Page 54 of The Uncrowned Prince

“… kill him.” His lips were moving, but he felt as if they did so without his conscious direction or permission. Who was he going to kill?

“Who?” That was Karreya’s voice. “The ambassador? That is a simple enough task. If you wish it, he will never leave that room alive.”

Did he want the ambassador dead? Was Grendish his enemy? He did not know.

“It’s not the Empire,” he murmured. “It’s not them. No one believes me, but it’s not them.”

His eyes finally focused on the dark shape of Karreya, crouched by his side, her tense posture radiating worry. Was she worried for him? She should be worried for herself. Soon, anyone with ties to the Zulleri Empire would be the target of collective grief and outrage from all across Abreia.

“It’s not you,” he said desperately, and Karreya nodded as if there was no doubt.

“I know,” she said.

“You believe me?” It seemed terribly important, somehow, that she believe him. Even if no one else did.

“Of course.” As if she had never considered otherwise.

“Why?” Why should she believe him when no one else ever had? He was nearly a complete stranger.

“Because you have never lied to me when it mattered.”

Their eyes locked. Illuminated only by the light from the narrow opening in the wall, her face showed no fear, only sincerity.

“Your magic,” he whispered, finally saying aloud what he’d suspected since the beginning.

She hesitated only for a moment, then nodded once.

Truth magic. A desperate hope blazed to life in his chest. His hands clamped on Karreya’s shoulders, and he stared into her eyes, his face only inches from hers.

“It was lies, wasn’t it? What the ambassador said. All of it was lies. Please, Karreya…” He was pleading with her now. “Tell me it was lies.”

She did not jerk away. Somehow, the lines of her face softened slightly, and one hand rose to cover his where it clasped her shoulder.

Too tight. He was holding her too tightly, but she did not flinch.

“My magic cannot gauge truth objectively,” she said softly, and her words were too calm to give him hope. “I can only hear what a person knows or intends. But… according to his own knowledge, the ambassador spoke no words that were untrue.”

His blood roared in his ears. Rage and grief mingled in an unstoppable torrent. It was true. All of it was true.

He had to hold himself together. Had to escape the palace. Make a plan. Find some way to stop this horrible tragedy from escalating further. But his body would not respond to his commands. He ordered it to get up, but his hands only slid from Karreya’s shoulders.

Her eyes flared, and she caught his arms, peering into his face with…

Fear. Concern.

In some distant corner of his mind, Vaniell rejoiced, because the untouchable assassin feltsomething, and she felt it for him.

But that rejoicing soon faded to nothing more than dull emptiness as he knelt there, staring into the darkness, wondering why it did not take him away.

CHAPTER14

Niell had not moved since he’d learned the ambassador spoke the truth. His eyes were open, and she knew he heard, but he did not see.

Below, in the council chamber, the cacophony of voices that had arisen over the news of the Garimoran queen’s death was finally silenced by a shout from the ambassador.

Somehow, he held the entire room in his sway, and while he spoke no lies, his words still dripped with poison.

“This situation calls for haste,” he insisted. “It is not the time for hesitation or fighting among ourselves. Nor can we afford the chaos that comes of an inexperienced hand at the helm.”

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