Page 107 of Kingdom of Crowns and Daggers

“Quite,” he spits out, struggling to play his role as pliant puppet king. “Shall we begin so I can get back to her?”

She places her hands on the table, palms down, and glances at the men on either side of her before turning her gaze back to the king. “There is one very important thing we need to discuss with you before starting council business.”

“Oh?”

I hear the surprise and wariness in his voice, and I do not blame him for it. Whatever I was sensing is about to happen. I brace myself, my hand hovering over the dagger hidden in my uniform, ready to move should I need to. The fact that she told him that “they” have something to discuss tells me this was planned beforehand. They met without him and only now decided to involve him. This could very quickly turn into a treasonous meeting.

“The attempts on your life have increased exponentially, and we are worried.” Speaking with what many would see as sympathy, Queen Mother smiles with fake concern. I happen to be an expert in reading people, though, and she is lying through her teeth. This woman is the one we suspect organised the attacks, and here she is, talking about it as though the attacks are causing an inconvenience to them.

Surprisingly, I find I’m annoyed on behalf of the king, which is something I never thought would happen. I must be spending too much time with him. That or I just have a low tolerance for two-faced liars.

“I can assure you that I am just as concerned,” Joha replies wryly.

“Good.” She smiles and leans back in her chair, gesturing to those around her. “Then hopefully you will agree with our decision.”

Joha seems to have the same realisation I do in that moment, freezing in his chair, his body stiff. They came together without him and planned against the king. Damn it. Hovering on my toes, I prepare to react should I need to.

Without waiting for him to recover, Queen Mother continues. “We have decided, as a concerned council, that for your safety, you should be confined to the king’s palace. Guards will be stationed outside to protect you at all times and make sure you are kept safely within.”

There is a long pause as Joha absorbs what she just dared to propose. The fact that the rest of the council went along with this is surprising, and I am sure he feels betrayed by this decision.

“You want to lock me up?” he asks slowly, seeking clarification. His jaw is tight, and I see anger working through him. “I am the king.”

“Which is exactly why we want to keep you safe,” she replies smoothly with a saccharine smile, moving her arms wide to gesture to those in the room. “We worry for you, my king. This way, no one can get to you. As the council to the king, it is one of our duties to keep you safe, even when you do not want us to.”

It is pretty clear what she’s saying, and I feel the frustration of the king’s guards behind us. They are just as angry about the whole situation as Joha is, and I cannot say I blame them. This decision has already been made and taken out of Joha’s hands.

The king places his hands on the table before him, and I don’t know if he’s bracing himself for an argument or getting ready to leave the room before they can try to “assist” him out of here.

“No, I will not be chased into hiding by whatever coward is hiding behind assassins.” His voice is like ice, and his eyes are locked on Queen Mother, recognising the real threat in the room.

Sighing, she rolls her eyes, losing patience with him. “I do not understand why you are making this difficult, Joha. You will be resting in luxury in your palace.”

“A gilded cage is still a cage,” I murmur, momentarily drawing the attention of the Queen Mother. She frowns, her eyes flitting over my face as she tries to work out if she’s seen me here before.

“You forget your place, Queen Mother. It is not your job to tell me what I should or should not be doing,” Joha snaps, making the woman pale and lean away from the rebuttal in his voice. Several of the council members in the room look uncomfortable with this display, and I make careful note of their faces for future reference.

“My guard is correct. It doesn’t matter where you lock me away, you are still stealing my liberties. You are taking away all of my power. Let me guess, you will run the country in the meantime?” Anger starts to lace his words as I look down at the king in surprise. Perhaps he has a backbone after all.

He nailed the issue on the head and made it clear that he knows exactly what they are doing. This has nothing to do with protecting him and everything to do with getting him out of the way. Some of the same advisors who looked uneasy before look outright uncomfortable now that their king is fighting back.

Alyx told me that Joha let his advisors and Queen Mother treat him like a puppet king so he wouldn’t meet a sudden and unfortunate end. That way, Queen Mother still made decisions and Joha was king in name only. While I understand his reasoning, it’s the logic of someone who hasn’t had to fight for their life every single day. It seems the king has decided to finally fight back. They are already trying to kill him, so at least he’s regaining his control.

Still surprised and recovering from the king’s rebuttal, Queen Mother presses her hand to her chest and shifts in her chair. It is the most genuine expression I’ve seen on her face since we arrived here.

“The council and I will act in your place. Temporarily of course,” she reassures him with a tentative smile, unsure of her place but slowly trying to recover the control in the room. “You are still king. We just need to take measures to assure you survive until we can find out who is behind these attacks.”

Sneaky. The woman is a good actress. If she didn’t try to kill my reason for existing, then I might try to recruit her. I imagine she has this whole room wrapped around her little finger thanks to those skills.

Joha looks around the table, meeting each set of eyes of his so-called supporters. His expression is flat. “All of you agreed on this?”

There are several calls of agreement, the loudest of which come from the males closest to Queen Mother. Most of the advisors in the room, however, look uncomfortable, mumbling their answers and lowering their gazes to the table. They might have agreed initially, but they are second-guessing themselves now that they’ve seen the king. There is also the possibility that they were coerced into making this decision. With what I just witnessed here, that would not surprise me.

He could fight the decision, but without the support of the council, he has even less power than he does now. The assassins managed to slip into all areas of the palace and the grounds, so locking him away in the king’s palace isn’t going to keep him any safer. It is just an excuse to get him out of the way, and Joha knows it.

“This is just to keep you safe, Your Majesty,” one of the advisors comments, his expression firm but his voice tight, giving away his discomfort.

“Why don’t you return to your palace now, Your Majesty, and I will send someone to update you on what is discussed in the council meeting?” Queen Mother smiles sweetly, but I see the predator in her eyes. If Joha tries to protest, she will find a way to have him dragged out.

---