Page 78 of Crown of Hearts
I shuddered.
Wiping the hair away from my face, I stumbled over to the nearest window and shoved it open. The night air felt cold against my skin.
The vivid pictures stuck in my mind, made me feel sick.
I had to force myself to think of something else.
Anything else.
And so, without trying, in my mind’s eye, I saw Cai. He told me that the war between Norrandale and Argon still haunted his dreams at times. I could only imagine how much more difficult that must have made everything. After what happened in the throne room, it was confirmed that the armed men were from Argon. No one knew how they’d managed to find their way into the palace, but all of them were killed or arrested. What were King Aries’ intentions in sending a group of his soldiers into Mistwood Palace? If he’d hoped to assassinate Cai, wouldn’t he have done something more subtle? I’d heard that Alastor had sustained some injuries during the fight, but Anesta reassured me it was nothing too serious. The entire rest of the day, the atmosphere was tense and dreary. Every person in the palace appeared to be walking on eggshells.
I didn’t want to wake Cai. But I also knew better than to think I was going to fall asleep again.
There were two guards stationed outside my door. Usually, they would be further down the hall, but after what had happened today, it would seem that security in the palace had increased.
“Everything all right, Your Majesty?” one of them asked.
I tightened my robe over my nightshift. “Yes, thank you. All is well.”
I proceeded to tiptoe down the hallway until I realised, after a few steps, that they were following me. Of course, they were only obeying orders, but I wouldn’t have them see me sneaking into Cai’s room in the middle of the night. No one needed to be gossiping about that sort of thing. And I was not naive enough to believe the servants and guards didn’t gossip. Kings and queens hardly truly had secrets.
I gave them a determined look over my shoulder, which they seemed to understand. Sneaking silently through the hallways, I was thankful that Cai’s chambers were close to my rooms. The last thing I needed was to run into more people. Even if it was the middle of the night, someone always seemed to be awake at court.
I nodded shyly at Cai’s guards, who thankfully recognised me, though pretended they didn’t see anything as I rounded the last corner.
I was surprised to see Cai’s door slightly open, allowing the light from inside the room to stream out.
As I got closer, I realised there were voices coming from inside the room. One of them was distinctly Cai’s.
“Too many people have already been hurt. Today was too close.”
“Luckily most of the court members are uninjured, although I heard a few guards didn’t make it.” The other voice was Thatcher’s.
“It seems like King Aries doesn’t know where to draw the line. If he’s willing to do all this, then who knows what else he’s up to? And as long as his attempts keep failing, how long before he marches on Norrandale?”
“It’s growing more unsafe at court by the day. How did they even get in?”
“I don’t know. We have to consider the possibility that there’s a traitor in the palace who knew security had decreased in number because of the group Jack sent to look for the assassin who poisoned me.”
I heard something being poured, which I assumed was wine.
“Whatever the council decides, that decision will have to be made soon,” Cai said, after a moment of silence.
“What about Elara?” Thatcher asked, and my ears pricked up at the sound of my name. I leaned as close to the door as possible without making my presence known.
“Everness has agreed to an alliance, but they might feel less obliged to accept a royal wedding if it immediately thrusts them into a full war with Argon.”
“I’m sure Elara will stand by you.”
I tried not to smile at Thatcher’s faith in me.
“Elara is a new queen who has yet to establish a strong rule. Everness needs a royal alliance as much as Norrandale, but they could refuse to send their men into war with us.”
“She is still queen, and she still has the final say.” Thatcher tried to reassure him, but I understood where Cai’s hesitancy came from. It was one thing to make the alliance with the possibility of aiding in war. But the chances were increasing, and I doubted just as much as Cai that the people of Everness would be eager to give up a few thousand men after everything the kingdom had recently been through.
“It’s so bizarre to me, though. You get back from your journey in Everness, where you were supposed to meet your future bride, and instead the kingdom had rebelled, and you were on the rebels’ side. Not only that, but one of the rebels then became the new queen,” Thatcher said, almost in disbelief.
“You make it sound to be what it’s not.”
