far better father to that young man than the king ever was.”
Alekvandor.The history connected itself when he said his royal name.There had been three brothers.Zaricor, Alekvandor, and Quintar.Although the latter had been executed years ago.
His uncle.
That stupid, cocky—
I slammed my glass back onto the table, startling those around me.The man I had been looking for had been nearly within my grasp the entire time.The brother of the king.His nephew had tried to form an alliance with me, and I had blown him off.
I muttered under my breath, grappling for a way to fix this.
The prince wouldn’t consider an alliance with me again, not after the way I’d humiliated him by rejecting his offer.Pieces of a plan formed in my mind.If I was going to regain his trust and get close enough to his uncle to steal that ring, I was going to have to do it tonight.And it would have to be public—something he couldn’t shy away from easily.
I ran my interactions with him back through my mind, sorting them out.The prince was my ticket to get to his uncle, and while I loathed the thought of it, I needed him.At least his swordsmanship was good, and he was wise enough to try to make an alliance with me after insulting me by trying to have me exiled; maybe he wasn’t too bad.
Or maybe he was.
Valeris and the Haskelle warrior stepped into the ring, the crowd growing in anticipation of who would win the event.
“I do so hope our Prince Valeris wins,” I said to the older gentleman.
I was depending on him too.
