Page 55 of Twins for the Barbarians

“What?” Kingo asks me.

“Elian Daron was assassinated because he was about to reveal something about the plague…just realized...”

Leela sucks in a deep breath. “Solomon assassinated his own brother. In the light of what we know now, it’s hardly a surprise. I didn’t know I married a monster, Alicia; you must believe me.”

“I do believe you. I’m sorry you’ve just become aware of it. Please, think about it. I’m not comfortable leaving this place without knowing you’ll be safe.”

I understand her hesitation. If I were in her shoes, I would probably feel the same way. My children, my family, those I hold dear would suffer in my absence. Then again, we’d suffer together if I didn’t leave. But I wouldn’t forgive myself if I just left them behind. My heart breaks for this kind woman. She had no idea what she was getting herself into.

The sound of footsteps outside makes my pulse quicken.

Kingo’s pointed ears twitch. “Shit, they’ve found us,” he whispers. “Hide!”

It’s too late.

A dozen soldiers burst through the door. They’re armed and ready to shoot on sight. I instantly raise my hands in the air. “Please, don’t shoot, I’m pregnant!”

They point their weapons at Leela and me, but they don’t pull the trigger.

Kingo isn’t so lucky, however. One of the soldiers fires a shot at his head, but he ducks and bolts across the room, zigzagging between desks and cabinets in a desperate effort to get to the back door.

“Run, Kingo! RUN!” I scream as two grunts chase after him.

The three of them disappear from sight, the sound of their rushed footsteps fading into the night. I’m left with the frantic beating of my heart drumming loudly in my ears as I try to make sense of my own situation.

“We meant no harm,” I say with a trembling voice. “We were just doing our research. Leela was kind enough to—”

“The volcano is forbidden without the king’s written permission,” one of the soldiers says, his voice flat, almost mechanical.

“I demand you escort us safely back to the palace,” Leela says, trying to assert her royal authority in order to keep us safe. “I am still your queen.”

“You will be facing the king at trial soon enough,” the soldier replies bluntly. “Until then, you are a prisoner of the King’s Guard and in breach of too many laws to count.”

“You should’ve known better, Your Grace,” another soldier says, but I can tell from the pained look in his crimson eyes that he’s beyond miserable about this entire debacle. “We will escort you to the palace, yes. But you’ll be under house arrest until a trial date is set.”

Leela gives me a scared glance. “What about Alicia?”

“The king has requested that she and her male companions be brought to his private study in the west wing,” the first soldier says. “The runaway will be killed on sight.”

“Kingo, no…” I mumble, my lower lip quivering as I try not to cry.

Everything we’ve worked for is going to go up in smoke before my very eyes. Kingo got away with a bag of evidence. If the soldiers catch him, they’ll execute him without hesitation. I’ll never get to take the files in my possession out of Opal City. It ends here, dammit.

We’re at the mercy of Solomon Daron. The man behind the plague.

25

Helios

“The citizens we spoke to were deeply troubled about that execution,” I tell Kharo as we head back inside the palace. We’ve picked up a few tricks in the weeks we’ve been here, including secret doors and passageways connecting the palace to the central square and the surrounding alleys.

It only took a few hours of following some of the servants closely to figure out how they were getting in and out so quickly and discreetly—the discovery has made our mission much easier.

“It was Leela’s brother.”

“That was cruel. Solomon will suffer for it, one way or another,” Kharo replies.

We’re halfway through one of the service tunnels, holding up torches to light the way as we go over the day’s events. News of the execution has spread rapidly through the city today. From what we overheard while infiltrating the public spaces, Queen Neya was present along with a few guests. It happened somewhere close to the central hospital, so I’m guessing those guests were Alicia and Kingo.

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