I raise my eyebrows at him, and his smirk widens to a grin, but I know his flirting is him trying to distract himself from what lies ahead.
After our conversation in the grounds, Leon and Fairon both agreed—Respen has to go.
The question washowthey were going to do it. Leon wanted to confront Respen alone. It would be easier to overpower him that way. But Fairon had wisely pointed out what they really needed was high-profile fae to vouch for their actions.
Fairon is the rightful heir. He’s been trained for this role and is trusted and respected at court, despite his absence these last two years. So if Respen is proven unsuitable for power, there shouldn’t be much resistance to him taking the throne. But that transfer of power is only going to be smooth if Leon and Fairon’s reasons for removing Respen are unquestionable.
“We can’t just assassinate him in the night,” Fairon had said. “That would lead directly to a challenge. The Oudis lords have been itching for a chance to claim the Claerwyns are unfit to rule. It has to be legitimate and aboveboard, or we’ll go the same way as the Faravals.”
“Who were the Faravals?” Tira had asked.
“The royal family who ruled before the Claerwyns,” Fairon replied. “They were all executed after they conspired to kill their own mother, the queen.”
“Yikes,” Tira said, and I could’ve sworn Fairon’s serious expression lightened for just a second.
“It happened three and a half thousand years ago,” Leon said. “But I get your point. We take him on in public.”
Now it’s two days later, and we have the go from Captain Odaire. The others file out, heading to their own quarters. Tira and I sit in Fairon’s rooms and watch the princes discuss—not for the first time—what Respen’s reaction might be.
Or rather, Fairon talksatLeon, running through every possible angle, as Leon listens more or less patiently.
“Gods, he’s such a control freak, isn’t he?” Tira murmurs to me. “A total over planner.”
Her tone is the same as always—sarcastic and playful—but when I glance her way, I see the small smile on her face, as if she secretly likes that about him. Or at least, likeshimin spite of it. I smile myself, realizing that despite the way she likes to poke fun at the crown prince, my friend might have developed a soft spot for him. I suppose that’s natural, considering the pair have beenco-conspirators these last few weeks, sharing their secrets only with each other.
“If everything goes to plan with the king, we’ll be leaving for Trova soon,” I say lightly. “Will you be okay coming back with us?”
Tira’s brow furrows. “Of course I will. Why wouldn’t I? Are you still worried about me being able to look out for myself? Because you know I can do that now. I’ve been practicing my archery every day, plus Fairon’s been showing me a few things too.”
I bet he has, I think to myself, but I don’t dare say it. I can tell Tira hasn’t even recognized her fondness for Fairon herself yet, so it must be very early days.
“I know you can,” I say. “Sorry, it was nothing.”
She continues to look at me, a little suspicious, but moves on.
“Where are we even going? Back to Tread? Harman will be glad to see you—and Alastor,” she adds with a smirk. By now, I’ve filled her in plenty on the pair’s relationship.
“His letter came at a good time,” I say. The message Damia brought us confirmed the rebels had gotten safely out of Qimorna with minor losses. Likely because they’d accepted pretty soon after we left that there was no reaching the carriage of solari children.
It both was and wasn’t the news I’d hoped for, but the letter also detailed how we could send back a coded response from Filusia. “We sent a reply, telling him about Leon and what we suspect about Prince Keleus and Princess Helena.”
“Because you want to find the seal,” Tira says with understanding.
“Yes. Leon doesn’t think his parents would’ve risked hiding it in Filusia, and they already had this diplomatic mission to Trova. It was the perfect cover. Harman was already looking into people who lived in the region where they were killed. Leon thought they were taking some time to do a scenic tour of Trova after their diplomacy talks, but really they were taking a detour to hide the seal. We just need to work out exactly where they were coming back from.”
“Why are you sure they didn’t have the seal on them when they were attacked?” Tira frowns.
“Because you can’t come to harm as long as you’re carrying it. It protects travelers, so an attack on them wouldn’t have succeeded.”
“Assuming the legends about it are true,” Tira says doubtfully.
I shrug. “They were true enough about the scythe,” I point out. “Besides, if they’d been carrying it when they were killed, Respen would have it now, and you can bet he would’ve used it.”
“That idea is only slightly less terrifying than the idea of Caledon using it,” Tira grimaces.
“That’s why we have to find it before him,” I say firmly. “Luckily for us, it seems he has no idea Leon’s parents ever had it.”
It’s exhausting, keeping track of everything we have to do and everyone we have to stop, but I remind myself that we’re already so much better off than we were a few days ago when Leon was at death’s door. We just have to keep moving forward. With the solari children—and I feel like weeping whenever I think about what he must’ve done to them—Caledon will be powerful enough to combine the artifactsifhe can find them all. And Tira’s right, that’s terrifying.
