Page 62 of The Heart of the King

He cradled her face and kissed her softly. “I have to go to a briefing. Gabe will be here with you and the others.”

She nodded.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” After giving her another swift kiss, he let her go and led the way to the conference room on the King’s Deck. Taking his seat at the head of the table, he looked at the security team members. “What do we know?”

“Not much yet, sir,” Justin told him. “So far, we haven’t found another device.”

“How did it get on board? This ship is guarded 24/7.” Heads would likely roll over this but not yet.

Justin shook his head. “We’re just starting to look into that.”

“I might have an idea.” Randall jumped in. “The captain took very ill earlier today, or so the report was. He’s allegedly hospitalized with severe dehydration after eating some bad fish at a local market. He’s not on board.”

“You think someone poisoned him?” Edward asked. “To get their own captain in place?”

Randall shook his head. “I’ve known his back-up since we were children. I think it’s more likely he was complicit and faked the illness in order to leave the country.”

“That’s possible, I suppose,” Daniel said slowly. “He was reinvestigated in the last year, just like almost everyone was. He was cleared.”

“My grandfather loves to be on the ocean.” David leaned back in his seat as he thought it over. “It’s entirely possible he and the captain became friendly over their mutual love of the open sea. Maybe he agreed to help my grandfather take the throne back in exchange for some kind of compensation later.”

“Can your grandfather do that?” Esme’s skeptical tone matched David’s private thoughts. “Can he take the throne back?”

David shook his head. “I don’t think so, but with me and Gabe gone, he might try anyway. His brother is currently next in line, given that Gabe’s offspring aren’t. He’s never liked his brother.”

Esme nodded. “That lines up with what Gabe has told me.”

“Could he be trying to take over all of the Quad Countries?” Benjamin asked. “With all four of us gone, there would be power vacuums everywhere.”

“Not really.” Edward leaned forwards. “Genevieve would be regent in Eyjania, but there would be a monarch. Sofia is here, but Kensington, or possibly Jordan, would be regent in San Majoria for Marcus. I’m not sure who would be regent in Sargasso given that Esme’s brother has been MIA for so long, but there wouldn’t be a vacant throne.”

“There would be turmoil, though.” Benjamin sighed. “Or maybe he simply doesn’t care who else he hurts as long as he can step back in?”

“With the other countries in mourning as well, and all with very young heirs, maybe he thinks no one else will care?” Esme looked at David. “What do you think?”

“I think I’m embarrassed to be his grandson. Even if this doesn’t turn out to be true, that is. If this does, then even more so. He’d kill both of his grandsons, his granddaughter, his granddaughters-in-law, and at least a dozen others just so he can be king again? That’s not all right on any level.”

Edward tapped a pen on the table for a moment while he thought. “I’ve never known your father or grandfather well, despite my overtures and attending university in Auverignon. I’ve heard rumors about him having his political enemies killed or otherwise removed from office through less than legal means, but nothing provable. He’s kept his hands clean, but as a former king, he’s got connections.”

“We’ll continue to investigate. Really, we’ll start to investigate as soon as we dock.” Daniel’s face looked grim. “We haven’t heard any chatter, beyond the usual, about threats against any of you.”

“The usual?” David asked.

“There’s always threats against the families,” Justin reminded him. “The usual nut jobs and crazies, but there hasn’t been a real, credible threat in quite some time. Not even last year when they were forced to briefly cover-up Queen Miriam’s death, though those were more credible than most.”

Right.

“We won’t rest until we get to the bottom of this,” Daniel promised.

“It may come down to having your grandfather arrested and tried,” Edward told him softly. “This makes the allegations against the former king of Spain look like child’s play. That’s only money laundering and failure to pay taxes. This is attempted mass murder.”

The accusations began to settle around David, their weight heavy.

“Are you willing to do that?” Edward asked, his voice gentle. “Your father is already in prison. Your mother will still end up there. Your sister’s mother is likely on her way. Do you have the intestinal fortitude to go through with it?”

It wouldn’t be easy, but he had to do it.

David nodded. “He can’t get away with it. I may not be proud of my ancestors, but maybe, one day, my descendants can be proud of me.”

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