Page 40 of Kingdom of Crowns and Daggers

Chapter

Twenty-Two

ORION

There is something different about tonight. I can’t place why exactly, but I have this feeling in my gut that I have learned to trust over the years. Something is wrong.

The hairs on my arms stand on end, and no matter how much I try to push the ominous feeling away, it grows until it is impossible to ignore. Growling under my breath, I push up from my bed in the barracks and quickly tug on my uniform. I’m technically off duty, but there is no way I can sleep with this nagging feeling in my stomach.

Stalking from the building, I head straight towards Joha’s palace, walking around the perimeter and checking for signs that anything is amiss. Nothing. Everything is suspiciously quiet. With a tightness in my chest, I enter the palace and head straight towards the king’s bedchambers.

All of the guards are stationed where they should be, every one of them alert and greeting me with a respectful nod of their heads. None of them dare to question why I’m here when I’m off duty and not in bed. This isn’t the first time that I’ve been to check on the king in the middle of the night, and it won’t be the last. I don’t stop until I reach my destination—the door to Joha’s bedroom.

“Anything to report?” I ask roughly, looking between the two guards stationed in the doorway. No one should be able to enter the room without passing these two, so if anyone has come or gone or anything untoward happened, they would know.

The guard on the left shakes his head slightly but otherwise doesn’t move, as per protocol. “No, sir. All is quiet.”

Turning to focus on the other guard, I tilt my head to one side as I scan his face. He must feel pressure under my scrutiny, something that is shown by his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat, but otherwise, he doesn’t move.

“The king retired to bed several hours ago and has not left his room since, sir.”

Glancing between them, I weigh their words and slowly nod my head. The king’s guards, who are stationed by Joha’s bedroom, are chosen due to their diligence and hard work and are rewarded by being closer to the king. Although Joha hates having his every move watched, he agreed to the guards being outside the door if he could have complete privacy in his bedchamber. It was also agreed that the guards were to be as unobtrusive to the king as possible. As such, these guards are like statues, silent and unmoving unless needed.

I believe them, yet I am still unable to shake this feeling of something not being right.

“I’m going to check on the king. As you were,” I tell them and reach past them to open the doors.

Entering Joha’s chambers as quietly as possible, I make sure the doors are closed behind me before passing through into his bedroom. However, I’m almost immediately brought up short when I see the king’s empty bed.

A combination of panic and dread holds me captive for a moment as I stare at the space where I should have found the king sleeping. It only takes me a second to break out of it, and I curse as I race forward, touching the sheets, only to find them cold. Wherever the king is, he’s not been in bed for a while. With my heart in my throat, I force myself to calm down so I can focus on what needs to be done.

If I thought he was in danger, then I would immediately call the guards to help me find him. Gods, I would wake the whole cursed palace if it meant I could find him safely. However, this is not the first time he’s wandered from his room during the night to get some air, and if that’s what this is, then it would cause more problems than it’s worth to get everyone involved in a search party.

Taking a deep breath, I consider my options. There’s a known assassin staying in the palace and playing princess, and that should give me the answer I need right there, but for some unfathomable reason, I trust her not to hurt him—even if that’s only because it suits her own purposes to have him alive and on her side.

If I hold off and delay getting help, resulting in Joha getting hurt because of how long it takes to find him, then I would never forgive myself. The very reason I’m here is to keep him safe. However, his physical safety is not my only priority, but his mental state too. If Queen Mother found out that Joha goes for midnight strolls, it would have severe consequences and take away the little freedom he currently has.

That would destroy him.

Gritting my teeth, I do one final sweep of his rooms, confirming that he’s not here, and then I make a decision that I could live to regret. Cursing, I storm from the king’s room, shut the doors behind me, and ignore the guards there. They’ll probably be wondering about my foul mood and the fact that I was in Joha’s room for less than a minute, but they don’t dare say anything. They are too professional to do that. Besides, I don’t exactly have a reputation for being warm and fuzzy.

Joha better be alive because when I find him, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind. He’s been so reckless recently. People are trying to kill him, but he seems to think he’s safe when he’s here because of his guards—guards that he currently doesn’t have with him.

Anger fuels me as I storm through the grounds, not caring about the cool night air against my skin. Thankfully, I don’t have to search too hard for him as I’m pretty sure I know exactly where he will be.

There’s one place on the palace grounds that he finds the most peaceful, and I would bet a year’s salary on him being there—the lake. It’s quiet, and for a while, you can almost forget the rest of the palace exists. None of the staff or residents of the palace go there, either too busy with their work or worried about staining their exorbitant clothing. Nature isn’t something that seems to attract the lords and ladies. That’s probably another reason why the king likes to disappear to the lake, knowing he’ll get some peace. I’ve found him there on several occasions without his guards when he needs to escape, and with everything that’s happened today, I can’t say I blame him.

Winding my way through the maze of palace buildings, I head towards the lake when I hear a strange noise. Frowning, I slow my pace and listen for it. I hear the sound again and freeze, trying to make it out. It’s almost like a cross between a drag and shuffle, but I don’t know what would cause it. There aren’t any guard patrols around this part of the palace, and no one should be wandering around at this time of night. Tilting my head, I attempt to work out where it is coming from.

There.

There is a small clearing between two unused back buildings. It’s almost completely closed in by the structures, and the space is only really used as a cut through to reach other parts of the grounds more quickly. However, I’m sure that’s where the noise is coming from, and despite my burning need to hurry and find Joha, my gut is telling me I should check it out.

As quickly as I can manage while trying to stay silent, I hurry over and walk along the side of the building until the wall opens up into the clearing. I peer around the corner, and my eyes widen and my chest goes tight at what I see.

Joha, the king, is covered in blood and attempting to drag a body across the clearing.

Moving faster than I have in a long time, I race across the space until I’m at the king’s side, pulling him away from the body and looking for the source of his injury. Content that he’s not going to die on me immediately, I glance around for any threats, scanning the dark corners of the clearing and the rooftops in case the attacker is still around. There’s a dead body at the king’s feet, and I doubt very much that Joha was the one to kill him. While I know the king has the skill, he’s not the type to unless he has no other option.

---