Page 84 of Under the Lion Star

“No,” I shook my head. “We need more information. If we take him now, whoever is pulling the strings may flee. Just keep an eye on him.”

We silenced our conversation as we walked through the busier part of the shopping district. A few people stopped to say hello and offer their fealty. I did my best to put on a gracious face while my mind raced with possibilities of what our next move should be.

“I think we made a mistake leaving Barlow alive,” Orin murmured as the castle gates came into view.

“You might be right,” I sighed. “But it’s possible he didn’t know what the saccharil was to be used for. Otherwise, he likely wouldn’t have written it down at all.”

“True,” Liras mused.

“Where are you two at with the list of lords who have financial stakes in mines?”

“There are six possibilities,” Orin winced. “However, Lord Corrin is one of them.”

“He’s involved,” I stated. “I’m sure of it. Watch him closely, but don’t let him be aware. As for Barlow, we can only pray that you two scared him enough for him to keep his mouth shut.”

They both nodded their understanding but said nothing as they guided me into the castle. We parted ways, but I reveled in knowing that I was not alone in this fight.

Chapter 28

Leor

Zialda had been distant. As had all three of my siblings. I hated that even Liras seemed on edge. Something was happening behind the scenes that I was not privy to, yet I decided to ignore it. I’d encircled myself with people I trusted, and if they had something going on, I wasn’t going to bother to waste time deducing it.

My wife was still moving to her own bed each night, the feeling of waking alone making my lip curl in a snarl. Atlas insisted that I should just tell her how I felt, but I worried about the fallout if she wasn’t on the same page. The way the council would pick up on the tension between us. And then, how long until she asked me to put a time limit on the remainder of our union?

If she thought she could escape at this point, she was sadly mistaken. So, I would keep my secret, at least until the dust settled.

Without the added stress of our peace accord with Krannar, I could focus more on what my life as king would entail. The council still met with me weekly, many insinuating that we couldn’t trust King Doran’s promise of allegiance. Yet, I knew in my bones that he didn’t want to return to war.

Orin and Liras were planning something to present to the council. Zialda and Sanna helped them prepare materials, yet none of them would reveal what it was. A prideful part of me was excited for the council to be blown away by whatever they were creating. With so many bright minds involved, I knew it would be good for Fjorn.

Even Atlas was kept in the dark, but I knew if I were to press Sanna, she would fold immediately. Her excitement was palpable, but she did her best to keep the mystery alive.

I found myself lying in bed, alone, on the tail end of a dream that hadn’t made my skin crawl for once. Even my subconscious knew that things were improving. But as my mind woke, the rest of my body remained frozen.

Even in sleep, I had been attuned to the foreign smell wafting through my quarters. My fingers slid silently along the silk sheets, reaching underneath the pillow until the cool leather of the dagger’s hilt was in my grasp.

The faint scent of blood trickled in the air, but the odor of whoever stood in the room with me was a more pressing concern. My eyes remained shut, but I focused every other sense on the darkness, hoping to get a feel of where the intruder was lurking.

Faint, almost imperceptible footfalls moved across the marble floors, but they brought with them the welcome knowledge that Orin was also skulking about in the shadows. I tightened my grip on the dagger, ready to pounce as soon as the stranger’s location was revealed.

I fought against laughter as I listened to Orin prowling the perimeter, wondering if the man had any idea that as he hunted me, my brother hunted him. Allowing my eyelids to open slightly, I let my pupils adjust to the moon’s faint light.

A muffled cry, followed by a ragged gurgle, had me bolting upright. The smell of blood, which had been nothing more than a wisp, now filled the room with a copper tang. I could nearly taste it.

Orin locked eyes with me, removing his arm that held up the intruder, the gash at his neck spilling the crimson ichor all over my previous clean floors. His body dropped with a dull thud while my brother let out a dark chuckle.

“There’s another one outside your door,” he tipped his head toward the hallway.

“So, you took it upon yourself to kill both?”

“I never was any good at sharing toys with you,” he smirked.

I sighed, loosening my grip on the dagger that hadn’t seen any blood since the men I dispatched on the roadway who thought to hurt Z before I even realized she was mine.

The door opened, the cut of light revealing Liras as he dragged in two bodies, one smearing a trail of blood in its wake. My mouth twisted as I considered if I should clean the floors myself. It seemed poor form to make the castle staff deal with it.

“You two are fucking useless,” Liras grumbled, thrusting the not bleeding corpse at my feet.

---