Page 44 of Seven Ways to Kill a King
Miri cut her eyes to his. “It cannot. I’ve already lost too much time.” At his expression, she asked, “What?”
“You’ll need to adjust your plot. The king at Ravensgate won’t throw a public ball after he hears the details of Edwin’s death.”
She shifted, and the cat growled at being disturbed. “He will. He’s too vain not to and too afraid to let on that he fears it.” She did not argue further, because though she was confident of the whims of the lords they had been, Miri had made other mistakes. She could be wrong about the reactions of men who had since turned kings.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said to the darkness. “We’ve no time for anything else.”
Chapter 25
Miri and Cass said their goodbyes to Ginger and Hugh and continued north toward Ravensgate for two more days. On the third day, the queensguard parted ways with them, not to abandon Miri and Cass but to watch from a distance in case they encountered trouble and needed help.More help, Miri amended, because thus far she’d needed saving more times than she could count.
“Missing the company of your cat?”
Cass’s words startled Miri out of her rumination, and she forced the frown from her face. “Hardly. Wretched beast.”
“Are you in pain?”
She gave him a look. “I’ve told you a thousand times that I’m well. I’m not lying to you.” At his expression, she added, “I have no need to lie to you.”
Cass gave a small grin at her reply, and Miri felt her cheeks color. He had a soft curve to his smile, just on one side. She’d forgotten the way it transformed his face and how used to it she’d been. Gods, she was the daughter of the Lion Queen, and he could play her emotions with just a twist of his lips.
She straightened her shoulders. “I mean I don’t have to because I’m the daughter of a queen.”
His grin broke free then. “Oh, I knew what you meant.”
She refused to look at it and be tangled in his underhanded tactics. But her breath huffed out, because she’d already forgotten what she’d been ruminating about in the first place. “Charm will only get you so far,” she said caustically.
His smile fell. “You think me charming?”
“You’ve made your point,” she snapped. “I’m sufficiently distracted from dark thoughts.”
When he fell silent, Miri assumed he was appeased with her assessment, but as she turned to glance toward the call of a bird, what she saw on his face was not satisfaction. She wagered that it was concern for whatever dark thoughts Miri had admitted had been going through her head. She was off her game and needed rest to gain back her focus. In a matter of days, she would be faced with another king.
“Tell me about Peter.”
Miri sighed. It was as if he could read her mind. She slowed to ride beside him. “Lord Peter, king of Ravensgate, likes to host fancy parties.” She closed her eyes, remembering. “He has long hair and a smooth face. He’s handsome beyond reason and knows it too well. The ladies flock to him, but he’s never married. There will be time for that when he is old and gray, he always said. But he will, he’s promised, because to rob the world of his heirs would be too great a crime. So, he’ll have many sons, and even, he supposes, daughters to inherit his beauty.” Miri opened her eyes, shaking off the memory of Peter’s laugh. He’d thought himself so clever and perfect. But he was nothing if he did not have an audience. “He craves company and withers without it, fancy dress, and all the airs.”
“And how will you meet him?”
“The king holds a ball every season, open to the public—of a certain standing—so that they might experience his displays of wealth and pay him homage.” Her fingers slid over Wolf’s reins. “It’s a costumed celebration, masks for all.”
“Sounds effortless.”
She shifted in her saddle, careful not to let Cass see. In truth, she was still sore in places but only after long days of riding through rough terrain. She was fairly certain she would be fine if she could only get some exercise and movement. “It will be the most difficult yet.”
“How so?”
“There is a thin-shelled mollusk that is considered a delicacy by the people of Ravensgate. It’s not rare on the mountain but is elsewhere in the kingdom, making it worth more than it might otherwise be.”
Cass hummed his acknowledgment, and Miri went on.
“Shipping the prized mollusks is difficult because their shells crack so easily. But they can be found readily among the markets and even in the wild.”
“What else can be readily found there?”
“Rock spiders. They’re not known for aggression but, when pressured, deliver a lethal dose of venom.” Miri normally tried very hard not to dwell on the portion of her plan that required transferring the spider into the shell before sealing it with wax. “The presence of either the discarded shell, a delicacy brought in for the ball, or a spider so common outside the castle walls will not bring suspicion. In fact, the spider’s body will likely be easy to find, given that the bite will immediately sting. As the king’s body shuts down, all will be witness to the cause. His flesh will color, his limbs will tremble, and like so many hunters and travelers who’ve fallen prey to the spider’s bite, there will be no way to stop it or to ease the pain. The venom will spread. Peter will die.”
“And what if it goes wrong?”
